The Mark of the Idiot

Been a while since I've posted. Been busy, still am, so I'll keep this short and sweet:

You know, don't you, that I identify myself as a Tea Partier? Well, if you didn't, you know now.

Probably most of the people I know would describe themselves as Tea Partiers, or at least not unfriendly to the Tea Party. It's probably fair to say that most of the people I know would describe themselves as conservative, even the few that don't identify themselves as Tea Partiers.

I do know some liberals, and some of them I like and get on quite well with. Those are not the people I'm writing about today.

The people I'm writing about today are the fatuous twits who simply cannot see a Tea Partier--or a conservative, for that matter--without seeing a racist.

Friends, I know not one--not ONE--Tea Partier who could fairly be described as a racist. I do know Tea Partiers who oppose racial set-asides, who oppose welfare programs that mostly benefit minorities, who think that Black American culture is suffering badly, and so forth, but it requires an extraordinary degree of ignorance or stupidity to describe those as racist positions. Even to suggest that any one of them is racist shows blissful ignorance of the definition of the word.

It floors me that a political movement that currently seems to be enamored of, for crying out loud, Herman Cain, an obviously black man, can be tarred as "racist," but I have seen the attempt made. It floors me that a political movement that practically worships Col. Allen West, another obviously black man, can be tarred as "racist," but I have seen it done. It floors me that a political movement that has, for one of its most lively writers, Lloyd Marcus, another obviously black man, can be tarred as "racist," but I have seen it done, even by people who know that the Tea Party has blacks and other minorities in it. They do it, basically, by asserting that our minority members candidates aren't real minorities, or are sellouts, or stupid.

Mighty **** broad-minded of you, pally...

The situation has gotten so bad that I cannot look at someone calling Tea Partiers "racist" and fail to think of him as a complete idiot. Calling Tea Partiers "racist" has become a badge, a mark--the Mark of the Idiot.

For more of my thoughts on racism, go here.

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And, of course, they're still at it, trying to tar the whole barrel with a few bad apples, in spite of headlines like this one. As God is my witness, one of the things I'm hoping for most is the sight of libtards trying to tell me that their opposition to Herman Cain's presidential policies isn't racist but that my opposition to Barack Obama's was racist.

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Pat Makes My Point

Mr. Buchanan, in this quoted material, makes much the same point that I would regarding the strength of the Tea Party. In the remainder of the column, he makes other points which you would be well advised to consider, principally this one: both parties, in order to bring the budget under control, are going to have to be willing to embrace some very harsh realities, and the odds are excellent that neither party is going to be willing to do any such thing. Really, do read the whole thing.

But here's the quote. Emphasis is mine:

The media have begun a drumbeat to demand that the new speaker, John Boehner, compromise with Obama for the good of the country.

Are these people delusional?

Republicans were brought to power because they were the Party of No. Boehner takes the gavel from Nancy Pelosi because he led the fight to kill the Obama stimulus, Obamacare, card check, amnesty, cap-and-trade and Barney Frank's financial reform.

Boehner's beliefs are closer to the Tea Party than to Obama. He owes his speakership to the Tea Party. His political interests dictate allying with the Tea Party and moving even further away from Obama.

Why would Boehner lead his caucus into a suicide pact with Obama when, in Boehner's eyes, the national interest and his own interests point in the other direction?

They Saith, Over at The American Thinker...

For its part, the Tea Party, which began as a movement named after a historical American event, has the potential to morph into a political organization that eclipses the Republican Party. A GOP that aims to mollify Tea Party supporters with the ol' Beltway shuffle, followed by cocktails with political adversaries at the Club, may eventually find itself walking amidst the ghosts of the whigs.

...mmmmmm. Could be, maybe. All I know is this: I'm gonna be in Oklahoma City four times this week. Oklahoma City is home to Sgt. Grit's. I will probably make it a point to stop by and pick up one of these. If I can keep myself from feeling guilty over dropping a twenty on a t-shirt that I don't actually need.

(Now, I just know some dim bulb is gonna click on that link and say, "1775! Doesn't that idiot know it was 1776? Or 1773, if you're talking about the Boston Tea Party?" For you, just for you, let me point out that that is a Tea Party/Marine Corps t-shirt, and 1775 was the year of the Marine Corps' birth. So there.)

Oh, This Was Rich...

Via Michelle Malkin:

Loved it!