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American Liberty League logo. [Source: David Pietrusza]Prominent Democrats and Republicans join together to form the American Liberty League (ALL). The organization, according to the founders, exists "to combat radicalism, preserve property rights, uphold and preserve the Constitution." ALL spokesman Jouett Shouse says ALL will fight to preserve "traditional American political values." According to the Encyclopedia of the Great Depression, ALL was organized by "disgruntled business conservatives, Wall Street financiers, right-wing opponents of Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal, and defeated rivals within Roosevelt's Democratic Party." ALL is financed by, among others, industrialists Pierre, Irenee, and Lammot du Pont; former Democratic Party chairman John J. Raskob; financier E.F. Hutton; and executive Sewell Avery of the department store chain Montgomery Ward. Most of the politicians in the organization are Republicans, but these are joined by anti-Roosevelt Democrats such as Alfred E. Smith, who ran for president in 1928. Many ALL members were once part of the Association against the Prohibition Amendment, which fought to re-legalize the US liquor industry. ALL unsuccessfully fights to block federal regulations and additional taxes on business, the creation of public power utilities, pro-labor barganing rights, agricultural production controls and subsidies, New Deal relief and public jobs programs, the Works Progress Administration (WPA), Social Security, and other Roosevelt-era programs and initiatives. According to the Encyclopedia, "critics effectively lampooned league members as champions of privilege, ungrateful critics of an administration that had saved capitalism, and vindictive and selfish individuals seeking revenge on a president for betraying his social class." ALL works diligently, but unsuccessfully, to unseat Roosevelt in 1936, backing Republican contender Alfred M. Landon. After Landon loses in a landslide to Roosevelt, the organization fades in prominence. The Encyclopedia concludes that ALL's "legacy of fund-raising tactics, ideology-driven issues research and public education, and coordination with partisan legislative and electoral campaigns foreshadowed today's political action committees and independent-expenditure organizations." [New York Times, 8/23/1934; Encyclopedia of the Great Depression, 1/1/2004] In 2003, columnist Ralph De Toledano will write, "The Liberty League was laughed out of existence by New Yorker cartoonists, who depicted its members looking out over Fifth Avenue and snorting that doomsday was here and Josef Stalin lurked in the bushes." [Insight, 9/2/2003] In 2010, writer Kevin Drum will compare the American Liberty League to the tea party movement (see September 2010). [Mother Jones, 9/2010]
Entity Tags: Franklin Delano Roosevelt, E.F. Hutton, Alfred M. Landon, Alfred E. Smith, Works Progress Administration, Sewell Avery, Pierre du Pont, American Liberty League, Jouett Shouse, John J. Raskob, Irenee du Pont, Kevin Drum, Lammot du Pont, Ralph De Toledano
Timeline Tags: Domestic Propaganda
A Time magazine profile lambasts the racist, anti-Communist John Birch Society (JBS—see December 2011), in what is many Americans' first exposure to the group. It delineates the organization's penchant for secrecy, its domination by its "dictatorial" leader, Robert Welch, and its hardline battle against almost every element of the federal government as "agents of Communism." Forty to 60 percent of the federal government is controlled by Communism, the JBS believes. Time calls the organization "a tiresome, comic-opera joke" that nonetheless has cells in 35 states and an ever-widening influence. In Wichita, Kansas, JBS student members are trained to inform their cell leaders of "Communist" influences they may detect in their classroom lectures, and the offending teacher is berated by parents. A Wichita businessman who wanted to give a donation to the University of Wichita decided not to donate after being hounded by local JBS members, who wanted the university to fire professors and remove selected books from its library. "My business would be wrecked," the businessman explains, "if those people got on the phone and kept on yelling that I am a Communist because I give money to the school." Nashville, Tennessee, JBS members organize community members to verbally attack neighbors whom they suspect of Communist affiliations. JBS's current priority, Time writes, is to bring about the impeachment of Chief Justice Earl Warren. Welch, who obtained his wealth from his brother's candymaking business, believes that Social Security and the federal income tax are all part of the "creeping socialism" that is taking over the federal government. He retired from the business in 1957 and founded the JBS shortly thereafter, naming it for a US Navy captain killed by Chinese Communist guerrillas after the end of World War II. Welch's seminal tract, "The Politician," accuses President Eisenhower and his brother Milton Eisenhower of being Communist plants, and accuses both men of treason against the nation. [Time, 3/10/1961]
Entity Tags: Milton Eisenhower, John Birch Society, Time magazine, Dwight Eisenhower, Robert Welch, Earl Warren
Representative Ron Paul, profiled in a New York Times article, answers a question about his connections to the John Birch Society (JBS—see March 10, 1961, 1978-1996, August 4, 2008 and December 2011). "Oh, my goodness, the John Birch Society!" Paul replies in what the reporter calls "mock horror." "Is that bad? I have a lot of friends in the John Birch Society. They're generally well educated and they understand the Constitution. I don't know how many positions they would have that I don't agree with. Because they're real strict constitutionalists, they don't like the war, they're hard-money people." [New York Times, 7/22/2007] The JBS is, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center, a prominent right-wing extremist group that has accused a number of lawmakers, including former President Dwight D. Eisenhower, of being "closet Communists," and promotes "wild conspiracy theories" such as the "international Jewish" conspiracy to control the global economy and the idea that the World War II Holocaust never happened. The JBS has been a pioneer in what an analysis by Political Research Associates (PRA) will call "the encoding of implicit cultural forms of ethnocentric white racism and Christian nationalist antisemitism rather than relying on the white supremacist biological determinism and open loathing of Jews that had typified the old right prior to WWII." PRA will note, "Throughout its existence, however, the Society has promoted open homophobia and sexism." [Political Research Associates, 2010; Southern Poverty Law Center, 8/17/2010]
Entity Tags: Ron Paul, John Birch Society, Dwight Eisenhower, Political Research Associates, Southern Poverty Law Center
Obama's birth certificate, obtained from the Hawaii Department of Health. [Source: FightTheSmears (.com)]Senator Barack Obama (D-IL), running for the Democratic nomination for president, releases a digitally scanned copy of his Hawaiian birth certificate. His campaign is responding to persistent rumors that he is not a legitimate American citizen. In the process of releasing the certificate, Obama's campaign also launches a Web site called Fight The Smears, devoted to debunking the allegations that, among other things, Obama is not a citizen, he is a closet Muslim, he took his oaths for political office on a copy of the Koran, he refuses to say the Pledge of Allegiance, and other falsehoods. As Obama was born in Kapiolani Maternity & Gynecological Hospital in Honolulu at 7:24 p.m. on August 4, 1961, his birth certificate comes under Hawaiian state law, and those laws state birth certificates are not public records. Only the individuals, or immediate family members, may request copies. The copy of the birth certificate released by the Obama campaign confirms that his name is legitimately "Barack Hussein Obama," not "Barack Muhammed Obama," "Barry Soetoro," or other claimed variants, and states that Obama's mother is Stanley Ann Dunham, an American, and his father is Barack Hussein Obama, an "African." The birth certificate release only inflames the "birther" claims that Obama is hiding his true citizenship, religion, political alliances, and other such personal facts (see June 27, 2008). [St. Petersburg Times, 6/27/2008; St. Petersburg Times, 7/1/2009; Honolulu Advertiser, 7/28/2009]
Entity Tags: Barack Obama, Ann Dunham, Kapiolani Maternity & Gynecological Hospital, Barack Obama, Sr
Timeline Tags: Domestic Propaganda, 2008 Elections
Ron Paul (R-TX), a US representative and candidate for the Republican nomination for president, gives the keynote address to the John Birch Society (JBS—see March 10, 1961 and December 2011)'s 50th Anniversary Celebration. [New American, 10/8/2008] The JBS is, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center, a prominent right-wing extremist group that has accused a number of lawmakers, including former President Dwight D. Eisenhower, of being "closet Communists," and promotes "wild conspiracy theories" such as the "international Jewish" conspiracy to control the global economy and the idea that the World War II Holocaust never happened. The JBS has been a pioneer in what an analysis by Political Research Associates (PRA) will call "the encoding of implicit cultural forms of ethnocentric white racism and Christian nationalist antisemitism rather than relying on the white supremacist biological determinism and open loathing of Jews that had typified the old right prior to WWII." PRA will note, "Throughout its existence, however, the society has promoted open homophobia and sexism." [Political Research Associates, 2010; Southern Poverty Law Center, 8/17/2010] The New American, the online magazine of the JBS (though the publication's Web site downplays its connection to the JBS), will cover Paul's speech. Paul speaks on the topic, "Restoring the Republic: Lessons From a Presidential Campaign," where he discusses how America can be "restored" with groups such as the JBS and his own Campaign for Liberty "leading the way." Paul is introduced by John McManus, the president of the JBS. According to the New American report: "Dr. Paul made evident his affection for the JBS by stating at the outset, 'I am delighted to help celebrate this birthday.' And when he moved on to talk about his first successful campaign for Congress in 1976, he said, 'I'm sure there are people in this room who probably helped me in that campaign, because I know that so many of you have over the years.' He then described his first press conference at the Capitol Hill Club, during which an antagonist from Houston asked him: 'Mr. Paul, are you a member of the John Birch Society? Have you ever been a member of the John Birch Society?' Dr. Paul recalled his response: 'No, I am not a member of the John Birch Society but many members of the John Birch Society are friends of mine and they have been very helpful in my campaign.'" Paul credits the JBS "for keeping alive the freedom fight through its programs to educate and motivate the American people. He went on to point out that the JBS had planted a lot of seeds over the years and that his presidential campaign was able to tap into the sentiment that sprouted from those efforts." Paul repeatedly cites what he calls "the remnant," which he defines as those who remember and respect the values upon which the United States was founded: self-reliance, personal responsibility, limited government, sound money, the gold standard, etc. Paul lauds the JBS for nurturing that "remnant," adding, "The remnant holds the truth together, both the religious truth and the political truth." He concludes with an exhortation for the audience to "continue what you have been doing," and says, "I come with a positive message and congratulations to you for all you have done." [New American, 10/8/2008] Paul's newsletters contain a raft of bigoted material (see 1978-1996), though Paul denies writing almost all of his newsletters' content (see January 16, 2008). In 2007, he readily admitted his support for the John Birch Society (see July 22, 2007).
Entity Tags: Southern Poverty Law Center, Political Research Associates, Ron Paul, John Birch Society, John F. McManus, The New American
Amy Kremer, a former flight attendant who wil go on to found the Atlanta Tea Party and become the chair of the Tea Party Express, writes of Republican presidential candidate Senator John McCain (R-AZ), "he needs to tell Nobama [referring to presidential candidate Barack Obama (D-IL)] to bring his authentic birth certificate to the debate. I am so tired of the spin from his spinmeisters! Johnny Mac… just go straight to the source!" Kremer is referring to questions some have raised about Obama's supposed lack of a valid birth certificate (see June 13, 2008) and accusations that he is not an American citizen. Authors Devin Burghart and Leonard Zeskind later write of Kremer's "birther" beliefs, "Much of this sentiment predates the actual formation of tea parties." [Politico, 2010; Institute for Research & Education on Human Rights, 10/19/2010]
Entity Tags: Barack Obama, Amy Kremer, Atlanta Tea Party, Devin Burghart, John McCain, Leonard Zeskind, Tea Party Express
Alaskan Independence Party logo. [Source: Alaskan Independence Party]Reporters and authors Max Blumenthal and David Neiwert compile an investigative report for Salon that documents the large, if shadowy, network of far-right militia support that Governor Sarah Palin (R-AK) enjoys. Palin is running for vice president with presidential candidate John McCain (R-AZ). Two of her most powerful supporters are Mark Chryson, the former head of the Alaskan Independence Party (AIP), and Steve Stoll, a far-right activist and member of the John Birch Society (see March 10, 1961 and December 2011) known in his home region of the Mat-Su Valley as "Black Helicopter Steve." Both Chryson and Stoll are large financial contributors to Palin's various political campaigns, and, as Blumenthal and Neiwert write, "they played major behind-the-scenes roles in the Palin camp before, during, and after her victory," referring to her successful campaigns for mayor of Wasilla (see Mid and Late 1996) and, later, Alaska's governor. Chryson's AIP fought to eliminate taxes, support what it called "traditional family" values, remove all restraints from gun ownership, and perhaps most controversially, force Alaska to secede from the United States. Still a proud AIP member, Chryson tells the reporters that he still has "enough weaponry to raise a small army in my basement," but assures the rest of the nation, "We want to go our separate ways, but we are not going to kill you." Under Chryson's leadership and on into the present, the AIP works to connect with like-minded secessionist movements from Canada to the Deep South of the US. Chryson is from Wasilla, Palin's hometown, and during the 1990s his support was critical in making Palin the mayor of Wasilla and later the governor of Alaska. He and Stoll played an equally critical role in shaping her political agenda after her victories. Governor Palin often worked closely with Chryson as he and the AIP worked to successfully advance a wave of anti-tax, pro-gun legislative initiatives, and helped Chryson put through a change in Alaska's Constitution to better facilitate the formation of anti-government militias. As both mayor and governor, Palin and Chryson worked together to extract revenge against local officials they disliked. Palin often took Chryson and Stoll's advice on hiring government officials. "Every time I showed up [in Wasilla] her door was open," Chryson says. "And that policy continued when she became governor." Originally Saw Palin as Too Accomodating with Democrats - Chryson first met Palin in the early 1990s, when he was a member of a local libertarian pressure group called SAGE, or Standing Against Government Excess. He met her through SAGE founder Tammy McGraw, who was Palin's birth coach. Palin was a leader in a pro-sales tax citizens group called WOW, or Watch Over Wasilla, which helped her win a seat on the Wasilla City Council in 1992. Chryson liked her, but considered her too willing to work with council Democrats to be of use to him. Chryson was then jockeying to become head of the AIP, a powerful political party that in 1990 had elected Wally Hickel (AIP-AK) as governor; Palin wanted to be mayor of Wasilla. Chryson and Palin quickly determined that they could help one another. Chryson became leader of the AIP in 1997, and saw Palin as a chance for the AIP to take its message more mainstream. He helped quiet the more racist members and platform planks of the AIP, and reached out to Alaska's growing Christian-right movement by emphasizing AIP's commitment to "traditional family" values and its opposition to gay rights. Chryson even succeeded in softening the AIP's insistence on secession. Chryson is an expert at crafting his political message to appeal to disparate groups, and succeeded in forging alliances with white supremacists, far-right theocrats, neo-Confederates, and more moderate right-wing groups that do not advocate open racism, rebellion, Christian theocracy, or violence. In 1995, Palin's husband Todd joined the AIP, further cementing Chryson's increasing support of Palin. Palin Secured AIP Support for Mayorality - With Stoll, Chryson helped gain Palin the mayorship of Wasilla in the 1996 election, comforted by Palin's steady move rightward as she continued her tenure on the city council. Palin's opponent in that election, Republican John Stein, will later say of Chryson and Stoll: "She got support from these guys. I think smart politicians never utter those kind of radical things, but they let other people do it for them. I never recall Sarah saying she supported the militia or taking a public stand like that. But these guys were definitely behind Sarah, thinking she was the more conservative choice.… They worked behind the scenes. I think they had a lot of influence in terms of helping with the back-scatter negative campaigning." Chryson helped Palin craft a successful campaign based on personal attacks on her opponents, both Stein and her Democratic opponent. Palin characterized Stein as a closet Jew and a sexist, both mischaracterizations, and falsely challenged the legal status of his marriage. Wasilla resident Phil Munger, a close friend of Stein's, recalls, "I watched that campaign unfold, bringing a level of slime our community hadn't seen until then." Chryson helped Palin thwart a local gun-control measure (see June 1997). Chryson and Palin attempted to name Stoll to an empty seat on the Wasilla City Council, but were thwarted by another councilman, Nick Carney, who considered Stoll too "violent" to be a successful council member. Implementing AIP Agenda as Governor - Chryson recalls helping Governor Palin slash property taxes and block a measure that would have taken money for public programs from the Permanent Fund Dividend, or the oil and gas fund that doles out annual payments to citizens of Alaska. Palin endorsed Chryson's unsuccessful initiative to move the state legislature from Juneau to Wasilla. She was successful at helping Chryson get pro-militia and gun-rights language into the Alaska Constitution. In 2006, Chryson helped Palin bring Hickel on board as the co-chairman of her gubernatorial campaign; Hickel's presence meant the implicit endorsement of the AIP for Palin's candidacy. Hickel later said of his support, "I made her governor." Hickel now supports Palin's bid for the vice-presidency, spurred in part by her explicit endorsement of the AIP agenda (see March 2008). Infiltrating the Mainstream - Chryson has long advocated that AIP members "infiltrate" both Republican and Democratic parties, and points to Palin as a model of successful infiltration. "There's a lot of talk of her moving up," AIP vice chairman Dexter Clark says of Palin. "She was a member [of the AIP] when she was mayor of a small town, that was a nonpartisan job. But to get along and to go along she switched to the Republican Party.… She is pretty well sympathetic because of her membership." It is possible, Blumenthal and Neiwert speculate, that Clark saw Palin as so closely aligned with Chryson and the AIP that he wrongly assumed she was an official member. Chryson understands that as a vice-presidential candidate, Palin has no intention of espousing secessionist or racist views. Indeed, he hopes that her inauguration will represent the beginning of a new and deeper infiltration. "I've had my issues but she's still staying true to her core values," Chryson says. "Sarah's friends don't all agree with her, but do they respect her? Do they respect her ideology and her values? Definitely." [Salon, 10/10/2008] In the days after this article appears, the McCain-Palin campaign will confirm that Sarah Palin has been a registered Republican since 1982, and claim that she was never a member of AIP. AIP chairperson Lynette Clark will say that her husband Dexter's recollection of Palin as an official AIP member is mistaken, and reiterate that she and AIP support Palin fully in her bid for the vice presidency. [ABC News, 9/1/2008; Alaskan Independence Party, 9/3/2008]
Entity Tags: Wally Hickel, Watch Over Wasilla, Steve Stoll, Standing Against Government Excess, Sarah Palin, Phil Munger, David Neiwert, Dexter Clark, John Birch Society, John C. Stein, Alaskan Independence Party, Mark Chryson, Nick Carney, Max Blumenthal, Lynette Clark
President-elect Obama and his family, acknowledging his election victory. From left: Barack Obama, his daughters Sasha and Malia, and his wife, First Lady-elect Michelle Obama. [Source: Hollywood Reporter]Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) wins the 2008 election for US president. He replaces President George W. Bush, a Republican. Obama becomes the first African-American president in the history of the US. He defeats Senator John McCain (R-AZ) by a 52 percent to 46 percent margin in the national popular vote, and by a 365-173 margin in the electoral vote. The Democratic Party also increases its lead in the Senate, with a 56-41 margin, and a 255-175 margin in the House of Representatives. Finally, Democrats gain a +1 margin in the nation's 11 gubernatorial elections. [National Public Radio, 11/2008; United Press International, 11/5/2008] Obama will begin his four year term as president on January 20, 2009, after a transition period (see January 20-21, 2009).
