Not for Public Consumption

... or alternately: All politics is local.

The NAACP is claiming the Tea Party is a haven for racism. Bill O'Reilly has a reasonable summary here.

According to NAACP President Ben Jealous, the Tea Party movement is chock full of racist people bent on harming African-Americans. Speaking at the organization’s annual convention this week, Jealous let loose on the tea folks: “Here comes the genetic descendent of the White Citizens Council, burst from its coffin, carrying signs and slogans like ‘Lynch Barack Hussein Obama’. . .”

An exhaustive search of media reportage on tea parties turned up no mention of signs like that.

Bill is missing the point. Ben Jealous was not speaking to Bill O'Reilly or to most of the rest of us either. He was directing his remarks at his followers. What he was really saying was this:

"The Tea Party is a threat to you. You need the NAACP to protect you from them."

The NAACP went to the national media in order to maximize the spread of its message. It's nothing more than a marketing campaign and a clever one at that. Tea Party members reacting in righteous anger at false accusations of racism provide yet another prop for the NAACP to make its case. "See how angry they are? They're angry because we've unveiled their true nature. They're angry and dangerous, but we'll protect you."

I don't think you can take these accusations personally. They're not really aimed at you. It wouldn't matter if you were buying shoes or playing soccer with your kids, they'd claim you're a racist. They have to. It's what they sell.