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

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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.

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?"

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

[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.”

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):

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."

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.

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?"