The Tea Party isn't home to a large amount of racism

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The Tea Party isn't home to a large amount of racism

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Boygabriel
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Subject: The Tea Party isn't home to a large amount of racism
Oh wait, yes it is.

Diana Serafin, a grandmother who lost her job in tech support this year, said she reached out to others she knew from attending Tea Party events and anti-immigration rallies. She said they read books by critics of Islam, including former Muslims like Walid Shoebat, Wafa Sultan and Manoucher Bakh. She also attended a meeting of the local chapter of ACT! for America, a Florida-based group that says its purpose is to defend Western civilization against Islam.

"As a mother and a grandmother, I worry," Ms. Serafin said. "I learned that in 20 years with the rate of the birth population, we will be overtaken by Islam, and their goal is to get people in Congress and the Supreme Court to see that Shariah is implemented. My children and grandchildren will have to live under that.... I do believe everybody has a right to freedom of religion. But Islam is not about a religion

In late June, in Temecula, Calif., members of a local Tea Party group took dogs and picket signs to Friday prayers at a mosque that is seeking to build a new worship center on a vacant lot nearby.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/08/us/08mosque.html?_r=2&hp

Everyone feel free to add on to this list. Unless of course these are isolated incidents!
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# Posted 2 yrs ago
modsquad2.0
getting it
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A message from the Temecula Tea Party;

http://www.desertrosebooks.com/TemeculaTeaParty.html

I found this with one hand tied behind my back in 30 seconds. You have to scroll down a bit. You know how to scroll down, don't you?

# Posted 2 yrs ago
Boygabriel
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You have to scroll down a bit. You know how to scroll down, don't you?

Oooh ad hominem insults, quality!

That statement just said the protest wasn't organized by their group and that someone named Ernie White isn't their president. Nowhere in that statement did they refute that tea party members protested the mosque.

On a different tea party website which they claim to not be affiliated with I did find this fun racism in the form of a made-up AP story!

http://www.wethepeople-swrc.com/immigration.php

Picture: Renaldo: Leaving for a state that will support him with dignity.

Illegals Boycott Arizona By Leaving new

Phoenix, AZ (AP) - Thousands of illegal immigrants are showing their outrage with Arizona's controversial new SB-1070 law by boycotting the state and moving elsewhere.

One example of those who are punishing the state by leaving is illegal immigrant Manuel Renaldo. As he loaded his stolen car with his family of twelve's belongings, Renaldo told this reporter through an interpreter, "It's a matter of principle, 'homes.' I refuse to be supported by someplace that treats me like a fucking criminal."

The affects of the exodus are being felt by Arizona retailers who report dwindling beer, spray paint, and ammunition sales. Also hit hard are Arizona hospitals, who have reported a dramatic decline in births and emergency room visits by illegal aliens. "We're ecstatic," said one administrator for Banner Health in Phoenix. "At this rate we may see a profit one day."

The boycott/exodus of Arizona by illegals is expected to grow exponentially leading up to the law's starting date.
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# Posted 2 yrs ago
modsquad2.0
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Boygabriel »
That statement just said the protest wasn't organized by their group and that someone named Ernie White isn't their president. Nowhere in that statement did they refute that tea party members protested the mosque.

BG, you are backpedaling. First you talk about the overt racism found in the Tea Party and when that is dismissed you go to the fact that they aren't first in line to dismiss any members who might of been in the demonstration.

Isn't that sort of like demanding every Mosque refute each act of terrorism if it has a whiff of Islamic fascism?

Unlike the lock-stepping Democrats of Brooklynian The Tea Party doesn't feel a need to police the every movement or statement by it's members. Is it possible that some members took part? Of course it is. But you've offered no proof that any Tea Party members did other then your belief that the NYT is telling the truth, something easily checked, therefore the need to refute anything is unnecessary.

# Posted 2 yrs ago
Boygabriel
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I am making a claim about many of the people involved in a specific political movement. Just because there isn't a centralized racism-vetting committee doesn't mean the group doesn't attract a large amount of racists.
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# Posted 2 yrs ago
whynot_31
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They should have stuck to an anti tax and defict reduction platform exclusively.