Entity Tags: John McCain, Barack Obama
Timeline Tags: Complete 911 Timeline, 2008 Elections
Amy Kremer, a former flight attendant who will go on to found the Atlanta Tea Party and become the chair of the Tea Party Express, writes of her extreme disgust with the certification of Barack Obama as president (see January 20-21, 2009). Kremer has previously expressed her conviction that Obama is not an American citizen (see October 2008). She writes: "I have lost all hope on this issue of OBami's eligibility to be president of the United States. I am totally disillusioned after sitting and watching Congress certify the Electoral College vote on CSPAN without one objection." [Politico, 2010; Institute for Research & Education on Human Rights, 10/19/2010]
Entity Tags: US Electoral College, Amy Kremer, Barack Obama, Atlanta Tea Party, Tea Party Express
President-elect Barack Obama takes the oath of office as administered by Chief Justice John Roberts. His wife Michelle holds the Bible used to administer the oath, which will be redone the second day because of a minor error in Roberts's delivery. [Source: Access Hollywood]Barack Obama (D-IL) is officially inaugurated as president of the United States. He is the 44th US president. He was elected on November 4, 2008 (see November 4, 2008), and then went through a short transition period. [Washington Times, 1/20/2009] Obama is forced to retake the oath of office after Chief Justice John Roberts errs in delivering it during the inaugural ceremonies. Roberts administers the "second" oath in the White House's map room; Roberts asks Obama if he is ready and Obama says, "I am, and we're going to do it very slowly." Roberts initially said the word "faithfully" out of order, prompting some conservative bloggers and reporters to claim that Obama's presidency is illegitimate. White House counsel Greg Craig says: "We believe that the oath of office was administered effectively and that the president was sworn in appropriately yesterday. But the oath appears in the Constitution itself. And out of an abundance of caution, because there was one word out of sequence, Chief Justice Roberts administered the oath a second time." The oath properly reads, "I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the office of president of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States." [CNN, 1/21/2009] Obama takes the first oath on a Bible that belonged to former President Abraham Lincoln, on loan from the Library of Congress. The second oath is taken without a Bible, which is allowed under the Constitution but will lead to further criticism from Obama opponents. [St. Petersburg Times, 1/22/2009]
Entity Tags: Abraham Lincoln, Barack Obama, John G. Roberts, Jr, Library of Congress
Timeline Tags: 2008 Elections
After taking office as president (see January 20-21, 2009), Barack Obama instructs new CIA Director Leon Panetta to develop options and find new resources for pursuing Osama bin Laden. An unnamed senior official will later say that while "a lot of good" had been done during the Bush administration years, resources for the CIA's bin Laden hunt "fluctuated over time." As part of the effort, the CIA increases the number of drone strikes on militant leaders in Pakistan's tribal region. [Reuters, 5/12/2011] Obama: Bin Laden Must Be Killed - In the spring of 2009, Obama tells his top intelligence officials that al-Qaeda can never be truly defeated unless bin Laden is killed, and the US needs the closure his death would provide. Obama allegedly says: "We need to redouble our efforts in hunting bin Laden down.… I want us to start putting more resources, more focus, and more urgency into that mission." [ABC News, 6/9/2011] New Attitude towards Pakistan - Part of the change is a new attitude towards the government of Pakistan. President Bush had close personal ties to Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf. But Musharraf resigned shortly before Obama became president (see August 18, 2008), making those ties moot. An unnamed former top Bush administration official will later say: "For a long time there was a strong inclination at the highest levels during our time to work with the Pakistanis, treat them as partners, defer to their national sensitivities.… There was some good reason for that." But, this person says, the Obama administration "do seem more willing to push the envelope." In 2011, former senior State Department official Vali Nasr will say: "Obama was fundamentally honest that the United States and Pakistan were on different trajectories in Afghanistan. Under Bush, there was this pretense that we were all in this war on terror together." The Obama administration is increasingly skeptical about Pakistan's promises to act against militants, and the US is more willing to act on its own to get militants hiding in Pakistan. [Reuters, 5/12/2011]
Entity Tags: Osama bin Laden, Bush administration (43), Barack Obama, Central Intelligence Agency, Obama administration, Pervez Musharraf, Leon Panetta, Vali Nasr
Timeline Tags: Complete 911 Timeline, War in Afghanistan
Dale Robertson, the leader of TeaParty.org, displays a handmade sign with a racial slur. Mediaite, the source of this photo, later blocked out a portion of the offending word. Robertson's sign itself is not blocked out. [Source: Mediaite]Tea party activist Dale Robertson, who leads TeaParty.org, displays a sign at a "Liberty Concert" tea party rally in Houston that many critics will condemn for being openly racist. The sign reads, "Congress = Slaveowner, Taxpayer = N_ggar." Josh Parker of the Houston Tea Party Society later claims that Robertson is asked to leave the event because of the sign. Robertson, one of the organizers of the event, told tea party activists via ResistNet that the rally is the first of a series of events "designed to be the key to create a model for our Nation to Take Back America. The Tea Party does not intend to waste their time simply rallying. The Plan is to optimize the events, they will be fun and Citizens will be asked to run for office, with the focus of Restoring America, and thus, putting it on the Conservative track." According to Robertson's email, he and his organization intend to run thousands of tea party-affiliated candidates in the 2010 elections, either as third-party candidates or as Republicans. In 2010, Mediaite reporter Tommy Christopher will observe: "I happen to be friends with a lot of conservatives, including many involved in the tea party movement, and while I disagree with them, I don't think for a second that Robertson speaks for them, or for most tea partiers. The problem is that, after over a year of protests, the movement has still not succeeded in expelling this element." [Washington Independent, 1/4/2010; Mediaite, 3/26/2010] Robertson later claims the photograph of the sign was doctored, and will say that the sign actually read, "Congress = Slaveowner, Taxpayer = Slave." Mediaite Photoshop expert Philip Bump will say that there is no evidence showing that the photograph was tampered with or altered. Robertson will promise to provide a picture of the "actual" sign, but will fail to do so. He will blame high-ranking members of the Republican Party for attempting to besmirch his character and reputation. [Mediaite, 3/31/2010]
Entity Tags: ResistNet, Houston Tea Party Society, Dale Robertson, Josh Parker, TeaParty.org, Philip Bump, Tommy Christopher
The image used by San Mateo tea partiers to promote their upcoming anti-tax, pro-Ron Paul event. [Source: Contra Costa Times]Ron Nehring, the chairman of the San Mateo, California, Republican Party asks local tea party organizers not to use what Nehring calls anti-Semitic graphics to advertise their upcoming events. A graphic on a Web site asking for tea party members to attend an anti-tax rally depicts a bucket of money being poured into a funnel with a Star of David on it, which in turn drips blood into a bottle where a person holding a Palestinian flag is seen drowning in blood. The text reads: "Uncle Sam Reminds You: KEEP PAYING TAXES. The ongoing extermination of Palestinian Children Can't be Done Without Your Help." The tea party organization is affiliated with the presidential campaign of Representative Ron Paul (R-TX). Nehring writes: "The taxpayer movement is incredibly important for California, and we applaud the success of the tea parties that took place across the state on April 15. Because we remain intensely interested in the growth and success of the mainstream taxpayer movement, we strongly condemn the use of anti-Semitic imagery in the promotion of the recent event in San Mateo County." [Contra Costa Times, 4/20/2009; Institute for Research & Education on Human Rights, 10/19/2010] The organizing group responds by taking its Meetup.com page private, thus denying access to non-members. Group leader Kathy McGrade writes to the Contra Costa Times that the organization has no direct affiliation to Paul, nor does it control the content on its Meetup pages. She accuses Nehring of enlarging the image to "read the fine print, something I had not done," and says, "In retrospect I may have chosen a different graphic had I first scrutinized it more carefully." McGrade then says the image is merely "provocative" and not anti-Semitic or anti-Israel, and attacks Nehring for calling the image posters "fringe" members of the tea party movement. Nehring, she writes, has launched "an unjustified smear of Dr. Paul and the people who support him." [Contra Costa Times, 4/22/2009]
Entity Tags: Ron Nehring, Ron Paul, San Mateo, California Republican Party, Kathy McGrade
Johnny Lee Clary. [Source: Christian Family Churches of Australia (.com)]The Reverend Johnny Lee Clary, who describes himself as a former imperial wizard of the Ku Klux Klan who abandoned his allegiance to white supremacist ideology after converting to Christianity and now preaches against racism and white separatism, answers a number of questions about the Klan and related organizations on his Web site. The John Birch Society - According to Clary, the John Birch Society (JBS—see March 10, 1961 and December 2011) "is just a political version of the KKK, without the name of the KKK. They center on the political ideas of the Klan and are not as vocal in public on the ideas of the racial superiority, but they attract the same people and say the same things behind closed doors.… The John Birch Society is the Klan.… They are racist, and full of hate and are officially listed as a hate group with several civil rights organizations throughout the USA." Tom Metzger, the founder and leader of the White Aryan Resistance (WAR), is an active leader of a California chapter of the JBS, Clary writes, as are many other members of the Klan and various neo-Nazi and white supremacist militia groups. Clary explains why the Klan is openly racist and the JBS is not, stating: "The John Birch Society's function is to recruit professional people into their ranks of anti-government conspiracy freaks, that would be too afraid to join an organization with the name of the KKK. They suck these people into their ranks and use the donations to further the cause of radical un-American fascist racist KKK activities. This is a ploy for the KKK to get funding to help spread their agenda." In response to an email from a JBS member portraying his organization as "conservative," Clary writes: "Please do not try to represent your organization as 'conservative.' You are not conservative, and are disowned by the Republican Party and are considered a disgrace to true conservatives everywhere. Ronald Reagan, the greatest conservative American ever, would have nothing to do with any of you. Neither will President Bush for that matter." Positive Aspects of the Klan - While Clary repudiates the Klan's racism, he says there are some "good" aspects to the organization: it "stands against abortion, homosexuality, and drug dealers. They are for prayer in the schools and the use of the Bible in the classroom. These are good things that would entice some people into joining the Klan, however, if someone joined because of these reasons they would soon see that the evil the Klan does is so sinister that it far outweighs the good. The Klan is guilty of bombings, murder, and hatred of their fellow man because of the shade of their skin." Why the KKK Hates African-Americans - In response to a letter from an African-American student asking this question, Clary writes: "I believe that one of the reason's the Klan hates African-Americans so much is because they look different [from whites]. By putting others down they make themselves feel superior. One who hates so much really does not like his or her own self. They know deep down inside that they are a loser in society and they are searching for some way to try to achieve some sort of superiority. You have to remember also that the majority of KKK members are what would be classified as 'poor white trash.' Very few Klan members come from upper middle class backgrounds or even middle class for that matter. They come from backgrounds that are poor and down trodden. Instead of doing something to better themselves they build up resentment until it turns into hatred. They blame the Jews, blacks, and others for their own failures in life and they are a product of a learned response. That is, they are taught to hate.… If the blacks were not around for Klansmen to hate, it would be the Jews and if they were not around it would be the Native American Indians and if not them then someone else. When no one else that appears to be different is around then they start hating and bickering with each other. Many of them are crying out for a separate 'Aryan' homeland. They scream for a place where people that believe like they do can all go and live and not have to be around other races. That could be a solution that would benefit everybody. Even if there were no other races around them, their hatred is so deeply imbedded within them that they would start hating each other and finally destroy one another." [Johnny Lee Clary, 2007; Johnny Lee Clary, 4/13/2009]
Entity Tags: White Aryan Resistance, Ronald Reagan, Johnny Lee Clary, Ku Klux Klan, George W. Bush, John Birch Society, Tom Metzger
Pam Farnsworth, the marketing director for Tea Party Nation, asks on Twitter, "Where's the birth certificate?" referring to President Obama's supposed lack of a valid birth certificate (see June 13, 2008) and accusations that he is ineligible to be president because of his lack of American citizenship. Farnsworth also writes: "New bill would make Obama a US natural-born citizen. Doesn't the Constitution mandate he already be one to hold office?" [Institute for Research & Education on Human Rights, 10/19/2010]
Entity Tags: Barack Obama, Pam Farnsworth, Tea Party Nation
Timeline Tags: Domestic Propaganda, 2012 Elections
Paul Topete of Poker Face. [Source: AmericanFreePress (.net)]A thousand people attend a "tea party" rally in Washington, DC. Speakers include members from a number of anti-tax "reform" groups, the lobbying organization and tea party sponsor FreedomWorks (see April 8, 2009 and April 14, 2009), and a number of radio talk show hosts. A rock band, Poker Face, provides entertainment and technical support. Poker Face's lead singer, Paul Topete, has publicly called the Holocaust a "hoax" and has written for Holocaust-denial publications. Poker Face was refused permission to play at a Rutgers University event in 2006 and a Ron Paul (R-TX) campaign event in 2007 because of the band's open bigotry and anti-Semitism. However, as the Institute for Research & Education on Human Rights's Devin Burghart and Leonard Zeskind will later note, "they made it to the stage of the tea party without any questions asked." [Institute for Research & Education on Human Rights, 10/19/2010]
Entity Tags: FreedomWorks, Devin Burghart, Leonard Zeskind, Paul Topete, Poker Face
Timeline Tags: Domestic Propaganda, US Domestic Terrorism
Patients First bus featuring the "Hands Off Our Health Care" slogan and bloody handprint logo. [Source: Associated Press]The citizens' organization Patients First, a subsidiary of the conservative lobbying group Americans for Prosperity (AFP—see April 14, 2009, April 15, 2009, and May 29, 2009), schedules a 13-state bus tour. The tour is aimed at bringing conservative protesters to rallies and "town hall" meetings where the White House's controversial health care proposals are being discussed. AFP's board includes James Miller, a Federal Trade Commission chairman and budget director during the Reagan administration. The tour begins with a "tea party" rally in Richmond. According to AFP official Ben Marchi, organizers will urge constituents to call or visit their senators and sign a petition that asks members of Congress to "oppose any legislation that imposes greater government control over my health care that would mean fewer choices for me and my family and even deny treatments to those in need." The bus will make 26 stops in Virginia alone before journeying to North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Indiana, and Louisiana. Another bus will visit Nebraska, Colorado, South Dakota, North Dakota, Montana, Iowa, Arkansas, and Missouri. "Virginians are fired up about health care and what they see as an overreaching federal government," Marchi says. "We don't want legislators to come between them and their doctor. The relationship that exists between doctors and patients is sacred and should not be interfered with." [Richmond Times-Dispatch, 7/23/2009; Politico, 7/28/2009]
Entity Tags: Obama administration, Americans for Prosperity, Patients First, Ben Marchi, James Miller
Timeline Tags: US Health Care, Domestic Propaganda, 2010 Elections
Conservatives for Patients' Rights (CPR), an anti-health care reform lobbying organization owned by former health care industry executive Rick Scott (see August 4, 2009), sends an e-mail to a listserv called the Tea Party Patriots Health Care Reform Committee detailing over 100 "town hall" meetings to take place during the August recess. All are to be hosted by Democratic members of Congress, and most will feature discussions of the White House/Congressional Democrats' health care reform proposals. [TPMDC, 8/3/2009] The Tea Party Patriots Health Care Reform Committee has hundreds of members on its mailing list, and cross-connects to other, larger mailing lists for anti-reform groups such as Conservatives for Patients Rights (CPR), Patients First, Patients United Now (an affiliate of Americans for Prosperity), and FreedomWorks (see April 14, 2009). CPR features the same list of town hall meetings on its own Web site. The liberal news site TPMDC notes that the same listservs have featured blatantly racist messages such as pictures of President Obama with a bone through his nose (see July 28, 2009). [Conservatives for Patients' Rights, 7/2009; TPMDC, 8/3/2009]
Entity Tags: Rick Scott, Conservatives for Patients Rights, Americans for Prosperity, FreedomWorks, Patients United Now, Tea Party Patriots Health Care Reform Committee, Patients First, TPMDC
The conservative lobbying group Americans for Prosperity (AFP—see April 15, 2009 and May 29, 2009), in conjunction with the St. Louis Tea Party Coalition, organizes a large protest at a town hall meeting organized by Senator Claire McCaskill (D-MO). Michelle Sherrod, a McCaskill aide, intends to discuss the senator's opinion on the Obama administration's health care reform proposals with the protesters, but AFP volunteers and associated protesters have a different agenda. The AFP Web alert says, "We hope we can have a vigorous yet courteous exchange Monday evening," but according to liberal blog OpenLeft, whose contributors videotape part of the proceedings for YouTube, the conservative protesters—numbering somewhere around 1,000—are disruptive, often preventing Sherrod and other citizens from asking or answering questions. AFP later calls the protest a "smashing success." The Fox News blog, Fox Nation, celebrates the protest with the headline, "Tea Party Protest Erupts During Senator's Town Hall!" [Americans for Prosperity, 7/24/2009; Open Left, 7/27/2009; St. Louis Business Journal, 7/27/2009; Americans for Prosperity, 7/28/2009; Fox Nation, 7/29/2009]
Entity Tags: St. Louis Tea Party Coalition, Claire McCaskill, Americans for Prosperity, Michelle Sherrod, Fox News, OpenLeft
Fox News actively promotes the September 12, 2009 march on Washington, the central focus of Fox host Glenn Beck's "9/12 Project" (see March 13, 2009 and After). Beck and Fox News have promoted the event before now, and will continue doing so, as a "nonpartisan" rally that is not "about parties or politics or the president." However, the Fox promotions routinely feature attacks on Democratic lawmakers (see October 13, 2009). One of the organizing groups for the rally, the Tea Party Express, provides a list of 28 congressmen and women, all Democrats, targeted for defeat in 2010, "who have betrayed their constituents by pushing through massive deficits, higher taxes, and government intervention into the private sector and private lives of American families." One of the organization's funders, the Our Country Deserves Better political action committee (OCDBPAC), was created to promote Republican candidates and oppose the Obama administration's agenda. In 2008, OCDBPAC stated that its only objective was "to defeat [Barack] Obama," and hosted numerous rallies for Republican candidates John McCain and Sarah Palin. OCDBPAC's vice chairman Mark Williams has frequently challenged Obama's citizenship, calling him a "Kenyan" by birth, and once called Obama "the former Barry Soetoro (see October 8-10, 2008), Indonesian Muslim turned welfare thug turned anointed." [Media Matters, 7/29/2009]
Entity Tags: Mark Williams (radio host), Tea Party Express, Fox News, Glenn Beck, Our Country Deserves Better
Congressman Patrick Murphy (D-PA) holds a session designed to allow him to discuss the proposed health care reform package with his constituents on a one-on-one basis. The event, held at a restaurant in Morrisville, Pennsylvania, draws so many would-be participants, many of whom are unruly and volatile, that Murphy agrees to change the format and discuss health care and other issues with the entire group. Murphy's remarks are received with shouts, screams, curses, and repeated attempts to interrupt Murphy with slogans and chanting, mostly from conservative anti-reform protesters. According to a local reporter, Murphy "kept his cool, listening to people's concerns and defending his plans while occasionally asking hecklers 'to be respectful.'" Murphy holds a second, equally contentious meeting at a local grocery store, although, a reporter notes, "the crowd seemed more evenly divided politically at the supermarket than the restaurant." Murphy says: "The great thing about Bucks County is that people really can be very passionate. So that's why I don't flinch and give them their chance to talk while most of my colleagues are putting their heads in the sand." At both meetings, Murphy draws an extended session of boos and catcalls when he tells the crowds, "I happen to think [President Obama is] doing a pretty great job." He repeatedly calls the present health care system "unsustainable," and stresses that he supports the so-called "public option," which would allow people to choose between a private and government-supervised health care plan. He also says that if the public option becomes available, he and his family will use it. He is repeatedly asked whether the various health care proposals contain provisions for mandating the "euthanasia" of elderly people, which none of the proposals feature. And he insists that the reform package will benefit small business owners and will not raise taxes for ordinary Americans. One anti-reform protester shouts, "A national health care bill would rob us of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness," to which a pro-reform advocate retorts: "You've had your say. Now shut your mouth." Murphy intervenes: "Let him speak," he says. One resident says after the meetings: "Deciding to open up the question to the full crowd was a good idea, but I think many people are still confused as to what the bill is trying to accomplish. The question is, what type of health care will be available to citizens, and at what price?" Another audience member praises Murphy's calm in the face of sometimes-ugly opprobrium. "If I was in his shoes, I don't think I could have done it," he says. "He was very respectful and did a good job trying to keep tempers down." [Bucks County Courier Times, 8/2/2009]
Entity Tags: Patrick Murphy
Fox News covers the Sebelius/Specter town hall meeting. [Source: Eyeblast (.org)]Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and Senator Arlen Specter (D-PA) hold a meeting at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia to discuss the White House's health care reform proposals. A large and vocal crowd of anti-reform protesters attempts to shout over, or shout down, both Sebelius and Specter during the event. Over 400 people attend the meeting, and many "cheered, jeered, and booed" the two, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer. Sebelius's response to the crowd: "I'm happy to see democracy is at work." The Inquirer reports, "Sebelius and Specter managed, barely, to impose a tenuous civility on the hour-long meeting titled 'Health Insurance Reform—What's in it for You.'" At one point, the booing and screaming become so pervasive that Sebelius informs the crowd, "We can shout at one another, or we can leave the stage." Audience members verbally engage with each other as well: one, a self-identified Republican "political junkie," says the nation cannot afford to insure 47 million uninsured Americans, and is countered by a rheumatologist who works with underinsured and uninsured patients, and who describes the horrific situations many of them face. One anti-reform participant tells the pair, "The American people don't want rationed health care," winning cheers from many in the audience. When Sebelius retorts that health care is already rationed for the 12,000 people a day whose insurance disappears when they lose their jobs, she wins applause from other audience members. About a dozen members of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) are there to support Sebelius and Specter, and some members of the pro-reform group Physicians for Obama are also in attendance. Countering them are numerous audience members with "Tell Washington No" bumper stickers plastered to their chests. One anti-reform organization, the Philadelphia Tea Party Patriots, will later claim to have around 40 members in attendance. Outside the hall, dozens of anti-reform protesters picket with signs saying, among other slogans, "Government Health Care: Dangerous to Your Health," "Welcome to the United States Socialist Republic," and various anti-abortion signs. After the meeting, Sebelius says: "Health care touches everybody personally.… I find it difficult, because so much misinformation gets repeated in questions at town hall meetings. We have a challenge to get the message out." [Philadelphia Inquirer, 8/3/2009] After the meeting, FreedomWorks (see April 14, 2009), a lobbying organization that actively promotes the town hall disruptions by conservative protesters, calls the event "a must emulate at town halls across the country over the next month." [FreedomWorks, 8/3/2009]
Entity Tags: US Department of Health and Human Services, Arlen Specter, FreedomWorks, Service Employees International Union, Kathleen Sebelius, Physicians for Obama
Fox News host Sean Hannity tells the conservative protesters engaging in orchestrated protests of health care reform (see June 30, 2009, July 6, 2009, July 25, 2009, July 27, 2009, July 27, 2009, July 31, 2009, August 1, 2009, August 1, 2009, August 2, 2009, August 3, 2009, August 3, 2009, August 3, 2009, August 3, 2009, August 4, 2009, and August 4, 2009), "Now, so far at these town hall meetings, you're doing terrific." He adds: "This is what's going to stop this. You are. You're gonna make it happen.… You're standing up to these bureaucrats. You're standing up to their phony platitudes, talking points, and bumper stickers. The polls are now turning against [President] Obama, [House Speaker Nancy] Pelosi, and [Senate Majority Leader Harry] Reid, so now they're bringing out their own pollster to lie to you and find out a way how they can win the PR battle, and they're telling them that they've got to attack the insurance companies." [Media Matters, 8/6/2009]
Entity Tags: Sean Hannity, Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi, Barack Obama, Fox News
House Representative Todd Akin (R-MO), holding a forum on health care reform at Maryville University, tells audience members that he opposes the Obama administration's health care reform proposals. "Why do we want to turn over all of our health care to the government?" he asks. Akin, who bills his meeting as a "Freedom Conference," also lambasts the Obama administration's environmental and economic moves. Contrary to many health care discussions with Democratic lawmakers (see June 30, 2009, July 6, 2009, July 25, 2009, July 27, 2009, July 27, 2009, July 31, 2009, August 1, 2009, August 1, 2009, August 2, 2009, August 3, 2009, August 3, 2009, August 3, 2009, August 3, 2009, August 4, 2009, and August 4, 2009), the crowd at Akin's forum is largely friendly and supportive. The forum also features speakers from conservative organizations and industry lobbying firms such as the Competitive Enterprise Institute and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-GA)'s Center for Health Transformation. [St. Louis Beacon, 8/4/2009] During the meeting, Akin jokes about his Democratic colleagues being lynched, a crack that receives cheers and applause. Akin remarks, "Different people from Washington, DC, have come back to their districts and had town hall meetings, and they almost got lynched." After an outburst of cheers and laughter, Akin, grinning, says, "I assume you're not approving lynchings, because we don't want to do that." As he says this, he mockingly imitates being strangled, presumably by a noose. [Think Progress, 8/6/2009; TPMDC, 8/6/2009]
Entity Tags: Competitive Enterprise Institute, Todd Akin, Center for Health Transformation, Newt Gingrich, Obama administration, Maryville University
A protester at a health care forum wears a shirt from Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield, a prominent area health care provider. [Source: My Left Nutmeg (.com)]Representative Chris Murphy (D-CT) holds a forum in Simsbury, Connecticut, to discuss health care reform. Like many other forums in this and other states (see June 30, 2009, July 6, 2009, July 27, 2009, July 25, 2009, July 27, 2009, July 31, 2009, August 1, 2009, August 1, 2009, August 2, 2009, August 3, 2009, August 3, 2009, August 3, 2009, August 3, 2009, August 4, 2009, August 4, 2009, and August 5, 2009), Murphy's meeting is disrupted by loud and angry protesters who oppose reforming health care. An African-American supporter of health care is accosted by one protester who, on camera, shouts: "You and your asinine friends say that we're paid by big insurance—you're paid by ACORN [a grassroots vote-registration organization] and our tax dollars. Yeah, that's me, hello, get the f_ck out of my face and go back where you come from." Another protester is caught on camera by a local blogger wearing an Anthem Blue Cross & Blue Shield shirt. [My Left Nutmeg, 8/5/2009; My Left Nutmeg, 8/6/2009] Anthem, like most corporations involved in health care, is opposed to reform of the health care industry. In recent days, it has asked to be allowed to raise rates on Connecticut members anywhere between 20 and 32 percent. Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal called the request "a rate increase that will be catastrophic, not only for our consumers but for our economy." [Associated Press, 7/30/2009]
Entity Tags: Christopher Murphy, Anthem Blue Cross & Blue Shield, Richard Blumenthal
Timeline Tags: US Health Care, Domestic Propaganda
