Scary

Looks like an old time Dem party decoration to me.

I'm not sure that particular wing of the party would be welcome at a TEA party as the TEA party types would not tolerate the terrorizing and killing of blacks and Republicans. Those looks on the faces of the crowd are exactly what one would see if the Klan lit up a cross at one of the TEA rallies.

Historical revisionism only works on those who are ignorant of history.

I am amused at the idea of a Dem supporter pulling a demon out of the Dem parties' own closet and attempting to pin it on the opposition.

To quote my favorite T-Rex, "I'm just not sure how well this plan was thought through."

Well, why don't we take a look at a similarity between the Tea Partiers, and those wonderful, Gawd Fearin' cross burners.

Lots of footage was shot over the weekend of the folks who gravitated to Washington, and I don't recall seeing so much as one non-white face in all of the footage or in any of the pictures snapped of the event.

The press and the media yawned. Glenn Beck is up in arms over it too. "They just don't get it"...he whines on his web page. But not all was lost though. He was nice enough to cover it live for Fox News.

There are no leaders of the movement coined as the "Tea Party." There are thousands who have aspirations to lead the movement forward, but the differences between those who were there were quite noteworthy.

And now that they've unified and marched on Washington, where will they do next? In several interviews of some of the more vocal of the attendees, they were scratching their heads to come up with an answer for that question too.

Don't worry, Glenn Beck, the unofficial Tea Party spokesman, will give them some guidance, when he thinks of something.

Next month, when the credit card bills roll in, there's going to be a whole lotta folks out there who are going to be a little more than upset at how much they spent just to march down Pennsylvania Avenue for a few hours.

I guess they'll blame the President for that too.

Former Pres. Carter in a tv interview said what a lot of us have been thinking about the relationship between recent rhetoric and racial bias. Forty years prior to this DC march was the MLK march and speech on a vision of racial harmony, but unfortunately we have not come as far as previously thought. As I honestly look at myself, I still fight this bias within me.

I would like to believe today's depiction is an exaggeration of what has been going on for the past several months. However, with the recent remarks by former president Jimmy Carter there may be more truth to it than first thought.

I'm fairly sure today's cartoon will elicit a lot of commentary from both sides of the political aisle, but will that commentary find any answers to the problem?? I think not....

Divisivness will out, when those with a staunch opinion will not entertain another's point of view. Sad, but true

Thank you for your time and attention, Woody

SCOTTYM, so now the Klan was now a creation of the Democratic Party? Most southerners never truly joined the Democratic Party, they were just boycotting the Republican Party. After all, they couldn't very well belong to the party of Lincoln!

When LBJ and the National Democratic Party pushed through the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the south Democrats took a walk. Eventually, that walk lead them to the Republican Party, which is where they all belonged in the first place. After all, when you base your whole economic system on a Plantation model, and fight a war to preserve it, you really belong in the GOP.

The actual image of the cartoon may be frightening, but I believe the fact that it was drawn to be released maybe even more so. I have yet to hear any empirical evidence that the tea parties are a racist movement. So far, all I have heard is simply based of inference and suggestion, which proves nothing.

Tea party protesters call it a movement to stop big government, out of control spending, and corrupted elitist politicians. Those against them call them hidden-agenda racists who oppose a black President.

I saw on the Today show this morning where Matt Lauer interviewed a Republican author and a professor from Georgetown University. They were there to discuss if there were indeed racial undertones to backlash against the president. While the author asserted his case with statistics and findings that do not point to racism, the professor was simply charged with convictions of racism. At one point, Lauer asked him if Joe Wilson's "you lie" really sounded like "you lie, boy." The professor took it one step further to infer he meant "you uppity N" on national television. Now I have no idea if the author's facts and findings are true, but at least he attempted to use those instead of emotionally driven banter used by the Georgetown professor.

On a side note, Jimmy Carter is a moron for publicly making this a race issue. He has no evidence, just as many others who make the claim of racism, only personal convictions and inferences. I believe Carter is running to Obama's defense because their ideologies show many similarities. There is a reason Carter had a 34% approval rating at the end of his term. Carter has done some great things since his presidency, most notably within the realm of human rights in other countries, but the American people could have gone without this ridiculous comment during an already tense political atmosphere.

Good spin, scottyM. Factual, too...and first.

Others here try to spin history, claiming the Dems rammed through the CRA of '64 when, in fact, they were the barricade not the clear corridor. Those disappointed and disgruntled Southern Democrats never migrated anywhere following the Act's passage; they became the Yellow Dogs...who still hound us to this day.

The KKK began in the South in answer to the North's oppression following the Civil War [aka War of Northern Aggression]. It was quite different from today's Klan. Two separate programs, the second trying to build upon the first...and failing. Both were composed of Democrats or what were to become Democrats. Indeed, they would never be members of Lincoln's Party [the GOP]. Ask the staunch former longtime KKK member representing West Virginia about that.

EaTn: Former Pres. Carter in a tv interview said what a lot of us have been thinking about the relationship between recent rhetoric and racial bias."

My goodness how the left obsesses about racism. Why can't they see that we are doing exactly what MLK wished for in his "I Have a Dream" speech: judging Obama by the content of his character rather than the color of his skin.

These Tea Party protesters are nothing more than collection of Obama haters. Certainly, every administration has its detractors, but the raw emotion and naked hatred demonstrated by this mob is more than a bit disturbing.

Think about it, first there were the 'birthers''- a group, that irrationally promotes the theory that President Obama is not are president at all, that he was actually born outside the US, is not a native American, and therefore is not constitutionally eligible to be president.

