Fox News, Far Right Use New Black Panther Party Case To Smear President Obama, AG Holder

Far-right people could really care less about Philadelphia or any kind of voter intimidation or voting irregularities (we learned that in the election of 2000 when George W. Bush defeated then Vice President Al Gore in a disputed presidential race).

Those right wingers who made excuses when voters in Florida and elsewhere were disenfranchised in 2000 (and arguably in 2004 as well), and excused voters in the Sunshine State of being too dumb to understand the ballots, now are crying foul because two members of the New Black Panther Party have been accused of voter intimidation. This is so horrible for our friends on the far right, but those who were turned away unfairly, had their votes discounted and were otherwise intimidated in 2000 don't seem to count (once again).

By the way, as Field Negro points out, the non-New Black Panthers in the above photo don't appear to be too frightened or intimidated.

When black politicians, including civil rights legend Rep. John Lewis, were spit on and had the N-word used against them, many conservatives accused them of lying and grandstanding and suggesting they should have entered the Capitol Building from some other entrance. Rep. Lewis and others, including Rep. Emanuel Cleaver who was spit on and Rep. Barney Frank who had homophobic slurs used against him, were attacked by the conservative media - men and women who rushed to the defense of tea party people who were accused.

Apparently some far-right conservatives believe that Rep. Lewis and others should have come in the back way ... like black people had to board the bus from the back prior to the Montgomery Bus Boycott.

Andrew Breitbart, who is about as nutty as it gets on the far right, had this to say about people who were victimized by racial slurs and spit from bigots, had this to say:

BREITBART: The very act of the Black Congressional Caucus, walking through the tea party people while holding all those videos was an act of provocation. They need this desperately and one last thing. The language that Nancy Pelosi is using about the civil rights movement, comparing the unpopular health care bill to the civil rights movement ties into this… They’re all on the talking points, basically telling black people that the white people are trying to take your health care from you. This is a racial, racist, racially divisive strategy that they’re playing that’s very dangerous in the United States.

In other words, he is blaming the victims.



It's amazing how Fox News and the rest of the far right are so concerned about these two members of the New Black Panthers supposedly intimidating voters but had little problem with Tea Party protests spitting on black people and calling them the N-word.

I've listened to all these right wingers on Fox News today crying about voter intimidation. I imagine many of them were quiet excuse makers in 2000 and excuse makers when Rep. Lewis, Rep. Frank, Rep. Cleaver and others were verbally assaulted and spit on.

Now, of course, Fox News and the far right are playing this story up. The idea is they want to portray President Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder as black men who are racist against white people to the point they will let off these black thugs from the New Black Panther Party. Did I mention the New Black Panther Party people are black too?

This is the Fox News theme and you better believe they will continue to hammer it home.

One Of The Many Reasons Sean Hannity Is Pathetic

Fox News right-wing personality Sean Hannity once again goes on the attack against black people. For one of the rare times, however, he has been called out by someone (albeit it somewhat gently). CNN's Howard Kurtz, host of Reliable Sources, carefully called out Hannity for openly doubted that Rep. John Lewis and Rep. Emanuel Cleaver had been called "nigger" by Tea Party protesters.

This video is from Media Matters for America:

Rep. Lewis, Rep. Cleaver Attacked By People For Being Called 'Nigger' And Being Spit On

It never ceases to amaze me the lengths that some conservative black people will go to protect racism at Tea Party rallies while attacking black leaders for being called "nigger" or being spit on by protesters.

That thought brings me to comments I read from conservative blogger Andre Harper, who proudly talks about himself as a black man who was at Tea Party rallies. Hey, that is fine by me. If he wants to hang with those individuals then that is no doubt his choice. If he chooses to ignore the racist language at many of these rallies, if he chooses to ignore that these Tea Party people were silent (nonexistent) prior to the election of Barack Obama as the first black president of the United States of America, then that is his choice. Again, where were these Tea Party people worried about big government, government spending, the loss of freedoms and all of this other stuff when George W. Bush was president? They were silent. But, we elect the first black president and all of a sudden these good and patriotic Americans are soooooooooo worried about freedom, government spending, deficits, the size of government, etc. It's all a bunch of bullsh!t. To each their own.