Now they just are a bunch of ranters, who envision a magical time that never existed
For better or worse, the change on Nostrand is going to make the change on Franklin look minor.

# Posted 2 yrs ago
Boygabriel
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They don't really have much of a coherent policy platform. They're long on anger and short on practical ideas.

They want fewer entitlement programs, until individual tea partiers realize that includes social security and medicare.

They want deficit reduction yet they like the Bush tax cuts and the indefinite wars in the middle east.

When it comes to governing policies they're incoherent. Hence the quote in the other thread about how Republicans are the dog chasing the car.
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# Posted 2 yrs ago
Jimmy
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Sorry, what "race" is Islam?

# Posted 2 yrs ago
Boygabriel
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Good point - when referring to islamophobia I should have said 'bigotry' or 'religious hatred'.

The racism is more accurate in regards to their immigration "stance", among other things.
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# Posted 2 yrs ago
Jimmy
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Boygabriel » Good point - when referring to islamophobia I should have said 'bigotry' or 'religious hatred'.

Well, that, and you should have come up with actual examples of 'bigotry' or 'religious hatred' from the Tea Party instead of taking a lone grandmother and "members of the Tea Party" as representative of the entire movement.

Furthermore, these people's membership in the Tea Party is completely anecdotal to their actions mentioned in the article. It's not like the protests were organized by the Tea Party, the NYTimes (rightly) assumed that by including the protesters' affiliation, they'd get people like you all riled up.

I would think you would save a phrase like "religious hatred" for something like the murder of 10 Christian doctors volunteering their time in Afghanistan by Muslims for the "crime" of allegedly proselytizing while healing women and children.

The racism is more accurate in regards to their immigration "stance", among other things.

I hope you have more evidence for this than a single parody article on a website. Or is that what you call "a large amount of racism?"

# Posted 2 yrs ago
Boygabriel
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There is no "tea party" therefore I don't think the "tea party" is racist.

It is a decentralized "movement" which attracts lots of ignorant people with racist beliefs. This 'poor' grandmother and the 'study friends' she's made at tea party and immigration rallies are but one example.

It's a topic I look forward to discussing so I started this thread. I will post more instances as I find them, and I'm sure others will too. So don't worry, you'll have plenty more in the future to dismiss and deny that they in any way indicate a trend.

I would think you would save a phrase like "religious hatred" for something like the murder of 10 Christian doctors volunteering their time in Afghanistan by Muslims for the "crime" of allegedly proselytizing while healing women and children.

Those are awful murders for sure, but you'd think wrong. If you care what I think (though something tells me you don't), what happened in Afghanistan is religious hatred and much more. Not letting people build places of prayer in America, out of fear, ignorance and hatred is, indeed, religious hatred and bigotry.

I hope you have more evidence for this than a single parody article on a website. Or is that what you call "a large amount of racism?"

Ha. You hope I have more evidence that that chapter harbors racism than the fact that it promotes racism on its website? Ok, I'll keep you posted.
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# Posted 2 yrs ago
Jimmy
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Boygabriel » There is no "tea party" therefore I don't think the "tea party" is racist.

It is a decentralized "movement" which attracts lots of ignorant people with racist beliefs. This 'poor' grandmother and the 'study friends' she's made at tea party and immigration rallies are but one example.

It's a topic I look forward to discussing so I started this thread. I will post more instances as I find them, and I'm sure others will too. So don't worry, you'll have plenty more in the future to dismiss and deny that they in any way indicate a trend.

I would think you would save a phrase like "religious hatred" for something like the murder of 10 Christian doctors volunteering their time in Afghanistan by Muslims for the "crime" of allegedly proselytizing while healing women and children.

Those are awful murders for sure, but you'd think wrong. If you care what I think (though something tells me you don't), what happened in Afghanistan is religious hatred and much more. Not letting people build places of prayer in America, out of fear, ignorance and hatred is, indeed, religious hatred and bigotry.

I hope you have more evidence for this than a single parody article on a website. Or is that what you call "a large amount of racism?"

Ha. You hope I have more evidence that that chapter harbors racism than the fact that it promotes racism on its website? Ok, I'll keep you posted.

Eh, I was just bored at work, figured I'd push your crazy-button a bit.

