[split] Tea Party & Racism

[Eilonnwy]

The birther movement is inextricably linked to the tea party movement. It was it's bread and butter when it was first founded on Tax Day in 2008, and is still a major part of the radical side of the tea party. That whole Shirley Sherod mess was in response to the NAACP calling out the Tea Party for it's racist elements. They held that Shirley Sherod video to fend off the allegations with "No, You!"

I do not deny that there are people in the Tea Party who are not racist and for them it is about the political ideologies. But the racism is a major part of the tea party, you can deny it all you want, but it's there. Just scroll down that wiki article and look at the demographics. 1% black people. It's a middle to upper class white privilege movement, backed mostly by republicans or people sympathetic to republicans.

If the tea party is trying to repudiate the racists, then I'm glad to hear it, but it doesn't change the fact that there is racism in the group. One example of such racism was in the letter to Mr. Lincoln and the Tea Party Express refused to take action against the man. The Tea Party Federation did cut ties with the Tea Party Express, and that is certainly a move in the right direction, but it simply highlights my main point, the tea party movement has major racist elements, and until they've sufficiently repudiated those elements, I will continue to be critical of it.