Then you have those who depict Obama as a socialist plant, a communist, or a fascist- likening the president to Adolph Hitler. Again, the idea that he's not what he says he is, that Obama is not one of us, but one of 'them'.

Whoever 'them' is.

Then there are the nuts who think it's all right to carry guns to town hall events or presidential appearances. Any implied threat is only compounded by signs that read, 'The tree of Liberty needs to be watered from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants'.

You have politicians, promoting states' rights like we're back in the 1950s. They cite the ten amendment to pander to secessionists in Texas, anti-health care reform in Georgia, and who-knows-what in Tennessee.

Don't forget those Obamaphobes who didn't even want this President to address school children because of some wacky paranoia of what brainwashing techniques he would employ on the poor, unsuspecting, darlings.

And now you have elected officials, barking out at the president from the floor of Congress, in a display that, through its breech of decorum, was an unprecedented act of disrespect.

At some point, this tone and temperament of this movement has to be seen as more than just political opposition. This is not mere partisanship. This is more than frustration and fear. This is outright hatred for a man who has done nothing to deserve such animus.

Why this president? The answer seems disturbingly obvious.

Alprova, there were a lot of "people of color" attending the Washington event on 9/12. If you had watched something other than a network that chose to only depict the most outragous, extreme examples, you would have seen them AND seen them being interviewed, including the black woman who had been an Obama delegate at the Dem convention who now realizes how brainwashed she had been by the "cool" factor rather than the reality of BHO.

Racism is only hook whereon Democrats can hang their hat.

Their president has overloaded the rest of the hooks with his failed and failing policies.

OllieH surmised: "These Tea Party protesters are nothing more than collection of Obama haters. Certainly, every administration has its detractors, but the raw emotion and naked hatred demonstrated by this mob is more than a bit disturbing."

And, of course, you said the same thing about the anti-war protestors with their signs of Bush looking like Hitler? I'd bet not.

Give this racism crap a break! I assume you're one of the libs who believes "You lie" is implying racism as well? Just because someone doesn't agree with something the president is doing does NOT mean he or she is racist.

I watched coverage of this weekend's Tea Party protest in DC with great concern. Those of you who claim that there isn't even an ounce of racism motivating the visceral reaction to Barack Obama's presidency really need to step back and take an honest look.

Clay's cartoon uses exaggeration to make that point.

If it walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, it's probably a duck.

One more point-

I find it profoundly ironic that the people who depict President Obama as Adolph Hitler- the worst genocidal mass murderer in history, get their knickers in a knot when they're compared to the Ku Klux Klan.

Clay,

Awful.

OllieH pontificated: "Why this president? The answer seems disturbingly obvious."

The answer is quite obvious to those who look at his radical domestic policies, past associations, current associations, apologist attitude, leftist philosophy, lack of leadership experience, destructive economic agenda, proposed wholesale upheaval of the healthcare, financial and energy markets, etc., etc.

Those who ignore all of the above can only scratch their empty heads and say, "Golly, I guess it's racism." It's an unfortunate and demeaning red herring.

Wow, Clay, You must have been out late partying and had about 3 minutes before deadline to get this cartoon in. "Those who dare disagree with the positions of this president are RACIST" ooooooh. Cunning political thought!

I guess by your definition, every black, Asian or Hispanic who ever disagreed with any prior president is also a racist.

Just for the record, when I disagree with this president, I am disagreeing with his white half.

Once again, simply stated: Obama's downfall will be THE CONTENT OF HIS CHARACTER, NOT THE COLOR OF HIS SKIN!

John Gault: "Just for the record, when I disagree with this president, I am disagreeing with his white half."

Awesome.

John_gault said, "Just for the record, when I disagree with this president, I am disagreeing with his white half."

Excellent point, John_g. Great response to the racism charge.

Just wondering, wouldn't the technical term be Halfrican-American?

Perhaps those who see racism would be interested in a black mans perspective from inside the Tea Party movement. He has been seeing and receiving lots of racial abuse and hate...from the left.

http://www.americanthinker.com/2009/09/black_tea_party_express_tour_t.html

Keep trying lefties, if you throw enough crap, some may eventually stick. Of course, you'll be covered with it first.

Former POTUS Carter is a dim-witted as ever.

Great cartoon. This is what I think of when I think of the majority of these lame tea parties that don't even have tea. Like in the picture there is a minority of tea party protesters that don't have a racist agenda, but the majority of them do. Glen Beck is a clear cut racist idiot and a major factor behind these "movements" These people are jokes, but the joke is dying down. Hey Glen Beck and all you people like him, if you hate Obama because of his race, you're kind of hating yourself...he's half white!!

Face it people, there are people that are jealous of Obama and don't like it when they see a black person succeed, these people are in a minority in America, but they are here and you can see them at these tea parties. You can also find these extreme right wing idiots here in bigot city Chattanooga too, just look around, look in the mirror. I know some of you hate it when you see a young black person in a nice car, or nice house, or on campus. You automatically think he sold drugs, killed, or stole to get where he is. Yes black people can succeed and even be great leaders too, just look at the president. If you don't like it leave the US, that's what I would have done if McCain won.

Oh yea I'm an independent just in case the idiotic democratic lefty banter starts.

OllieH. wrote,

"After all, when you base your whole economic system on a Plantation model, and fight a war to preserve it, you really belong in the GOP."

ROFLMAO, that is quite a piece of work. So, in your world, all those who fought to preserve the "Plantation model" really belong in the party of Lincoln?