I'll let you get back to posting insane, paranoid rants in threads that die as quickly as you stop bumping them.

# Posted 2 yrs ago
modsquad2.0
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Jimmy »

I'll let you get back to posting insane, paranoid rants in threads that die as quickly as you stop bumping them.

Yes, I know I'm bumping, but that's too good a line. I'll have to use that on another blog somewhere. I think I wet myself a bit.

# Posted 2 yrs ago
eggcream
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Boygabriel » I am making a claim about many of the people involved in a specific political movement. Just because there isn't a centralized racism-vetting committee doesn't mean the group doesn't attract a large amount of racists.

People like you and President Obama have set racism back 20 years. But please keep it up, it will only help us in November.

# Posted 2 yrs ago
whynot_31
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A good PR firm would tell the Tea Party a good figurehead would help. ....populist movements always encouter similar issues
For better or worse, the change on Nostrand is going to make the change on Franklin look minor.

# Posted 2 yrs ago
Boygabriel
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Hi Eggcream!

First of all, President Obama and I want to thank tea partier Sharron Angle for keeping Harry Reid in office. Tea party candidates in general are going to help lessen the usual blow that the incumbent party historically takes during the first midterms and during a bad economy.

So, thanks!

Secondly, which tea party issue was it exactly that you wanted to debate? Keeping the government out of your medicare? Reducing the deficit while invading foreign countries? Or was it simply how to keep those damn kids off your lawn?

Do let me know, as contrary to what you were hoping for, I'd love to debate various tea party positions.
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# Posted 2 yrs ago
Boygabriel
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Still full of bigots:

Republican Allen West is the Tea Party candidate for House in Florida’s 22nd district ... said:

[quote] [A]s I was driving up here today, I saw that bumper sticker that absolutely incenses me. It’s not the Obama bumper sticker. But it’s the bumper sticker that says, ‘Co-exist.’ And it has all the little religious symbols on it. And the reason why I get upset, and every time I see one of those bumper stickers, I look at the person inside that is driving. Because that person represents something that would give away our country. Would give away who we are, our rights and freedoms and liberties because they are afraid to stand up and confront that which is the antithesis, anathema of who we are. The liberties that we want to enjoy.”

West went on to call Islam a “very vile and very vicious enemy that we have allowed to come in this country because we ride around with bumper stickers that say co-exist.”
[/quote]
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# Posted 2 yrs ago
Cool The Kid
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Jimmy » Sorry, what "race" is Islam?

Does it really matter at this point? I'm no fan of the Tea Party, but such an oversight coupled with all the following high fives looks like the pot calling the kettle black (black being ignorant, but not black like black people, you know what I mean)

The Tea Party started as something that could have really changed the country, and has been perverted and marginalized out of any kind of legitimacy. It's emblematic of America in a lot of ways
[
Mamacita said:
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# Posted 2 yrs ago
Boygabriel
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The Tea Party marginalized itself. It doesn't stand for anything beyond overly broad ideals that are completely impractical and lack any detail whatsoever.

The Tea Party is a nebulous 'movement' of people who enjoy being angry, but have no practical outlet for their anger other than misplaced slogans at lightly attended rallies and a significant lack of understanding of how our legislative, judicial and executive foundations of the republic are carried out or reformed.

'Lower my taxes but don't take away my entitlement programs or stop fighting our endless wars against the scary muslims!'

'Obama is a socialist! Health care reform is socialism! TARP is socialism but it only made me mad once we had a Democratic president!'

Socialism! Socialism! Socialism!
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# Posted 2 yrs ago
whynot_31
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Cool The Kid »

The Tea Party started as something that could have really changed the country, and has been perverted and marginalized out of any kind of legitimacy. It's emblematic of America in a lot of ways

I think Boygabriel is stating it has only itself to blame.

Let's assume it would like to attract Boygabriel, CTK, and Whynot.

....how does it keep those who want to co-opt it for their own purposes away?

It's a classic problem of any leaderless populist group, whether on the left or the right.

....third parties get defeated in this country as soon as they get off the ground. It's really frustrating.
For better or worse, the change on Nostrand is going to make the change on Franklin look minor.