An anti-reform protester displays a large sign depicting President Obama as Adolf Hitler. [Source: Daily Kos]House Representative John Dingell (D-MI), an 83-year-old advocate of health care reform, hosts a "town hall" meeting in Romulus, Michigan, to discuss the Obama administration's plans to reform health care. The forum has so many people attempting to participate that its organizer, the local chapter of the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP), says it will sponsor a second forum at a later date. Like many other forums where health care is a primary topic of discussion, anti-health care protesters attempt to disrupt and dominate the discussion by shouting down and chanting over Dingell and other audience members (see June 30, 2009, July 6, 2009, July 25, 2009, July 27, 2009, July 27, 2009, July 31, 2009, August 1, 2009, August 1, 2009, August 2, 2009, August 3, 2009, August 3, 2009, August 3, 2009, August 3, 2009, August 4, 2009, August 4, 2009, August 5, 2009, August 5, 2009, August 6, 2009, and August 6-8, 2009). Louder and Angrier Participants Garner More Media Coverage - One audience participant, health care reform supporter Chris Savage, writes about the forum on the liberal blog Daily Kos. Savage also takes a photograph of an anti-health care reform protester carrying a large sign depicting President Obama as Adolf Hitler. He says that anti-reform protesters outnumber supporters approximately five to one. In the Huffington Post, Savage later writes: "Typically, the more hysterical the person's message was or the more angrily they shouted, the more likely they were to get attention from the press. The young black man with the Obama-as-Hitler poster was the busiest one of them all." Shouting Down Participants from Outset - Even before the event begins, protesters are shouting and catcalling, with one woman yelling to an elderly reform supporter: "You may be dead in five years! They may euthanize you!" AARP official Erick Schneidewind is shouted down with calls of "Traitor!" and "Liar!" before he can even introduce himself. One disabled woman, Marcia Boehm, attempts to tell her story—how she lost her health care in December 2008 and her pre-existing conditions make it difficult for her to get new coverage—but is shouted down by protesters who scream, "I shouldn't have to pay for your healthcare!" and "Get government healthcare!" After Dingell takes the podium, another protester, Mike Sola, approaches him, pushing his son before him in a wheelchair. The man accuses Dingell of participating in a government plan to kill his son, who has cerebral palsy, by denying him health care. When Dingell denies the charge, the man begins shouting "Liar!" over and over, and trying to push forward into Dingell's personal space with his wheelchair-bound son. He is prevented from getting within touching distance by Dingell staffers; he is soon escorted out by police officers. The Daily Kos blogger writes that no matter what Dingell attempts to say, he is countered and sometimes drowned out by screams and chants of "Liar!" "Traitor!" "Bullsh_t!" "Did you even read the bill?" (Dingell helped write the House version of the bill.) "The goverment is going to kill us when we are older!" "The goverment is providing abortion money!" and other shouts, boos, catcalls, and chants. One protester in the second session, Matt McCormack, is particularly noticeable; after the first few minutes of the meeting, where he repeatedly shouts phrases like "Look at me! Look at me! You are being used!" he begins a loud conversation on his cell phone, looking up periodically to scream "Liar!" at inappropriate moments, like when questions are being asked. McCormack later stands up, launches a spate of invective towards Dingell, and storms towards the podium, but is intercepted by police and escorted outside. On his blog, McCormack later claims to have been arrested. Attempts at Confrontation Outside Hall - Savage reports that outside the hall, anti-reform protesters attempt to provoke a physical confrontation with him, apparently in an attempt to create a disturbance for the media. One protester tells the blogger's son, "Your dad is a coward!" for refusing to argue with him. [Daily Kos, 8/6/2009; Detroit Free Press, 8/6/2009; Huffington Post, 8/10/2009] Many from Outside District - Almost half of the attendees who sign in to the event put down addresses outside of Dingell's district. The Huffington Post will note, "In short, the sign-in sheets lend credence to the accusation that the protests are the product of Washington-based 'Astroturf' organizations, rather than evidence of a groundswell of popular resistance to health care reform." [Huffington Post, 8/11/2009] Refusing Offer to Meet One-on-One, Claims Intimidation - Dingell later offers Sola the chance to meet with him one-on-one to discuss his concerns over his son's health care coverage, but Sola refuses. Dingell writes: "The offer still stands.… I have served in Congress and I have seen enough in my lifetime to know that the cause before us is too vital, too necessary, and too timely to allow it to fail. I remember many times in my career and in my life when powerful forces tried to stop progress. We cannot let this happen and we cannot allow this opportunity to go by without providing that each and every American has health care. As long as I have a vote, I will not let shouting, intimidation, or misinformation deter me from fighting for this cause." [US House of Representatives, 8/7/2009] Sola will later tell a Fox News interviewer that one or more "liberal thugs" visit his house later in the evening to attempt to intimidate him. These "thugs" are supporters of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), Sola claims, and says that if he experiences a second such visit, he will use "lethal force" to protect his family. [Hispanic Business (.com), 8/10/2009]
Entity Tags: Erick Schneidewind, Chris Savage, Daily Kos, Huffington Post, John Dingell, American Association of Retired Persons, Mike Sola, Obama administration, Marcia Boehm, Matt McCormack
Screenshot of Scott Oskay's Twitter message urging health care reform protesters to 'hurt' ACORN and SEIU members 'badly.' [Source: TPMDC]Anti-health care reform protester Scott Oskay, who lives in New Mexico, sends out Twitter messages under the moniker "ScottEO" urging his hundreds of followers to attend health care debates with weapons. If members from the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) or the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) attend the events "for disruption," Oskay tells his Twitter followers to "stop being peaceful and hurt them. Badly." He also urges his followers to take photographs of pro-health care advocates "on anticipation of disruption," and "If ACORN/SEIU attends, remind them that your target is centralized, while you and your allies, are not." Oskay includes the "hashtag" #iamthemob in some of his messages, an identification tag popularized in part by conservative blogger Michelle Malkin. According to TPMDC, the particular hashtag "has gone viral on Twitter, appearing several times a minute according to a recent search." Oskay, asked via Twitter if he advocates violence against SEIU or ACORN members, replies, "I would advocate retaliation for intimidation, be it verbal or physical." [TPMDC, 8/7/2009; RootsWire, 8/7/2009] After news of Oskay's call to violence goes public, posters on Malkin's blog will accuse him of being a "liberal plant," and one says: "The individuals going to protest at town halls have no idea who Scott Oskay is, nor care. To suggest that his foolish tweet(s) (whether he truly is a 'libertarian' or not) influences all those protesters is preposterous. There has been nothing to substantiate the claim. If it weren't for TPM bemoaning his Twitter, it's likely he would have gone completely unnoticed (by both sides). If you wish to be 'afraid' of those scary protesters because of this one guy's Twitter page, be my guest, but let's not pretend that he's the leader of some movement." Oskay's Twitter page has since been removed, according to posters on Malkin's blog. [Michelle Malkin, 8/10/2009]
Entity Tags: Scott Oskay, Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, Service Employees International Union, Michelle Malkin
Timeline Tags: US Health Care, Domestic Propaganda, US Domestic Terrorism
Anti-Obama protester at the discussion sponsored by Joe Donnelly. [Source: Daily Kos]Representative Joe Donnelly (D-IN) holds a meeting at a supermarket in South Bend, Indiana. He expects a few constituents to show up and discuss issues with him, including health care. Instead, several hundred people appear. One person attending the event later writes about it on the liberal blog Daily Kos. According to the blogger, about 70 percent of the attendees are vocally against health care reform. Many of them wear red T-shirts emblazoned with slogans claiming that reform is tantamount to government tyranny. "In all my life," the blogger writes, "I have never heard such uninformed, paranoid, and downright ignorant discussion of an important issue as the conversation that went on before Donnelly arrived." Numerous comparisons to Nazi Germany are made both before and during the event, with one woman directly comparing President Obama to Adolf Hitler. The same woman claims that Obama wants to use reform as an excuse to begin euthanizing senior citizens (see November 23, 2008, January 27, 2009, February 9, 2009, February 11, 2009, February 18, 2009, May 13, 2009, June 24, 2009, June 25, 2009, July 10, 2009, July 16, 2009, July 17, 2009, July 21, 2009, July 23, 2009, July 23, 2009, July 23, 2009, July 23-24, 2009, July 24, 2009, July 28, 2009, July 28, 2009, July 28, 2009, July 31, 2009 - August 12, 2009, and August 7, 2009) and enslaving American citizens. Other arguments being advanced include health care taking money from Americans to cover illegal aliens, mandatory abortions, health care rationing, and more. Several opponents claim that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called Republicans Nazis, a falsehood spread by conservative talk radio (see August 4, 2009, August 6, 2009, August 6, 2009, and August 7, 2009). After the meeting, Donnelly says: "I don't think it was heated. People are passionate about these issues. They expressed their ideas and gave me a chance to tell them what I think." [Daily Kos, 8/8/2009; WSBT-TV, 8/8/2009]
Entity Tags: Joe Donnelly
Fox News political contributor Dick Morris, a former adviser to President Clinton as well as several Republican lawmakers, urges anti-health care reform protesters to "terrorize" conservative Democratic members of Congress who might not strongly support the Obama health care reform initiative. Interviewed by Fox's Sean Hannity, Morris accuses Democrats and reform supporters of comparing the anti-reform protesters to Nazis (see November 23, 2008, January 27, 2009, February 11, 2009, May 13, 2009, July 17, 2009, July 24, 2009, July 25, 2009, July 28, 2009, August 1, 2009, August 4, 2009, August 4, 2009, August 6, 2009, August 6, 2009, August 6, 2009, August 7, 2009, and August 7, 2009). The reform supporters have "compared us to Nazis, they've called us brownshirts, crazed mobsters," Morris complains. Hannity agrees: "All in an effort to shut down dissent.… The president, himself, wants everyone to shut up." Morris then advises: "I would urge people to go to these town meetings.… Go to the meetings and don't listen to the people, some of whom spoke earlier on this station, that you should be very nice and polite and stick your hand up and ask mild-mannered questions. Nonsense! These people are trying to take away your health care in six weeks!" After Hannity accuses Democrats and reform advocates of fomenting violence at the town hall meetings (see June 30, 2009, July 6, 2009, July 25, 2009, July 27, 2009, July 27, 2009, July 31, 2009, August 1, 2009, August 1, 2009, August 2, 2009, August 3, 2009, August 3, 2009, August 3, 2009, August 3, 2009, August 4, 2009, August 4, 2009, August 5, 2009, August 5, 2009, August 6, 2009, August 6, 2009, August 6-8, 2009, August 8, 2009, August 10, 2009, and August 10, 2009), and Obama of urging Democrats to "infiltrate" town hall meetings "to create a confrontation," Morris says of conservative Democrats who might turn from supporting reform: "If they are not terrorized during August, by the public outpouring, and they don't have thousands and thousands of handwritten letters on their doorstep waiting for them when they return from the August recess, they'll fold. But if they absolutely get an outpouring of public opinion, I think we can win this thing." [NewsHounds, 8/11/2009]
Entity Tags: Sean Hannity, Dick Morris, Fox News, Barack Obama
Timeline Tags: US Health Care, Domestic Propaganda, US Domestic Terrorism, 2010 Elections
Eric Boehlert. [Source: Simon & Schuster]Eric Boehlert, an author and editor of the progressive news watchdog organization Media Matters, writes that, in his eyes, the media is ignoring the biggest "political story of the year": "the unhinged radical-right response to [President] Obama's inauguration and the naked attempt to dehumanize and delegitimize him through a nonstop smear campaign," which he says is sponsored by the Republican Party and its conservative supporters. "The misguided movement breaks all kinds of taboos in American politics," Boehlert writes, "as well as in the press, and is redefining our political culture—for the worse. Yet the press continues to play dumb." Playing the Nazi Card - Boehlert takes as his springboard the relative disinterest the mainstream media shows to the repeated accusations that Obama and/or Congressional Democrats are Nazis, or Nazi sympathizers, or have Nazi-like goals and ideals (see July 24, 2009, July 28, 2009, August 4, 2009, August 4, 2009, August 6, 2009, August 6, 2009, August 6, 2009, August 7, 2009, and August 10-11, 2009), as well as the virtually unreported use of Nazi symbols and rhetoric at anti-health care protests (see July 25, 2009, August 1, 2009, August 4, 2009, and August 8, 2009). Boehlert notes that in January 2004, the liberal advocacy organization MoveOn received weeks of negative publicity and media attention when it briefly posted two amateur video clips on its Web site submitted as part of a contest for 30-second Internet advertisements against the policies of the Bush administration. The organization removed the clips within hours and apologized for posting them, but was berated for weeks over the ads. Now, Boehlert notes, Rush Limbaugh and other prominent conservative spokespersons routinely use accusations of Nazism in their rhetorical attacks on Obama and Democrats, with virtually no acknowledgement from the press. Boehlert writes: "Despite the fact that Limbaugh has not apologized for his comments—unlike MoveOn in 2004—and is continuing to compare the Obama White House and the Democratic Party with Nazis, many in the media don't consider it newsworthy and haven't condemned it. And more important, journalists don't show any signs of believing that the episode tells us anything about the radically unhinged nature of the right-wing media in this country today." Apparently, he writes, most media analysts just consider Limbaugh's extreme rhetoric a case of "Rush being Rush." But, he asks, if Limbaugh is going to be considered the de facto leader of conservative thought in America, why isn't he being challenged on his use of what Boehlert calls "his radical and outrageous rhetoric.… He went to a place that previously was considered unconscionable and unpardonable by the press.… Why isn't Limbaugh uniformly condemned for his words?" Accusations of Racism, Racist Pronouncements - And Limbaugh is merely one of many. Fox News commentator Glenn Beck recently accused Obama of being a "racist" and having a "deep-seated hatred of white people" (see July 28-29, 2009), and outside of the small number of progressive/liberal hosts on MSNBC and a few scattered notations in the press, the accusation was virtually ignored. "At the [Washington] Post, which obsesses over the intersection of the media and politics," Boehlert writes, "the jaw-dropping attack by Fox News's superstar host wasn't considered newsworthy. That's correct: Two of the most popular and powerful conservative voices in America have recently called out Obama as a Nazi and a racist." Legitimizing Extremism - Boehlert assigns part of the blame to journalists being "spooked by decades' worth of 'liberal media bias' attacks" that drive them to "refuse to connect the glaringly obvious dots on display." The extreme rhetorical attacks dovetail with what he calls "the town hall mini-mobs that are wreaking havoc across the country" and "the bizarre birther conspiracy theory" that insists Obama is not a US citizen, but some sort of "plant" from Kenya brought to America to bring down American democracy. "The three right-wing phenomena are all related," he writes, "and they all revolve around a runaway hatred of Obama (as well as the federal government), and they're all being fueled by the [conservative media operation], especially Fox News and Limbaugh, both of which no longer recognize common decency, let alone journalistic standards. Yet instead of putting Limbaugh on the receiving end of well-deserved scrutiny and scorn, rather than turning his comments into a political firestorm, the press plays dumb and actually goes out of its way to legitimize the worst offenders of the GOP's hate brigade." Boehlert condemns ABC News for inviting conservative blogger and columnist Michelle Malkin to take part in a discussion of health care reform "with Pulitzer Prize-winning writers." Malkin, he writes, is a prime member of the "hate brigade," helping push the increasingly angry and violent mob confrontations as well as exhorting readers to believe that the Democrats want to exterminate the elderly (see November 23, 2008, January 27, 2009, February 9, 2009, February 11, 2009, February 18, 2009, May 13, 2009, June 24, 2009, June 25, 2009, July 10, 2009, July 16, 2009, July 17, 2009, July 21, 2009, July 23, 2009, July 23, 2009, July 23, 2009, July 23-24, 2009, July 24, 2009, July 28, 2009, July 28, 2009, July 28, 2009, July 31, 2009 - August 12, 2009, August 7, 2009, and August 10, 2009). The New Yorker recently praised Michael Savage, who routinely attacks women, gays, liberals, and minorities with the worst rhetorical excess (see January 10, 2008, February 1, 2008, February 21, 2008, March 13, 2008, April 3, 2008, June 6, 2008, June 6, 2008, August 25, 2008, October 8-10, 2008, October 21, 2008, October 22, 2008, November 10, 2008, and November 18, 2008), calling him "fun" and "addictive." Comparing the Statistics - Boehlert notes that in January 2004, the Indianapolis Star published five letters to the editor about the MoveOn controversy. To date, it has not published a single letter about Limbaugh's Nazi accusations towards Obama or Democrats. In January 2004, 28 of the nation's largest newspapers published a total of 54 stories, articles, or letters about the MoveOn controversy. To date, that group has published a combined total of six stories about Limbaugh's Nazi allegations. No paper has printed more than one story on the topic. In January 2004, the MoveOn-Nazi story garnered 300 percent more airtime on CNN than the Limbaugh-Nazi story has received. [Media Matters, 8/11/2009]
Entity Tags: Indianapolis Star, Glenn Beck, Eric Boehlert, Barack Obama, ABC News, Washington Post, Rush Limbaugh, MoveOn (.org), Obama administration, Michael Savage, Media Matters, MSNBC, Fox News, New Yorker, Republican Party, Michelle Malkin
Timeline Tags: Domestic Propaganda, 2008 Elections, 2010 Elections
Mark Williams, a conservative talk radio host in Sacramento and a prominent spokesman for the nationally based Tea Party Express (TPE), sends an email to colleagues defending himself against charges of racism and calling President Obama "our half white, racist president." Williams writes: "CNN went over more than 7,000 articles on my site; likely they also listened to the shows archived there too. No doubt they did a Lexis Nexis on me and found 30 years of work by and about me. The best that they could do as a result was string together three quotes, out of context, and throw in a false allegation of me calling Obama a 'Nazi.' I was in the streets marching for civil rights while _sshole southern sheriffs were swinging nail-studded baseball bats at black's heads, and stood between black kids and even more fucked up northern assholes were throwing rocks and gas bombs at school buses in my hometown during forced busing for deseg. Two things you can always count on: I will defend my record on race to no one [sic], under any circumstances and, I will call out any racist, any time, without regard to who they are… and that includes our half white, racist president." Williams has called Obama "an Indonesian Muslim turned welfare thug and a racist in chief" (see September 14, 2009). Williams is considered a leader of the Tea Party Express, which was created by a Republican consulting firm in 2009. [TPM Muckraker, 2/23/2010]
Entity Tags: Mark Williams (radio host), Tea Party Express, Barack Obama
Mark Williams, speaking on Anderson Cooper's CNN broadcast. [Source: TPM Muckraker]Mark Williams, a conservative talk radio host in Sacramento and a prominent spokesman for the nationally based Tea Party Express (TPE), appears on a CNN panel during that network's Anderson Cooper 360° and, while defending his organization against charges of racism, himself uses racist allegations against President Obama. Williams denounces those who carry openly racist signs against Obama during tea party events (see June 30, 2009, July 28, 2009, August 4, 2009, August 11, 2009, August 11, 2009, September 11, 2010), and September 12, 2010), calling them "no more part of the mainstream of America than the hippies who wear nipple clips and feather boas in San Francisco streets during so-called peace demonstrations." Cooper informs Williams, "What you're saying makes sense to me here when I'm hearing what you say but then I read on your blog, you say, you call the president an Indonesian Muslim turned welfare thug and a racist in chief." Williams shrugs and answers, "Yeah, that's the way he's behaving." Cooper asks Williams if he really believes Obama is an Indonesian Muslim and a welfare thug, to which Williams responds: "He's certainly acting like it. Until he embraces the whole country what else can I conclude." [Huffington Post, 9/15/2009] TPE is one of the most "establishment" of the various tea party organizations. It was founded and run by Republican operatives and lobbyists, in a similar fashion to the Washington conservative lobbying firm FreedomWorks (see April 14, 2009). Williams is a key element in making TPE a large and influential organization, and has publicly associated the organization with conservative Republican 2010 candidates such as Nevada Senate candidate Sharron Angle and Alaska Senate candidate Joe Miller. [TPM Muckraker, 7/19/2010]
Entity Tags: Sharron Angle, Mark Williams (radio host), Anderson Cooper, Barack Obama, FreedomWorks, Tea Party Express, Joseph Wayne ("Joe") Miller
American Third Position logo. [Source: Octoberfreedom (.com)]William Daniel Johnson, a white nationalist corporate lawyer, joins with California State University professor Kevin MacDonald and white nationalist radio host James Edwards to form the American Third Position (A3P), a California-based white supremacist political party. The party is assisted by Jamie Kelso, a former colleague of Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke. Johnson and his colleagues have plans to run candidates for office throughout the nation. According to the A3P Web site: "The American Third Position exists to represent the political interests of White Americans.… We want an America that is recognizable to us, one that we can feel comfortable in." In a February 2010 interview on Edwards's radio show The Political Cesspool, Johnson will explain: "The initial basis of our own upstart organization is the racial nationalist movement. It has been in disarray for the last 20 years so there's not as large a base for us to draw on." Founding of A3P - A3P is formed from the remnants of the Golden State Party (GSP), a political party founded by the racist skinhead group Freedom 14. Members of Freedom 14, who organized the party via the forum of the Stormfront Web site (see March 1995), were known for handing out anti-immigration fliers in Orange County, California. In September 2009, when GSP members learned that their leader Tyler Cole was a convicted felon who had used at least two pseudonyms to hide his criminal past, Freedom 14 decided to abandon him and the GSP and start afresh. On October 15, they hold a meeting to form a new party and elect new leadership, choosing Johnson as their chairman. Johnson has long advocated the deportation of all non-white immigrants and citizens alike from the US, particularly anyone with what he has called an "ascertainable trace of Negro blood." In 1986, he addressed the Aryan Nations World Congress to promote his anti-immigration book. There is little ideological difference between the A3P and the GSP; some of the latter's policy statements are cut-and-pasted from the old GSP Web site. The A3P does not advocate violence; to achieve its goal of "purging" the US of all non-whites, it advocates the government offering financial incentives for immigrants to return to their countries of origin. The party is stringently pro-segregationist, attacking government policies encouraging integration and diversity as "tyrannical and racist." The party says, "Parents have a right to choose where and with whom their children are schooled," an argument used by segregationists during the civil rights movement. MacDonald is virulently anti-Semitic, a position reflected in the A3P policy statements. Edwards is a board member of the racist Council of Conservative Citizens (CCC), and uses his radio show to promote white nationalism and its leading advocates. Like MacDonald, Edwards is openly and crudely anti-Semitic; among his guests have been MSNBC commentator Pat Buchanan (see June 20, 2009), "birther" advocate Jerome Corsi (see August 1, 2008 and After), and right-wing icon Ted Nugent (see August 21-24, 2007). Former Croatian diplomat Tomislav Sunic and Don Wassall, another CCC member, round out A3P's board of directors. [Octoberfreedom (.com), 3/23/2010; Southern Poverty Law Center, 2011] Active in Right-Wing, Tea Party Politics - Johnson is particularly interested in taking A3P national, and running candidates for public office in a number of states. He has extensive contacts with Republicans and libertarians who supported the 2008 presidential candidacy of Representative Ron Paul (R-TX). In a July 2010 radio broadcast, Kelso will say, "There's a great overlap in Patriot activities and Patriot causes, and we have, we will have a big effect on this much larger movement, the Ron Paul Revolution, that has millions of people engaged… we'll be pulling them from the right." Since its inception, A3P has also involved itself in a number of tea party organizations and events. Since some tea party groups do not publicly advocate racist policies, Johnson uses what the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) will call "coded language to indicate his ties to the white supremacist movement" that is calculated not to raise concerns among less overtly racist tea partiers. In a 2010 video address, Johnson will say, "We… embrace principles that will secure the existence of our people and a future for our children." This innocuous statement is almost a direct quotation of white supremacist terrorist David Lane (see June 18, 1984 and After and May 1992) and his "14 Words," which are, "We must secure the existence of our people and a future for white children." The "14 Words" are a direct and deliberate reference to a passage from Adolf Hitler's Mein Kampf, and are used as a rallying cry for neo-Nazis and white supremacists in the United States. The SPLC will observe, "By speaking in codes while trying to mainstream his party, Johnson is attempting to make his party radical enough for neo-Nazis and moderate enough for mainstream voters." [Media Matters, 2011; Media Matters, 2011] In March 2010, an A3P admirer writing under the moniker "Octoberfreedom" will say of Johnson, MacDonald, Edwards, and Sunic, "These people aren't your typical stereotypical nationalist [sic], they're decent, new, and very appealing compared to some of the nationalist of the past few decades." [Octoberfreedom (.com), 3/23/2010]
Entity Tags: Don Wassall, Tomislav Sunic, Tyler Cole, David Edan Lane, Aryan Nations, American Third Position, Ted Nugent, Stormfront (.org), William Daniel Johnson, Ron Paul, James Edwards, Golden State Party, Freedom 14, Council of Conservative Citizens, Southern Poverty Law Center, Kevin MacDonald, Jamie Kelso, Jerome Corsi, Patrick Buchanan
A protester holds a Confederate battle flag during a tea party rally in Olympia, Washington. [Source: credit Institute for Research & Education on Human Rights]Some 300 tea party members and supporters from throughout Washington State gather in Olympia for the "Sovereignty Winter Fest." The rally features state legislators, candidates for state and federal seats, tea party leaders, and activists from a number of far-right and white supremacist groups. The rally is to support a number of "state's rights" 10th Amendment "sovereignty" resolutions in the Washington legislature (see March 23, 2011). Devin Burghart of the Institute for Research & Education on Human Rights later writes, "This turn away from anti-tax and anti-healthcare rhetoric towards state sovereignty language points to a possible radicalization of the [tea party] movement." Many slogans and symbols associated with white supremacists are prominently displayed during the proceedings, including the Confederate battle flag and the Gadsden "Don't Tread on Me" flag. Some signs read: "Kick _ss America. Remember 9-11"; "Armed and Dangerous with my Vote"; "Had enough? Reclaim State Sovereignty"; "The 10th Amend. States Rights. Yes We Can"; "FOX News for the truth"; and "Kill Government Take Over NOT our Freedom." The first speaker is State Representative Matt Shea (R-Spokane Valley), who sponsored the so-called "State Sovereignty Resolution" that was recently defeated in the Washington legislature. The bill reads in part, "the State of Washington hereby claims sovereignty under the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States over all powers not otherwise enumerated and granted to the federal government by the Constitution of the United States." The bill also claims to "serve as a Notice and Demand to the federal government to maintain the balance of powers where the Constitution of the United States established it and to cease and desist, effective immediately, any and all mandates that are beyond the scope of its constitutionally delegated powers." The language of Shea's bill mirrors almost exactly language used by far-right militias of the 1990s who agitated for "state sovereignty," according to Burghart. State Senator Val Stevens (R-Arlington) confirms the link by telling ralliers: "When I first introduced the 10th Amendment [legislation] back in 1997, it was met with 'oh gee wiz, what is she doing now.' It was a national movement at that time of a few of us who recognized that we were being stepped on by our federal government. That much of what took place here in the state of Washington was the result of what our federal government was passing on us. And we wanted to maintain that we are sovereign, and that we do have rights. And we wanted to re-establish that 10th Amendment." Stevens has long boasted of her links to state and regional militias. One prominent participant is Darin Stevens, head of the Spokane 9/12 project (see March 13, 2009 and After). With a pistol strapped to his hip, he reads a portion of the Declaration of Independence, then introduces Martin "Red" Beckman, a well-known anti-Semite, anti-tax protester, and militia supporter. Stevens introduces Beckman with a boast that Beckman is a veteran militia defender. Robertson also endorses the positions of the Reverend John Weaver, a Christian Identity (see 1960s and After) supporter and ardent neo-Confederate. A number of area tea party activists address the crowd, including attorney Stephen Pidgeon, who uses his time to accuse President Obama of not being an American citizen. And tea party leader Doug Parris tells the crowd how tea parties can take over Washington's Republican Party precinct by precinct, saying that such a takeover is necessary because of the Republicans' "Star of David" strategy (apparently referring to the Republican Party's support for Israel). [Institute for Research & Education on Human Rights, 1/19/2010]