Logic=Fail

CollegeGraduate wrote,

"Oh yea I'm an independent just in case the idiotic democratic lefty banter starts."

You mean like the idiotic democratic lefty banter in your previous post?

CollegeGraduate eh? Did you major in, race-baiting, or did you just pick that up on the side?

If you ever find your self in need of a job, you could call up Sharpton or Jackson, they can always use a few fresh recruits to keep the hate alive.

well, what do you know. Actual proof of the old adage, "Just being a college graduate doesn't make you smart."

CollegeGraduate,

First off, I do not like Barack Obama. Not because he is black but because he stands for big government and more government control. To suggest for people to leave the country over who is President is ridiculous. I am not going to leave because Obama is our President. Since I am an American that cares about this country rather than only myself, I am going to try to see that this country gets back on the right path by helping to make sure that Obama is not elected a second term.

Oh and just thought that I would throw this out there, does anyone else notice that everytime a group of people opposes the liberal view, all the liberals start their name calling such as racist, unpatriotic, and unamerican. They don't have a leg to stand on as an argument, so they just call people names like a child. This would be another one of those situations.

Stoking the fires of racial disharmony is crucial to the liberal cause. If black folks ever found out that they are actually equal to everyone else, and had just as many opportunities, then the Libs would lose a huge portion of their voting populace. This cartoon is intellectually lazy and very unbecoming of someone who considers himself an intellectual, Clay.

Disagreeing with a (half) black president equals racism? If it were Jimmy Carter himself in BHO's shoes right now, the Tea Partiers and other dissenters would be disagreeing just as loudly if not more so. If people were holding up signs saying things like "Lynch BHO" and things like that, then you would have a point. But the fact is, this is simple disagreement with the very radical direction BHO is trying to take us towards, and nothing more.

This toon is very inappropriate. There needs to be a "suggest removal" link for this one. This will only divide us in a time when we need to be concentrating on the issues instead of name calling. I agree with John_G. I do not look at this President as a Black man, only a man trying to do what he said he would do. (and the people still elected him anyway) Carter's comment was equally inappropriate. What an idiot!!! Ok, sorry, I stooped to name calling but sometimes you have to call them as you see them.

Several of my best friends are white and they don't like Obama because of his policies. I've never called them racist or even thought of them as racist because of this. So basically, I'm not saying if you disagree with Obama it means you are a racist.

I just want those that actually disagree with him because he's half black to actually say that's why they disagree with him and not try to cover it up with socialism this, and socialism that and etc. I've had several face to face conversations with random people who can't give me real reasons why they don't like Obama, but I have actually had a few that said it's because he's black.

Once again I'm not a liberal, so you close minded people can keep repeating that if you want to. I will no longer waste my time trying to explain something that's soo simple. Thank you to those that have open minds, we need more of you.

CollegeGraduate- First of all, congratulations that you are (evidently) a college graduate. I applaud you, and all people who achieve that status.

Secondly, I have just gone back and caught up on some of the prior posts, and I for one love to see a successful black person - that is living evidence of the American Dream. I listened to a great example of a "black success story" speak just yesterday morning at my church - a guy named Carey Casey - a real class act. Google him, he is awesome.

I agree this cartoon was inappropriate. It's people like this that keep the racial divide alive in our country. I also agree with John_G.

Lightenup wrote: Just wondering, wouldn't the technical term be Halfrican-American?

That was hilarious. With our (ridiculous) fixation on being politically correct these days, that sounds about right!

Collegegraduate, Your remarks also help fuel the fire of racism. It's ridiculous. And I did not want McCain for a president either, but after your comment, I kind of wish he would have been elected. Then people like you may have left the country.

And finally, just for fun. This is the most honest thing I have heard President Obama say: http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/showbiz/2009/09/15/dcl.obama.kanye.jackass.cnn

I was in DC this past weekend. There were people of all races there. Yes the majority were white, but all races were represented. Conservatives took MLK at his word, Judging people by the content of their character. The left is all about judging people by the color of their skin. It is so unfortutnate that a major party (democrat) believe minorities are too stupid to make it on their own, so they patronize them. The discontent with the White House and Congress has nothing to do with race, but everything to do with out of control spending and loss of freedom.

I just saw this line on my favorite conservative blog site:

"Dissent is the highest form of racism"

Love it.

Thanks for that link, whoknows, that just shows the likeable human side of the president, (which by the way was why he was elected in the first place, not for his policies since even the people who elected him are marching against him now).

And it is quite possible that our president is one of the very few people in this country that is truly African-American since he may hold citizenship in both continents. Most blacks that call themselves that are no more African than I am.

LOL, John G, Me too, love it.

You are fortunate in TN. Was just in Chatt and Nash last week and many times before. Son and Daughter in law live there and went to school there. Lots of great folks. But also great resources, tax rates, value system, business environment. Be careful, come visit us here in WI, try to start a business here. Try to build a church here. Try to make money here.

Wait, I have a better idea, send Clay, Ollie and Alprova to WI, no joke, they would really LOVE it here, birds of a feather, and WE will move to TN. WI will soon look like Denmark, if you like that sort of thing.

As a side note, we here in Green Bay sort of got the initial "credit" for the big national exposure from the Lib Congressman Kagen's town hall meeting. Every national media outlet wanted to know who the "man in the yellow shirt" was. They finally tracked him down, was an 81 year old retired man, not a member of any group, wasnt contacted in anyway and came with no agenda.

I can assure all the conspiracy theorists that, at least in Green Bay our frustration and outrage is not a coordinated effort. We CAN actually think, DO believe Adam Smith and Alexander Hammilton were correct and DO know that governement consumes wealth and doesnt create it. We CAN think and react all on our very own. Execept in Madison WI and apparently the Bennett, Ollie and Alprova household.