# Posted 2 yrs ago
Boygabriel
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Another quality endorsement from our favorite Party-That-Doesn't-Attract-Or-Endorse-Bigots

As The Nashville Scene reported, Tennessee Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey -- during his Tea-Party-endorsed, unsuccessful bid to become the GOP nominee for Governor -- had this exchange with a citizen last month who was attending one of his campaign events (begins at 3:10 of the video below; h/t Gawker):

[quote] Q. A point of national concern -- and it is in my mind and my heart -- and that's more of a national threat coming to the State of Tennessee -- we have a threat invading our country from Muslims.

RAMSEY: OK, absolutely, up in Rutherford County . . . . They're trying to put a mosque into Rutherford County.

Now, you know, I'm all about freedom of religion. I value the First Amendment as much as I value the Second Amendment as much as I value the Tenth Amendment and on and on and on. But you cross the line when they starting trying to start bringing Sharia Law here to the State of Tennessee -- to the United States. We live under our Constitution and they live under our Constitution. But it's scary . . . . nobody asked me about this on the Governor's race until this mosque started coming up there. I've been trying to learn about Sharia Law, and it is not good if that's what's going on.

You could even argue whether being a Muslim is actually a religion or is it a nationality, way of life or cult, whatever you want to call it. . . . That's become an issue, but I've read enough about Sharia Law to know it's crazy.

The gentleman who asked the question then went on to assert that 22 communities in the U.S. now live under Sharia Law, and -- he warned -- "it's expanding rapidly."[/quote]

http://www.salon.com/news/opinion/glenn_greenwald/2010/08/29/mosques
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# Posted 2 yrs ago
Carnivore
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http://www.slate.com/id/2265515/

# Posted 2 yrs ago
Boygabriel
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You haven't seen a transcript of his speech have you? I've been trying to find one
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# Posted 2 yrs ago
Whatchuwant
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Huh- I was trying to find...just a clear definition of Sharia Law- Wiki's a freakin' mess!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sharia

It makes me wonder about the T partiers and what exactly they THINK they know what Sharia genuinely is.

I realize Wiki's not the be all end all go to for info- but. These people just gobble up whatever's thrown at them anyway- I imagine a rampant game of Hate Telephone....
"...you can choose the rain....but I choose the sun..." - N. Costa

# Posted 2 yrs ago
Boygabriel
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Remember these are the same people who think the downtown community center is being put there because for centuries Muslims built mosques in "conquered lands".

So no, I wouldn't expect them to have the foggiest idea what actual sharia is, besides scary stories of evil muslims who like to stone women.
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# Posted 2 yrs ago
Carnivore
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A real hotbed of enlightenment down in D.C </sarcasm>

# Posted 2 yrs ago
Boygabriel
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Just came across this. for the preferred party of America's most ignorant leaders & voters:

link1

Former Rep. Tom Tancredo on Obama: "There is something about this [country] that he dislikes intensely, and he wants to transform."

In a phone interview with TPM, Tancredo, third party candidate for governor of Colorado, also reiterates the urban myth about Michelle Obama disdaining Christmas: "I remember a little thing, like Ms. Obama saying she didn't want any Christian artifacts in the White House during Christmas time. ... And hosting Ramadan events there."

And so it goes.

Also, this older gem:

Former Colorado Representative Tom Tancredo added to his impressive history of inflammatory statements over the weekend, telling a Tea Party rally in South Carolina that they should send the President "back to Kenya."

Addressing Tea Partiers in Greenville, South Carolina, Tancredo pumped up the crowd by saying "If his wife says Kenya is his homeland, why don't we just send him back?"
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# Posted 2 yrs ago
Boygabriel
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On a related note, as my good friend Ernie Anastos would say, keep fucking that chicken, Tea Parties:

http://firedoglake.com/2010/09/05/contempt-for-democracy-attacks-on-voting-rights/
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# Posted 2 yrs ago
Boygabriel
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http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2010/09/probably_not_an_homage_to_malcolm_x.php
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# Posted 2 yrs ago
whynot_31
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----cite below. Full report can be found at: http://naacp.3cdn.net/36b2014e1dddfe3c81_v7m6bls07.pdf
-----

Just moments ago, the Institute for Research and Education on Human Rights (IREHR) released a report documenting specific examples of Tea Party leaders and Tea Party-associated organizations providing platforms for anti-Semites, racists and other bigots.

