Tea Party Express Chairman/Spokesmen Resigns

[JMU DJ]

After responding to NAACP comments last week that the Tea Party is a racist organization, former Tea Party Express chairman and current spokesman Mark Williams responded with a "satirical" blog post. The Tea Party Federation expelled the Tea Party Express over the blog post and today, spokesman Mark Williams resigned saying:

"The media coverage over a recent satirical posting on my personal MarkTalk.com blog risks injuring the Tea Party Express, the tea party movement as a whole, and the people in this movement who I respect and admire so much. It has become increasingly unacceptable that the media and our domestic enemies continue to anoint me as the official voice of a massively diverse and broad-based movement."

As the spokesperson for the Tea Party Express, Mark Williams was the official voice of his Tea Party. He has also written a book about the Tea Party and what the movement is.




Mr. Williams blog post has been removed, but excerpts can be found through various news outlets.


Mr. Williams on the removal of his satirical letter:

"I have removed the parody letter you came here to read and urge you to fight those who seek to divide us by race, no matter the color of the racist. Our fight is against tyranny and for liberty and to see that this nation continues the lofty goal of equality for all set for us by our founders. Make no mistake though, there are those for whom peace and progress is poison and they will continue to circulate the several versions of my article (Yes, there were several versions. As reasonable people pointed out to me wording that I agreed was indeed objectionable it was removed or changed by me personally).

Excerpts found through various news sources (FoxNews, CNN, NYT, LA Times, etc).

"Dear Mr. Lincoln,

We Coloreds 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!

.....

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 coloreds 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."

The Tea Party Federation distancing themselves from Mark Williams and the Tea Party Express means there must be some truth to the words written in the blog post above. Whichever version was "officially" published, the version quoted above was penned by Mark Williams.

[kalm]

The Tea Parties aren't racist. Just their leaders.

(Actually, giving Williams the boot is the right thing to do. I suppose I have give them more respect now. )

[CID1990]

Buchanan on the bigger picture:

http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=38209" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[JMU DJ]

Buchanan on the bigger picture:

http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=38209" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Yup, there's a lot of unwarranted backlash over current issues at hand (especially in regards to some of those brought up in your article). Whether that is any of the issues brought up in Buchanan's article or a racially laden blog post driven by antiquated satire from the antebellum south, on the grand scale, you will be perceived by the actions you take. That perception is how you and others within your group or association will be viewed, even if it's far from the truth. As Kalm mentioned, the Tea Party Federation kicking out the Tea Party Express followed by the resignation of Mark Williams was the right thing to do in this situation, even though I think the damage has already been done. For an organization that is already perceived as racist, who is trying to do everything they can do to not only eliminate that perception, but also to actually talk about the issues, they don't need their leaders running around making comments like Mark Williams did.

[D1B]

Aint anything different than what me, Mainejeff, Capn and a few others with courage been saying here for years:

Republicans are generally fucking racists.

[kalm]

Aint anything different than what me, Mainejeff, Capn and a few others with courage been saying here for years:

Republicans are generally **** racists.

Conks are racists, blacks are racists, teabaggers are racist, the NAACP is racist, Obama is Racist, illegal immigrants are racists, Mel Gibson is racist...Everyone Is Racist!

Next stop, everyone has aids.

[houndawg]

Aint anything different than what me, Mainejeff, Capn and a few others with courage been saying here for years:

Republicans are generally **** racists.

People react to the unknown with either curiosity or fear. Some of what looks like racism in Republicans is just fear of the unknown. Like dogs that are fear biters. The drug-store tough-guy act and bellicose rhetoric is because they're scared shitless of, well, just about everything different.

[OL FU]

Aint anything different than what me, Mainejeff, Capn and a few others with courage been saying here for years:

Republicans are generally **** racists.

Interesting, Most black posters on AGS over the years considered Cap'n Cat a racist.

[Sarah Palin]

Mike is a fine man

[JMU DJ]

Aint anything different than what me, Mainejeff, Capn and a few others with courage been saying here for years:

Republicans are generally **** racists.

Conks are racists, blacks are racists, teabaggers are racist, the NAACP is racist, Obama is Racist, illegal immigrants are racists, Mel Gibson is racist...Everyone Is Racist!

Next stop, everyone has aids.

Apparently everyone already does

“Political correctness is going to kill us. Political correctness led to 9/11, political correctness led to Barack Hussein Obama — political correctness is a societal HIV. (America has) a full-blown case of AIDS and we’re the cure.”

~ Mark Williams

[NG33]

Apparently everyone already does

“Political correctness is going to kill us. Political correctness led to 9/11, political correctness led to Barack Hussein Obama — political correctness is a societal HIV. (America has) a full-blown case of AIDS and we’re the cure.”

~ Mark Williams

Dang that's news to me

[JMU DJ]

Walt Minnick (D-Idaho) rejects endorsement

Three weeks after being endorsed by the Tea Party Express, a Democratic Congressman from Idaho is saying no thanks amid the racial controversy surrounding the group.

.....


"The reprehensible blog post by your spokesman was clearly in poor taste," Minnick said in a letter to the co-chair of the Party.

"Since the Tea Party Express refuses to reject and rebuke Mr. Williams, I have no choice but to decline your endorsement."

....

The Congressman was weary about the endorsement from the beginning.

"Being on a list with Joe Wilson and Michele Bachmann is not something we are embracing," his spokesman told The Huffington Post at the time.

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politic ... z0unNVgcOt" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[ASUG8]

You have the Teabaggers on the far right and the NAACP on the far left - is it any surprise to anyone that they might have opposing viewpoints? They're the ones making the news, while the other 87% of the country falls somewhere between a couple of standard deviations from the middle. Bitter rhetoric and accusations from either end are what make news, and the moderates/independents are generally a lot more benign. All this back and forth is just white noise to me (pardon the pun).