John Macco Green Bay, WI

"Dissent is the highest form of racism"

very nice Walden

It just hit me that there are no people of color in the cartoon yet at the tea parties all races are represented. I guess the artist is some sort of racist.....

Pretty ridiculous don't ya think?

CollegeGraduate, really? Come on, did you attend a medical school in Barbados or was it mail order or on-line, because neither really counts you know.

CollegeGraduate,

Please show me an example that the majority of tea party protesters are racist, as you claimed in your previous post. Facts speak a lot louder than hunches. As your name suggests, you should be familiar that statements should be based on facts found in research.

I don't know who you talk to, but I have yet to talk to anyone that says they do not like Obama because he is black.

Thank you again, Inspector Bucket!

I found the copy of the speech very helpful in other ways as well. It confirmed my thought about the complete inaccuracies of Palin's accusations about the so-called "Death Panels" among other things.

I do not find the health bill anything but excessive in bureaucracy and bureaucratic "legalise"(?) and certainly not going far enough to introduce a more broad outlook.

To quote Dr. Albert Schweitzer, "Compassion, in which all ethics must take root, can only attain its full breadth and depth if it embraces all living creatures and does not limit itself to mankind."

Our difficulty seems to be the inability to include the rest of mankind, although I know of animal lovers who have no compassion for humankind.

For you youngsters who have probably never heard of Dr. Albert Schweitzer, he was a medical doctor, theologin, organist of concert ability, and above all a humanitarian missionary in Africa.

The Tea Party movement is, in fact, about the struggle for power (i.e. pure politics, in the classical sense); it's about the governed revoking their tacit consent; it's about the abolition of tax-slavery.

When government seizes whatever portion of an individual's wage it desires, the people cease to be free, and become slaves to the government which was founded to serve them.

This is not to protest taxes raised under Obama. It is to protest the existence of a system which taxes production, rather than consumption, and to assert that the rights of "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness" necessitate an included right to the fruits of one's labor.

And it is certainly not racist. To characterize it as racist is an attempt by leftists and statists to demonize a movement which threatens their authoritarian philosphies, and which is gaining popularity.

These tax protests have been occurring annually, for decades, on the 15th day of April, at U.S. Post Offices nationwide. They are not new. Real Republicans (not neocons), fiscally conservative Democrats (yes, they do exist), Libertarians, Independents and contrarians in general have long engaged in this protest. Now, they are drawing more people.

Considering that just over 1.6 million people voted for an independent or third-party candidate in the last presidential election, this only makes sense.

We will not abolish the 16th Amendment this year, but support is growing. Even Zach Wamp signed on as a sponsor of the Fair-Tax.

For a better understanding of the tax system we were intended to have, I suggest you read Jefferson's Second Inaugural Address. In it, Jefferson poses the question "what farmer, what mechanic, what laborer ever sees a taxgatherer of the United States."

Sadly, today's answer is that all do, on their first day of employment, when they fill out a W-4.

Despite what Mr. Bennet thinks, the people attending the Tea Party are protesting something that actually matters and actually affects them, not burning crosses or engaging in racist behavior.

They are protesting a tax system which is nothing more than a tool bureaucrats use to reward those who support them, punish those who oppose them, and redistribute wealth in a manner that benefits the incumbent. I can think of little which is more important.

"They are protesting a tax system which is nothing more than a tool bureaucrats use to reward those who support them, punish those who oppose them, and redistribute wealth in a manner that benefits the incumbent. I can think of little which is more important".

Khargis, Fantastic! Most articulate, non-emotional piece Ive seen. Thank you .

Jmacco-

feel free to use it as your own

May I simply and quickly point out that my earlier post was right on the money.

Some things will never change even though they need to.

Woody

Clay, you've really turned up the heat on this one. The only people I know who don't recoil at being called a racist are people who are in White Supremacy Groups.

I have to say, I think a lot of tea party folks are a little looney, a little paranoid, mostly white folks who don't like big government. I'm sure some of them are racists, as there is one in every crowd (and apparently, a few were holding signs to prove it).

But exactly how people extract racism for the movement, with any degree of certainty is beyond me. As with the Republicans fearing things that are not in the health care bill, it seems like there is simply a lot of suspicion underlying these charges of racism.

And when there is suspicion, you only need one person to say or do the wrong thing and then that person or deed becomes the focal point for the opposition.

Calling the Tea Party Protester rallies racist seems about as absurd as referring to Obama as Hitler, a racist, or Dear Leader (with a nod to rolando).

Granted I have not studied the evidence as others might have, but I could not discern that the people behaved dramatically different at this rally than people have at other rallies for other causes, whether they be liberal or conservative.

I think it is possible that just because certain issues resonate more strongly with people of a certain race that this itself does not confer racism.

I have several friends who became "Democrats For McCain" last fall, complete with yard signs. These friends voted and campaigned for Gore in 2000 and Kerry in 2004, but they saw something in Obama that they didn't like.

The change in these lifetime Democratic friends was stark. They began tuning in to talk radio and flipped sides wholly. At one point during the campaign, a couple of them were mocking Obama to me with an ebonic laced pantomine of "Obama gonna be buyin' me a Cadillac".

Those two friends personally and sincerely told me racism had nothing to do with their "awakening", they're just concerned about the spending.

moonpie wrote,

"I have to say, I think a lot of tea party folks are a little looney, a little paranoid, mostly white folks who don't like big government."

