I'd like to welcome the NAACP to the pantheon of liberals and left-wing organizations making false allegations of racism against the Tea Party movement. They join the proud ranks of Speaker Pelosi accusing us of brandishing swastikas; Congressman Baird calling us “brown shirts;” and Keith Olbermann calling us, well, everything.
Now it's the NAACP labeling the Tea Party movement “racist” and claiming our goal is “to push our country back to the pre-civil rights era.”
To anyone with even a passing knowledge of the Tea Party movement, this is nonsense. Tea Partiers wave signs about debt, spending, and health care—not busing or segregation. The NAACP's charge is insulting to typical Americans (like my mom) who've attended Tea Parties; and demeaning to the legacy of the NAACP.
So why are they doing it? The reason for the resolution can be found on the front page of the Washington Post: Nearly 60 percent of Americans say they lack confidence that President Obama will do the right things for America. The November election is looking uglier every day.
So Michelle Obama gives a speech at the NAACP convention urging black voters to get “intense,” and the NAACP political hacks whip up this resolution to inspire division and anger among their members. And, they hope, drive up turnout in November. Democrats are desperate and shameless, and the NAACP is putting both on display in this resolution.
False accusations of Tea Party racism are so common they've become tedious. The NAACP resolution makes only half-hearted efforts to prove there's any racism at all. They include accusations that are unfounded (that someone yelled the “n” word at Rep. Lewis during a DC rally) and blatantly untrue (the now disproven claim that a black congressman was spat upon by a tea partier).
But even if allegations of individual bad behavior were true, what's that got to do with the mission and message of the Tea Party movement? Have a handful of people shown up at tea party rallies with offensive signs? Of course they have. There have been thousands of rallies and millions of attendees—so what?
Louis Farrakhan and Jeremiah Wright—both openly racist conspiracy theorists-- has been featured speaker sat NAACP events. So has Al Sharpton—even after the Tawana Brawley spectacle and the loss of life at Freddie’s Fashion Mart.
Does this make the NAACP an organization of racist, anti-Semitic loons? Or is it the case that any large organization dealing with issues people feel passionate about is going to attract extremists and nuts?
The difference is, when you're looking for loonies at a Tea Party rally, they're on the fringe. When you're looking for them at liberal events, they're on stage.
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"The truth is something [Warren] probably prefers not to confront. Harvard doesn’t come calling just because you’re a smart lawyer and a terrific teacher — not with Warren’s modest, Oklahoma upbringing and non-Ivy League education. She is not your typical Harvard professor. At a certain point, when the law school was under pressure to promote diversity, she represented a three-fer: a great lawyer with a national profile, a woman, and a minority, at least by virtue of family lore. "
-- Joan Vennochi