The report serves as a reminder: There is a very active presence of racists in America's public political discourse, and there is a very real threat of moving backward if we do not stand up and speak out.

Please take a moment to read more from the report:

http://action.naacp.org/TeaPartyReport

To be clear: Whether we agree with their policy positions or not, we at the NAACP believe the majority of Tea Party supporters are sincere, principled people of basic good will. We have no problem with their expression of political views in our great democracy.

We do, however, have a problem when prominent Tea Party members have direct ties to organizations like the Ku Klux Klan, and are allowed to use Tea Party events to spread their hateful messages. Moreover, we have a problem when Tea Party members call civil rights heroes vicious slurs or repeatedly and publicly deny the President's place of birth and his status as an American citizen.

Most importantly, we have a problem when regular Tea Party members stand silent as those who share the Tea Party name push a racist agenda. A great man once warned, "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing."

We in the NAACP refuse to tolerate silence.

Last summer, after months of waiting for accountability, we publicly called on Tea Party leaders to repudiate those who would use the Tea Party platform to espouse racism or call for violence against any group in our society.

We are pleased that in response, Tea Party leaders took a few steps in the right direction. They expelled a leader who repeatedly made racist comments. They fired another who suggested gay people should be killed. Still, as this report shows, much remains to be done.

For more than one hundred years, the NAACP has stood sentinel against racism and hate violence in the United States. We know that we have a moral obligation, summarized succinctly in our nation's pledge of allegiance, to oppose those who would seek to tear the United States apart by espousing hatred or calling for violence against any group in our country.

We are One Nation. That is why we came together on October 2nd for a truly diverse March on Washington that spoke to this nation's greatest values. That is why we will continue to fight for hope, not hate.

I commend the research done by the IREHR. Their report proves why our work is more important than ever. I encourage you to read this comprehensive effort. It delves deeper into the specific evidence that prompted the NAACP's call on the Tea Party to act responsibly than any prior study:

http://action.naacp.org/TeaPartyReport

Today, America stands at a choice point in its historic march towards making our nation's pledge real. In one direction, there is the possibility of a real debate between people of good will about the options for moving our nation forward. In the other, there is a place filled with vicious hate, threats, and lies that can only take us backward.

Thank you for standing up for civil rights for all. Thank you for calling for the most basic civility in America's great town square. Thank you for insisting that America moves ever forward, never backward.

Yours in the struggle,

Ben Jealous
President and CEO
NAACP
For better or worse, the change on Nostrand is going to make the change on Franklin look minor.

# Posted 2 yrs ago
eggcream
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Pathetic, the NAACP calling people racists. Ya'll are getting so desperate the closer we come to election day.

# Posted 2 yrs ago
whynot_31
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Actually, the NAACP compliments the Tea Party for getting rid of it's most offensive members and leaders.

Populist movements are hard to control
For better or worse, the change on Nostrand is going to make the change on Franklin look minor.

# Posted 2 yrs ago
Boygabriel
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Eggcream with ad hominem attacks and no criticism of substance.

Standard.
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# Posted 2 yrs ago
Boygabriel
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I'm at a loss as to which word best describes the following.

Bigoted?
Racist?
Hateful?
Ignorant beyond comprehension-oh-wait-its-the-tea-party-par-for-the-course.

According to the Tea Party, why should you vote again Keith Ellison in Minnesota?

Because "He is the only Muslim member of congress."

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, the tea party thinks this person is unfit for office because they are muslim.

It's getting harder and harder for tea partiers to hide their bigotry.
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# Posted 2 yrs ago
Boygabriel
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Confirmed. The Minnesota Tea Party wants you to vote based on bigotry.

Tea party's Judson Phillips defends essay attacking congressman for being Muslim

But this is just a coincidence. Like all the other coincidences.
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# Posted 2 yrs ago
Boygabriel
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It's been a while, but this dying, racist movement still has a lot of good stuff.