I resemble that remark!

I agree with a lot of what you wrote. I've yet to see any actual evidence that there is anything racial about the TEA party movement, as well. Of course there will always be a nutball in every crowd and I'm sure the MSM have been going out of their way to find exactly that, as alprova alluded to earlier. They don't seem to have found much to back up the assertions of racism, though.

It must also be pointed out that the MSM is mostly a mouthpiece for the Dem party. On things racial the case in point was the MSNBC coverage of the protester at the POTUS rally with an AR-15 slung across his back. They carefully cropped the image to hide the fact that the man was black. Now, why would they do that?

JRingo,

Do you think your friends morphed into racists overnight and had to switch sides because of the O?

Or could they have been closet racists all along and they dropped the progressive pretense when O came along?

Or could it be that they finally got a clue about the past results of leftist ideas and switched sides to help prevent the inevitable ugliness at the end point?

FWIW (i.e. $0.0125-inflation ya know) Most of the racially tinged statements and/or "jokes" I have ever heard came out of the mouths of friends and relatives who consider themselves to be liberals and vote straight down the Dem side of the ticket. A few of these are honest enough to come right out and say that blacks need special treatment because they can not succeed otherwise. This is a very big reason why I found myself joining the ranks of the Reagan repubs. I can tolerate a lot of things, but outright racism(or sexism), from any quarter, and for any reason, will be rebuked.

I believe it is hilarious how you are putting a racist motive behind Party politics. Pulling one out of the Bush era with this propaganda. I mean really? This is pretty ignorant.

One sign I saw on the news when watching the coverage of the protest seems to hold true among Libs in how they view people who dont agree with Obama. It stated....It doesn't matter what I say i'll still be called a racist. Apparently its true for some of you libs on here as well. I do wonder what excuse you would use if Hilary or some other democratic candidate would have won. Seems you will find anything to blame on the fact that people just dont agree with Obama or is radical agenda. It cant just be about his policies or what he is trying to pass on to the american people.

Is it too difficult for some to believe that many folks simply disagree with the far-left politics of this President? Bennett, you are a hack.

The TEA party began soon after Obama took office, and under the umbrella of being against govt and taxes. The issues they were supposedly opposed to existed months and years before in the Bush admin. So why did they not protest then? For some it is pure GOP partisan, for some it is just being brainwashed and fired-up by radio and tv talk show hosts and for others it is about race in not wanting a black man to succeed lead this country.

Great cartoon, Clay. I'm afraid you're completely accurate on your observation. Take guts sometimes to put the truth out there. Please keep up the good work.

I find this cartoon to be totally tasteless and baseless. I agree with Lightnup's comment:

"My goodness how the left obsesses about racism. Why can't they see that we are doing exactly what MLK wished for in his "I Have a Dream" speech: judging Obama by the content of his character rather than the color of his skin."

I find it very sad and disheartening that whites are not allowed to disagree with, find fault in, or question, President Obama without being labeled a racist. NO president is perfect, and there have been plenty of people who criticized each and every president in the past. No one labeled those people racists; they were just expressing their opinion. Now that we have a black president, it's only because of racism. What a pathetic argument.

The racism charge is always Liberalism's last stand (its their Alamo). They always retreat to that tactic when all else has failed. Take heart Conservatives, this is clear evidence that they know they have failed in their great Social Experiment. November 2010 can't get here soon enough. If Obama were really smart, he would address the nation from the Oval in prime time, and flatly denounce the racism canard. I hope he doesn't do this though, because his silence on this only further seals his fate as a one termer.

Snooksie writes:

"One sign I saw on the news [. . .] stated....It doesn't matter what I say i'll still be called a racist."

I am a Contrarian by nature, a Devil's advocate without apology.

So I immediately react by saying, what about the many other signs that use different shades of race-baiting to provoke certain reactions?

There have been many, many signs at many, many rallies across the country--too many to generalize.

Some signs and posters have been patriotic and well-meant.

Some signs have been well-intentioned, but naive.

Other signs have coyly or directly courted fears and bigotry.

The rallies have brought out a strange mixture of folks, producing ever-stranger and ever-stronger sorts of reactions. America itself is a darn strange place, so being surprised is perhaps not the smartest reaction.

I would suppose that the following slogans were carried with different intentions. I can predict a variety of reactions.

Obama as Joker http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/08/14/florida-police-question-suspect-obama-joker-poster/ http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifamerica/2009/aug/05/barack-obama-joker-posterhttp://theobserverpodcast.com/?p=375 "He had a dream; We got a nightmare" http://www.zazzle.com/he_had_a_dream_we_got_the_nightmare_bumper_sticker-128970169547845917 "Give me my country back."

There is no denying that some people will find nothing at all alarming about these signs. Standing within the crowd, that is an understandable perception.

There is no denying that some people standing outside the crowd will find these signs playing upon race when carried in large gathering of impassioned protesters, the majority of whom are white.

The added element of gun rights advocates being present with images of weapons and boasts of militancy does not help the perception.

This not an anti-gun rights sentiment. Anyone dedicated to gun rights is committed to promoting informed, careful attitudes and wants to guard carefully against creating a backlash. Passion and anger do not ever combine with weapons.

And it really is not the smartest thing to paint the first black president in "white-face" or to speak in terms of tar-and-feathering or "Back-handing the Left into Submission."

http://www.cafepress.com/rightwingstuff/5679308

There are still many Americans alive who can recall having seen firsthand what a lynch-mob looked like.

Whether those signs and slogans are carried off with knowledge or ignorance, it shows an amazing lack of self-knowledge, self-awareness, historical knowledge, and civility.

