WEDNESDAY,MAY 5, 2010
KLMNO
POLITICS THE NATION
&
Tea party groups battling allegations of racism
by Amy Gardner
and Krissah Thompson
As several states with active “tea
party” groups prepare to hold im- portant primary elections this month, the movement is struggling to overcome accusations of racism that are tinting perceptions of this loose network of conservatives. “We don’t want the worst ele- ments to take this over,” said Bren- dan Steinhauser, campaign direc- tor for FreedomWorks, a national group that helps coordinate tea party activists. “If they do, the tea party loses independents, it loses moderates, it loses people who don’t tolerate this. Being a racist is one of the worst things you can be in this society. No one wants to be labeled this.” The challenge is made tougher by one of the defining elements of the tea party movement: No one person controls it. There is no na- tional communications strategy. And incidents of racist slogans and derisive depictions of President Obama continue to crop up, pro- viding fuel for critics who say the president’s skin color is a powerful reason behind the movement’s ex- istence. In a new Washington Post-ABC
News poll, most Americans see the movement as motivated by distrust of government, opposition to the policies of Obama and the Demo- cratic Party, and broad concern about the economy. But nearly three in 10 see racial prejudice as underlying the tea party. Supporters and opponents alike
say the movement draws its strength from opposition to Oba- ma’s policies, but they split deeply on the race question, according to the poll: About 61 percent of tea party opponents say racism has a lot to do with the movement, a view held by just 7 percent of tea party supporters.
Amatter of perception
That indicates that the issue of
race and the tea party is largely about differing perceptions, re- flected in how people view the well-known illustration of Obama made up like the Joker from the Batman movie “The Dark Knight.” Some see the image, with its exag- gerated lips, as an offensive refer- ence to minstrelsy. Obama’s critics, however, say President George W. Bush was also portrayed as the Jok- er, as well as Dracula. Economic anxiety and a general distrust of government are the mo- tivations most often mentioned by tea party supporters. Opponents, who are largely Democratic and a more diverse group, see resistance to the policies of Obama and the Democrats as the movement’s lead- ing motivation, followed by racial bias.
“I think there is an element of
fear that ‘our white country’ is now being run by a black man. There is a sense that 1950s America is gone,” said Herb Neumann, a white Democrat from Tulsa. “There’s a sense of loss. I grew up in the 1950s, and I don’t think that mov- ing on is a bad thing.” The question of racism and the
tea party flared on the eve of Con- gress’s divisive vote on the health- care overhaul in March, when black congressmen accused pro- testers of using racial epithets and spitting on them. Tea party sup- porters have denied the allega- tions.
Other incidents have received
less attention: A sign in last month’s tax day protest in Wash- ington said “Go back to Kenya!” Another in Raleigh, N.C., last June depicted the president with a bone through his nose. T-shirts for sale at a July 4 tea party rally in Char- lotte showed Obama standing in front of the White House, labeled “da Crib.”
‘They were thrown out’
Judson Phillips, the founder of
Tea Party Nation, said that at the heart of the effort to counter rac- ism accusations is dissociating
from protesters who cross the line. Around the time of the health-care vote, FreedomWorks and Tea Party Nation worked to form a feder- ation of tea party groups to coordi- nate strategy and do a better job sticking to a similar message, or- ganizers said.
At a protest in Nashville, Phillips said, there were “a couple of signs —which I’m not convinced weren’t plants from the other side — that were really tasteless and inappro- priate.” The people who carried them “were told to put their signs down and leave. . . . They were lit- erally thrown out of the event,” he said. Tea party activists also point to the minority participants in their groups. “There are a lot of people bringing up the race card,” said Jim Coop, a member of the Tipton County Tea Party in Tennessee. “The tea parties I’ve been to, there’ve been black people there, Mexicans and everybody else you can think of.” Nigel Coleman, who is black, leads the Danville TEA Party Patriots in southern Virginia. He said the fact that the movement is predominantly white doesn’t mean it is inherently racist. “I went to a wine festival yester-
day,” he said. “Weren’t too many black people there, either. Nobody called them racists.” Nonetheless, tea party activists clearly feel an urgency to end the discussion. “As long as people who oppose us can frame the debate that way, then they can get people to stop lis- tening to us,” Coleman said. “The charge of racism is one that can be thrown out there, and it really doesn’t have to be proven. But it has such a negative connotations that it can pretty much halt the de- bate.”
