The Company They Keep

The video below shows the political movement proudly supported by MICHELE BACHMANN, Sarah Palin, Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh, Rand Paul, Dick Armey, FOX News, and others on the far-right.

(This is an updated video. The previous video contained footage of an immigration rally and Think Progress replaced that video with the one above, which is Pure Tea Party). Those who deny the Tea Party is racist (despite the abundance of evidence) are all Republicans, and they all refuse to call for a stop to the racism within the movement. That’s because, I assume, they agree with the racism. Michele Bachmann has denied there is a problem, and Sarah Palin has called the NAACP “sad” and said she is shocked they would make such accusations. Remember that Sarah Palin encouraged her supporters to yell out things like “terrorist” when she talked about Obama. Remember these things when these people run for office again. It’s one thing for the now-lobbyist Dick Armey to be a racist and support these miscreants and fools, but it’s another when a sitting Congresswoman, Michele Bachmann, and her blood sister Sarah Palin, who is going to run for President, think like this.

It could be a trend for these far-right wing extremists to ignore the obvious even when confronted with the evidence. They also deny humans are causing global warming, and Michele Bachmann claims all sorts of things about health care and the economy that are laughably false. This is a growing trend in the GOP — no regard for the truth or even human decency, whatsoever. (See ProMNPolitics for more on Michele Bachmann.) From Think Progress, a description of the ugliness:

After months of racist incidents and rallies filled with hateful signs disparaging President Obama’s ethnicity and other minorities, the NAACP has passed a resolution officially condemning racism in the Tea Party movement. This morning, Tea Party leader Mark Williams — who has been paid over $20,000 by the Tea Party Express political action committee — attacked the NAACP’s resolution, charging that the NAACP makes “more money off of race than any slave trader ever.” Other Tea Party leaders have criticized the resolution and claimed that there is no racism within their movement. Phillip Dennis, the leader of the Dallas area Tea Party, told Fox News that the Tea Party never focuses “on the pigment of people’s skin.” However, ThinkProgress has produced a short video demonstrating the vile racism that has been exhibited at some Tea Party events:  (direct quotes)!

DENNIS: The Tea Party does not focus on the pigment of people’s skin. [...]

TEA PARTY ACTIVIST1: He’s too black to be President.

TEA PARTY ACTIVIST2: I’m a proud racist, I’m white.

TEA PARTY ACTIVIST3: Afro-Leninism! Coming to you on a silver platter, Barack Hussein Obama!

TEA PARTY ACTIVIST4: Go home wetbacks!

Progressives  have to fight fire with fire.  This is why, all you polite people out there, we cannot take a “civility pledge” when dealing with violent Tea Party cult members and racist Tea Baggers.  We have to respond in kind, and hammer home the fact that people like Michele Bachmann and Sarah Palin, for their very close association with the racist Tea Party, have no place in a paid government role. None.  If they choose to associate themselves with people like those in the video above, it is imperative that they never hold a government  job like Congressman or President.  Unfortunately, Michele Bachmann is already in Congress, so we have to get her OUT.  (The best way to do that is to donate money and support to her opponent, Tarryl Clark).

Sorry, Coffee Party USA, but people should not treat violent, racist people with kid gloves.  We need to fight back.  If Michele Bachmann and Sarah Palin and other politicians want to associate themselves with a violent, racist group, we need to point that out constantly and forcefully and get that imprinted on the minds of the public, like these extremists in the Tea Party imprint their twisted lies.