To answer that one side or another has already always done things equally stupid or outrageous is no answer at all, but a compromise of reason and a failure to exceed your foe by showing a better way.

Clay's cartoon seems to catch the first flickering realization of conscience. Maybe there is hope.

EaTn,

Copy/Paste this string to a search engine.

tax day protest -2009

I get around half a million hits on Google.

Now, what was that about the TEA party beginning after O took office?

The core was there long before, they have just been picking up numbers very quickly as more and more people are getting fed up with the giant leaps in size the current fed.gov is attempting to embark upon. The fact that we are racking up obscene amounts of debt also weighs heavily upon the minds of many.

You are overlooking the fact that many of the citizens of this country are not happy with the direction of the federal government. This is not all about O. I'll speak for many of us and say, I'd be content to get give mandatory retirement packages(1) to about 500 or so members of Congress and be a lot happier with my government.

Once you accept that there is more to this outside of O, it will likely occur to you that it obviously has nothing to do with race. POTUS is a part of the problem, but not all of it, or even a majority.

(1)Retirement benefits to be paid out of .gov funds only after all current debts are paid and future liabilities are fully funded. All existing personal assets held by "retired" Congress members shall be taxed at 99.999% until the debts are paid, or the "retired" members of Congress go broke, which ever occurs first.

I thought Bennett's cartoon was right on the money and depicted the tea partiers precisely! The volume and intensity of this group seems to be hiding something more sinister than simple opposition to President Obama's policies.

SCOTTYM: I know two of them very well, and while I was surprised by the change in one of them, the other was expected. The fact that they both taunted me with racist comments about Obama in the run up to the election leads me to believe they weren't concerned with his policy.

I'll add that there is paper thin difference between the past Democratic party policy and the Obama campaign promises. He spoke of a return to Clinton era government with health care reform, industry regulation and oversight, and more tax responsibility for top earners (as well as ending the wars). I can think of little reason to suddenly "see the light" other than the color of the man's skin (for the people I know personally).

Keep in mind that both of these guys were strong John Edwards supporters up until Obama won the nomination. I suspect there are many more like them.

The GOP disagrees with the President on policy and now they are a racist organization? I guess the Dem's were the first racist party, they didn't nominate Jesse Jackson for President years ago.

Well, I think Tea Partys are the Same as Klan Meetings, People in this area and rural areas a lot of them are racist. But there is a lot of non racist people that goes to these Tea Partys. Obama will be a great President, hes doing a good job of fixing what Bush screwed up during his 8 yr term.Bush Destroyed our economy and plus we finding out lies and corruption during his term. All should stand trial for war crimes and corruptions..I hope Obama will find all involved and put them in prison where they belong..

There's an interesting article in the new york times by Maureen Dowd that I think sums this tea party rhetoric up to what it really stands far. Hatred of a black president hiding behind opposition to policies.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/13/opinion/13dowd.html?_r=

J.Ringo,

People are strange.

I too know a few Dem supporters who were not happy that their guy/gal lost the nomination. I haven't picked up any overt racism from any of them, but whoo man are they still torqued off.

xyzyra wrote,

"The volume and intensity of this group seems to be hiding something more sinister than simple opposition to President Obama's policies."

I see, so being immersed in statist non-logic, you don't get it, therefore, it has to be something evil like racism.

That has a bit of a religious tinge to it, does it not?

The NYTimes is on its deathbed because of out of touch, idiotic ramblings such as Dowd's.

BB99,

Go easy on the Kool-aide, friend, that stuff rots the brain.

Bush Destroyed our economy..........I wonder how many mortgage applications ACORN assisted with?

Dowd is a loon. The inferences she draws are not impossible, but are typically far-fetched. If Wilson actually committed abuses to blacks, it would already be out in the public. Because of the scrutiny now, God knows anything in his closet will be found eventually. Until then, Dowd should hold her tongue before making claims like these.

I find this cartoon to be tasteless and inappropriate, not to mention downright hateful. I usually disagree with the slant the obviously left-leaning Mr. Bennett puts on his work, but at least most of the time he exhibits the desirable attribute of provoking thought. This one provokes only discord and resentment.

Suffice it to say, any conservative cartoonist who published a drawing depicting a burning cross would be publicly vilified from here to the moon and probably lose his job. Unfortunately, I doubt Clay will get so much as a slap on the wrist for his insulting depiction of those of us who sincerely and legitimately oppose the continued expansion of government as racists.

Way to lower the standards of public discourse even further, Clay!

My very smart daughter in most areas has found a book that, without not yet reading it, smacks somewhat of exposing a vast conspiracy agenda by power and wealth, to continue their efforts to divide and conquer the country by limiting the people to two major parties, thus keeping their own agenda to control. It is the divide and conquer rule.

If this is true, we are in trouble.

As I understand it the book promulgates the theory that all natural disasters and some not so natural that are caused by this powerful group, take the opportunity to obtain the real estate damaged or the organizations affected, to claim oil rights, mines, homes such as those lost to the recent forclosures at a greatly reduced price.

I do question the truth of these allegations because the book contains many photos and photos are now easily manipulated, as I'm sure you all know.

It seems the book is 700 pages long so I'll have to wait awhile to make an accurate judgement since she hasn't yet received it. I've already forgotten the name and author. Sorry!