gardnera@washpost.com thompsonk@washpost.com
Polling director Jon Cohen and polling analyst Jennifer Agiesta contributed to this report.
- ABC News poll
Tempest in a teapot?
Nearly one in five say the “tea party” movement is more in tune than Democrats or Republicans with the economic problems people face and more empathetic toward people like themselves. The Republican Party faces the biggest risk, however, with those who support the tea party coming overwelhmingly from the GOP.
Q:
Nov. 2009 49%
Which political party, the Democrats, the Republicans or the tea party, do you think …
Best represents your own personal values
48% 24%
14%
DR TP
APRIL 2010
Q:
Nov. 2009 39%
Is most concerned with the needs of people like you
Nov. 2009 51%
49% 23%
17%
DR TP
APRIL 2010
Republicans
GOP-leaning independents Conservative Republicans White evangelical Protestants
NOV. ’09 80%
75% 88% 57%
Motivating the movement
Supporters and opponents of the tea party movement agree that opposition to President Obama and Democratic policies is a big factor driving participation in the movement, but opponents are far more apt to see the tea party as spurred by racial prejudice.
Q:
To what extent, if at all, do you think support for the tea party movement is based on … (Percent saying “a great deal” or “a good amount”)
Tea party supporters
Distrust of government
80% 59% 44%
38% 39%
7%
SOURCE: This Washington Post-ABC News poll was conducted by telephone Apr. 22-25, among a random national sample of 1,001 adults. Results from the full survey have a margin of sampling error of plus or minus three percentage points; it is larger among subgroups. Sampling, data collection and tabulation by TNS of Horsham, Pa.
Complete data from the poll can be found at
www.washingtonpost.com/polls
THE WASHINGTON POST
Opposition to Obama/ Democratic policies
72% 72% 61%
Concern about
economy
85%
Tea party opponents
Dissatis- faction with GOP
Racial
prejudice against Obama
NOW 61%
34% 57% 34%
Nov. 2009 36%
Best understands the economic problems people in this country are having
48%
DIGEST
FLOODING
Search continues as water subsides
The Cumberland River finally began receding Tuesday, expos- ing mud-caked homes and sub- merged cars as officials searched door to door for more victims of a record-busting flash flood and weekend storm already blamed for nearly 30 deaths. No new fatalities were report-
22%
17%
DR TP
APRIL 2010
Percentage saying Republicans “best represent their own personal values”
Tea party now
26% 44% 32% 35%
ed Tuesday, and it was unclear whether anyone remained miss- ing. Torrential weekend rains swelled the Cumberland and the creeks that feed into it. Thou- sands of people fled their homes, and hundreds had to be rescued by boat and canoe. The flash floods were blamed in the deaths of 17 people in Ten- nessee, including nine in Nash- ville. The storms also killed six in Mississippi and four in Kentucky. Businesses along Nashville’s
riverfront lost electricity early Tuesday, and the power is expec- ted to be out in the country music tourism district the rest of the week.
— Associated Press
AIRLINE SECURITY
Suitcase emits smoke at Houston airport
A baggage handler in Houston discovered a ruptured, smoking suitcase while unloading luggage from an international flight Tues- day, drawing fire crews and bomb specialists to examine the bag. Officials later said it posed no threat. The baggage handler at George
Bush Intercontinental Airport re- ported hearing a “pop” and see- ing vapor coming from inside the bag as luggage was taken off KLM Royal Dutch Airlines Flight 661 from Amsterdam, airport spokes- woman Marlene McClinton said. Bomb crews hit the suitcase with a water gun and examined it, Assistant Fire Chief Jack Wil- liams said. He said there was no explosion and no injuries.