Entity Tags: Devin Burghart, Barack Obama, Darin Stevens, Doug Parris, John Weaver (Christian Identity pastor), Matt Shea, Stephen Pidgeon, Val Stevens, Martin J. ("Red") Beckman
Tea party activists Dale Robertson and Laurie Roth, co-hosts of a radio talk show in Spokane, Washington, welcome Martin "Red" Beckman as their guest. Robertson is known for actively denying that tea party organizations condone racism, though he himself displayed a sign with a crude racial slur at a recent tea party event (see February 27, 2009). Roth has called President Obama a "socialist Communist," a closet Muslim, and a traitor who wants to overthrow the US government in favor of an Islamist "caliphate." According to the Institute for Research and Education on Human Rights's Devin Burghart, Roth and Robertson routinely invite "birthers and other bigots" on their show. Beckman is a well-known anti-Semite and militia supporter, who in 1994 was evicted from his property in Montana for refusing to pay taxes on the property. Robertson introduces Beckman by saying: "Red's a great guy. He's been actually leading this fight long before I probably was even born. Red has written many books, one is Walls in Our Minds, another is Why the Militia. And so you'll find that he agrees with you, Laurie, wholeheartedly that owning a gun is a constitutional right. And he is an authority on the Constitution and what the government has done to undermine our authority as citizens." Robertson concludes the interview by recommending that his listeners read Beckman's books, saying, "Once you read them you'll realize that we've definitely been deceived by our government and we need to do everything in our powers to take our nation back." [Institute for Research & Education on Human Rights, 10/19/2010; CDAPress (.com), 4/19/2011] Another anti-Semite invited onto Roth and Robertson's show is John Weaver, a Christian Identity preacher (see 1960s and After) who has written numerous articles calling Jews the "spawn of Satan." [Institute for Research & Education on Human Rights, 10/19/2010]
Entity Tags: Dale Robertson, Barack Obama, Devin Burghart, John Weaver (Christian Identity pastor), Martin J. ("Red") Beckman, Laurie Roth
Conservative author Jonathan Kay covers the National Tea Party Convention in Nashville, Tennessee (see February 4-6, 2010), and publishes a column that states: "[I]t has become clear to me that the movement is dominated by people whose vision of the government is conspiratorial and dangerously detached from reality. It's more John Birch than John Adams." Kay, who is writing a book on alternative theories about the 9/11 attacks, is astonished at the breadth and depth of the conspiracy theories that many tea parties, and tea party organizations, seem to embrace. The "villain list," as Kay calls it, includes banks; bailed-out corporations; Republican Party leaders such as RNC chairman Michael Steele, whom they feel ignore the tea parties; colleges and universities; CNN's Anderson Cooper; Fox News pundits like Bill O'Reilly who scorn them; "big media" outlets such as the Washington Post; and even moviemakers like James Cameron, who make movies that they feel contain "hidden messages" to fool Americans into supporting gay rights, cuts in military spending, and the like. The central figure in their net of conspiracy theories, Kay writes, is Barack Obama (see May 7, 2010). The convention is opened by anti-environmentalist Steve Malloy, who accuses Obama and his administration of working to control every aspect of Americans' lives, from the colors of their cars to the temperatures to which they set their home heating units, all to comply with what Malloy says is the United Nations's greenhouse gas-reduction program. According to Malloy: "Obama isn't a US socialist. He's an international socialist. He envisions a one-world government." Kay is particularly concerned that, based on what he hears at the convention, the tea parties are affiliating themselves with far-right, white supremacist ideology such as that espoused by the John Birch Society (see March 10, 1961 and December 2011). They seem particularly enamored of the "New World Order" conspiracy (see September 11, 1990, November 5, 2008, March 17, 2009, March 18, 2009, March 24, 2009, March 24, 2009, and April 6, 2009). A convention speaker, former judge Roy Moore, tells his listeners that Obama intends to station "a UN guard in every house[hold]." Radio host Alex Jones is a favorite among tea partiers, Kay writes; Jones claims that Obama's presidency is a plot by the leaders of the New World Order to "con the Amercican people into accepting global slavery." One conventioneer tells Kay that Washington liberals "engineered the financial crash so they could destroy the value of the US dollar, pay off America's debts with worthless paper, and then create a new currency called the Amero that would be used in a newly created 'North American Currency Union' with Canada and Mexico." Shortly thereafter, the convention shows a "documentary" entitled Generation Zero that makes similar claims. The claims that Obama is a Kenyan who is ineligible to be president is a favorite theory, Kay writes; WorldNetDaily publisher Joseph Farah (see August 1, 2008 and After, December 5, 2008, May 28, 2009, July 21, 2009, and August 1-4, 2009) tells the crowd that the circumstances of Obama's birth are more mysterious than the birth of Jesus Christ, and says, "My dream is that if Barack Obama seeks reelection in 2012 that he won't be able to go to any city, any city, any town in America without seeing signs that ask, 'Where's the birth certificate?'" (see May 18, 2009). Kay concludes: "Perhaps the most distressing part of all is that few media observers bothered to catalog these bizarre, conspiracist outbursts, and instead fixated on Sarah Palin's Saturday night keynote address. It is as if, in the current overheated political atmosphere, we all simply have come to expect that radicalized conservatives will behave like unhinged paranoiacs when they collect in the same room. That doesn't say much for the state of the right in America. The tea partiers' tricornered hat is supposed to be a symbol of patriotism and constitutional first principles. But when you take a closer look, all you find is a helmet made of tin foil." [National Tea Party Convention, 2/2010; Newsweek, 2/8/2010]
Entity Tags: Steve Malloy, Sarah Palin, Washington Post, United Nations, Roy Stewart Moore, Joseph Farah, Alex Jones, Michael Steele, Anderson Cooper, Bill O'Reilly, Barack Obama, John Birch Society, Jonathan Kay, James Cameron
Richard Mack speaks to a tea party rally in Post Falls, Idaho, in November 2009. [Source: Rajah Bose / New York Times]The New York Times publishes a large front-page story on America's "tea party" movement. The report is written by staff reporter David Barstow, who researched the story for five months, first joining a bus tour by the Tea Party Express (see August 28, 2009) and then staying for the month of October in and around Spokane, Washington, to interview tea party members and others, such as white supremacist militia members, who have some affiliation with tea party organizations. The first person he mentions is a retiree named Pam Stout, who once worked for federal housing programs and is now aghast at the government's handling of the economic crisis. She told Barstow that one day "she awoke to see Washington as a threat, a place where crisis is manipulated—even manufactured—by both parties to grab power." She went to a tea party rally, then a meeting of the Sandpoint Tea Party Patriots, where she surprised herself by nominating herself for president. Under her leadership, the Sandpoint group joined a coalition, Friends for Liberty, that includes representatives from Glenn Beck's 9/12 Project (see March 13, 2009 and After), the extremist, anti-Communist John Birch Society (JBS—see March 10, 1961 and December 2011), and the Oath Keepers (see March 9, 2009 and March 2010), a far-right militia organization. Stout told Barstow that her family worries that she has become enmeshed in a group of conspiracy theorists and ad hoc revolutionaries, but she said she has never felt more engaged. [New York Times, 2/15/2010; Columbia Journalism Review, 2/18/2010] Increasing Tilt towards Anti-Government Militia Ideology - Barstow writes that many tea party members are like Stout, with an inclination to conservative anti-government politics, but also with a fear of eventual government tyranny that has driven them to join the movement. "These people are part of a significant undercurrent within the tea party movement that has less in common with the Republican Party than with the Patriot movement," he writes, "a brand of politics historically associated with libertarians, militia groups, anti-immigration advocates, and those who argue for the abolition of the Federal Reserve. Urged on by conservative commentators, waves of newly minted activists are turning to once-obscure books and Web sites and discovering a set of ideas long dismissed as the preserve of conspiracy theorists, interviews conducted across the country over several months show." Many tea partiers hold former President Bush and President Obama in equal contempt, holding them jointly responsible for deliberately undermining the Constitution and the free market system "for the benefit of a shadowy international network of wealthy elites" (see February 4-8, 2010). Coalition groups like Friends of Liberty are "forming hybrid entities of tea parties and groups rooted in the Patriot ethos. A fear of government tyranny is one of the most common ideological threads running through virtually all tea party organizations." Targeting Republicans as Well as Democrats - Barstow continues: "These coalitions are not content with simply making the Republican Party more conservative. They have a larger goal—a political reordering that would drastically shrink the federal government and sweep away not just Mr. Obama, but much of the Republican establishment, starting with Senator John McCain" and other Republicans whom they consider part of the "government conspiracy" to destroy democracy. While tea parties routinely target Democrats in elections, they are also targeting more moderate Republicans, especially those who support ideas or legislation that they feel is part of the "conspiracy." Republicans who supported the government bailouts of large corporations are being targeted, as are those who support global warming legislation or who have shown any impetus to work with the White House or with Congressional Democrats (see January 29, 2010). Barstow notes that the tea party movement is anything but homogenous and rigidly organized: "It is an amorphous, factionalized uprising with no clear leadership and no centralized structure." Some groups are "essentially appendages of the local Republican Party," but many are not. However, many of the beliefs espoused by individual tea partiers tend to be reflected in most groups. Not all believe that Obama wants to impose a dictatorship, with or without McCain's help, but many do. The frustration expressed by Stout in the economy and the government's response to it is echoed throughout tea party groups in every state. Turning to Radical Ideologies and Conspiracy Theorists - One of the tea partiers' favorite thinkers is Fox News talk show host Glenn Beck (see March 29, 2009). Beck's often-revisionist, often-inaccurate opinions led many tea partiers to read the Federalist Papers (or, more often, right-wing blogs about the Federalist Papers), conspiracist "exposes" of the Federal Reserve, and the novels of Ayn Rand and George Orwell. Online resources tailored for tea party organizations provide a wealth of what Barstow calls "radical critiques of Washington." Two of the primary sites are ResistNet.com and InfoWars, both of which combine far-right ideology with a plethora of conspiracy theories covering everything from 9/11 and the Federal Reserve to the New World Order (see September 11, 1990). Some tea partiers are joining with militia groups, or forming their own, and making stockpiles of food, gold, and weaponry to prepare for the end of civilization. Many tea party leaders say they believe that a return to a strict adherence to constitutional law would solve most of the nation's problems, but many of them espouse a radical view of the Constitution, such as that delineated by radical Constitutional revisionist W. Cleon Skousen (first popularized among the tea party community by Beck—see 1963). Many want to completely do away with Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, the federal income tax, and most government agencies, all of which they say violate the Constitution. Some go even farther, advocating secession, states "nullfying" federal laws, and the formation of citizen militias. The tea parties in the Pacific Northwest, Barstow writes, have been shaped by influences such as libertarian Representative Ron Paul (R-TX) and by the sometimes-violent anti-government activism of northern Idaho (see Early 1970s, 1980-1982, 1983-1995, and February 15, 1995). The 1992 standoff at Ruby Ridge (see August 31, 1992), which occurred in nearby Idaho, is a touchstone for many tea partiers, just as it was for Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh (see August 21-31, 1992). Many, but not all, tea party members and groups embrace the "birther" conspiracy theory that Obama is not a natural American citizen. A favorite news blog, WorldNetDaily, routinely electrifies the movement by warning of new White House plans to build massive internment camps and stuff them with tea party members, or of plans to send waves of United Nations troops throughout the nation to confiscate Americans' guns. ResistNet regularly warns that Obama is trying to convert Interpol, the international police organization, into his own personal police force, and advises tea partiers to "grab their guns." Tea partiers like Mary Johnson of New Mexico points to the Bush-era wiretapping scandal as proof that the government can, and is, preparing to bring democracy to an end. As the groups' fear and contempt for the federal government grows, Barstow writes, they turn more frequently to "fringe" groups such as white supremacist, anti-government militias. In Indiana, a militia coalition called Defenders of Liberty is networking with tea party groups and other "Patriot" organizations throughout the state. Darin Stevens, the leader of the Spokane 9/12 project, told Barstow that before tuning in to Beck's show, he had paid almost no attention to politics. After the recession hit and his personal financial structure started to collapse, he began watching Beck. "I had no clue that my country was being taken from me," he explains. He began the Spokane chapter of Beck's 9/12 project, and was astounded that 110 people attended the first meeting. Stevens now belongs to the Oath Keepers as well as the 9/12 Project. Spokane tea partier Leah Southwell became a convert after stumbling on Paul's speeches on YouTube. Southwell turned from being a successful Mary Kay makeup sales representative to being a self-described member of "the uprising." Southwell, through Paul, is now fully supportive of the Patriot ideology, and holds as evident truth a number of conspiracy theories involving the Bilderberg Group, the Trilateral Commission, and the Council on Foreign Relations. "The more you know, the madder you are," she told Barstow. "I mean when you finally learn what the Federal Reserve is!" Southwell is now a local official with the John Birch Society. She says that the affiliation between organizations like the JBS and the tea parties will continue to grow: "Most of these people [tea partiers] are just waking up." Former car salesman Richard Mack, a longtime militia supporter who co-wrote Ruby Ridge survivor Randy Weaver's memoirs, is a favorite speaker at tea party events. "People just do not trust any of this," Mack told Barstow. "It's not just the fringe people anymore. These are just ordinary people—teachers, bankers, housewives." Amorphous Structure - Local tea party groups often join, in one degree or another, one of several competing national tea party organizations such as ResistNet or the Tea Party Express, most of which are organized, staffed, and funded by conservative lobbying groups such as FreedomWorks (see February 16-17, 2009, February 19, 2009 and After, February 27, 2009, March 2, 2009, March 13, 2009 and After, April 14, 2009, and April 15, 2009) or Americans for Prosperity (see Late 2004, February 16-17, 2009, February 19, 2009 and After, and April 2009 and After). Some tea party groups have been joined by, or in some cases overrun by, other groups, from "birthers" to militias, supporters of Lyndon LaRouche, pro-gun groups, and the sovereign states movement. Many coalitions such as Friends of Liberty were formed in opposition to what leaders called the endless "hijack attempts" by state and county Republican Parties. Dann Selle of the Official Tea Party of Spokane told Barstow, "We had to stand our ground, I'll be blunt." Support from Elected Politicians - Rick Perry, the governor of Texas and a possible 2012 Republican candidate for president, has joined with Texas tea parties in supporting the state's secession from the United States. Nevada Republican Joe Heck, who ran for Congress in 2008, attacked both parties for moving the nation towards "socialist tyranny" and solicited tea party support at a rally in Las Vegas. Indiana Republican Richard Behney, running for the US Senate, told tea party supporters that if the 2010 elections did not turn out to his liking: "I'm cleaning my guns and getting ready for the big show. And I'm serious about that, and I bet you are, too." [New York Times, 2/15/2010]
Entity Tags: ResistNet, Richard Behney, Richard Mack, Republican Party, Ron Paul, US Federal Reserve, Tea Party Express, WorldNetDaily, Sandpoint Tea Party Patriots, W. Cleon Skousen, Timothy James McVeigh, Pam Stout, Oath Keepers, New York Times, Mary Johnson, Defenders of Liberty, 9/12 Project, Americans for Prosperity, Barack Obama, Dann Selle, Fox News, FreedomWorks, Friends for Liberty, Glenn Beck, Leah Southwell, John McCain, Darin Stevens, John Birch Society, James Richard ("Rick") Perry, InfoWars, Joe Heck, David Barstow
Democratic lawmaker Emanuel Cleaver, walking through the crowd of tea party protesters around the same time he is spat upon. [Source: EurWeb (.com)]Tea party and other anti-health care protesters in Washington denigrate African-American lawmakers with racial slurs, one African-American congressman is spat upon, and a gay congressman is called an anti-gay slur by another protester. 'Kill the Bill, N_gger!' - John Lewis (D-GA) and Andre Carson (D-IN), both members of the Congressional Black Caucus, after leaving a Democratic caucus meeting with President Obama, encounter a large and angry crowd of tea party and other protesters. According to Carson and a number of staffers accompanying the lawmakers, protesters first scream and chant, "Kill the bill!" referring to the pending health care legislation, then alter the chant to say, "Kill the bill, n_gger!" When Lewis confirms that he supports the bill, protesters shout, "Baby killer!" Police quickly escort Lewis, Carson, and their staffers into the Capitol building. Carson later tells a reporter that he heard the first slur from a single individual: "You see one or two tea party people kind of look at him, and then you hear it again as we're walking. Then we walk across [Independence Avenue], and that's when it starts getting deeper.… You heard it in spurts, in the midst of 'Kill the bill. Kill the bill.' One guy, I remember he just rattled it off several times. Then John looks at me and says, 'You know, this reminds me of a different time.'" Lewis confirms Carson's account of the racial slurs, and adds, "People have been just downright mean." Heath Shuler (D-NC), a white congressman, also confirms that he heard the racial slurs. Lawmaker Spat Upon - Another African-American congressman, Emanuel Cleaver (D-MO), is spat upon by an unidentified protester; police arrest the man, but Cleaver declines to press charges and the man is later released. Lawmaker Called 'F_ggot' - Protesters in the same rally accost Congressman Barney Frank (D-MA), who is openly gay, inside the Longworth House office building; one, an elderly white man, shouts, "Barney, you f_ggot!" causing many in the group to laugh and a woman to shout, "We don't need that." CNN reporter Dana Bash later says that her producer personally witnessed the homophobic slur towards Frank. When Capitol police threaten to expel the protesters from the Longworth building, according to one reporter, the police are "outnumbered and quickly overwhelmed." After tea party protesters equipped with high-end video cameras arrive to film the encounter, the police relent and allow them to continue protesting inside the building. Rhetoric Similar to '60s Civil Rights Protests - Frank later says of the protesters: "I'm disappointed at a unwillingness to be just civil. [T]he objection to the health care bill has become a proxy for other sentiments.… Obviously there are perfectly reasonable people that are against this, but the people out there today on the whole—many of them were hateful and abusive." Frank puts some of the blame for the incident on tea party organization leaders and Republicans who align themselves with the organizations, and notes that today's incidents are not the first of their kind (see June 30, 2009, July 28, 2009, July 28-29, 2009, August 4, 2009, and August 11, 2009). "I do think the leaders of the movement, and this was true of some of the Republicans last year, that they think they are benefiting from this rancor," he says. "I mean there are a couple who—you know, Michele Bachmann's rhetoric is inflamatory as well as wholly baseless. And I think there are people there, a few that encourage it.… If this was my cause, and I saw this angry group yelling and shouting and being so abusive to people, I would ask them to please stop it. I think they do more harm than good." Frank tells another reporter: "The Republican leadership is making a mistake not doing more to disassociate from this.… It's a mob mentality that doesn't work politically." House Majority Whip James Clyburn (D-SC), an African-American, says: "It was absolutely shocking to me, last Monday, I stayed home to meet on the campus Pomford University where 50 years ago, as of last Monday, March 15th, I led the first demonstrations in South Carolina, the sit-ins… quite frankly I heard some things today that I haven't heard since that day. I heard people saying things today I've not heard since March 15th, 1960, when I was marching to try and get off the back of the bus. This is incredible, shocking to me." [TPM Muckraker, 3/20/2010; MSNBC, 3/20/2010; Mediaite, 3/20/2010; ABC News, 4/13/2010] Anne Caprara, the chief of staff for Betsy Markey (D-CO), says of the protesters: "I've been in politics for 10 years and it was like nothing I'd ever seen. To be amongst that crowd outside and to see some of the people who walked into our office, these people were very unhinged." [KDVR-TV, 3/25/2010] The New York Times later publishes a correction to a follow-up article that notes it is impossible to prove that actual tea party members were the ones hurling the racial and homophobic epithets, nor is it clear that it was a tea party member who spat upon Cleaver. [New York Times, 7/17/2010] Tea Party Supporters Claim False Accusations - Conservative bloggers quickly accuse Lewis, Carson, Cleaver, and the "liberal media" of lying about the incidents [Media Research Center, 3/20/2010; John Hinderaker, 7/25/2010] , and are joined by Bachmann (R-MN), who will falsely inform an audience, "No witness saw it, it's not on camera, it's not on audio." [ABC News, 4/13/2010] Videos Surface - A blogger at the liberal Daily Kos posts a video of the protests. [Daily Kos, 3/20/2010] Conservative blogger Andrew Breitbart later posts a video claiming that it proves no such incidents took place; further examination proves that the video was shot over an hour past the time of the incidents. Breitbart will offer a $100,000 contribution to the United Negro College Fund if anyone can prove to his satisfaction that the incidents occurred. After stating flatly that his video proves the incidents "didn't happen," Breitbart later partially retracts his denial, saying, "I'm not saying the video was conclusive proof." Other conservatives will accuse Lewis, Carson, and Cleaver of deliberately walking through the crowd of protesters in order to provoke a reaction. [ABC News, 4/13/2010] Days later, another video surfaces, showing Cleaver walking through a crowd of angry, shouting protesters, then suddenly jerking his head back and wiping his face. [EurWeb, 3/29/2010]
Entity Tags: James Clyburn, Betsy Markey, Congressional Black Caucus, Dana Bash, Barack Obama, Barney Frank, Andrew Breitbart, Anne Caprara, Michele Bachmann, John Lewis, Emanuel Cleaver, Andre Carson
A portion of the Northern Colorado Tea Party logo. [Source: Northern Colorado Tea Party]In the wake of tea party anti-health care reform protests that resulted in protesters verbally abusing a disabled man (see March 16, 2010), hurling racial and homophobic slurs at lawmakers, spitting on a lawmaker (see March 20, 2010), and threatening Democrats with violence (see March 24-25, 2010), the leaders of some tea party organizations condemn the harassment and threats of violence their members are producing. At the same time, these leaders say that their members are responsible for the incidents they condemn. Politico reports, "There hasn't been any hard evidence that the reported harassment is linked to the tea party movement, but Democrats have tried to draw the link between the harassment and the sometimes-inflammatory rhetoric that tea partiers and Republicans deployed in opposing the health care overhaul." A group of Florida tea party organizers releases a letter to Congress and President Obama saying they "stand in stark opposition to any person using derogatory characterizations, threats of violence, or disparaging terms toward members of Congress or the president." The letter calls the tea parties "a peaceful movement," and says its leaders denounce "all forms of violence" and "support all efforts to bring [any perpetrators] to justice and have encouraged full cooperation within our movement and have asked for the same from the members of Congress who have laid such claims." The letter is also signed by the Florida chapter of FreedomWorks, the Washington-based lobbying group that sponsors and coordinates many tea party organizations (see April 14, 2009). FreedomWorks spokesman Brendan Steinhauser, who helps organize local tea parties around the country for FreedomWorks, issues a statement saying, "Political violence is both immoral and ineffective, and will only set the movement back." He says he is "reminding all grassroots leaders that it's important to focus our efforts on peaceful, political efforts like protests, office visits, letters, petitions, and of course, voting." However, Steinhauser says, there is no evidence that tea party members have engaged in any such actions: "We must remember that the folks committing these acts are small in number, extreme in their methods, and not yet proven to be members of our movement. But we must be diligent in denouncing all acts of political violence and racism, when they occur." A Colorado tea party coalition issues a similar statement, which reads in part, "Tea party and similar groups across Colorado are saddened tonight to hear of threats made upon Democratic lawmakers in response to the passing their recent health insurance reform legislation, specifically… Rep. Betsy Markey." Office staffers for Markey (D-CO) have reported at least one death threat from an unidentified caller. The Colorado release states, "[I]t does not appear that these threats stemmed from those within Colorado's tea party movement." However: "organizers and members alike are firmly denouncing any acts of intimidation or threat. Statewide, tea party leadership has encouraged disappointed members to get involved in the political process rather than dwell on the passage of the health care bill." Lesley Hollywood, the director of the Northern Colorado Tea Party, promises: "I can assure you that myself and my colleagues will take immediate action if any of these allegations are discovered to be connected to our organizations. At this time, our internal investigations have not revealed any correlation between the threats and the Tea Party." [Politico, 3/25/2010; Fox News, 3/26/2010] Of the threats directed towards Markey, Hollywood says: "Tea Party and similar groups across Colorado are saddened tonight to hear of threats made upon [Markey]. Although it does not appear that these threats stemmed from those within Colorado's tea party movement, organizers and members alike are firmly denouncing any acts of intimidation or threat.… These threats are likely coming from rogue, outside sources." [KDVR-TV, 3/25/2010] Days before, FreedomWorks spokesman Adam Brandon said: "If the movement gets tattooed as at all sympathetic to those [racist and homophobic] views, I won't want to be involved in it anymore. It's very distracting not only to our side but also to the debate and the country." [Politico, 3/22/2010] Atlanta Tea Party co-founder Debbie Dooley, a national coordinator for the Tea Party Patriots, says: "We support peaceful means.… There are so many tea party groups that are out there.… It's like herding cats. It's impossible." James Clyburn (D-SC), a Democratic House member, accuses House Republicans of egging on abusive behavior from the tea partiers. "If we participate in it, either from the balcony or on the floor of the House, you are aiding and abetting this kind of terrorism, really," he says. Steinhauser alleges that similar threats and rhetoric have come from liberal activists, and accuses the media of ignoring those actions. [Fox News, 3/26/2010]
Entity Tags: FreedomWorks, Barack Obama, Atlanta Tea Party, Adam Brandon, Betsy Markey, Debbie Dooley, Politico, US Congress, Northern Colorado Tea Party, Brendan Steinhauser, Tea Party Patriots, James Clyburn, Lesley Hollywood
Tea party leaders angrily deny that their movement has any tolerance for racism and anti-Semitism, and say that accusations of this are attempts by "liberals" to "marginalize" the movement. Any incidents of racist or anti-Semitic sloganeering or other activities, they say, are isolated and not tolerated by the organizations themselves (see February 18, 2009, August 1, 2009, August 4, 2009, August 4, 2009, August 6, 2009, August 11, 2009, September 2009, September 14, 2009, March 16, 2010, March 20, 2010, March 24-25, 2010, May 14, 2010, July 14, 2010, July 15, 2010, July 23, 2010, August 6, 2010, September 11, 2010, September 12, 2010, and April 15, 2011). Sal Russo, chief strategist of the Tea Party Express, says: "Liberals and Democrats, with help from their friends in the media, have tried to marginalize the tea party movement. First they said [the tea party movement] was AstroTurf, that these weren't real people (see March 13, 2009 and After, April 2009 and After, April 6-13, 2009, April 8, 2009, April 14, 2009, April 15, 2009, April 16, 2009, July 23, 2009, July 24, 2009, August 4, 2009, August 4, 2009, August 5, 2009, August 6, 2009, August 6-7, 2009, August 10, 2009, August 10, 2009, August 11, 2009, August 28, 2009, July 3-4, 2010, August 30, 2010, and September 20, 2010).… Then they said it's just a bunch of crackpots, and they would go out and find the oddest person in the crowd. Now they're using race. But the attempts to vilify this movement is what you'd expect. It's not going to work with the tea party." Tea party leaders say that recent reports of harassment, threats, and vandalism of Democratic lawmakers by opponents of the Obama administration's health care reform initiative (see August 5, 2009, August 5, 2009, August 6, 2009, August 6, 2009, August 10, 2009, March 20, 2010, and March 24-25, 2010) are isolated incidents that have nothing to do with their organizations; House Minority Whip Eric Cantor (R-VA) says he has also received hateful emails and telephone messages, but has chosen not to publicize them. Cantor has previously said that someone fired a bullet into his Richmond office, an event that local police will determine was a ricochet and not fired directly at his office. As to suggestions that Republican lawmakers such as himself have encouraged their supporters to harass or threaten Democrats, Cantor says, "Any suggestion that a leader in this body would incite threats or acts against other members is akin to saying that I would endanger myself, my wife, or my children." However, Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) says he and others were singled out by Cantor, and have received death threats and harassing emails and telephone calls, including some from people identifying themselves as tea party members. Senate Sergeant at Arms Terry Gainer has told reporters that there is "no evidence that annoying, harassing, or threatening telephone calls or emails are coordinated." Dale Robertson of TeaParty.org says that he believes the reports of tea partiers vilifying or spitting on Democratic lawmakers are lies concocted by Democrats: "These people could be anybody. I wouldn't put it past the Democrats to plant somebody there. They're trying to label the tea party, but I've never seen any racial slurs." In February 2009, Robertson was photographed holding a sign at a tea party rally in Houston bearing a racial slur (see February 27, 2009). [Washington Independent, 1/4/2010; Washington Times, 3/26/2010; Mediaite, 3/26/2010]
