When I heard about the National Tea Party Convention, I giggled. That's like getting a late Christmas present!
It only took me 3 clicks to find something interesting: the NTPC is being sponsered by a hate group, the Federation for American Immigration Reform.
The Southern Poverty Law Center classifies FAIR as a hate group because, in part,
Founded by Tanton in 1979, FAIR has long been marked by anti-Latino and anti-Catholic attitudes. It has mixed this bigotry with a fondness for eugenics, the idea of breeding better humans discredited by its Nazi associations. It has accepted $1.2 million from an infamous, racist eugenics foundation. It has employed officials in key positions who are also members of white supremacist groups. Recently, it has promoted racist conspiracy theories about Mexico's secret designs on the American Southwest and an alternative theory alleging secret plans to merge the United States, Mexico and Canada. In 2006, a senior FAIR official sought "advice" from the leaders of a racist Belgian political party.
That's who's sponsoring the National Tea Party Convention. Can we stop pretending the Tea Party movement isn't racist now? And, since Sarah Palin is their keynote speaker, can we please start calling her out on this association?
Anti-Catholic? That's something of a blast from the past. What is this, 1640's Virginia? And is the Know-Nothing party making a comeback?
ReplyDeleteI know! It's like they thought "How can we distinguish ourselves? Everybody hates brown people these days, and homophobia is de rigour for wingnuts . . . hmmm, I know! Anti-Catholic activism! Brilliant!"
ReplyDeleteHey they are just following in Daddy Chick's footsteps:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.chick.com/catalog/catholicism.asp
Do not confuse that evil FAIR with the good FAIR that is all peace and light and good and provides the best journalism this country has ever seen, Fairness and Accuracy In Reporting...FAIR.org
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure one can blanketly say that the entire Tea Party movement is "racist." I'm sick of guilt by association. On the merging of Mexico, United States and Canada: these conspiracy theories sometimes have anti-corporatism rather than racism as their bases. For instance, there are many large corporations that would just love for all of North America to be merged into a single country so that they could access a market having the lowest common regulatory denominator of these three countries.
ReplyDeleteFor the record, I believe most of the tea party people are stupid idiots, as far as the cogency of their political views goes. Fine people though I would presume.