Ignoring The Truth About “Tea Parties” And “Racism”

In its recent, highly controversial resolution condemning the “Tea Parties” for “racism”, the NAACP (to the applause of most liberals) demanded that the “Tea Parties” separate themselves from racists whenever possible and condemn racism in their midst.

Unfortunately, when leaders and members of various elements of the “Tea Party” movement do exactly that, it just gets ignored. The controversial leader of the “Tea Party Express” (he was never a leader of the “Tea Party” movement overall except in the eyes of NPR reporters who selected him for that role after extensively shopping around for someone suitably inflammatory to fit the storyline they envisioned) has, after pressure and condemnations from others in the movement, severed his relationship with other “Tea Party” groups.

In spite of the majority of the “Tea Parties” doing exactly what the NAACP and liberal critics asked, there has been no acknowledgment from “Tea Parties’” critics and no detectable change in the “Tea Party = racism” theme.  This repeats a longstanding pattern where “Tea Party” condemnations and chase-offs of racists who show up at rallies are ignored and the accusations of rampant racism in the “Tea Parties” are simply repeated as if nothing had happened. (The fact that at least some of the “racism” observed at “Tea Party” rallies might have been manufactured in an effort to make them look bad is also usually ignored.)

This begs the question of bad faith among “Tea Party” critics.  Do they really want the “Tea Party” to try to expunge racism from its ranks?  Or are accusations of “racism” only convenient distractions to marginalize the “Tea Parties” and drown out more substantive arguments about government spending, debt, and overreach?

The answer seems obvious from the evidence, doesn’t it? A genuine request for an apology isn’t followed by the requester covering up his ears and shouting “la-la-la-la-la-la-la” to drown out having to hear it. I personally don’t agree with the “Tea Parties” about much, but I think they have a legitimate complaint that they are being railroaded by some dishonest critics and a biased media.