Entity Tags: Eric Cantor, Chris Van Hollen, Dale Robertson, Sal Russo, Obama administration
A New York Times/CBS News poll shows that the 18 percent of Americans identifying themselves as tea party supporters are wealthier and more well-educated than the general public. They tend to be Republican, white, male, married, and older than 45. They tend to be more conservative than "mainstream" Republicans, and describe themselves as "very conservative" and President Obama as "very liberal." Most Republicans term themselves as "dissatisfied" with Washington, but tea party supporters tend to classify themselves as "angry." Most tea partiers tend to describe their individual or household tax burden as "fair," though they tend to dislike taxation in general. Most send their children to public schools. Most support Medicare and Social Security, though they support the idea of smaller government. Where they tend to diverge from the general public is in their deep pessimism about the direction of the country, and their conviction that the Obama administration is bent on helping the poor at the expense of the middle class and the wealthy. The vast majority of tea party supporters say Obama does not share American values and knows little about the problems of people like themselves. A quarter of the responding supporters say that Obama favors blacks over whites, as opposed to 11 percent of the general public, and they are more likely than the general public to believe that "too much has been made of the problems facing black people." Three things primarily fuel their anger at Washington: health care reform, government spending, and their feeling that Washington lawmakers ignore their concerns. Retired Florida lawyer Elwin Thrasher says in an interview: "The only way they will stop the spending is to have a revolt on their hands. I'm sick and tired of them wasting money and doing what our founders never intended to be done with the federal government." Over 90 percent of tea party supporters believe the country is heading down the wrong path, as contrasted with some 60 percent of the general population, and almost 90 percent say Obama is doing a poor job heading the country. That same percentage say he has mishandled health care, the economy, and the federal deficit. Ninety-two percent say Obama wants to make the US a socialist state. Retired medical transcriber Kathy Mayhugh says: "I just feel he's getting away from what America is. He's a socialist. And to tell you the truth, I think he's a Muslim and trying to head us in that direction, I don't care what he says" (see October 1, 2007, December 19, 2007, January 11, 2008, January 22-24, 2008, April 18, 2008, June 27, 2008, October 10-11, 2008, September 24, 2010, and April 27, 2011). While most Americans blame the Bush administration or Wall Street for the current economic status, a majority of tea party supporters blame Congress, focusing much of that blame on Congressional Democrats. They vote almost unanimously Republican. Fifty-seven percent of tea party supporters say they hold a favorable opinion of former President George W. Bush, while almost the same percentage of the general public see Bush unfavorably. Most tea party supporters say they want to focus on economic issues ahead of social issues such as gay rights and abortion restrictions, and say the movement should focus first on shrinking the federal government, ahead of reducing the deficit or lowering taxes. Almost 75 percent of tea party supporters say domestic program spending should be reduced, though most do not want Medicare or Social Security cut. California tea party supporter Jodine White, 62, says of her view on federal spending: "That's a conundrum, isn't it? I don't know what to say. Maybe I don't want smaller government. I guess I want smaller government and my Social Security.… I didn't look at it from the perspective of losing things I need. I think I've changed my mind." [New York Times, 4/14/2010]
Entity Tags: New York Times, Barack Obama, Bush administration (43), CBS News, Elwin Thrasher, George W. Bush, Obama administration, Jodine White, Kathy Mayhugh
Author Amity Shlaes is one of 13 people interviewed by the New York Times about their perceptions of the tea party movement. [Source: National Review]The New York Times, in light of a recent poll showing American tea party supporters to be whiter, wealthier, and more conservative than average Americans (see April 14, 2010), interviews a number of prominent historians, journalists, and political analysts about their views on the tea party. Tea Party Very Similar to Anti-Liberal Organizations of Generations Past - Rick Perlstein, the biographer of former president Richard Nixon and former Senator Barry Goldwater (R-AZ), writes of his "frustration" at "watching the rise of the tea party movement," calling it "ugly" and in opposition to "so many of the values I hold dear." He notes the "overwhelming historical myopia" of the news media's coverage of the tea party, saying that the current movement is comprised of "the same angry, ill-informed, overwhelmingly white, crypto-corporate paranoiacs that accompany every ascendancy of liberalism within US government" (see February 4-8, 2010, February 15, 2010, September 2010, and August 17, 2011). Perlstein quotes conservative activist Brent Bozell asking, "When was the last time you saw such a spontaneous eruption of conservative grass-roots anger, coast to coast?" and responds: "The answer, of course, is: in 1993. And 1977. And 1961. And so on. And so yet much of the commentariat takes Bozell at his word, reading what is happening as striking and new." Perlstein writes that the parallels between the current tea party movement and the previous movements opposing the Roosevelt, Kennedy, Carter, and Clinton administrations "are uncanny.… The only thing that changes is the name of the enemy within." In 1963, accusations flew that President Kennedy was "in bed" with Cuban dictator Fidel Castro to bring socialism to America; today, the accusations are that the "Muslim terrorist" President Obama wants to bring socialism to America, perhaps with the aid of Islamist terror groups. Perlstein says that in years past, the media was far more unflinching at labeling the reactionaries as "fringe" elements. "[B]ack then, they covered the story with much more moral courage and civic wisdom." Now, Perlstein writes, the media fawns over tea party leaders and the right-wing commentators who promote them (see August 11, 2009). 'Sullen, Defensive Mobilization' of Wealthier Americans who Fear the Poor - Author Michael Lind, the policy director of the centrist New America Foundation, advises Republicans and Democrats both to "ignore this faux populist base of the GOP and focus instead on the genuine swing voters." Tea partiers, Lind writes, are not "[p]itchfork-wielding populists," but are closer to "the affluent members of the Liberty League who vilified President Roosevelt in the 1930s (see August 23, 1934 and After)—a sullen, defensive mobilization of the Have-Somes who dread the Have-Nots. The tea partiers put the 'petty' in petty bourgeoisie. They are disgruntled conservative Fox Republicans." Tea Parties Focusing on Constitutional Issues - Author Steven F. Hayward, a resident scholar at the conservative American Enterprise Institute, lauds the tea parties as primarily focused on economic and constitutional issues (see May 2010), and more supportive of gay rights, abortion rights, and limited gun restrictions than the media may admit. Hayward writes that he is surprised that most tea partiers are "more economically secure than the general population" and better-educated than the average American: "[T]he narrative that the tea partiers are a bunch of pitchfork populist rubes becomes harder to maintain." Racism does not permeate the tea parties, Hayward argues (see February 27, 2009, April 2009, July 2009, August 4, 2009, August 4, 2009, August 11, 2009, September 2009, September 14, 2009, October 15, 2009 and After, January 14, 2010, February 2010, March 20, 2010, March 25, 2010, March 26, 2010, May 14, 2010, July 13, 2010, July 14, 2010, July 15, 2010, July 17-18, 2010, August 6, 2010, August 24, 2010, August 24, 2010, September 11, 2010, September 12, 2010, October 10, 2010, October 19, 2010, April 15, 2011, April 16, 2011, May 5, 2011, July 29, 2011 and After, August 22-30, 2011, and December 10, 2011), "though there is some evidence of polarization that is a problem for the tea party as a movement." Hayward opines that such racism that can be documented in tea party members "is likely an aspect of party politics today." He also states that tea party supporters do not believe the "birther" conspiracy theory that Obama is not an American citizen any more than the average American, a statement at odds with many other analyses of tea party ideologies (see October 2008, January 8, 2009, June 4, 2009, February 4-8, 2010, February 15, 2010, September 2010, April 13-15, 2011, and July 1-2, 2011), even though the poll shows that only 41 percent of the tea party supporters believe that Obama is a "natural-born citizen." The driving factor behind so many Americans with no previous history of political involvement is, he writes, the fact that most tea party members "are moderates who are simply shocked by Obama's great leap forward in the size of government," and he compares the tea parties to the third-party backers of presidential candidate H. Ross Perot in 1992. He concludes, "The real promise of the tea party movement is that it may lead to a reinvigoration of the idea of constitutional limits on government—an idea liberals may find quaint if not hopelessly obsolete." Long-Discredited 'Radical Right' Views Propelling Tea Parties - Author and university professor Alan Wolfe, a self-described liberal, derides the tea parties as little more than a repackaged version of the "radical right" which has long been a part of America's body politic. The tea party movement, Wolfe writes, has given "American intellectuals whose views have been out of fashion for some time" a new platform with which to express their ideas. The same ideas that drove the McCarthyite "Red scare" of the 1950s are driving the tea parties today, Wolfe writes, and points to the increasing involvement of organizations such as the John Birch Society (JBS—see March 10, 1961) in the tea party movement (see July 22, 2007, August 4, 2008, October 10, 2008, April 13, 2009, April 19, 2010, and August 24, 2010). Like the people who support the JBS both now and in the 1950s, tea partiers are driven "not so much to their economic circumstances as to their status anxieties." They fear the changing, increasingly diverse and cosmopolitan society around them, and dislike, or sometimes even hate, the seeming "encroachment" of minorities and lower-class Americans on their lives. Wolfe says that the idea that tea party members do not embrace racist values any more than other Americans is specious; their poll responses can be explained, he writes, by noting that "people who respond to them have learned to hide their true feelings." He concludes: "At the risk of sounding condescending, these people have lost all perspective. They know how to kvetch. They know nothing about what makes their country great. Instead of watching Glenn Beck, I would urge them to learn more about their country's history—or to go and see a shrink." Using Coded Appeals to Race - Law professor Paul Butler writes that while most tea partiers are "more uber-Republicans than Klansmen," the organizations are very good at using racist "code words" to appeal to racist whites while maintaining plausible deniability about their inherent appeal to racist politics. "The tea party is smart enough not to frame its agenda around white supremacy, but the code words are there," he writes "[T]he most virulent anti-Obama force in the country is smart enough not to frame its agenda around white supremacy—at least not explicitly." While most tea partiers were clever enough not to indicate that they were bluntly racist in the poll results, the fact that a strong majority of them "believe that too much has been made of the problems that African-Americans face, and that the administration favors blacks over whites," is quite telling, Butler writes. "Overwhelmingly they believe that Barack Obama doesn't share the needs and problems of people like them, or the values of 'most Americans.' These code words have been around long enough, everybody gets them." Poll Does Not Support Idea that Tea Partiers Embrace Bigotry - Author and columnist Amity Shlaes writes that the poll numbers do not support the "media stereotype" that tea party supporters "are racist or intolerant. The media depicts tea partiers as bigots who look down on minorities, but that doesn't seem to be the case." Similarly, she argues, the poll results do not support the idea that tea party supporters believe Obama is a Muslim any more than average Americans do. As the tea party organizers claim, the movement is largely about economics, Shales writes. Fear of Loss of Control - History professor and author Alan Brinkley calls the tea party "the party of me," and compares its members demographically to the Americans who supported the McCarthyite "Red scare" inquisitions and the Clinton-era Whitewater investigations—predominantly white males, significantly wealthier than the average American, far more conservative than the mainstream, and fearful of the prospect that conservative white males might not continue to exert control over American society. "[W]hat seems to motivate them the most is a fear of a reduction in their own status—economically and socially," Brinkley writes. As for their economic worries, he writes, "[T]heir concern is not the state of the economy as a whole, but their own economic conditions." Brinkley concludes: "The real issue, I believe, is a sense among white males that they are somehow being displaced, that the country is no longer 'theirs,' that minorities and immigrants are becoming more and more powerful within society. And, of course, they are right about that. They just fear it more than many other Americans." Unrealistic Belief that Government Can Exist without Taxation - Author and former political science professor Lorenzo Morris writes that the tea party's position on taxes is extremist: "The tea party supporters seem to think that government can exist without taxes." The American experiment with the Articles of Confederation, which provided no real tax income at all, proves that idea to be wrong, Morris writes, but "[w]ith enough time and historical romanticism, however, bad ideas come back around." He writes that the current appearance of the tea parties has become less "vitriolic and menacing" than their image from the summer of 2009, when their vociferous and sometimes-violent protesting of health care reform painted them as frightening and bigoted (see July 23, 2009, July 24, 2009, July 27, 2009, July 27, 2009, July 28, 2009, August 1, 2009, August 1, 2009, August 2, 2009, August 2, 2009, August 3, 2009, August 3, 2009, August 3, 2009, August 3, 2009, August 3, 2009, August 4, 2009, August 4, 2009, August 4, 2009, August 4, 2009, August 5, 2009, August 5, 2009, August 5, 2009, August 5, 2009, August 5, 2009, August 6, 2009, August 6, 2009, August 6, 2009, August 6-7, 2009, August 6-8, 2009, August 7, 2009, August 8, 2009, August 8, 2009, August 8, 2009, August 8, 2009, August 10, 2009, August 10, 2009, and August 11, 2009). The tea parties have begun to win the approval of right-wing Republican figures, including many of those who intend a presidential run in 2012. But, he concludes, their rigid disapproval of taxes as a concept, and taxation as a reality, means that they will inevitably "repeat the folly of those early Americans who thought there could be government with no taxes." Anger without Willingness to Make Real Change - Law professor Susan Estrich notes that the poll indicates a large reservoir of approval for former Governor Sarah Palin (R-AK), the 2008 vice-presidential nominee for the Republican Party, but a strong doubt that she is competent to lead the nation. "Tea party types may be mad," Estrich writes, "but they aren't buying President Palin. And if they aren't, who would?" Estrich goes on to note that tea party supporters, "like most of us… want to have it both ways: they want their Social Security and smaller government, want major cuts but not in Medicare, which is a little like having your cake and eating it, too. If you want to really reduce the size of government, that means cutting defense and entitlements. If you're not willing to do that, what you get is big talk and no action, which is ultimately a recipe for anger." She concludes by calling the racial element "lurking in the polls" "troubling." Motivated by Racial Concerns - Author and Democratic activist Bob Moser writes of his familiarity with tea parties in Texas, "where the movement has flared up hotter than just about anywhere else," and his lack of surprise at the demographics: white, conservative, male, and relatively affluent. The concern about the nation's economic tribulations, and the anger directed at Obama, is understandable, he writes. However, "[w]hat strikes me is how often America's great and terrible obsession, race, slithers around the poll numbers." The poll numbers may not directly bear out the racism and bigotry that exists in the ranks of the tea partiers, Moser writes, "[b]ut it's impossible to shrug off the collective impressions left by the data. Why, exactly, do 73 percent of tea partiers say that the president does not understand 'the needs and problems of people like yourself'?" The movement works hard to marginalize Americans who disagree with them, particularly Obama, as un-American, not a member of "we the people." Moser notes that almost three-quarters of the tea party supporters "say that black and white people have an 'equal' chance of 'getting ahead in today's society.' If that's not colorblindness, it's certainly some kind of blindness." Moser concludes by writing that the tea party movement is achieving both goals set by "its corporate Republican conjurers," both "becoming the political expression of a white-resistance movement being spurred by anxieties over the economy, the black 'socialist' president, and the coming end of majority-white America… [and] leaning, at least in 2010, strongly Republican in attitude." Healthy Expression of Populism - Political analyst David Gergen writes that the perception of the tea parties as angry, bitter, and divisive is untrue. He describes the latest rally he attended as "festive and friendly." While many protest higher taxes and bigger government, Gergen writes, their claims that opposing Obama does not entail a racist viewpoint are true. "[M]any feel stung by what they see as misrepresentations in the press," he writes. Gergen compares the 2010 tea partiers to the Ross Perot voters of 1992: "Those who supported Mr. Perot were mostly white, a little better educated than the general population and much more concerned about government deficits than government peeking into bedrooms. They were also more from the West and South but had pockets of support scattered around the country." He notes that 18 percent of Americans identify themselves as tea party supporters; in 1992, 19 percent of voters cast their votes for Perot. He calls them a healthy expression of American populism and concludes: "Many of these tea partiers are fearful of how the country is changing. Some circles look down upon them; it would be far wiser to listen, understand and find ways to heal." Heralding GOP Success for 2010, Problems Farther On - Andrew Kohut, the president of the Pew Research Center and a political polls expert, says the poll numbers "augur well for the Republicans in November's midterm elections: the politically energized supra conservatives—the 1 in 5 who are universally disaffected with national conditions, and with Barack Obama and with his policies—are likely to be a strong advantage in the midterms, where typically fewer than 4 of 10 eligible citizens vote." The Republicans' biggest challenge is to keep the tea party supporters' votes while simultaneously attracting independents and moderates. And a move by the GOP to the right, to further embrace the tea partiers, "may not bode well for the party in the longer run, given the new primacy of independent voters, a power that was on full display in 2008." Moreover, the tea parties may well co-opt the GOP, going from "the tail that wags the dog" to becoming "the dog itself." Kohut writes: "Looking ahead, our polling suggests that the Republican party needs unifying themes and leadership. A tea party-led GOP may not be the prescription for that." Economic Concerns Drive Tea Party Success - Political consultant Douglas Schoen says the fact that almost 1 in 5 Americans support the tea party "extraordinary, given that the movement is not active in half of America and that its name recognition is not universal." Schoen gives no credence to "what appear to be the class-based or race-based attitudes of the tea party movement," and writes that the movement is instead propelled by economic concerns. Schoen says that statistics aside, he believes the tea party movement to be far more diverse than the polls indicate (see September 2010). Almost half its supporters identify themselves as non-Republicans, and a quarter of them claim to have voted for Obama in 2008, he says. [New York Times, 4/15/2010]
Entity Tags: Bob Moser, Barack Obama, Amity Shlaes, Alan Wolfe, Alan Brinkley, Susan Estrich, Andrew Kohut, Steven F. Hayward, Paul Butler, Michael Lind, Douglas Schoen, Lorenzo Morris, Brent Bozell, David Gergen, Rick Perlstein, New York Times
This year's Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) is co-sponsored by the far-right, openly racist John Birch Society (JBS—see March 10, 1961 and December 2011). CPAC spokesman Ian Walters says this is the first time the JBS has sponsored the conference. In the 1960s, influential conservative pundit William F. Buckley denounced the society and its founder Robert Welch as "idiotic" and "paranoid." Buckley's condemnation effectively exiled the group from mainstream conservatism for half a century. Welch had accused then-President Dwight Eisenhower of being a "conscious, dedicated agent of the communist conspiracy" and said the government was "under operational control of the Communist Party." Buckley argued that such paranoid rantings had no place in the conservative movement or the Republican Party. Lisa Depasquale, CPAC's director for the American Conservative Union, which runs the conference, explains why the JBS is now a sponsor, saying: "They're a conservative organization. Beyond that I have no comment." [ABC News, 4/19/2010]
Entity Tags: Lisa Depasquale, William F. Buckley, Conservative Political Action Conference, Dwight Eisenhower, John Birch Society, Robert Welch
Timeline Tags: US Domestic Terrorism, 2010 Elections
Mother Jones reporter Stephanie Mencimer publishes an article on one Washington, DC-area "study group" of the Constitution as sponsored by a local "tea party" organization. Such "study groups" have "mushroom[ed]" in number across the nation, according to Mencimer's fellow Mother Jones writer Kevin Drum. The study group Mencimer examines was held in Woodbridge, Virginia, "a hotbed of tea partiers and anti-immigration Minutemen," Mencimer writes. The group is led by Rick Dalton, a volunteer from the National Center for Constitutional Studies (NCCS). Dalton travels the country lecturing and leading "study groups" about the Constitution for tea party organizations around the country. Mencimer writes: "Many tea partiers believe the country's economic and political woes are a direct result of Washington abandoning the Constitution, which they believe calls for an extremely limited federal government that does not concern itself with matters like bank failures or health care reform. They've turned to the founding document with the fervor of evangelicals seeking inspiration from the sacred texts of the past." [Mother Jones, 5/2010; Mother Jones, 9/2010] Connection to Radical Reinterpretation of Constitution, Fox's Beck - Many tea partiers, including Dalton, look to a radical reinterpretation of the Constitution as espoused by the late W. Cleon Skousen, a Mormon who told people he was an aide to then-FBI chief J. Edgar Hoover. In 1981, Skousen published a controversial book, The 5000 Year Leap, a controversial reinterpretation of the Constitution that in recent months has been promoted by Fox News talk show host and tea party icon Glenn Beck; Beck wrote the foreward to the new edition of the book, which has achieved bestselling status. Skousen is the original founder of NCCS. Dalton is a graduate of George Wythe University, an unaccredited institution founded by Skousen protege Oliver DeMille, and a teacher at the unaccredited Heritage Academy charter school in Mesa, Arizona, a school largely attended by formerly homeschooled children. Dalton's instructional presentation at the Woodbridge seminar is largely derived from Skousen's teachings; some of the participants are clearly conversant in Skousen's works and can recite from his workbook The Making of America, which Dalton uses in the presentation. Constitution a Divine Instrument - According to Skousen, the material in the Constitution stems directly from information given by God to Moses. That, according to Skousen, makes the Constitution something of a divine work. Skousen taught that Northern Europe was settled by one of the "lost tribes of Israel," and that the Anglo-Saxons, the descendants of this "lost tribe," kept the teachings of Moses alive for thousands of years until their descendants emigrated to America and incorporated Moses's wisdom into the Constitution. Mencimer calls Skousen's "lost tribes" teaching "a piece of historical poppycock that has long held traction in the white supremacist movement." Racist, 'Capitalist' Teachings of NCCS - NCCS has gotten into trouble in the past over imparting pro-slavery and other racist ideology in its works; Skousen's The Making of America incorporates material from a 1934 essay by slavery apologist Fred Albert Shannon, who wrote in part, "If the pickaninnies [a racial slur referring to African-Americans] ran naked, it was generally from choice, and when the white boys had to put on shoes and go away to school, they were likely to envy the freedom of their colored playmates." In his Woodbridge seminar, Dalton criticizes slavery, but skips the Constitutional amendments referring to slavery and civil rights for minorities. Instead, he teaches that the Constitution protects the capitalist "free market," and "proves" his contention by saying that the early Jamestown settlers starved because they were "Communists" until a new "HDIC—head dude in charge" took over and saved the settlement by using Biblical and free-market capitalism to provide a new and distinctly American direction. Dalton tells the participants that Karl Marx invented the income tax (Mencimer notes that it was actually first proposed by William Pitt the Younger, a conservative British lawmaker). According to Dalton, the federal government is subverting the Constitution by spending federal monies to buy or build any structures outside of forts, magazines and arsenals, dockyards, and post offices. "What about national parks?" he asks. "Think of all that land that could be put on the rolls and generating taxes!" Interviews - Mencimer interviews a number of participants during the lunch break. Construction inspector Robert Jeffery tells Mencimer that he does not believe in gun law restrictions, saying that the Second Amendment is all the "concealed carry permit" he needs. He says Dalton's teachings prove to him that the nation must return to "the founding principles to understand where the country had gone off track." Ken Vaughn, who leads the Northern Virginia branch of the 9/12 Movement (see March 13, 2009 and After), says he became interested in the Constitution study groups after the Obama administration began "bailing out firms that had no right to be bailed out. I think that made people wake up and look at our debt and think, 'Maybe we need to make changes.'" Ann Hardt, a Mormon, has three of her homeschooled children in tow, and tells Mencimer that she uses Skousen's educational materials to teach her six children history. She is a veteran of the NCCS seminars and a tea party member. [Mother Jones, 5/2010]
Entity Tags: Kevin Drum, Fred Albert Shannon, Ann Hardt, Ken Vaughn, W. Cleon Skousen, Stephanie Mencimer, National Center for Constitutional Studies, Rick Dalton, Robert Jeffery, Mother Jones, Glenn Beck
Mark Williams, a conservative talk radio host in Sacramento and a prominent spokesman for the nationally based Tea Party Express (TPE), posts on his blog, "MarkTalk," that Muslims worship a "monkey-god," and calls them "the animals of allah." Williams is apparently furious about plans to build a Muslim community center and mosque near the site of the 9/11 attacks. The Tea Party Express says it is not concerned with Williams's rhetoric. On his blog, Williams posts: "The animals of allah for whom any day is a great day for a massacre are drooling over the positive response that they are getting from New York City officials over a proposal to build a 13 story monument to the 9/11 Muslims who hijacked those 4 airliners. The monument would consist of a Mosque for the worship of the terrorists' monkey-god and a 'cultural center' to propagandize for the extermination of all things not approved by their cult.… The longest, most heavily researched and footnoted chapter in my book is about the fruit baskets and nut wads that gravitate to Islam and why it attracts such mental cases.… They cloak their evil with new age gibberish that suggests Islam is just misunderstood." Williams goes on to attack Rima Fakih, who was recently chosen as "Miss Muslim USA," and suggests that the community center be paired off with "a nice, shiny new US Military Base on the smoldering ruins of Mecca." Williams posts an image of the Prophet Muhammad with a swastika atop his head. TPE spokesman Joe Wierzbicki says, "It doesn't have anything to do with the Tea Party Express and the issues addressed by the tea party movement, and was written on Mr. Williams's personal blog, and not on any Tea Party Express Web site, blog, or social networking page." However, a tea party activist says of Williams's post, "This is hate speech and has no place in the tea party movement." [TPM Muckraker, 5/18/2010; Gawker, 5/19/2010] Some time after the press learns of the blog post, Williams removes it from his blog.