— Associated Press
KS
K
A3
Whysettlefor incomplete flea control?
Buy 6 Doses* From Your Vet,
GET 2 FREE!
• TO BE COMPLETED BY PET OWNER •
Available only upon purchase from your veterinarian.
RECEIPT MUST ACCOMPANY THIS FORM.
Expires September 30, 2010.
Please print the following information:
Name: Address: City: State: E-mail:
ZIP:
CHECK ONE PRODUCT:
FRONTLINETop Spot®
CHECK ONE SIZE:
Dogs up to 22 lbs.
Dogs 45–88 lbs. Cats & Kittens
FRONTLINE® Plus
Dogs 23–44 lbs. Dogs 89–132 lbs.
By providing your e-mail address, you are requesting to receive convenient monthly e-mail reminders to apply a FRONTLINE Brand Product, as well as receive special offers and pet care tips from Merial. Receipt must be included and dated on or before 9/30/2010. Submissions must be postmarked on or before 12/31/2010.
NOTE: Merial respects your privacy. We will not share, sell, or rent the information you provide on this form.
*Of the same product in the same size at one time.
• FOR VETERINARY CLINIC USE ONLY •
To help ensure allocation of free dose credits, the coupon should be fully completed.
Redeem this coupon by returning to:
Comfortis®(spinosad) pills kill adult fleas, but not flea eggs, flea larvae, or ticks.
Plus is the ONLY product available from your veterinarian that kills adult fleas, eggs, larvae, and ticks on both dogs and cats. That’s why FRONTLINE Plus is the #1 choice of
veterinarians for their pets*—and yours.† Don’t settle for incomplete flea and tick control. Take this coupon to your veterinarian today, and save on the complete killer.
FRONTLINE®
FRONTLINE Program Headquarters P.O. Box 4060
South Bend, IN 46634
Merial Account Number: Staff Merial Rewards ID#: Staff Member Name: Staff Member E-Mail: Veterinary Hospital: Address: City:
State:
10RNCBY6
ZIP:
Stamp Clinic Information Here
Receipt must be included and dated on or before 9/30/2010. Submissions must be postmarked on or before 12/31/2010. Offer good only on FRONTLINE Brand Products applied in a veterinary clinic. Merial reserves the right to amend, substitute, or withdraw this offer at any time without notice. Merial is not responsible for veterinary fees or expenses charged for product application. Merial will only provide credit for this coupon to a Merial veterinary practice account which has purchased FRONTLINE Products directly from Merial, in accordance with the Merial Companion Animal Products Sales Policy. Good only in the continental US, Hawaii and Alaska. Void where prohibited or restricted by law. This form must accompany request; reproductions or other copies will not be accepted. Fraudulent submission could result in Federal prosecution under mail fraud statutes (Title 18, United States Code, Section 1341 and 1342) and applicable state laws. May not be combined with any other offer for FRONTLINE Brand Products. Offer may be redeemed one time only by pet owner identified on the coupon by the clinic. Offer is not valid for any other individual.
*Data on file at Merial.
†
Vet-dispensed;MDI Data on file.
®FRONTLINE isaregisteredtrademarkofMerial. ®Comfortis is a registered trademark of Eli Lilly and Company. ©2010Merial Limited, Duluth, GA. All rights reserved. FLE1OCNCMFTSNEWSAD
®FRONTLINE and TOP SPOT are registered trademarks of Merial. ©2010 Merial Limited, Duluth, GA. All rights reserved. FLE1OCNCMFTSNEWSAD
Cut along dotted line. Redeem coupon at your veterinarian’s office.
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58