The Tea Party Federation has kicked out Mark Williams, and since his group the Tea Party Express will not follow suit, they are out of the federation as well. The stated reason has to do with a satirical post Williams posted on his blog which he has since removed. The real reason might not be so apparent, obvious though it is to some insiders. I'll go into that at the end. But first-
The Tea Party Federation is a loose organization of groups of individuals who are against increased taxes, burdensome government regulations, and further growth of big government. Their main focus is on spending deficits and the national debt, though your mileage may vary thanks to other additives, be it Christian Conservatives, Libertarians, or national defense hawks.
How do you fight something like that? Well, if you're the NAACP, you accuse them of racism, of course. It's a tried and true tactic that has worked well in the past, and unfortunately, this time is no different. Last Sunday, on Face The Nation, David Webb, spokesman for the Tea Party Federation, played defense against the accusations of Benjamin Jealous, Chairman of the NAACP, over accusations which conservative pundit George Will has described as "left-wing McCarthyism".
Webb in the course of his appearance announced that Tea Party Express leader Mark Williams would no longer be a part of the movement, and further stated it would disassociate from the Tea Party Express.
ROUND ONE-NAACP
With this move, the Tea-Party Federation has proven beyond any shadow of a doubt one charge that is constantly hurled at them. They are, after all, a Republican organization. It's impossible to find a bigger wuss than people who cave in to unmerited charges of racism by firing a leader for expressing, however clumsily, what is after all a pretty prevalent attitude among not just the Tea Party, but a broad segment of Americans, including Independents. Yet, Webb seems willing to go along with a vague plan to appear with Jealous in a series of Town-Hall meetings. Of course, Jealous congratulated Webb on removing those racists from their ranks, and encouraged Webb to "keep up the good work" in what has to be seen as a purge almost worthy of Stalin.
In the meantime, Ben Jealous ignores the rants of New Black Panther leaders who express such sentiments as "crackers should be killed" and that they should "kill cracker babies". Cracker, of course, is a pejorative term for white people. Yet Jealous justifies this lapse due to the Black Panthers not being members of his group. So then, the Tea-Party is? Bullshit! If a group of fourteen whites, of any affiliation or none, expressed the desire to "kill niggers" and "jigaboo babies", all hell would break loose, and Jealous would be at the forefront of demanding some kind of prosecution for terrorist threats. incitement to violence, possible civil rights violations, and God knows what else. Yet, such threats uttered by the New Black Panthers are none of his concern? Incredible!
Meanwhile, as the media jumped at the opportunity to engage in the public humiliation of the Tea Party at the hands of the NAACP, it blatantly ignores the Justice Departments alleged memo to refrain from investigating and prosecuting African Americans like the New Black Panther Party accused of poll tampering and voter intimidation. When Bob Schieffer had Eric Holder also on a different segment of Face The Nation, he refused to ask him anything pertaining to this charge, later having the chutzpah to claim that he knew nothing about it. I have this strange idea the real reason might be Schieffer is just another one of those cowards Holder was talking about some months back. Or maybe this is one of those conversations about race Holder isn't quite courageous enough to hold himself. Why do I feel this point was made clear to Schieffer prior to the segment?
The Tea Party has lost the opportunity to score a big touchdown. David Webb, as the designated quarterback of the movement, had the opportunity to lob a thirty yard pass but while he had wide receivers down field, open and waiting, he spiked the ball unnecessarily. Twenty yard penalty. Second down and thirty. Most of the Tea-Party leaders are on the defensive about these ridiculous allegations. Mark Williams has been one of the few exceptions to this rule, the response of most of the rest being tepid at best.
The irony is, Williams has been made a scapegoat in a sacrifice to the demons of political correctness, by a federation of groups that outwardly oppose the stifling atmosphere of that political hell. And what is even worse, they do so with a black man, David Webb, who is probably now being derided in leftist circles as the "house Negro" of the Tea Party movement, much as Michael Steele is considered more or less the lawn jockey of the Republican Party, unfortunately for valid reason. The GOP doesn't get it, and that's understandable. I had hoped the Tea Party would know better than to play such a transparent game. "Oh, we're not prejudiced, look we have some black members, and one of them is one of our leaders, and he'll tell it like it is."
Could anything possibly be more humiliating that to trot out a black person to reassure people that you're not prejudiced, only to have him act as club bouncer to somebody who allegedly is. And for what?
Here's the piece Williams wrote on his blog, which has now been taken down, though thankfully copied and pasted by Gawker, which did so as an attack on Williams and on the Tea-Party. It's a satire, based on what Ben Jealous might have written to President Abraham Lincoln concerning the Emancipation Proclamation, had he been alive and the head of the NAACP at the time.
Dear Mr. Lincoln
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. 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.
Sincerely
Precious Ben Jealous, Tom's Nephew National Association for the Advancement of Colored People Head Colored Person
So there you have it. Like I said, clumsily written and not really that funny as a piece of satire, perhaps somewhat over the top. Yet, perfectly illustrative of the mind-set of the "leaders" of many liberal black citizen's advocate groups, including but by no means limited to the NAACP, who tend to support the big government and entitlement policies of the Democratic Party.
I reproduced it not to disparage Williams, but because its right on. Ben Jealous is nothing more nor less than a would-be Democratic Party Plantation straw boss protecting his own position and personal interests. And while it might be clumsily expressed, and a bit over-the-top, that makes it no less relevant. Bear in mind, Williams wrote this as though Jealous on behalf of the NAACP organization might have written it-not as how black people as a whole might have felt. To ignore that misses the whole point.
So was this the real reason Williams was kicked out of the movement? I doubt it, though it did provide the perfect excuse many have been looking for. The Tea Party Express is actually an arm of a Republican Party PAC called Our Country Deserves Better, and as such, has been at the forefront of trying to bring the Tea Party and all its disparate groups into the political mainstream. As in any such situation, it has attracted rivals who have their own ideas as to who should set the pace and control the Tea Party agenda, and all the power that might ultimately bring. Those ideas, of course, chiefly revolve around themselves to no less an extent than Williams or Robert Kaloogian, founder of Our Country Deserves Better, might like to see themselves as the movement leaders.
There might be valid reason to remove the Tea Party Express, and Williams, I don't know. I can see where there are other ways in which he can be and has been a divisive influence. When Williams makes statements to the effect that his purpose is to jump in front of the parade and say follow me, on the grounds that somebody needs to lead what amounts to a herd of cats, it becomes pretty clear that he wants a leadership role. It becomes pretty disingenuous then for him to claim that there are no Tea Party leaders, that they are merely concerned citizens who are all their own leaders, to paraphrase him.
But if the Tea Party Federation has a valid reason to remove Williams and the Express, they should do it for those reasons, and do so openly, without opting for the appearance of placating a group of race hustlers like the NAACP and their made up controversy in which, thus far, even Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson has avoided entangling themselves.
The best response thus far to the NAACP charges of racism, that I have heard, was the response by Andrew Breitbart to NAACP head Ben Jealous. It was brief, and to the point.
"You can go to hell" he told Jealous.
That's really all that needs to be said.