Entity Tags: Tea Party Express, Joe Wierzbicki, Park51, Mark Williams (radio host), Rima Fakih
NAACP logo. [Source: NAACP / University of Albany]The NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) unanimously passes a resolution at its annual convention asking that the nation's various tea party organizations repudiate the racism that is sometimes displayed in their ranks (see June 30, 2009, July 28, 2009, July 28-29, 2009, August 4, 2009, August 11, 2009, September 11, 2010, and September 12, 2010). An NAACP press release reads: "The resolution condemns the bigoted elements within the tea party and asks for them to be repudiated. The NAACP delegates presented this resolution for debate and passage after a year of vitriolic tea party demonstrations during which participants used racial slurs and images." The NAACP notes that African-American congressmen have been called racial slurs by tea party protesters, an African-American congressman was spat upon by tea party protesters (see March 20, 2010), and other incidents. NAACP president Benjamin Jealous says: "We take no issue with the tea party movement. We believe in freedom of assembly and people raising their voices in a democracy. What we take issue with is the tea party's continued tolerance for bigotry and bigoted statements. The time has come for them to accept the responsibility that comes with influence and make clear there is no place for racism and anti-Semitism, homophobia, and other forms of bigotry in their movement." Jealous adds: "Last night after my speech, I was approached by an African-American member of the NAACP and the tea party. He thanked me for speaking out because he has begun to feel uncomfortable in the tea party and wants to ensure there will always be space for him in both organizations. I assured him there will always be a place for him in the NAACP. Dick Armey (see April 14, 2009) and the leadership of the tea party need to do the same." [NAACP, 7/13/2010] Jealous tells a reporter: "We do not think the tea party is a racist movement. Our concern is that it tolerates racism and bigotry by its members.… Either you make it clear that there's no room for racism in your party or you take full responsibility for racist things that have happened at your rallies." [TPMDC, 7/14/2010]
Entity Tags: Dick Armey, Benjamin Jealous, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
Tea party protesters during a Washington, DC, rally. [Source: TPMDC]In the wake of the NAACP's condemnation of racist speech being condoned by the various "tea party" groups around the nation (see July 13, 2010), Tea Party Express spokesman Mark Williams, a California radio talk show host, tells NPR that NAACP leaders "make more money off of race than any slave trader ever." Williams says: "We are dealing with people who are professional race-baiters who make a very good living off this kind of thing. They make more money off of race than any slave trader, ever. It's time groups like the NAACP went to the trash heap of history where they belong, along with all the other vile, racist groups that emerged in our history." The national Tea Party Federation cites New York Tea Party activist David Webb as saying: "A false charge of racism is itself, racist. This resolution shows they no longer serve the black community's interests to advance people of color within American culture. Instead, they exert their power to isolate and control people of color." Former Governor Sarah Palin (R-AK), a popular supporter of the tea party movement, asks why the NAACP would criticize what she calls "liberty-loving, equality-respecting patriots." Conservative blogger Michelle Malkin calls the NAACP convention a "grievance-palooza" and a "smear-fest against the tea party." Another conservative blogger, Power Line's John Hinderaker, posts, "It is a sad day for a once-respected organization; truthfully, though, it has been a long time since anyone has taken the NAACP seriously." A St. Louis tea party group calls on the IRS to revoke the NAACP's tax-exempt status, saying that the resolution proves the organization is nothing more than a political arm of the tea party's opponents. NAACP media director Eric Wingerter counters: "It's clear that the far right has been waiting for this battle. We're ready for it, too." NAACP president Benjamin Jealous said after his organization released its resolution that the NAACP does not characterize the tea party movement as inherently racist; instead, he says, tea party organizers and leaders do not make enough of an attempt to curb racism in their ranks. "We do not think the tea party is a racist movement," Jealous said. "Our concern is that it tolerates racism and bigotry by its members." Many tea party spokespersons tell reporters that their organizations already condemn racism and do not tolerate it during their rallies or on their Web sites, a contention disputed by Jealous, who says: "Do you see the press releases on their Web site? I don't. What you do behind the scenes is important but it's not enough if you don't make it public.… We need the anti-racists in the tea party movement to stand up and be clear that this will not be tolerated." Jealous goes on to say that Dick Armey, the head of FreedomWorks, a Washington lobbying firm that funds and coordinates many tea party organizations (see April 14, 2009), and other tea party leaders "tolerate bigotry and racism within the ranks," and allow racist groups to piggyback on the tea party into political legitimacy. Many conservatives counter the NAACP's position with countercharges that the NAACP and other organizations tolerate and/or support the rhetoric of the New Black Panther movement; Jealous says: "Our message to them is the same thing. They should not tolerate racism and bigotry in their ranks. Move those people out of your organization." However, Jealous notes, the citations of the New Black Panthers are attempts to change the subject from the overt and repeated acts of racism perpetuated by some tea party members. "The Black Panther party is a flea compared to the tea party dog," Jealous says. [TPMDC, 7/14/2010; TPMDC, 7/14/2010] In the past, Williams has called President Obama the "racist in chief" (see September 14, 2009) and "our half white, racist president" (see September 2009).
Entity Tags: Tea Party Express, Sarah Palin, Tea Party Federation, New Black Panthers, Mark Williams (radio host), Michelle Malkin, Eric Wingerter, Dick Armey, David Webb, John Hinderaker, Benjamin Jealous, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, FreedomWorks
Conservative columnist and radio talk show host Mark Williams, the spokesman for the Tea Party Express, posts a fictitious letter on his blog purportedly written by "Colored People" to former President Abraham Lincoln. The post, which Williams quickly removes after it causes a massive outcry, reads: "We Colored People have taken a vote and decided that we don't cotton to that whole emancipation thing. Freedom means having to work for real, think for ourselves, and take consequences along with the rewards. That is just far too much to ask of us Colored People and we demand that it stop! In fact we held a big meeting and took a vote in Kansas City this week [referring to the recent NAACP convention that condemned tea party racism—see July 13, 2010]. We voted to condemn a political revival of that old abolitionist spirit called the 'tea party movement.' The tea party position to 'end the bailouts' for example is just silly. Bailouts are just big money welfare and isn't that what we want all Coloreds to strive for? What kind of racist would want to end big money welfare? What they need to do is start handing the bail outs directly to us coloreds! Of course, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People is the only responsible party that should be granted the right to disperse the funds. And the ridiculous idea of 'reduce[ing] the size and intrusiveness of government.' What kind of massa would ever not want to control my life? As Coloreds we must have somebody care for us otherwise we would be on our own, have to think for ourselves, and make decisions! The racist tea parties also demand that the government 'stop the out of control spending.' Again, they directly target Colored People. That means we Colored People would have to compete for jobs like everybody else and that is just not right. Perhaps the most racist point of all in the tea parties is their demand that government 'stop raising our taxes.' That is outrageous! How will we Colored People ever get a wide screen TV in every room if non-coloreds get to keep what they earn? Totally racist! The tea party expects coloreds to be productive members of society? Mr. Lincoln, you were the greatest racist ever. We had a great gig. Three squares, room, and board, all our decisions made by the massa in the house. Please repeal the 13th and 14th Amendments and let us get back to where we belong." Williams signs the post "Precious Ben Jealous, Tom's Nephew National Association for the Advancement of Colored People Head Colored Person," referring to NAACP president Benjamin Jealous. Williams also labels the NAACP "racist" because the 101-year-old organization continues to use the old-fashioned term "colored" in its name. Williams's post is quickly denounced as inflammatory and blatantly racist; though Williams calls it "satire" and removes it, he is soon expelled from the National Tea Party Federation for the post (see July 17-18, 2010). [Gawker, 7/16/2010; CNN, 7/18/2010; Huffington Post, 7/18/2010] In the past, Williams has called President Obama the "racist in chief" (see September 14, 2009) and "our half white, racist president" (see September 2009). He has called Muslims "animals" who worship a "monkey god" (see May 14, 2010), and labeled the NAACP "racists" who are like "slave trader[s]" (see July 14, 2010).
Entity Tags: National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, Barack Obama, Benjamin Jealous, Mark Williams (radio host), Tea Party Express, National Tea Party Federation
The National Tea Party Federation expels conservative radio host and Tea Party Express spokesman Mark Williams over a fictional letter he wrote on his blog last week. Williams's satirical post purported to be written by "Colored People" to former President Abraham Lincoln, and contained numerous comments that many feel are explosively racist (see July 15, 2010). NTPF spokesman David Webb tells a CBS interviewer, "We, in the last 24 hours, have expelled Tea Party Express and Mark Williams from the National Tea Party Federation because of the letter that he wrote." Webb calls the post "clearly offensive." Williams removed the post shortly after posting it. Apparently Williams wrote the post in reaction to a recent NAACP resolution demanding that tea party organizations take measures to stop racism from within the movement (see July 13, 2010). Williams refuses to discuss the dismissal, and cancels a scheduled appearance on CNN to discuss his future in the tea party movement. However, he seems to blame Webb for the controversy. In a statement on his blog, Williams writes: "That careless individual tea partier who assumed the mantel [sic] of 'leadership' did so long enough to turn a critical and serious movement and delicate peace [sic] with skeptical groups into a World Wrestling style personality conflict with me at the center. There are internal political dramas amongst the various self-anointed tea party 'leaders,' and some of the minor players on the fringes see the Tea Party Express and Mark Williams as tickets to a booking on 'Fact [sic] the Nation.'" NAACP president Benjamin Jealous tells a CNN reporter that the organization's reaction to Williams's expulsion is "Good riddance," and praises Webb for "self-policing" the tea party movement, saying, "As the movement grows up, you have to act responsibly and they have to keep doing what they just did to Mark Williams and make it clear there is no space for bigots here, period." House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) says of the incident: "There are some members who have used the tea party—whether it's the tea party itself, there are some individuals who have tried to exacerbate racial tensions in this country. I have seen some virulent fliers that have been directed at our members, clearly referencing race, the president's race, and race generally" (see March 24-25, 2010). Asked for a reaction, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) refuses to comment, saying, "I am not interested in getting into that debate." [CNN, 7/18/2010; Huffington Post, 7/18/2010] In the past, Williams has called President Obama the "racist in chief" (see September 14, 2009) and "our half white, racist president" (see September 2009). He has called Muslims "animals" who worship a "monkey god" (see May 14, 2010), and labeled the NAACP "racists" who are like "slave trader[s]" (see July 14, 2010).
Entity Tags: Benjamin Jealous, CNN, Mitch McConnell, Tea Party Express, Mark Williams (radio host), David Webb, Steny Hoyer, National Tea Party Federation
Citizens Reclaiming Constitutional Liberties PAC logo. [Source: Citizens Reclaiming Constitutional Liberties PAC]Mark Williams, a conservative talk radio host in Sacramento, announces his return to tea party activism. He recently resigned as the chairman and spokesman for the Tea Party Express after facing withering criticism for a spate of racist, inflammatory comments (see July 14, 2010, July 15, 2010), July 17-18, 2010, and July 19-23, 2010). Williams also criticizes many in the tea party movement for being, he says, unwilling to move beyond "the cheerleading stage." Williams tells a CNN reporter that he is forming a political action committee (PAC) called the "Citizens Reclaiming Constitutional Liberties PAC" (TPM Muckraker calls it the "Citizens for Constitutional Liberty PAC") that, he says, will channel "tea party passion" into electing conservative candidates. "We'll be looking for… conservative young people who have something to offer, something to say and don't identify, in some cases, with either party," he says. "You don't elect anybody to the White House in [the year] 2030 unless you elect… a dog catcher in 2010. We're fielding conservative candidates outside of the Republican Party structure because the Republican Party can't be trusted.… Both parties, frankly, have just become so corrupt with special interests that we need new blood." Of the current tea party status, he says: "What we're looking to do is channel all of this into something more constructive than standing around at rallies and yelling and just cheerleading. You know the tea party thing… the feeling a lot of us had was that the thing had stalled at the cheerleading stage. And we were being bombarded with people asking us, 'Ok, we're worked up, we believe you, we're informed—now what do we do?'" TPE official Levi Russell says he is not surprised that Williams is restarting his political activities. "We didn't really feel that he ever left the tea party movement," Russell says. "I think there is plenty of room, ample room in the conservative movement for new groups to form." A colleague of Williams's in the new PAC, Mandy Morello, says in a statement: "While I find many of his comments distasteful and do not condone those sorts of messages, it is not my right to take away his free speech guaranteed by our First Amendment. After all, the tea party is not to pick and choose one's interpretation of these amendments to suit one's personal opinion." Morello writes that Williams is "not a racist," but is aware of the potential ramifications of working with Williams. She writes that whatever Williams may say or do in the future, she does not have "the right to apologize for his actions or have the authority to 'kick him out' for any other reason than something that is illegal.… I am not under the illusion that Mark will stop being Mark just because we are partners in this fight." Another group founder, who is not named in press reports, calls the allegations of racism against Williams "garbage" and says: "They want to throw the word racism out there these days. It's overused." [CNN, 8/6/2010; TPM Muckraker, 8/6/2010] In the past, Williams has called President Obama the "racist in chief" (see September 14, 2009) and "our half white, racist president" (see September 2009). He has called Muslims "animals" who worship a "monkey god" (see May 14, 2010).
Entity Tags: Tea Party Express, Levi Russell, Mandy Morello, Barack Obama, Citizens Reclaiming Constitutional Liberties PAC, Mark Williams (radio host)
Institute for Research & Education on Human Rights logo. [Source: IREHR / Facebook]The Institute for Research & Education on Human Rights (IREHR) issues a comprehensive, multi-part report on the American "tea party" movement. The report is written by IREHR vice president Devin Burghart and IREHR president Leonard Zeskind, both accomplished authors and researchers. The report examines six national organizational networks which Burghart and Zeskind say are "at the core of the tea party movement." These six include: the FreedomWorks Tea Party; the 1776 Tea Party ("TeaParty.org"); Tea Party Nation; Tea Party Patriots; ResistNet; and the Tea Party Express. The report examines their origins, structures, leadership, policies, funding, membership, and relations with one another. [Institute for Research & Education on Human Rights, 8/24/2010] Data Collection Methodology - The authors provide details of their data collection methodology in a separate section of the report. [Institute for Research & Education on Human Rights, 10/19/2010] Racism, Anti-Semitism Rampant in Many (Not All) Tea Party Organizations - The report explicitly notes that "[i]t would be a mistake to claim that all tea partiers are nativist vigilantes or racists of one stripe or another." It shows that while tea party organizations, and many media outlets, paint tea partiers as concentrated primarily on "budget deficits, taxes, and the power of the federal government," in reality many tea party organizations are very focused on racial, nationalist, and other social issues (see January 14, 2010). The report finds: "In these ranks, an abiding obsession with Barack Obama's birth certificate (see June 13, 2008) is often a stand-in for the belief that the first black president of the United States is not a 'real American.' Rather than strict adherence to the Constitution, many tea partiers are challenging the provision for birthright citizenship found in the 14th Amendment." Many (not all) tea party organizations open their ranks "to anti-Semites, racists, and bigots," the report finds, and in many of those organizations, the racists and bigots have leadership positions. And, it finds, white supremacist organizations routinely attend and even present at tea party rallies, "looking for potential recruits and hoping to push these (white) protesters towards a more self-conscious and ideological white supremacy." The report notes that former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke is trying to find money and support among tea party organizations to launch a 2012 bid for the Republican presidential nomination. The leaders of the 1776 Tea Party organization "were imported directly from the anti-immigrant vigilante organization, the Minuteman Project," the report notes. Tea Party Nation has attracted a large contingent of so-called "birthers," Christian nationalists, and nativists, many of whom display openly racist sentiments; some other tea party organizations have now distanced themselves from that particular group. ResistNet and Tea Party Patriots, the two largest "umbrella" organizations or networks, are also rife with anti-immigrant nativists and racists; the Tea Party Patriots have openly embraced the idea of the repeal of the 17th Amendment (see April 8, 2010). At least one group, the Washington DC-based FreedomWorks Tea Party, has made some efforts to focus its actions solely on economic issues and eschew social or religious issues; those efforts have largely failed. There is a large and disparate "schema" of racist organizations and belief systems in America, the report notes, from Nazi sympathizers to "America-first isolationists," "scientific" racists, nativists, "paleoconservatives," and others. Generally, the more mainstream and less extremist racist movements and persons gravitate to tea party organizations. "[T]he white nationalist movement is divided between two strategic orientations: the go-it-alone vanguardists and the mainstreamers who seek to win a majority following among white people. It is decidedly the mainstreamers, such as the Council of Conservative Citizens… who seek to influence and recruit among the tea partiers." The same can be said of militia groups: the more mainstream of these organizations are the ones taking part in, and recruiting at, tea party events. The two—racist and militia groups—have, of course, a heavy overlap in membership and belief structures. Tea party leaders and members tend to strongly dispute evidence that their fellows espouse racist beliefs. [Institute for Research & Education on Human Rights, 8/24/2010; Institute for Research & Education on Human Rights, 10/19/2010] Economic Beliefs Tied to Anger at Immigrants, 'Undeserving Poor' - The tea parties are most often characterized as anti-tax economic conservatives who oppose government spending; however, the report finds, "there is no observable statistical link between tea party membership and unemployment levels.… And their storied opposition to political and social elites turns out to be predicated on an antagonism to federal assistance to those deemed the 'undeserving poor.'" Many tea party members and organizations, including some of the movement's most visible political leaders, are openly anti-immigrant. The House's Tea Party Caucus, led by Representative Michele Bachmann (R-MN), has a significant overlap with the members of the House Immigration Reform Caucus, led by tea party supporter Brian Bilbray (R-CA). The Immigration Reform Caucus has introduced legislation that would end the Constitution's principle of "birthright citizenship." The racist and anti-immigrant themes at play in many tea party organizations have dovetailed in these organizations' attacks on President Obama as being a "non-American." The report observes: "The permutations go on from there: Islamic terrorist, socialist, African witch doctor, lying African, etc. If he is not properly American, then he becomes the 'other' that is not 'us.' Five of the six national factions have these 'birthers' in their leadership; the only exception being FreedomWorks." 'Nationalism' of Tea Parties - Most tea party organizations hark back to the Revolutionary War era and the Founding Fathers as their forebears, sometimes even dressing in 18th-century costumes, waving the Gadsden "Don't Tread on Me" flag, and claiming that the US Constitution as written should be the touchstone of all legislative policies. However, the report notes that their "American nationalism" is hardly inclusive: "[T]heirs is an American nationalism that does not always include all Americans. It is a nationalism that excludes those deemed not to be 'real Americans'; including the native-born children of undocumented immigrants (often despised as 'anchor babies'), socialists, Moslems, and those not deemed to fit within a 'Christian nation.'" The report connects the tea parties' concept of nationalism (see October 19, 2010) back to the "America First" ideology of Father Charles Coughlin, a vocal anti-Semite and supporter of Nazism (see October 3, 1926 - 1942). The report notes: "As the Confederate battle flags, witch doctor caricatures, and demeaning discourse suggest, a bright white line of racism threads through this nationalism. Yet, it is not a full-fledged variety of white nationalism. It is as inchoate as it is super-patriotic. It is possibly an embryo of what it might yet become." Multi-Million Dollar Complex Heavily Funded by Right-Wing Foundations - The tea party movement presents itself as a loose confederation of ground-up, grassroots groups and organizations put together by principled citizens driven by their political and social concerns. However, the reality is that many tea party organizations are for-profit corporations and/or political action committees, with some equally well-funded non-profit corporations included in the mix. Collectively, they have succeeded at trumping the Democrats' advantage in Web-based mobilization and fundraising. Resurrection of 'Ultra-Conservative Wing of American Political Life' - The report finds that the tea party organizations "have resuscitated the ultra-conservative wing of American political life, created a stiff pole of opinion within Republican Party ranks, and they have had a devastating impact on thoughtful policy making for the common good, both at the local and state as well as at the federal levels." The report finds: "The tea party movement has unleashed a still inchoate political movement by angry middle class (overwhelmingly) white people who believe their country, their nation, has been taken from them. And they want it back." Whom they apparently "want it back" from is from non-white Americans. The report notes that the tea party slogan, "Take It Back, Take Your Country Back" is "an explicitly nationalist refrain. It is sometimes coupled with the assertion that there are 'real Americans,' as opposed to others who they believe are driving the country into a socialist ditch." Three Levels of Structure - As with most entities of this nature, there are three fundamental levels to the "tea party structure." Some 16 to 18 percent of Americans say they have some sympathy with tea party ideals—these citizens, numbering in the tens of millions, form the outer ring of the structure. The next ring as an ill-defined group of perhaps two million activists who go to meetings and rallies, and buy literature. The core is composed of some 250,000 heavily involved members who take part in the Web-directed activities of the tea party organizations. The report focuses on this group as the hub of what it calls "tea party nationalists." As time goes on, the tea parties continue to add members to their ranks. The Tea Party Patriots and ResistNet are, at this time, experiencing the fastest rate of growth; the report notes, "This would tend to indicate a larger movement less susceptible to central control, and more likely to attract racist and nativist elements at the local level." The tea parties as a whole will continue to wield their influence on American political and social debates, though the tea parties may begin to splinter as some members move into the more structured Republican Party apparatus and others move towards the more extremist white nationalist organizations. The report does not include local groups not affiliated with one or the other of the national networks, and the ancillary organizations that have worked alongside the tea parties since their inception. The report notes some of these ancillary organizations as Ron Paul's Campaign for Liberty (see August 4, 2008), Americans for Prosperity (see Late 2004), the National Precinct Alliance, and the John Birch Society (JBS—see March 10, 1961 and December 2011). The report also notes the existence of the "9-12 movement" (see March 13, 2009 and After), but does not count that as a separate network, and goes on to note that after the 2009 9-12 rally in Washington (see September 12, 2009), many 9-12 groups joined a tea party organization. [Institute for Research & Education on Human Rights, 8/24/2010] Response - Judson Phillips, the founder of Tea Party Nation, responds to the release of the IREHR report by saying: "Here we go again. This is typical of this liberal group's smear tactics." Phillips does not cite examples of the report's "smear tactics." [Kansas City Star, 10/19/2010]
Entity Tags: National Precinct Alliance, ResistNet, Tea Party Express, US House of Representatives Immigration Reform Caucus, Tea Party Patriots, Tea Party Nation, Minuteman Project, US House of Representatives Tea Party Caucus, Michele Bachmann, Leonard Zeskind, Judson Phillips, 1776 Tea Party, Americans for Prosperity, Barack Obama, Brian Bilbray, Council of Conservative Citizens, Charles Edward Coughlin, Devin Burghart, John Birch Society, Institute for Research & Education on Human Rights, FreedomWorks Tea Party, Campaign for Liberty, David Duke