In the meantime, paranoia reigns! C:-)

This piece of hate-filled garbage is nasty even by Bennett standards. Supposedly back in the old days, the right wing divided the world into communists and anti-communists. That was a caricature, but in truth there were right-wingers like that. Today, though, the "news" media left really does divide the world into two camps: The decent God-fearing people who toe our line and the racists. I read the other day Clay Bennett has a beard because he can't look at himself in the mirror to shave. Shame on him. And shame on the Times for publishing such dishonest hate.

No one at the teabag parties protests the fringe groups who promote hate. They feed off of the hate.

I wish I was as moronic as Jimmy Carter is alleged to be.

Isn't it strange how all of a sudden racism is the talking point du jour on the left? Gee, it couldn't be an organized bit of astroturf, could it?

Maybe Emanuel and Alexrod spread the word to create some faux outrage about (imaginary) racism to draw the attention and discussion away from the real reasons that Obama's agenda is going down in flames? Chicago-style politics emanating from the White House? Nah, couldn't be.

On another site recently I saw a comment that said Samuel Johnson is now out of date. He had said, in the 1700s, that patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel. Clay Bennett joins the caterwauling chorus of modern-day scoundrels with the current mantra: "You, who dare to disagree, are racist!"

Brilliant cartoon, Clay. This is what the TeaParty protests have been reduced to: it isn't about health care or deficit spending, it is about hatred of blacks, liberals and dissent.

The Tea Party Express who sponsored this 9-12 stunt is no grassroots organization. They have may have bussed in all kinds of angry, white people but the organization is part of Freedom Works. If one looks at their tax returns for this so-called nonprofit organization. You will find an interesting board: Dick Armey works approx. 8 hours a week and brings in $320,000 a year for this. There is a board member who is from the Cancer Centers of America, well, how 'bout that? Why would he associate with Tea Party Express? Oh, yes get those angry extremists to oppose health care reform. How nice. Go there and investigate.

Lightnup asks:

"Maybe Emanuel and Alexrod spread the word to create some faux outrage about (imaginary) racism to draw the attention and discussion away from the real reasons that Obama's agenda is going down in flames? Chicago-style politics emanating from the White House? Nah, couldn't be."

Sure it could be. Don't need a weatherman to tell me which way the wind blows. . . .

Get sick, get well Hang around a ink well Ring bell, hard to tell If anything is goin' to sell Try hard, get barred Get back, write braille Get jailed, jump bail Join the army, if you fail Look out kid You're gonna get hit But users, cheaters Six-time losers Hang around the theaters Girl by the whirlpool Lookin' for a new fool Don't follow leaders Watch the parkin' meters (Dylan)

The White House and the DNC spin, misinform, omit, and commit as necessary to advance their agenda.

Conservative media and the RNC spin, misinform, omit, and commit as necessary to advance their agenda.

Some rubes and gulls flock to White House rallies.

Some rubes and gulls flock to tea party rallies fostered by Glenn Beck and the Fox Media empire.

Meanwhile and anywhither, this weary old globe spins through the cosmos like a fretful midge, much as it has for these many billion years. . . .

"The optimist proclaims that we live in the best of all possible worlds, and the pessimist fears this is true." (Cabell)

Channel Firing
by Thomas Hardy

That night your great guns, unawares, Shook all our coffins as we lay, And broke the chancel window-squares, We thought it was the Judgement-day

And sat upright. While drearisome Arose the howl of wakened hounds: The mouse let fall the altar-crumb, The worm drew back into the mounds,

The glebe cow drooled. Till God cried, "No; It's gunnery practice out at sea Just as before you went below; The world is as it used to be:

"All nations striving strong to make Red war yet redder. Mad as hatters They do no more for Christés sake Than you who are helpless in such matters.

"That this is not the judgment-hour For some of them's a blessed thing, For if it were they'd have to scour Hell's floor for so much threatening. . . .

"Ha, ha. It will be warmer when I blow the trumpet (if indeed I ever do; for you are men, And rest eternal sorely need)."

So down we lay again. "I wonder, Will the world ever saner be," Said one, "than when He sent us under In our indifferent century!"

And many a skeleton shook his head. "Instead of preaching forty year," My neighbour Parson Thirdly said, "I wish I had stuck to pipes and beer."

Again the guns disturbed the hour, Roaring their readiness to avenge, As far inland as Stourton Tower, And Camelot, and starlit Stonehenge.

One word about this "cartoon" - disgusting

sandyonsignal,

I did not see much (maybe 5 minutes worth) of the tea party march on 9/12, but I'm pretty sure I didn't see mobs of people crying out to remove Obama from the White House because he is black. Show me more proof then TV personality-fed banter that gets regurgitated by followers, who also cannot back up their opinions of racism. Unfortunately for them, convictions don't count.

In reference to your FreedomWorks comment, I did notice the board of directors does have Richard J Stephenson from the Cancer Treatment Centers of America, but could not find the tax records you mentioned. If you could provide a link, or a source to find that info, I'd like to look that up. Bottom line, there are always interest groups run by individuals or groups of individuals who want their agenda pushed onto America. George Soros comes to mind.

A friend of mine called and asked me to look at today's cartoon. I had to agree that Mr. Bennett's drawing and message is in colosso poor taste.

Also colosso is the misjudgement of Tom Griscom, Harry Austin, Wes Hasden and Lee Anderson for allowing this loaded smear of those who disagree with Mr. Obama's policies.

Mr. Bennett, White House Spokesman, Robert Gibbs, spent no little time this afternoon distancing 1600 from Jimmah Carter's remarks of the same nature. In other words, you ain't helping your hero, while a race war is in no American's best interest.

Mr. Griscom, perhaps Sunday you can tell us exactly what the chain of command is on the Editorial Page, and who is indeed responsible for green lighting this stain on your paper's reputation.