This man won their straw poll in February:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_theticket/20110228/el_yblog_theticket/little-known-candidate-herman-cain-wins-tea-party-support

He recently went on to say this:

Herman Cain, another likely GOP presidential contender, said over the weekend that he would not appoint a Muslim to his administration or the federal courts because he believes all Muslims "force their Sharia law onto the rest of us."

"There is this creeping attempt, there is this attempt to gradually ease Sharia law and the Muslim faith into our government," Cain, founder and former CEO of Godfather's Pizza, told ThinkProgress. "It does not belong in our government."

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/tim-pawlenty-gop-presidential-hopefuls-blast-sharia-law/story?id=13238930&page=1

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# Posted 2 yrs ago
Boygabriel
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Tea Party leaders receive millions in US Farm Subsidies.

Which will end first:

The Tea Party?

Or the perception that they're somehow fiscal hawks.

Come on traditional media, you can do it, you can wake up!

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# Posted 2 yrs ago
ntfool
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Come on traditional media, you can do it, you can wake up!

Oh, I think you're expected far too much of them.

If you're happy, you're not paying attention.

spurn Productions, Inc.

# Posted 2 yrs ago
Boygabriel
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Sigh. I know. Hope springs eternal.

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# Posted 2 yrs ago
dakotas way
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You know Boygabriel, I haven't been on in quite some time, but you're still an idiot. You have no idea about the people in the Tea Partys and what they're about. Not a clue. All you see is what the media and the left wingers promote. Let me say that I've attended a number of rallies and it was with calm people, no hate signs, bringing their dogs with them to rallies and simply people who were sick and tired of having the government spend us into the poor house and trying to run our lives. Never did I hear antiIslamic rhetoric, and in fact, if someone even began shouting negativities about Obama, they got shut down, Get your facts straight before you spread ridiculous misinformation in your never ending rants.

# Posted 2 yrs ago
booklaw
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Did you wear a tinfoil hat?

# Posted 2 yrs ago
Boygabriel
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As a mod, I have to ask that you chill with the personal attacks. Play nice or don't play.

Get your facts straight before you spread ridiculous misinformation in your never ending rants.

dakota it's funny, b/c all I've done in this post is share FACTS.

Feel free to specifically refute any of the examples I posted here.

Otherwise I'm not sure what to tell you.

Spend a buck, light a number for one the 400,000 victims in Darfur: darfurwall.org

# Posted 2 yrs ago
whynot_31
Former Lurker
Joined: Mar '06
Posts: 16,372

YES!

Yet another debate on whether:

1. a group merely has idiot members, or

2. a group is largely composed of idiots, or

3. a group is largely composed of idiots, but it is unfair to generalize that all of its members are idiots!

How the hell does one have a populist movement in this country if we are expected to somehow make it idiot-free?

When one looks around, there are a lot of idiots in this country, and its hard to keep out of meetings and away from microphones.

-the democrats and republicans each have their share of idiots who set their agendas back

-the civil rights movement had/has its share of idiots who set the cause back

-ditto the feminists and pro-choice and prolife movements

and every other movement I can think of, but am too lazy to list.

I think if the majority of the people in the Tea Party are thoughtful fiscal hawks, the public will be able to eventually perceive them as such. I agree with dakotas way, there are a lot of very intelligent people who are checking out the Tea Party and seeing if provides an alternative to the Democrats and Republicans.

When those people are people you know, it is hard to dismiss the movement as a result of its idiot members. ....it suddenly becomes a movement.

THe trick is for the Tea Party Movement to get some hyper intelligent figureheads, who become who the media goes to for defacto Tea Party Opinions.

For better or worse, the change on Nostrand is going to make the change on Franklin look minor.

# Posted 2 yrs ago
Boygabriel
M Train Devotee, G Train Appreciator
Joined: Nov '05
Posts: 4,431

It's isolated!!!

April 16, 2011 04:00 PM
Republican Tea Partiers just can't seem to get enough of those Obama/black people/chimpanzee jokes
93 comments
By David Neiwert

Credit: OCWeeklyBlog
This is the image e-mailed to her friends by Orange County Republican committeewoman and Tea Party activist Marilyn Davenport

Republicans seem to have a really, really narrow idea of what constitutes racism -- which is how they're able to claim that the Tea Parties aren't riddled with racism throughout.