Mother Jones columnist Kevin Drum compares the "tea party" movement to earlier organizations, each formed, he writes, to oppose Democratic presidencies. "[T]oo many observers mistakenly react to the tea party as if it's brand new, an organic and spontaneous response to something unique in the current political climate," he writes. "But it's not. It's not a response to the recession or to health care reform or to some kind of spectacular new liberal overreach. It's what happens whenever a Democrat takes over the White House. When FDR was in office in the 1930s, conservative zealotry coalesced in the Liberty League (see August 23, 1934 and After). When JFK won the presidency in the '60s, the John Birch Society flourished (see November 1963). When Bill Clinton ended the Reagan Revolution in the '90s, talk radio erupted with the conspiracy theories of the Arkansas Project. And today, with Barack Obama in the Oval Office, it's the tea party's turn." While differences between the various groups are substantive, Drum writes, the similarities are overwhelming. Drum notes that industrialist Fred Koch, an early backer of the Birchers (see 1940 and After), gave way to his sons, David and Charles Koch, who helped launch the organization that would become FreedomWorks and Americans for Prosperity, both of which are major funders and organizers of the tea party movement (see 1979-1980 and 1984 and After). Tea partiers rely on a 50-year-old radical reinterpretation of the Constitution, W. Cleon Skousen's The 5000 Year Leap; Skousen's anti-Communist polemics were popular with the Birchers. And Robert Welch, the founder of the John Birch Society (JBS—see March 10, 1961 and December 2011), believed that the 17th Amendment, which affirms the direct election of US senators, was what Drum calls "a poisonous concentration of power in the federal government." Tea partiers and Fox News hosts hawk this same theory today (see October 16, 2009, April 8, 2010, and June 11, 2010). Drum writes that, far from being motivated by personal economic hardship (tea party supporters tend to be more affluent and less affected by the economic downturn than the average American—see April 14, 2010) or even because of a dislike of President Obama because of his race, the tea party exists because "[e]ver since the 1930s, something very much like the tea party movement has fluoresced every time a Democrat wins the presidency, and the nature of the fluorescence always follows many of the same broad contours: a reverence for the Constitution, a supposedly spontaneous uprising of formerly nonpolitical middle-class activists, a preoccupation with socialism and the expanding tyranny of big government, a bitterness toward an underclass viewed as unwilling to work, and a weakness for outlandish conspiracy theories." Constitutional 'Purity' - One similarity is the focus of each group on what they term the "purity" or "sanctity" of the US Constitution, even as they apply their sometimes-radical reinterpretations of constitutional mandates. "The Liberty Leaguers… spoke of it with 'worshipful intensity,'" Drum writes. "The John Birch Society—which is enjoying a renaissance of sorts today (see July 22, 2007, August 4, 2008, October 10, 2008, April 13, 2009, April 19, 2010, and August 24, 2010)—says of itself, 'From its earliest days the John Birch Society has emphasized the importance of the Constitution for securing our freedom.' And… study groups dedicated to the Constitution have mushroomed among tea partiers" (see May 2010). Fear of 'Creeping Socialism' and Tyranny - Drum writes: "Other shared tropes include a fear of 'losing the country we grew up in,' an obsession with 'parasites' who are leeching off of hardworking Americans, and—even though they've always received copious assistance from business interests and political operatives—a myth that the movement is composed entirely of fed-up grassroots amateurs" (see 1984 and After, Late 2004, January 2009 and After, February 17, 2009, February 19, 2009 and After, March 13, 2009 and After, April 14, 2009, April 15, 2009, May 29, 2009, July 27, 2009, August 4, 2009, August 5, 2009, July 3-4, 2010, and August 30, 2010). Above all, though, is the recurring theme of "creeping socialism and a federal government that's destroying our freedoms." The American Liberty League fought to stop the Roosevelt administration from establishing Social Security, the Works Progress Administration (WPA), and what Drum calls an "alphabet soup of new regulatory agencies." In the 1960s, the John Birch Society (JBS) felt the government was being overrun by Communism and "collectivism." Drum notes that JBS founder Robert Welch's mantra, "Less government and more responsibility," echoes central tenets of tea party beliefs. In the 1990s, then-Representative Newt Gingrich (R-GA) became House Speaker in large part because of his opposition to the Clinton administration and his leadership in the right's battle to defund federal social-net programs. Today, tea partiers echo the JBS in their insistence that Obama is a closet Marxist or socialist, and echo fears from earlier groups that Obama, the Democrat, intends to turn American democracy into a tyranny. Conspiracy Theories - Drum echoes conservative writer Jonathan Kay by noting the tea partiers' "insatiable appetite for conspiracy theories" (see February 4-8, 2010). Welch argued that the federal government was bowing to Communist manipulation by fluoridating the water supply (see 1945 and After), but more importantly, promoted the idea that a mysterious group of "insiders" had been running the world since at least 1776, when the Illuminati took over most European governments. The "insiders" continued their influence, Welch avowed, through the years, taking over France after the French Revolution, Russia and other nations after the advent of Communism, and continued to exercise control through such organs as the United Nations, the Council on Foreign Relations, and the Trilateral Commission. The same groups are at the center of many conspiracy theories embraced by numerous tea partiers. Drum points out the fondness of the "anti-Clinton zealots" for their "colorful and ever-growing bestiary of shadowy plots," most surrounding their belief that Clinton was a rapist, a murderer, and a drug peddler. Similar conspiracy theories were promulgated by the JBS about John Kennedy. "Today's conspiracy theories are different in detail but no less wacky—and no less widespread," Drum writes. The "birther" conspiracy theory, which holds that Obama is not a natural-born citizen, is quite popular with tea party supporters, and many more believe that Obama intends to place conservatives such as themselves in internment camps, a theory peddled by the JBS in the early 1960s. And many believe that ACORN (the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now), the now-defunct community service organization, somehow took control of the Democratic Party, destroyed banks by forcing them to make loans to indigent minorities, crashed the economy, and installed Obama into power. Effectiveness Improving over Time - Drum writes that each iteration of this right-wing phenomenon is more successful than the last. The Liberty League made no impact whatsoever on President Roosevelt's 1936 re-election attempt. In 1964, the JBS succeeded in helping right-wing libertarian candidate Barry Goldwater (R-AZ) win the Republican presidential nomination. In the 1990s, Gingrich rode the wave of far-right activism to become speaker of the House, and the activism culminated in the impeachment of President Clinton and the election of President George W. Bush. Drum predicts that the latest wave, the tea party movement, will for all intents and purposes take over the Republican Party. In each iteration, moderate Republicans resisted the wave of right-wing change, but, Drum believes, not enough moderate Republicans exist in any position of power to resist the tea party transformation. The GOP has been shifting ever rightward since the 1970s, Drum notes, and the tea party movement has profited from a transformed media environment, where it can present its ideology almost nonstop on Fox News and rely on social media such as Facebook to connect with new recruits. Drum calls the paradigm shift "the mainstreaming of extremism." In 1961, Time magazine disparaged the JBS as "tiresome" (see March 10, 1961); in 2009, it hailed Fox News personality Glenn Beck as "gifted." Moderates have virtually no chance in today's environment of pushing back against the tea party's rightward surge. "Unlike the Birchers, or even the Clinton conspiracy theorists, the tea partiers aren't a fringe part of the conservative movement," Drum writes. "They are the conservative movement." Drum believes that even with all the tea party's current success, it will eventually burn itself out, "while its broader identity becomes subsumed by a Republican Party that's been headed down the path of ever less-tolerant conservatism for decades. In that sense, the tea party movement is merely an unusually flamboyant symptom of an illness that's been breeding for a long time." [Mother Jones, 9/2010]
Entity Tags: Robert Welch, Newt Gingrich, W. Cleon Skousen, Kevin Drum, Charles Koch, Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, Jonathan Kay, American Liberty League, Fred Koch, John Birch Society, Fox News, David Koch
A tea party member masquerading as President Obama pretends to whip a 'future taxpayer' during a parade in Washington State. [Source: KXLY-TV]During the annual Sportsman's Day parade in Naches, Washington State, a tea party group called "Remember Us We The People" displays a float that many area residents find "offensive and in bad taste." The group, an affiliate of the national Tea Party Patriots, displays a float that looks like a Radio Flyer wagon, pulled behind a truck. People inside the truck display signs that say, among other slogans, "ObamaCare," "Healthcare Takeover," and "Wasted Tax Money." On the float itself is a man in a shirt, tie, and a President Obama mask. In one hand he carries a sign reading: "Hey Kids! Thanks for paying ou[r] debt!" In the other hand he cracks a whip over a teenager who is pretending to pull the wagon; the teen wears a shirt reading, "Future Tax Payer." Event organizers later say they receive numerous complaints, some of which point out that the depiction evoked racial stereotypes from the slavery era. One local resident says of the float: "It certainly came across as very racist to me, and really bad manners, bottom line, lack of manners.… A lack of respect for our presidency and our government, just everything down the line, it was really quite disturbing." The president of the tea party organization, Kirk Groenig, says the float "maybe" went "a little too far," and claims that his group is being victimized by groundless accusations of racism, saying, "When they don't like your message, they try to deem you as racist, that's really unfortunate." Local Lions Club president John Miles disagrees, saying, "There's respect for the position [of the presidency] and I think [Groenig] exceeded any good taste in his group's presentation." Another resident says that the tea party group may have lost its message due to its extreme presentation: "If you have people… thinking it was racist and not liking the message as it was promoted, then I would say you're not too effective." James Parks, the head of the Yakima County NAACP chapter, says the float is "sad" but not necessarily racist: "A lot of people will see it in different ways. I don't see it as being racist. It's more… about the economy. If the economy was better, I don't think we would have all these things happening. I think there are better ways for people to protest what's going on in the government." Groenig's group intends to display the float in an upcoming parade. The application to display it during the Sportsman's Day parade claimed that the float was an attempt to "attract, educate, organize, and mobilize our fellow citizens to secure public policy consistent with core values of America, fiscal responsibility, limited government, and free market enterprise." [KXLY-TV, 9/13/2010; Yakima Herald-Republic, 9/13/2010; Think Progress, 9/14/2010]
Entity Tags: John Miles, Barack Obama, James Parks, Remember Us We The People, Tea Party Patriots, Kirk Groenig
An anti-health care reform sign at the 9/12 rally depicting President Obama as a witch doctor, and combining the Obama 2008 campaign logo with the Soviet hammer and sickle. [Source: CNN]A large number of "tea party" activists and followers gather at the Washington Monument for a march and a rally. The protest rally, organized by the lobbying organization FreedomWorks and a number of national and local tea party organizations, is designed to show the size and efficacy of the "tea party" movement as the November midterm elections approach. Real estate broker Catherine Childers of Florida tells a reporter: "The average American has been asleep at the wheel. We think it's time the silent majority starts speaking up." "Today we are gathering to remind Congress and the president that we are fed up with their big-government policies," says Brendan Steinhauser, a FreedomWorks spokesman. "They have ignored independent voters and have continued to spend our tax dollars in a wasteful and inefficient way. Because the bailouts and the growth of the federal government have continued, we are now more determined then ever to replace those in power with leaders that will put an end to the failed economic policies of the current Congress." The featured speakers include FreedomWorks head Dick Armey, the former Republican House majority leader; Representative Mike Pence (R-IN); and conservative bloggers Andrew Breitbart and Erick Erickson. The rally is associated with the "9/12 Movement" promoted by Fox News host Glenn Beck, but Beck is not at this rally; he held a rally of his own two weeks ago. Whereas Beck's rally deliberately toned down political rhetoric, this rally is determinedly political. Initial estimates show that the number of protesters is far smaller than the number who attended a similar rally a year ago (see September 12, 2009). Reporter Evan McMorris-Santoro, writing for the progressive news blog Talking Points Memo, writes that he sees "[a]bout five" minority members on stage and none in the crowd. [Washington Post, 9/12/2010; TPMDC, 9/12/2010; TPMDC, 9/12/2010] Some of the signs carried by rally participants include comparisons between "Obamacare" and "slavery"; threats to "burn your Koran" and the launch of "Quiet Jihad" against Muslims; references to "Imam Obama"; claims that Obama and Congressional Democrats are "traitors" who should be executed; claims that Obama is a Communist; and one poster that depicts Obama as a number of African-American personages, including rappers, Jesus Christ, and TV's "Steve Urkel." [Tea Party Tracker, 9/12/2010]
Entity Tags: Dick Armey, Brendan Steinhauser, Barack Obama, Andrew Breitbart, Catherine Childers, Erick Erickson, Evan McMorris-Santoro, Mike Pence, Glenn Beck, FreedomWorks
American Third Position party members take part in a 'tea party' rally in Scranton, Pennsylvania. [Source: American Third Position]Members of the white supremacist American Third Position political party (A3P—see October 15, 2009 and After) participate in a "tea party" rally in Scranton, Pennsylvania. The A3P activists are led by Pennsylvania party chairman Steve Smith. According to the A3P Web site, the A3P members "presented the A3P perspective on the issues that concerned a crowd of Scranton Tea Party conservatives: taxation, government spending, and proper representation.… The policies and platform of the A3P were effectively delivered to the event attendees through personal conversation and the distribution of party literature." Smith later says: "We explained that the A3P was formed to represent white Americans, who have been denied representation for decades.… The A3P will cut programs that encourage unproductiveness, and paired with our policy toward immigration, will end the benefits that encourage illegal aliens to stick around against our wishes. We will also put a cap on government spending. The A3P believes in a policy of protectionism rather than globalization and will nurture start-up businesses, foster growth in existing businesses, and protect against unfair imports." Of the tea party movement, he says: "The Tea Parties are fertile ground for our activists. Tea Party supporters and the A3P share much common ground with regard to our political agendas. Through our face to face conversations and literature distributions, our activists brought our message to the Tea Party supporters. We provided them with a true alternative to the typical dead-end conservatism with which so many of these concerned and partially awakened Americans are involved. So many patriots find themselves supporting any group or organization which challenges the evil nature of the current corrupt establishment, even if they do not touch on the true issues.… Based on the very enthusiastic reception of the Tea Partiers to our message, the A3P provides the answers they need." [American Third Position, 10/11/2010]
Entity Tags: American Third Position, Steve Smith, Scranton Tea Party
Devin Burghart and Leonard Zeskind, writing for their organization Institute for Research & Education on Human Rights (IREHR), examine the role of "nativism" in the ideology of "tea party" members in a multi-part IREHR report (see August 24, 2010). (The Free Dictionary defines "nativists" as having "a sociopolitical policy… favoring the interests of established inhabitants over those of immigrants," and favoring "[t]he reestablishment or perpetuation of native cultural traits, especially in opposition to acculturation.") According to Burghart and Zeskind, many members and leaders of various "tea party" organizations are convinced that President Obama is not a "native-born" American, has never produced a valid birth certificate (see June 13, 2008), and is not a valid American citizen. They write that the idea "that Barack Obama is not a real American, but a 'lying African,' is… found across the entirety of the tea party movement. Hundreds of posts echoing these sentiments are on the Tea Party Nation Web site." Since the first tea party protests in April 2009, they write: "those who do not believe that President Obama is a native born American have been widely visible. They have claimed he was a Muslim instead of a Christian, that he was born in Kenya or Indonesia, rather than in Hawaii. And that Barack Obama was a non-American socialist who conspiratorially slipped into the White House." Characterizations that the tea party movement is based almost solely on economic concerns are belied by the strong threads of social conservatism, including "nativism," evident in tea party ideology (see August 16, 2011). Conservative activists such as Pamela Geller, the authors note, have fueled tea party nativism and anti-Muslim/anti-immigrant stances. Geller is, the authors claim, a classic "Islamophobe," expressing what a 1997 study by the Runnymede Trust termed an "unfounded hostility towards Muslims, and therefore fear or dislike of all or most Muslims." Geller has frequently spoken at tea party events, often declaiming about the "threat" Muslims pose to America. Geller's three "organizational fronts," as Burghart and Zeskind call them, are her blog, "Atlas Shrugs," and her two groups, SIOA (Stop Islamization of America) and the Freedom Defense Initiative. All are listed as official "partner" organizations of the ResistNet Tea Party faction. Geller is also a "birther" (see October 24, 2008, August 4, 2009, April 27, 2011, and April 29, 2011) who believes Obama is a "third worlder and a coward" who is "appeas[ing] his Islamic overlords." Many tea party organizations also support anti-immigration legislation; Burghart and Zeskind cite a July 29 decision by the National Leadership Council of Tea Party Patriots to support Arizona's controversial anti-immigration bill, SB1070. The largest umbrella tea party organization, the 1776 Tea Parties, holds as two of its "non-negotiable beliefs" that "illegal aliens are illegal" and "English only is required." The 1776 Tea Parties also support Arizona's SB1070, and has as members of its board two members of the violently anti-immigrant Minuteman Project. The tea party groups' support for "birtherism" and nativist ideology has caused "something of a rift" between the groups and FreedomWorks, the lobbying organization that has funded the groups since their inception (see April 8, 2009 and April 14, 2009). Tea party members have targeted FreedomWorks founder Dick Armey over his limited support for pro-immigrant reform; one Tenneessee tea party organizer recently wrote, "I think we should tar-and-feather Dick Armey." Conservative blogger and activist Michelle Malkin, a vocal supporter of the tea party groups, has called Armey an "amnesty stooge." Tea party organizer Roy Beck of anti-immigration organization NumbersUSA recently wrote that Armey "wants immigration to be treated as a social issue with no place in the tea parties," and suggested FreedomWorks may be trying "to intimidate local tea parties" to stay away from the issue at the behest of "corporate benefactors [who] want the foreign labor to keep pouring in." Congress members such as Michele Bachmann (R-MN) and others in Bachmann's House Tea Party Caucus are strongly anti-immigrant. And 42 of the 51 Tea Party Caucus members also belong to the House Immigration Reform Caucus, which supports blocking any immigration reform that would give illegal residents a pathway to citizenship. Burghart and Zeskind write, "Opposition to 'birthright citizenship' extends throughout the tea party movement, and is often linked to an explicit fear of the demographic transformation underway in the United States, in which white people are projected to become one minority in a country of minorities during the next several decades." ResistNet's state director in Alabama, Jason Leverette, recently wrote of his fear that whites ("real Americans") were being "out-bred" by "Mexicans" who want to take over the nation and "rule America! If this trend continues… by 2050 the United States will be ruled by Hosea Jesus Delgado Gonzalez Calderon, Esq. WTF!" Burghart and Zeskind conclude, "It is here, at the conjunction of nativism, opposition to birthright citizenship, the denigration of President Obama, and the fear of the new majority in American life, that the unstated racism embedded within the tea parties becomes vocal and unmistakable." [The Free Dictionary, 2009; Institute for Research & Education on Human Rights, 10/19/2010]
Entity Tags: FreedomWorks, Tea Party Nation, US House of Representatives Immigration Reform Caucus, US House of Representatives Tea Party Caucus, Devin Burghart, Barack Obama, Freedom Defense Initiative, Roy Beck, Stop Islamization of America, Pamela Geller, Leonard Zeskind, Jason Leverette, Institute for Research & Education on Human Rights, ResistNet, Michelle Malkin, Dick Armey, Michele Bachmann, National Leadership Council of Tea Party Patriots
A screenshot from Glenn Beck's final show. [Source: Gateway Pundit (.com)]Fox News chairman Roger Ailes negotiates the departure of one of his network's most influential stars, talk show host Glenn Beck. Beck's departure has been predicted by outside observers for weeks; as for Beck, he has already told Ailes, "I don't want to do cable news anymore." Beck has been with Fox News since October 2008, when he was hired to fill the 5:00 p.m. slot that had unsuccessfully been hosted by other conservatives such as John Gibson and Laura Ingraham. He debuted the day before President Obama's January 2009 inauguration (see January 20-21, 2009). New York Magazine reporter Gabriel Sherman will write that Ailes hired Beck "to reenergize Fox's audience after Obama's election." (In January 2009, Ailes told Beck that Fox News's primary mission was to oppose Obama, and that Beck was a major part of that effort—see January 2009 and August 11, 2009.) Beck has been hugely successful (see March 29, 2009), "tapping deep wells of resentment and igniting them into a vast, national conflagration," as Sherman will write. However: "The problem was that it had almost engulfed Fox itself. Beck was huge and uncontrollable, and some of Fox's other big names seemed diminished by comparison—and were speaking up about it. Beck seemed to many to be Fox News's id made visible, saying things—Obama is a racist (see July 27, 2009 and July 28-29, 2009), Nazi tactics are progressive tactics (see July 26, 2010 and October 3, 2010)—dredged from the right-wing subconscious. These were things that weren't supposed to be said, even at Fox (see February 20, 2009 and March 9, 2009), and they were consuming the brand. Ailes had built his career by artfully tending the emotional undercurrents of both politics and entertainment, using them to power ratings and political careers; now they were out of his control." Beck's show has suffered a steep drop in ratings because of an effective boycott led by a number of progressive and civil rights groups; over 400 Fox advertisers pulled their commercials from Beck's show. Beck has become a divisive figure among other Fox hosts, with Sean Hannity complaining about his "stardom" and Bill O'Reilly, who detests Hannity, regularly scheduling Beck as a guest on his show, further angering Hannity. And Ailes is increasingly uncomfortable with the religious content of Beck's show (at times Beck has told his viewers that God is speaking to them through him). Beck and Ailes agree that Beck will give up his 5:00 p.m. show and return for a number of network "specials." The talks between Beck and Ailes are not without acrimony; at one point, Ailes tells a Fox executive, "I'm just going to fire him and issue a press release." When the network announces the departure on April 6, Beck and other Fox spokespersons are careful to avoid any sort of "public meltdown," and ensure the avoidance of what Ailes fears most: what Sherman calls the view of "Beck's departure… as a victory for the liberal media." Ailes tells reporters: "We felt Glenn brought additional information, a unique perspective, a certain amount of passion and insight to the channel and he did. But that story of what's going on and why America is in trouble today, I think he told that story as well as could be told. Whether you can just keep telling that story or not… we're not so sure." David Brock, founder of the progressive media watchdog Web site Media Matters, says "the only surprise is that it took Fox News months to reach this decision." And James Rucker, the chairman of ColorofChange.org, the organization behind the advertiser boycott, says, "Fox News Channel clearly understands that Beck's increasingly erratic behavior is a liability to their ratings and their bottom line, and we are glad to see them take this action." Beck is expected to continue his daily AM radio show and to engage in other media activities in the future. New Republic reporter James Downie observes, "In recent months, it seems, Beck's theories became so outlandish that even conservatives—both viewers and media personalities—were having a hard time stomaching them." Downie notes that as Beck's show continued, Beck became caught in what he calls a "vicious circle," having to "top himself" from week to week with ever more intricate and outlandish conspiracy theories, and more extremist rhetoric. [Associated Press, 4/6/2011; Christian Science Monitor, 4/6/2011; New York Magazine, 5/22/2011] In his own explanation for his departure, Beck compares himself to Revolutionary War hero Paul Revere, saying: "When I took this job I didn't take it because it was going to be a career for me. Paul Revere did not get up on the horse and say, 'I'm going to do this for the rest of my life.' He didn't do it. He got off the horse at some point and fought in the Revolution and then he went back to silversmithing." [New York Daily News, 4/7/2011]
Entity Tags: Gabriel Sherman, Fox News, Bill O'Reilly, Barack Obama, Sean Hannity, Roger Ailes, Laura Ingraham, David Brock, Paul Revere, James Downie, John Gibson, Glenn Beck, James Rucker
Arizona House Bill 2177, a bill requiring presidential candidates to prove they are natural-born citizens before being listed on Arizona state ballots, passes the Arizona State Senate, on a 20-8 party-line vote. The bill then passes the House on another party-line vote, 40-16. House Republican Carl Seel (R-AZ), who co-sponsored the bill, says the intent of the legislation is to "maintain the integrity of the Constitution." A candidate wishing to run for president in Arizona would, under the legislation, have to submit a "long form birth certificate" that includes at least their date and place of birth, the names of the hospital and doctor, and, if applicable, signatures of any witnesses in attendance. Candidates who do not have such a document could submit other documents in its stead. The original bill required the long-form certificate to be presented, but after some tension between Republican state lawmakers, the long-form certificate was made optional, and other documents were inserted as certifying natural birth—including for Jewish citizens a circumcision certificate, a document given to Jewish parents after their male child is ceremonially circumsized. Such certificates are religious and not legal documents, but the bill would allow such a document to be used to prove citizenship. Other "acceptable" documents include hospital birth records, a postpartum medical record, or an early census record. Critics of the bill say it is driven by the "birther" controversy over whether President Obama is actually a US citizen (see June 27, 2008, July 20, 2008, and August 21, 2008). Billionaire Donald Trump, who says he may run for president as a Republican in 2012, has made frequent calls for Obama to reveal his birth certificate. Obama's birth certificate has long been made publically available (see June 13, 2008), but "birthers" have consistently refused to accept its validity. State Senator Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) voted against the bill and says it would have no standing in federal or state law even if signed into law by Governor Jan Brewer (R-AZ). "This is designed specifically to challenge [Obama's] ability to run for re-election," she says. "Frankly, I think they'd be better served by just surfacing a good candidate to run against him." Critics note that such requirements as stated in the bill already exist under federal law, and Obama, as every presidential candidate has before him, submitted such documents during his filing to run for the White House. [Salon, 4/15/2008; State of Arizona House of Representatives, 2011; KTVK-TV, 4/13/2011; Phoenix New Times, 4/13/2011; Phoenix Business Journal, 4/13/2011] Many credit Trump with energizing the Republican legislators' push to pass the bill. Trump recently met with Seel concerning the bill and his considered run for the presidency (see April 7, 2011). [Phoenix Business Journal, 4/13/2011] The Senate version of the bill included wording that some lawmakers said defined natural-born citizens as children whose parents were citizens at the time of the candidate's birth, which would possibly conflict with constitutional statute. That wording was eliminated from the House version. [Arizona Republic, 3/23/2011] When the bill reaches Brewer's desk four days later, she vetoes it (see April 19, 2011).