Aces 25,

Are you registered with Guidestar.org? This will provide you the 990 forms you need to research stuff. Silly me, I said Dick Armey received $320,000 for 8 hours a work but it appears to be $80,000 for four hours a week.

Gosh, thank you, aces for sending me back into the IRS 990 forms. Hope you enjoy your time scrutinizing and aren't you glad I provided you the muckraking tools?

Peace.

Clay, I check this page every morning and more often than not I don't agree with it but it does make me think. I applaud the fact that you are willing to stand up for what you feel and express yourself with your ink. What makes America great is the fact that we are all allowed to do just that and express ourselves in many different forms. Yet most are not able to in such a public forum as yourself. For this reason I've got to admit I've grown to respect your toons and more often than not try to see where you are coming from. Today is another story. I see this toon as degrading and downright disrespectful to the rights you yourself enjoy on a daily basis. The fact that these folks disagree with Obama they're somehow a racist/KKK member? It's sad you'd lower yourself to this level.

To no one in particular and everyone in general,

There seems to be quite an outrage swirling around the city over today's toon. I know Clay can be controversial, this is a part of the reason many of us keep coming back.

I believe the calls to revoke Clay's freedom of expression are plainly out of line. I often totally disagree with the sentiment of Clay's toons, but I would never dare attempt to erase them.

The poignant part of the surrounding controversy is that today's toon, intentionally or not, serves as a mechanism to subtly intimidate those who would speak out against the government. Now we have others who would turn the sentiment back on the artist and call for him to be silenced.

Neither is actually very civil, but let's please remember that the silencing of political speech is not a road we should choose to travel.

One of the defining elements of true freedom is the freedom to stand before our countrymen and the world, and speak freely. If we sacrifice this basic freedom to the cause of protecting ourselves and others from disagreeable ideas, we will have sacrificed the very essence of who we are as Americans.

I agree wholeheartedly with you SCOTTYM. Clay shouldn't be stopped from penning whatever he wants as long as it doesn't violate community decency standards and meets with the approval of his employers, the Editorial Board of the paper, which it apparently does. I wonder how many of his proposed cartoons get shot down for going too far and we never even see them. I don't have to like his viewpoint but I have to agree he has the right to spin away.

On the other hand, the fact that Clay's 'toons and the whole editorial slant of the paper runs counter to my political outlook means that I would never shell out a thin dime to actually buy one of their papers. That's the most effective way I can express my opinion of the paper. If this website suddenly shut down, I could get along just fine without knowing the daily content of the Chattanooga Timesfreepress.

I dont want Clay silenced any more than I want FauxNews, or Olberman, silenced (though I would like to throw a baseball at Olberman's granny's head). Keep 'em coming , Clay. When I think you're wrong, I'll type it to you.

For the record, you're 110% off base on this one. Don't judge the movement by those trying to co-opt it.

Thanks sandyonsignal, I'll look into it.

All of us can be discredited by the associations we keep. It wasn't so long ago that candidate Obama was called a racist for his association with Jeremiah Wright. So, now the shoe is on the other foot, and the Tea Party protesters are suffering the same fate.

The only difference is that Barack Obama condemned the words and actions of Reverend Wright.

If the Tea Party protesters will not speak out against the elements within their own movement that do seem to be blatantly racist, they are not only pandering to these views, but their silence could be interpreted as tacit approval.

I'll end by complimenting Clay Bennett. This was a powerful (and to me, quite funny) cartoon. Its point was clear and unambiguous. Interestingly, the cartoon served a dual purpose. By portraying the racist undercurrent that seems to fuel much of the visceral hatred at the Tea Party protests, it has exposed some seriously disturbing undercurrents that seem to fuel many of the comments about the cartoon.

To misquote Shakespeare, "Methinks, they doth protest too much."

OllieH wrote,

"To misquote Shakespeare, "Methinks, they doth protest too much.""

Who are you referring to, the racebaiters?

If not, I'm not exactly clear on why you and any number of other leftists who can read the minds of ordinary humans do not set up an organization to catch criminals and/or divine the plans set in place by murderers. The ability to read the minds of others would be an awesome tool for preserving human lives, and ya'll are wasting it figuring out that there exists a extremely small portion of the conservative movement with some racial motivation. News flash, those types of people exist in every sub-set of every culture on the planet. Some sub-sets even openly support racially based advancement and entitlement systems. I guess those types are harder to get a read on, amiright?

Of course, those who think they know the minds of others could be suffering the same creeping insanity currently ravaging a certain big city papergirl who admits to hearing racist content directed toward POTUS because of an unspoken word that only she heard.

Throwing the race card at anything that is not overtly race based is a sport headed for oblivion. The sooner "feelings" based offenses are disregarded, the quicker we can get on with problems that are actually perceptible to the rest of the population.

When groups of people are accused, with zero evidence, of being socially corrupt, they will return fire. Interpreting the returning fire as proof that the original allegation was on target, is just stacking assumptions on top of more assumptions. You still have nothing but a pile of assumptions by yourself and others of like mind.

A charge of widespread racism within a group needs some actual proof, opinions by outsiders don't count. Ya got any?

I do.

One of the leaders of the "Tea Party movement, Mark Williams, referred to the president of the United States as an "Indonesian Muslim turned welfare thug, and a racist in chief."

Source, complete with video;

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/09/15/tea-party-leader-melts-do_n_286933.html

Well, there you go SCOTTYM. Alprova found one person. Undeniable proof that racism in the group is widespread. Um...not.