But then little stories like this one from Orange County keep bubbling up to the surface of their fetid little Tea Party cesspool:

[quote] The Weekly has obtained a copy of an email sent to fellow conservatives this week by Marilyn Davenport, a Southern California Tea Party activist and member of the central committee of the Orange County Republican Party.

Under the words, "Now you know why no birth certificate," there's an Obama family portrait showing them as apes.

As always, the "sweet little old lady" who sent the mail had no idea that anyone might possibly construe the mail as racist, even though comparing black people to various kinds of apes has always been a stock feature of racist denigration in America. Why, some of her best friends are black!

Reached by telephone and asked if she thought the email was appropriate, Davenport said, "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."

The image did upset several local Republicans.

"It's unbelievable," one high-ranking OC GOP official told me. "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?"

Another GOP official, who also asked not to be identified, said that Davenport is "a really, really sweet old lady so I am surprised to hear about this."

Scott Baugh, chairman of the OC Republican Party, told Davenport that the email was tasteless, Davenport--a Fullerton-based political activist--admitted to me during the telephone interview.

"You're not going to make a big deal about this are you?" she asked me. "It's just an Internet joke."

But Baugh believes the email is a big deal.

"When I saw that email today I thought it was despicable," Baugh said. "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."

And just remember: There's nothing, NOTHING racist about those Tea Partiers, either. Just another isolated incident. Move along, please.

(H/t Tom Sullivan)[/quote]

Spend a buck, light a number for one the 400,000 victims in Darfur: darfurwall.org

# Posted 2 yrs ago
Boygabriel
M Train Devotee, G Train Appreciator
Joined: Nov '05
Posts: 4,431

Isolated incidents.

Let’s just look at news items from the past four weeks:

– Marilyn Davenport, a Southern California Tea Party activist and member of the central committee of the Orange County Republican Party, sent an e-mail out to fellow conservatives that featured the words “Now you know why no birth certificate,” over a photo of a family of three apes, the infant one of which had Obama’s face superimposed.

– Michele Bachmann’s longtime and embarrassing association with seriously bonkers anti-gay (and anti-a-lotta-other-stuff) bigot Bradlee Dean finally hit the national media, thanks to Rachel Maddow’s show earlier this week.

– Even as recent polling shows nearly six in ten Minnesotans don’t want the state constitution amended to include a ban on same-sex marriage, state Republican legislators like Gretchen Hoffman are pushing ahead with their plan to put the constitutional enshrinement of marriage inequality on the ballot in November of 2012.

– The well-funded conservative issues group “Minnesota Majority”, currently known for a strange bit of performance art involving a truck plastered with graphics that seemingly imply that being made to pay their share of taxes will cause Minnesota’s rich to frequent soup kitchens, also is involved in lobbying for insurance companies against any sort of meaningful health care reform — and its most notable representative in that effort, Dave Racer, has a career apparently predicated on making political hay out of inflaming people’s racist impulses. Check this out:

[quote]Minnesota Majority’s Web site features an issue paper on health care, which backs consumer-driven health care and claims that racial diversity and single-parent households negatively affect health in the United States.
“Black women, for a variety of reasons, are more prone to underweight babies than are Caucasian and Asian women. It is not surprising that Sweden has a lower infant mortality rate, or that Japan has a longer life expectancy than the United States does. They are nearly racially pure; we are not,” says the Web page, written by public speaker and former radio talk show host David Racer.
[/quote]

Spend a buck, light a number for one the 400,000 victims in Darfur: darfurwall.org

# Posted 2 yrs ago
Boygabriel
M Train Devotee, G Train Appreciator
Joined: Nov '05
Posts: 4,431

Calling a Muslim-American a radical jihadist? Check
Equating Islam with 9/11? Check

Bigotry? double check

Tuesday, Jun 28, 2011 10:29 ET

Muslim Rep. Ellison draws anti-Muslim Tea Party challenger
Minneapolis Tea Partier says she's challenging Keith Ellison because he's a "radical Islamist"
By Justin Elliott

Keith Ellison, one of two Muslim members of Congress, has drawn a Tea Party challenger who says she is running because she believes Ellison is a "radical Islamist."
Lynne Torgerson wrote a post last week on the website of Tea Party Nation on the need to ban Shariah in the U.S., and her claim that Ellison sees Islamic law as supreme:

I, Lynne Torgerson, am running for Congress in Minnesota, against radical Islamist Keith Ellison. Keith Ellison fails to oppose banning Islamic Sharia law in the United States. He accuses people of trying to ban it as "conspiratorilists." [sic] Keith Ellison also fails to support that the United States Constitution should be supreme over Islamic Sharia law.