Entity Tags: Barack Obama, Carl Seel, Donald Trump, Jan Brewer, Kyrsten Sinema
The altered photograph sent out by California 'tea party' activist Marilyn Davenport. She claims the depiction is not racist. [Source: Orange County Weekly]Marilyn Davenport, a member of the Orange County (California) Republican Party (OCGOP) and a prominent tea party activist, sends an email to "a few friends" depicting President Obama as a half-ape "child" sitting on the laps of chimpanzee parents. The photograph is headed by the words, "Now you know why no birth certificate" (see June 13, 2008). Davenport attempts to laugh off the email as a joke, telling a reporter: "Oh, come on! Everybody who knows me knows that I am not a racist. It was a joke. I have friends who are black. Besides, I only sent it to a few people—mostly people I didn't think would be upset by it." Other local Republicans are less amused. One of her fellow OCGOP members, who refuses to be identified, says: "It's unbelievable. It's much more racist than the watermelon email. I can't believe it was sent out. I'm not an Obama fan but how stupid do you have to be to do this?" The member is referring to a February 2009 email sent out by another Orange County Republican, then-Los Alamitos Mayor Dean Grose, who emailed a picture of a watermelon patch in front of the White House and then denied the picture was racist (see February 24-26, 2009). Another Republican official who also refuses to be identified says that Davenport is "a really, really sweet old lady so I am surprised to hear about this." In a telephone conversation, OCGOP chairman Scott Baugh tells Davenport the email is tasteless. When contacted by a reporter from the Orange County Weekly, Davenport asks: "You're not going to make a big deal about this are you? It's just an Internet joke." Baugh tells a reporter that it is indeed a big deal. "When I saw that email today I thought it was despicable," he says. "It is dripping with racism and it does not promote the type of message Orange County Republicans want to deliver to the public. I think she should consider stepping down as an elected official." Michael J. Schroeder, an Orange County resident and former California Republican Party chairman, calls the email disgusting. "This is a three strikes situation for Marilyn Davenport," Schroeder says. Schroeder cites Davenport's impassioned defense of a former Newport Beach city councilman who made explicitly racist slurs against "Mexicans," and her defense of Grose and the watermelon picture. "Now, she has managed to top both of those incidents by comparing African-Americans to monkeys. She has disgraced herself and needs to resign. If she doesn't, the Republican Party must remove her." Davenport responds by sending an angry email to fellow California conservative activists demanding to know the identity of "the coward" who supplied a copy of her email to the press. She refuses to speak to at least two reporters, blaming the "liberal media" for the controversy. She later sends another email to fellow Orange County Republican elected officials, apologizing if anyone was offended and again blaming the "liberal media" for reporting the story. She writes: "I'm sorry if my email offended anyone. I simply found it amusing regarding the character of Obama and all the questions surrounding his origin of birth. In no way did I even consider the fact he's half black when I sent out the email. In fact, the thought never entered my mind until one or two other people tried to make this about race. We all know a double standard applies regarding this president. I received plenty of emails about George Bush that I didn't particularly like yet there was no 'cry' in the media about them. One only has to go to Youtube or Google Images to see a plethora of lampooning videos and pictures of Obama, Bush, and other politicians. That being said, I will NOT resign my central committee position over this matter that the average person knows and agrees is much to do about nothing. Again, for those select few who might be truly offended by viewing a copy of an email I sent to a select list of friends and acquaintances, unlike the liberal left when they do the same, I offer my sincere apologies to you—the email was not meant for you. For any of my friends or acquaintances who were the recipients of my email and were truly offended, please call me so I may offer a sincere verbal apology to you." Orange County Republican activist Tim Whitacre defends Davenport, telling a reporter: "Marilyn Davenport is a staunch, ethical Republican lady. There is nothing unethical about this from a party standpoint because it wasn't sent out to the party at large with any racist statements and it wasn't signed as a central committee member. As a private individual, she is just real big on birther stuff. One of her passions that drives her is the president's lack of forthrightness about where he was born. Marilyn believes that nobody knows where he was born and so this picture says a thousand words. She is not a perfect lady, but she is no racist. She is a gentle person who would feed you, help you, be there for you if you were in trouble. She is known as a pleasant, loving person and it kills me that she is being attacked by this non-story knowing her mindset." [Orange County Weekly, 4/15/2011; KCAL-TV, 4/15/2011; CBS Los Angeles, 4/15/2011] Baugh says that he wants an ethics investigation into Davenport's actions. [Associated Press, 4/15/2011] Conservative blogger Charles Johnson calls Davenport's message "a vicious racist email about the first African-American president," and writes, "This latest sickening example makes the connection between birtherism and old-school racism utterly explicit." [Charles Johnson, 4/15/2011]
Entity Tags: Orange County Weekly, Dean Grose, Charles Johnson, Barack Obama, Marilyn Davenport, Orange County (California) Republican Party, Tim Whitacre, Scott Baugh, Michael J. Schroeder
White nationalist lawyer and A3P leader William Johnson at San Juan Capistrano tea party rally. [Source: Media Matters]A coalition of local tea party and white supremacist organizations hold a joint rally in San Juan Capistrano, California. The rally is scheduled to coincide with over 100 other tea party rallies around the country scheduled for the same day. This rally is organized by an organization called American Third Position (A3P), a white nationalist political party founded by racist white "skinheads" (see October 15, 2009 and After), and promoted on the website of TeaParty.org, also called the 1776 Tea Party, a large and well-established tea party umbrella group. At the rally, white nationalist lawyer William Johnson, an A3P founder, complains of the media attention he had drawn with his recent failed attempt to land a judgeship in California. "Ron Paul endorsed me for Superior Court judge, and I was on my way," Johnson tells the crowd. "No sooner than I'd put my hat in the ring than… it came out that Johnson is a white nationalist, that Johnson wants to create a separate white ethno-state, that Johnson supports the 14 words of David Lane [a member of the defunct violent white power group The Order who died serving a jail term for murdering a Jewish radio host—see June 18, 1984 and After and May 1992], that 'We must secure the existence of our people and a future for white children,' and the media went wild with all of that, and Ron Paul withdrew his endorsement of me… because he did not believe in a separate white ethno-state and he didn't know that I did." Johnson is followed by Holocaust denier Mark Weber of the Institute for Historical Review, who avoids overt anti-Semitism in his remarks. David Holthouse of the progressive media watchdog organization Media Matters will write, "Although it would be unfair to characterize the tea party movement on the whole as white nationalist, it's clear that large gatherings of angry, conservative, predominately white Americans are viewed with relish by groups like A3P." A3P Pennsylvania chairman Steve Smith says after the rally: "The tea parties are fertile ground for our activists. Tea party supporters and the A3P share much common ground with regard to our political agendas." Tea Party Patriots co-founder Mark Meckler will tell Holthouse that white supremacist groups such as A3P are not welcome at his organization's events, but the organization can do little to stop their involvement, saying, "As a national umbrella organization with over 3,500 chapters, we obviously don't have folks from the national organization at every rally to monitor literature distribution." Meckler will say he knew nothing of A3P's involvement in the April 16 rally or others it took part in until Holthouse contacted him, and will say: "We would absolutely ban any white nationalist group from our organization if we found them to be trying to get involved. We have a 100 percent zero tolerance policy towards this type of group. This type of activity has no place in the legitimate tea party movement. They [A3P] are hiding behind a tea party banner. Thanks for bringing this to our attention. We'll be on the lookout." Holthouse notes that tea party organizations have been sensitive to accusations of racism in their ranks since July 2010, when the NAACP asked tea partiers to "purge" racists from their ranks. The NAACP's request was met with scorn and opprobrium from tea party members, and A3P has continued to take part in tea party rallies since that time, apparently without opposition (see October 10, 2010). At the April 16 rally, the A3P table is next to a table hosted by the Council of Conservative Citizens (CCC), a white supremacist, segregationist organization. [Media Matters, 2011; Southern Poverty Law Center, 2011]
Entity Tags: Mark Meckler, David Edan Lane, Council of Conservative Citizens, American Third Position, Institute for Historical Review, William Daniel Johnson, Ron Paul, Tea Party Patriots, Mark Weber, Media Matters, TeaParty (.org), David Holthouse, Steve Smith
The John Birch Society booth displays a banner at the 'Freedom Rally' before the debate. [Source: Think Progress]Several prospective contenders for the Republican presidential nomination in 2012 participate in a debate in Greenville, South Carolina. The debate is presaged by a "Freedom Rally," co-sponsored by local tea party groups, the local chapter of the far-right, implicitly racist John Birch Society (JBS—see March 10, 1961 and December 2011), and a far-right militia organization, the Oath Keepers (see March 9, 2009). The rally features speakers such as Judge Roy Moore, the former Alabama Supreme Court chief justice who lost his job after refusing to remove a Ten Commandments monument from the state judicial building, and Governor Nikki Haley (R-SC). "The change we've done in South Carolina can be done across the country," Haley tells a crowd of some 200 members. "We need to change the person in the White House." Other speakers talk about issues such as defending traditional marriage and making gold and silver legal tender in South Carolina. The JBS has been considered so extreme that until 2010, mainstream Republicans refused to countenance its involvement in their political events and campaigns (see April 19, 2010). Former Governor Tim Pawlenty (R-MN), former Senator Rick Santorum (R-PA), US Representative Ron Paul (R-TX), former Governor Gary Johnson (R-NM), and former Godfather's Pizza CEO and radio talk show host Herman Cain take part in the debate. Paul and Johnson are libertarians; during the debate, Paul argues for the legalization of heroin, Johnson calls for the legalization of marijuana, and both call for the US to end its military involvement in Afghanistan. [Fox News, 5/5/2011; Think Progress, 5/5/2011; Washington Post, 5/5/2011] Many credit Paul with bringing the JBS back into "favor" with the Republican Party (see July 22, 2007 and August 4, 2008). Fox News host Glenn Beck has also praised the JBS in his broadcasts (see November 9-11, 2010 and After).
Entity Tags: Tim Pawlenty, Roy Stewart Moore, Ron Paul, Nikki Haley, Republican Party, Herman Cain, Glenn Beck, Rick Santorum, Gary Earl Johnson, Oath Keepers, John Birch Society, Barack Obama
Timeline Tags: Domestic Propaganda, US Domestic Terrorism, 2012 Elections
A group of tea party-affiliated organizations, including the lobbying group Americans for Prosperity (see Late 2004), the Tea Party Patriots, the Heritage Foundation, the Buckeye Foundation, American Majority, and the far-right, extremst John Birch Society (JBS—see March 10, 1961 and December 2011), hosts a two-day event called the "We the People Convention." The event is designed to help raise money and awareness for Republican political candidates, in part through the auspices of the Ohio Citizens PAC. Some 88 area tea party groups in the Ohio Liberty Council are the local sponsors; the attendance is estimated at around 300 people. According to the organization's Web site, "The purpose of the convention is to provide educational programs that will help all citizens participate in self governance as provided by the US and Ohio Constitutions by participating in the governance of their township, village, municipality, state, and country." The convention includes "breakout sessions" that give information on "start[ing] your own Patriot group in your home town, or strengthen[ing] your existing group." According to a report by the Institute for Research & Education on Human Rights's Devin Burghart, the workshops advocate the dismantling of public education, Social Security, and Medicaid; the banning of labor unions; and voter suppression efforts against non-white voters. Burghart writes, "A hard look at this conference provides an invaluable window on the way the tea party movement works against even the most minimal efforts to promote the common good." Many of the workshop presenters engage in what Burghart calls overtly racist jargon, including accusations that blacks who receive government assistance "have no souls" and President Obama is "not American." Global warming is a fraud perpetuated by socialists to obtain control over private enterprise, one workshop asserts, with global warming advocates being compared to Nazi propagandist Joseph Goebbels. Another hosted by John McManus of the JBS claims that the Federal Reserve system is a Communist front group, and calls for a return to a gold- and silver-based monetary system. McManus also leads workshops that claim American Democrats are colluding with American neoconservatives to build a "one-world government," a "New World Order" (see September 11, 1990) that would oppress whites and institute "global socialism." Matt Spaulding of the Heritage Foundation tells listeners that they are the current equivalent of the Revolutionary War-era patriots, and the enemies of America are the "elites" and "progressive liberals" who intend to subvert American democracy. Progressive liberalism, Spaulding says, is an outgrowth of German Nazism. He cites what he calls "Obamacare," the 2009 health care legislation bitterly opposed by many tea party groups, as an example of the Obama administration's drive to "socialize" America and undermine constitutional law. At the welcoming ceremony, tea party spokesman Tom Zawistowski, the incoming president of the Ohio Liberty Council, tells the audience that the Obama administration is a "professional army" of socialists intent on overthrowing the Constitution. Zawistowski tells the assemblage that only they, the heirs and successors to American Revolutionary War figures such as Thomas Jefferson and George Washington, can stop Obama and the "liberal agenda" from destroying America as it currently exists. Vendors sell anti-Obama literature and bumper stickers, along with information on how to purchase weapons engraved with "We the People Convention" and selected phrases from the US Constitution. "[W]e do not hate Obama because he is black," he says, "we hate him because he is a socialist, fascist, and not American." While Zawistowski claims that tea parties have no affiliation with Republican politicians, Jenny Beth Martin of the Tea Party Patriots hosts a luncheon where she cautions listeners to avoid voting for Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, and instead consider voting for another Republican, Representative Michele Bachmann (R-MN). [We the People Convention, 7/2011; Institute for Research & Education on Human Rights, 9/16/2011]
Entity Tags: Tea Party Patriots, Tom Zawistowski, Willard Mitt Romney, Ohio Liberty Council, Ohio Citizens PAC, John F. McManus, Matt Spaulding, Michele Bachmann, Barack Obama, Americans for Prosperity, Heritage Foundation, Jenny Beth Martin, Devin Burghart, American Majority, John Birch Society, Buckeye Foundation
Doug Lamborn. [Source: Huffington Post]Representative Doug Lamborn (R-CO) calls President Obama a "tar baby," a racially explosive characterization, in an interview on a Colorado radio show. Lamborn says: "Even if some people say, 'Well, the Republicans should have done this or they should have done that,' they will hold the president responsible. Now, I don't want to even have to be associated with him. It's like touching a tar baby and you get, you get it, you know, you get in and you are stuck and you are part of the problem now and you can't get away. I don't want that to happen to us, but if it does, or not, he'll still get, properly so, the blame because his policies for four years will have failed the American people. Look at the economic numbers." Many Lamborn supporters quickly move to defend his statement, saying he is ignorant of the term's racial connotations, but liberal radio host and author David Sirota writes, "[T]he ignorance plea would be absurd because he explicitly used the term to describe a black person." Moreover, Sirota writes: "Tellingly, this openly derogatory epithet comes from not just any old politician. Lamborn is a United States congressman from Colorado Springs—one of the most conservative tea party-loving districts in America. In the hard-core right-wing political circles he runs in, describing a black person as a 'tar baby' is probably more than acceptable—it may even be celebrated, especially when aimed at a political opponent like President Obama.… [W]hile he may insist he didn't mean to use the term the way he did, the comment reveals how various forms of racism are still being mainstreamed by the fringe right." After his statement begins receiving media attention, Lamborn calls the characterization a "misunderstanding," then issues an apology to Obama. Lamborn's office says in a press release: "Congressman Doug Lamborn (CO-05) today sent a personal letter to President Barack Obama apologizing for using a term some find insensitive. Lamborn was attempting to tell a radio audience last week that the president's policies have created an economic quagmire for the nation and are responsible for the dismal economic conditions our country faces. He regrets that he chose the phrase 'tar baby,' rather than the word 'quagmire.' The congressman is confident that the president will accept his heartfelt apology." Sirota observes, "Sadly, rather than fully apologizing for using an obviously racist term, Lamborn felt the need to try to pretend that only 'some' find the words he used insensitive." Mediaite reporter Frances Martel calls Lamborn's characterization "an unfortunate idiom" and observes that Lamborn's wish to have used "quagmire" instead of "tar baby" "a bit of a grammatical stretch, but an improvement." [Salon, 8/1/2011; AM760, 8/1/2011; Mediaite, 8/2/2011] "Congressman Lamborn's ignorant comments are intolerable," says Rick Palacio, Colorado Democratic Party chairman. Lamborn says he believes Obama will accept his apology, telling a Denver reporter, "I absolutely intended no offense, and if this is at all on his radar screen, I am sure that he will not take offense and he'll be happy to accept my apology because he is a man of character." The White House issues no comment on the issue. [Denver Post, 8/2/2011] In response to the protests outside his office in Colorado Springs, Lamborn implements a "no-protesting" rule for his office, posting a sign that reads: "Private Property—No Soliciting, No Protesting, No Loitering." Sirota says of the sign: "A US congressman should not be declaring his public taxpayer-funded Congressional office 'private property' and shouldn't be putting a sign out telling his constituents they have no right to peaceably assemble and protest. That's just fundamentally un-American." [Huffington Post, 8/15/2011]
Entity Tags: David Sirota, Rick Palacio, Barack Obama, Doug Lamborn, Frances Martel
Liberal columnist Joan Walsh uses a recent op-ed by authors and researchers David Campbell and Robert Putnam (see August 16, 2011) to ask why the media portrays the "tea party" movement as a powerful new force of non-partisan advocates of small government, when research shows that the movement is, as Walsh and others have long argued, largely formed of right-wing social conservatives. Walsh writes: "It's great to have data, but this is something a lot of us believed all along—the tea party was the Republican base dressed up in silly costumes. Why was the media so quick to declare them a vital new force in politics?" Walsh points to the early involvement of the billionaire Koch brothers (see July 3-4, 2010 and August 30, 2010), lobbying groups such as FreedomWorks (see April 8, 2009 and April 14, 2009) and Americans for Prosperity (see Late 2004), and Fox News, whom she says did early and "energetic publicity for… tea party rallies" (see March 23-24, 2009, April 6-13, 2009, April 6-7, 2009, April 8, 2009, April 13-15, 2009, April 15, 2009, April 16, 2009, May 13-14, 2009, July 28, 2009, August 3, 2009, August 3, 2009, August 8, 2009, August 10, 2009, August 11, 2009, August 28, 2009, September 1, 2009, September 12, 2009, September 18, 2009, Early November 2009, and May 22, 2011). Former Fox News talk show host Glenn Beck helped start one of the earliest nationwide "tea party" organizations, the "9-12 movement" (see March 13, 2009 and After). The first "tea party" rally Walsh attended, in San Francisco in April 2009, was sponsored by right-wing talk radio station KSFO and featured speakers such as Melanie Morgan, who, Walsh recalls, "whipped the crowd into an anti-government frenzy that day." Many "birthers"—people who insist that President Obama is not the legitimate president because he is not an American citizen—were on hand. Race is a big issue for many "tea party" members, Walsh writes: while Obama's race is a bone of contention for many "tea partiers," "it's worth noting that these are the same people who've been fighting the Democratic Party since the days of the Civil Rights Act, the Voting Rights Act, and the beginning of the War on Poverty, almost 50 years ago. They associate those long overdue social reforms with giving folks, mainly black people, something they don't deserve. I sometimes think just calling them racist against our black president obscures the depths of their hatred for Democrats, period." [Salon, 8/17/2011] Walsh is echoing similar claims made by Mother Jones columnist Kevin Drum almost a year ago (see September 2010).
Entity Tags: David Koch, Barack Obama, Americans for Prosperity, Charles Koch, Fox News, FreedomWorks, Joan Walsh, Melanie Morgan, Kevin Drum, Glenn Beck
Andre Carson. [Source: United Muslim Masjid Online]Representative Andre Carson (D-IN) tells an audience at a town hall that "tea party" members of Congress view African-Americans as "second-class citizens" and would like to see them "hanging on a tree," characterizations that the Washington Post later terms "incendiary." Carson makes the remarks at a Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) Job Tour event in Miami, Florida. Carson tells the audience: "I'm saying right now, under [CBC] Chairman Emanuel Cleaver's leadership, we have seen change in Congress… but the tea party is stopping that change. And this is beyond symbolic change. This is the effort that we're seeing, of Jim Crow.… Some of these folks in Congress right now would love to see us as second-class citizens. Some of them in Congress right now with this tea party movement would love to see you and me—I'm sorry, Tamron—hanging on a tree." "Tamron" is a reference to MSNBC news anchor Tamron Hall, who moderates the event. Carson adds: "Some of them right now in Congress right now are comfortable with where we were 50 or 60 years ago. But it's a new day with a black president and a Congressional Black Caucus." His office later confirms that Carson stands by the statements, saying they were "prompted in response to frustration voiced by many in Miami and in his home district in Indianapolis regarding Congress' inability to bolster the economy." Carson spokesman Jason Tomcsi adds: "The tea party is protecting its millionaire and oil company friends while gutting critical services that they know protect the livelihood of African-Americans, as well as Latinos and other disadvantaged minorities. We are talking about child nutrition, job creation, job training, housing assistance, and Head Start, and that is just the beginning. A child without basic nutrition, secure housing, and quality education has no real chance at a meaningful and productive life. So, yes, the congressman used strong language because the tea party agenda jeopardizes our most vulnerable and leaves them without the ability to improve their economic standing." The Blaze, a Web site launched by conservative commentator and former Fox News host Glenn Beck, begins circulating clips of Carson's statements, interspersed with other statements made by CBC members at other town halls, calling them "dangerous" and "violent." Carson was one of the CBC members called a "n_gger" by tea party ralliers outside the Capitol in March 2010 (see March 20, 2010). [Washington Post, 8/30/2011; ABC News, 8/30/2011]
Entity Tags: The Blaze (.com), Andre Carson, Congressional Black Caucus, Jason Tomcsi, Emanuel Cleaver, Washington Post, Tamron Hall
A screenshot from the Hutchinson, Kansas, Patriot Freedom Alliance Web site comparing President Obama to a skunk. The photo and accompanying text was quickly removed after it was reported in a local newspaper. [Source: Hutchinson News]Thomas Hymer, the leader of the Hutchinson, Kansas, Patriot Freedom Alliance (PFA), also known as the Hutchinson Tea Party, places a picture of a skunk on the PFA's Web site and says it should supplant the bald eagle as the symbol for President Obama. The Web site explains why a skunk should represent Obama, stating, "It is half black, half white, and almost everything it does, stinks." Hymer calls the picture "satire in a politically incorrect form," but Hutchinson NAACP leader Darrell Pope says it is "a blatant statement of racism… intended to be malicious." Pope says that tea party organizations like Hymer's can pretend to support Herman Cain, a black Republican presidential candidate, all they like, but the skunk posting is "a statement of what they're all about." Local tea party activist Chuck Sankey agrees with Hymer, saying: "It just makes a point that we're in trouble and what's happening doesn't smell right. That's what it means to me." As for the half-black, half-white reference, Sankey asks: "Isn't that the truth? What's wrong with the truth?… It may be offensive to some, of course, but in humor there is always an element of truth." Sankey, who denies he is a racist, says if people are offended, then "Don't look at it." Sankey adds that the graphic is justified because former Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin (R-AK) has been the target of worse insults. After the article about the skunk graphic is posted to the Hutchinson News Web site, Hymer or another Hutchinson Tea Party member removes the graphic from the site. A Web post by The New Civil Rights Movement says another anti-Obama Web site, ObamaForwards.com, displayed the same photo and text accompaniment in July 2010. A commenter on the article says the Hutchinson Tea Party sported a Confederate flag on its float in a recent Christmas parade. [Hutchinson News, 12/10/2011; TPM Muckraker, 12/12/2011; David Badash, 12/12/2011]
Entity Tags: Herman Cain, Barack Obama, Chuck Sankey, Darrell Pope, Patriot Freedom Alliance, Thomas Hymer, Hutchinson News
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