Lots of buzz about the NAACP calling out the Tea Party movement. Some rightfully pointing out that every movement has its fringe adherents. Of course not all Tea Party supporters are racist, any more than all Democrats are Free Mumia supporters, or Code Pink members, or whatever. Is it fair for any of us, on either side, to be forced to defend against the weirdos in our midst?
Well, yes, it is. Somebody should really do a diary about it. But I don't have the time to do it, or tend to it. So, below the fold is the raw material you need to understand why the Tea Party should pay closer attention to their "fringe". Why they should loudly separate themselves from that fringe - if they don't wish to affiliate with it.
JUNE 2008
Sen. Barack Obama's historic victory in the Democratic primaries, celebrated in America and across much of the world as a symbol of racial progress and cultural unity, has also sparked an increase in racist and white supremacist activity, mainly on the Internet, according to leaders of hate groups and the organizations that track them.
Neo-Nazi, skinhead and segregationist groups have reported gains in numbers of visitors to their Web sites and in membership since the senator from Illinois secured the Democratic nomination June 3. His success has aroused a community of racists, experts said, concerned by the possibility of the country's first black president.
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A site that drew a few thousand visitors per day in 2002 has expanded into Black's full-time job, attracting more than 40,000 unique users each day who can post on 54 different message boards, he said. Black has enlisted 40 moderators and his 19-year-old son to help run Stormfront.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/...
NOVEMBER 2008
Even as they rail against the election of the nation’s first black president, some white supremacist leaders are claiming that people have flocked to their organizations since Barack Obama’s victory.
"The League of the South is reporting a surge in new members within hours of the results from yesterday’s elections," proclaimed an E-mail that the neo-Confederate group sent to supporters the day after the election.
Billy Roper, chairman of the neo-Nazi group White Revolution, predicted that "more and more white Americans [would be] waking up" and instructed followers to be prepared. "[W]e are on the crest of [the storm’s] wave. People will be coming forward, shaking the cobwebs from their numbed minds, and they will need us to lead them."
http://www.splcenter.org/...
JANUARY 2009
Embittered and resentful about an African-American assuming the office of the presidency, neo-Nazis and other white supremacists around the United States plan to observe Inauguration Day with largely symbolic activities. Others plan to exploit Obama's presidency as an opportunity to increase recruitment and delegitimize him as qualified to serve as President.
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They are optimistic that an African-American in office will be the catalyst that will incite rage among white people around the country and prompt them to join white supremacist groups. To that end, several groups are publicly promoting themselves as the white person's solution to a country run by an African American with promises to galvanize white people to "save Western Civilization" and "take back [the] nation."
http://www.adl.org/...
JANUARY 2009
Neo-Nazi David Duke says Obama will be a "visual aid" for angry white Americans and will provoke a backlash among relatively mainstream whites that will "result in a dramatic increase in [the] ranks" of extremists. Many other hate group leaders agree.
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White supremacist groups boasted of a post-election surge of new members as well as overwhelming traffic to their websites. At least two hate groups – Stormfront and the Council of Conservative Citizens – said their websites crashed because of heavy traffic. Stormfront also claimed to have gained thousands of new members immediately after Obama was elected on Nov. 4. The League of the South, a neo-secessionist group, said it saw a surge in phone calls from potential members and that its web traffic increased sixfold.
http://www.alternet.org/...
MARCH 2010
In the 13 months that Barack Obama has been the occupant of the Oval Office he has been the subject of an extraordinary outpouring of emotion from the American electorate. At the start it was largely adulatory, though more recently the adoration has been drowned out by a cacophony of criticism from tea party activists, birthers, global-warming deniers and viewers of Fox News. At the same time, largely hidden from view, there has been a layer of antagonism towards Obama that lies well beyond the boundaries of reasonable political debate.
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White supremacist forums that provide closed talking shops for members only have been abuzz with anti-Obama rhetoric since the presidential election. In one such talkboard, monitored by a watchdog group, a correspondent writes: "if we want to see the overthrow or the cleansing of society then we should support Obama being where he is! I believe in the coming war. With this Nig as President he will just speed up the process. He's a catylist! Is'nt this what we want?" Another says: "Our backs are really against the wall now. We need progressive activism and we need to be solution orientated. For a Whiter future for our children." A third says: "I never thought I'd ever see the day when a monkey ran my country & I'm 34. I weep for our children."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/...