Torgerson actually ran last cycle, garnering 4 percent as an independent. A Minneapolis criminal defense attorney, her campaign website was dominated by critiques of Islam:

"And, what do I know of Islam? Well, I know of 911."
And here's a video uploaded yesterday of Torgerson asking Ellison at an event whether he believes Shariah or the U.S. Constitution should be supreme in the United States.

"I believe that the United States Constitution, which has been amended well over 25 times, is the bedrock of American law," Ellison says. "This whole movement to ban Shariah -- bills like this have been introduced in 22 states -- in my view is a very thinly disguised effort at religious persecution of people that are Muslim."

• Justin Elliott is a Salon reporter. Reach him by email at jelliott@salon.com and follow him on Twitter @ElliottJustin More: Justin Elliott

Spend a buck, light a number for one the 400,000 victims in Darfur: darfurwall.org

# Posted 1 yr ago
Boygabriel
M Train Devotee, G Train Appreciator
Joined: Nov '05
Posts: 4,431

Well, it's been four months since I visited this post, but Tea Party darling, and Koch-brother-funded simpleton Herman Cain is carrying the torch for tea party bigotry.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/11/15/1036628/-Herman-Cain-cites-anonymous-claim-that-most-Muslims-are-extremists

“There are peaceful Muslims,” Mr. Cain explains, “and there are extremists.”

He added: “I have had one very well-known Muslim voice say to me directly that a majority of Muslims share the extremist views.”

Pressed on whether he believes that is true, Mr. Cain says he believes his anonymous acquaintance is correct because “that’s his community. I can’t tell you his name, but he is a very prominent voice in the Muslim community, and he said that.”

Herman Cain ladies and gentlemen!

Shall we discuss his relations to women or is that a different post?

Spend a buck, light a number for one the 400,000 victims in Darfur: darfurwall.org

# Posted 1 yr ago
Jimmy
probably drunk, and grumpy when hungover
Joined: Jan '09
Posts: 232

Guess it got tiring to read the non-stop articles about OWS rape, sexual assault, murder, drug overdose, violence, neo-communism, public defecation and masturbation, shooting bullets at the White House, theft, terrorism, anti-Semitism, disease outbreaks and general idiocy, so you had to drag this out. I can understand your frustration.

PS - I do hope you see the irony in calling Herman Cain a "Tea Party darling" in a thread dedicated to trying to label the Tea Party as a bunch of racists.

Up Twinkles!!1!

# Posted 1 yr ago
jeffrey
is not in right now
Joined: Feb '07
Posts: 4,131

Jimmy said:
PS - I do hope you see the irony in calling Herman Cain a "Tea Party darling" in a thread dedicated to trying to label the Tea Party as a bunch of racists.

That is seriously one of the most hilarious things I expect to read today.

Thank you.

i extend my battery life by turning down the brightness

# Posted 1 yr ago
Boygabriel
M Train Devotee, G Train Appreciator
Joined: Nov '05
Posts: 4,431

I missed the part where you addressed Cain's bigotry.

Jimmy said:
Guess it got tiring to read the non-stop articles about OWS rape, sexual assault, murder, drug overdose, violence, neo-communism, public defecation and masturbation, shooting bullets at the White House, theft, terrorism, anti-Semitism, disease outbreaks and general idiocy, so you had to drag this out. I can understand your frustration.

PS - I do hope you see the irony in calling Herman Cain a "Tea Party darling" in a thread dedicated to trying to label the Tea Party as a bunch of racists.

Up Twinkles!!1!

Spend a buck, light a number for one the 400,000 victims in Darfur: darfurwall.org

# Posted 1 yr ago