Tea-Party Racism and the Republican Party -- including Mike Pence
It's getting ugly out there:
- At a TP rally in Washington, various TPers shouted the N-word at Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga) and Rep. Andre Carson (D-In), along with other racial epithets. Lewis, who is in his 70's, was one of the leaders of the civil rights movement alongside Martin Luther King Jr.
- Rep. Emanual Cleaver's (D-Mo) office said in a statement Saturday evening that one protester had spit on the congressman and was arrested by Capitol Police, but that Cleaver decided not to press charges.
- And in a tweet from Luke Russert, quoting Rep. Clyburn (D-SC):
Clyburn: I heard people saying things today I've not heard since Mar 15th, 1960 when I was marching to try and get off the back of the bus.
I'm not one to try to extrapolate such behavior to all TPers, or to all Republicans. But I do have two questions for Republicans in general, and Mike Pence in particular:
- Why haven't your leaders denounced this behavior?
- And to Mike Pence -- you actually spoke at this rally and encouraged these people. So do you denounce their behavior, or embrace it?
This sort of behavior has been going on for some time. I've tried not to paint the broad brush -- after all, the Democrats have our own set of crazies, as does any large group of human beings -- but it is becoming increasingly difficult to give the Republican leadership the benefit of the doubt, especially when they are silent about it.
Some would shout "but the Democrats are just as bad!" On this issue, the answer is clear: Democrats have long stood for human rights and civil rights, and any Democrat who shouted the N-word at a rally would be shown the door immediately. I have seen users banned from Democratic web sites (Daily Kos, for one) for encouraging violence or for any form of racism.
And yet we continue to see and hear this from the right, with not a word of protest or condemnation from Republican leadership. I am left with only two possible conclusions:
- Either the Republican leadership is willing to put up with the craziness as a political tool, even though they don't, themselves, agree with it;
- Or, the Republican leadership is actually racist, sexist, xenophobic, and filled with birthers, deathers, and the whole TP craziness.
Not one Republican has condemned any of this. (And it's not like it's not been in the news; I found the story in multiple sources, both print and online.) I could pick on all of them for that, but for now let's just focus on one of them: Mike Pence.
Rep. Pence is from Indiana's 6th District, a mostly rectangular district just east of Indianapolis, running from Muncie on the north to I-74 on the south. It's obviously heartland country, the land of farming, basketball, and conservative values. But is it racist?
Mike Pence has embraced the Tea Party movement with all his being. Go to his web site and you see story after story of him speaking at TP rallies, endorsing their values, and aligning himself with the beliefs and the demands. He's got pictures all over his site of him speaking at these rallies, including the one on Saturday in Washington. This isn't a one-time speaking invitation; this is an elected Congressman saying that he is part of this movement, hook, line, and sinker.
So, Mr. Pence, what do you say to the use of "nigger!" by your fellow TPers? Do you support it, condemn it, or just want to ignore it? How about the use of "faggot!" at Barney Frank? How about the spitting on your fellow Congressmen? Are you going to condemn that as well, or let it go?
How far are you willing to ride this, Mr. Pence? Are you going to let the TP crazies have their way, as long as they vote for you in the fall? Or are you going to draw a line and say "this is unacceptable"?
I have contacted the Anderson office of the Congressman, but of course it is Sunday and no one is there. If his office responds -- or if Congresman Pence himself responds -- then I'll obviously share it with any of you that are reading this. Frankly, I don't expect anything except a mealy-mouthed "of course I denounce racism ... but I still support all my TP friends."
Be careful, Mr. Pence. Remember the words of the prophet Hosea: "They that sow the wind shall reap the whirlwind." What are you sowing with these people, Congressman -- and what are you, and all the rest of us, going to reap?
Sunday, March 21, 2010 at 1:34PM
Reader Comments (9)
All of that was inexcusable and shameful. Sadly though, they don't care. It gets them more votes.
Mr. Pence's office never called me back. Wonder if I should let them know he's mentioned by name in this story?
Is there video of this happening ?
I don't subscribe to the WSJ online, so I can't paste the whole article...but seriously...where are the videos?
Jesse Jackson was actually recording as he walked through the protesters...yet NOTHING has been aired.
If this whole round of accusations and allegations turns out to be utterly unsubstantiated, and/or patently false...what is the likelihood that all those who are trumpeting it will issue mea culpas?
What is the likelihood that an equal measure of media attention will be spent to excoriate those who perpetrated such a slanderous and bigoted campaign against the TEA folks?
You call out Pence...he hasn't responded...maybe that's because he, unlike most in the media, is awaiting substantiation before accusation and condemnation. In which case...good for Pence.
Lets give the unsubstantiated claims a rest. If they are ever substantiated...I'll be right there condemning those who said it.
But on Good Friday, a day historically marked by unsubstantiated accusations...lets try to be aware of the damage false allegations influenced by a political agenda can cause.
From the WSJ...
[Perhaps a measure of its threat to the liberal agenda, the tea party movement is being accused—with little or no supporting evidence—of using threats, insults and violence to intimidate the political process.
Rep. John Lewis, (D., Ga.) claimed that when he and other members of the Congressional Black Caucus walked through a tea party protest last week in Washington, they heard the N-word hurled at them 15 times. No video or audio recording—in an age when such recorders are ubiquitous—has surfaced to back up the claim. No one was arrested.
Liberals in the media have taken up the cry that ...]
No response?
So no one has anything to add?
No one happens to have a recording of the racist statements handy...?
Disappointing...
Ed -- no, I wasn't there, so I don't have a video recording. Nevertheless, when numerous elected officials, and their staffs, all describe the same sequence of events, you can either believe that they all got together and decided to make up this story, or you can believe that it happened.
As for Pence -- a few days later he denounced the incidents, I believe in an interview.
Or you can believe they 'heard' what they were predisposed to hear...amongst the cacophonous noise of the crowd.
Also, it's worth clarifying and acknowledging...that IF it did occur, it was likely the outburst of an individual, and not the crowd, and does not reflect fairly upon the movement as a whole.
But then again, whether ye be dem or rep...liberal or neocon...it doesn't make for much excitement and can't be parlayed into political capital if reason and honesty prevail.
I respect you, and should we ever meet, I'm sure I'd like you personally...But in picking up and running with this kind of sensational, divisive and presumptuous story is utterly counterproductive...and renders you a divider...
An unwitting servant to the polarization of society that the two major parties thrive on.
I. too, believe Pence's friend, Congressman John Lewis. I have no reason to doubt his honesty and sincerity. Once question I do have, however, is whether anyone knows who those people were who were making the slurs? Do we know for a fact that they were actual Tea Party people or "wolves in sheep's clothing" (Liberals who crashed the party). It would be a perfect "set-up" that I certainly wouldn't put past some of misguided miscreants.