But, it still saddens me when racism apologists/excuse makers you see people make comments like the following (from Harper's blog):

Democrat puppets like representatives [Emanuel] Cleaver and John Lewis are nothing but frauds. They instinctively play the race card because that is how they have achieved their lot in life. No one should be surprised that they can't prove these accusations. They never can. With all these videos surfacing, the large police presence and all the witnesses, I find it hard to believe that no one can identify or find any evidence of their claims. It's disgraceful and completely unfounded for John Lewis to compare this peaceful protest to his experience on the Pettis Bridge. The situations and conditions are completely different. The truth is these cowards are always going to play the race card because they are weak-minded, cowardly individuals that exploit race by instinct.

The words are nothing short of disgraceful and ridiculous. Oh, and it's the Edmund Pettus Bridge.

Rep. John Lewis is a man who fought and bled for civil rights to allow men like Harper and myself to be able to blog with the kinds of freedoms black people of prior generations could not have imagined when they were young. Sadly, Harper uses his platform as a blogger to refer to John Lewis (and Emanuel Cleaver, who had a Tea Party person spit on him) as "Democrat puppets."

Once again, we see the lengths that people will go to apologize for or make excuses for racism at Tea Party (that includes Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele).

Check out the full version of Harper's irrational and racism-apologizing-for blog: http://andreharper.blogspot.com/2010/03/extreme-lie-conservatism-vs-liberalism.html

Nigger, Faggot Among Words Used By Tea Party People To Describe Democrats

Eugene "Bull" Connor would have been proud of some of the language being used by Tea Party protesters fighting against health care reform.

Tea Party protesters, using racist and homophobic language to attack men like Rep. John Lewis (pictured) and Rep. Barney Frank (among others), went on an attack that was regretfully reminiscent of the Jim Crow era in the United States of America (a chapter many in this country thought was long gone). Rep. Lewis was called a "nigger" by members of the crowd while Rep. Frank was called a "faggot" by Tea Party protesters. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver was spat on by a protester. Sadly, this was 2010 and not 1910. This was not 1957 when the Little Rock Nine were attacked as they did their part to desegregate Little Rock Central High School (where they were viciously confronted by racist protesters). This was 2010 with a distinguished civil rights leader like Rep. Lewis treated in a way that was a chilling and painful reminder of the hatred of the Jim Crow era.

Here is an excerpt from a Huffington Post story:

A staffer for Rep. James Clyburn (D-S.C.) told reporters that Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D-Mo.) had been spat on by a protestor. Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.), a hero of the civil rights movement, was called a 'ni--er.' And Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) was called a "faggot," as protestors shouted at him with deliberately lisp-y screams. Frank, approached in the halls after the president's speech, shrugged off the incident.

But Clyburn was downright incredulous, saying he had not witnessed such treatment since he was leading civil rights protests in South Carolina in the 1960s.

"It was absolutely shocking to me," Clyburn said, in response to a question from the Huffington Post. "Last Monday, this past Monday, I stayed home to meet on the campus of Claflin University where fifty years ago as of last Monday... I led the first demonstrations in South Carolina, the sit ins... And quite frankly I heard some things today I have not heard since that day. I heard people saying things that I have not heard since March 15, 1960 when I was marching to try and get off the back of the bus."

This is sadly indicative of the hatred coming from some on the far right who have simply come unhinged since the election of President Obama, the first black man to be elected president of the United States of America.

Rep. Lewis had this to say about the racial slurs he was subjected to after leaving a health care reform meeting on Capitol Hill.

Civil rights icon and veteran Rep. John Lewis, D-Georgia, said anti-health care bill protesters Saturday repeatedly yelled the "N" word at him as he left a heath care meeting and walked to the Capitol.

"I haven't seen heard anything like this in more than 40 years, maybe 45." Lewis said. "Since the march from Selma to Montgomery really."

"Yeah, but it's okay," Lewis added. "I've faced this before. So, it reminded me of the 60's. There's a lot of downright hate and anger and people are just being downright mean."

Rep. Lewis truly is a civil rights icon who has fought for justice before and will continue the fight. I doubt it was accidental that these Tea Party people went after him knowing what he represents as far as civil rights. That is what makes it all the more disturbing.

It's a shame more conservatives (some have been forced to) are not stepping forward to condemn these kinds of racist attacks.

UPDATE: For those of you who wonder why I am always so critical of RNC Chairman Michael Steele, this is a good example. Appearing on Meet the Press, Steele referred to protesters who made racist and homophobic statements as: "a handful of people who just got stupid." That is disgracefully inadequate on the part of Michael Steele, but I doubt it is the first time he has been thought of as inadequate.