Yesterday I posted a concerning story regarding remarks made by GOP presidential candidate Herman Cain in which he stated that U.S. communities have the authority to ban mosques. This bigoted statement flies in the faces of the U.S. Constitution and feeds on fear and hatred towards Muslims. Cain, low in the polls and not a serious contender for any office, is none-the-less, a favorite of many Tea Party activists.
One such activist, Robert Smiley (Vice-President of the Tea Party Patriots of Livingston Parish in LA), sent me a particularly hateful and bizarre e-mail.
What's the big deal, all you have to do to stop a mosque from being built on any site--- kill a pig there and leave it, or pour pig blood there, thus defiling it for all time !!!No practicing Muslim will be able to set foot there ----EVER
"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed people can change the world. Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has". --Margaret Mead
Let's leave the sad irony of Mr. Smiley quoting Margaret Mead alone for the moment.
When people argue that the Tea Party doesn't have a racist problem - something that is crystal clear already - they ought to drop by Mr. Smiley's Facebook page. You'll find this picture proudly displayed on his wall:
The comments that go along with the photo that Mr. Smiley links to makes you think you've time traveled back into the 1950s:
If all of this weren't bad enough it is clear that people like Mr. Smiley have real influence in American politics today. He boasts his support for Michelle Bachman who has been surging in recent GOP polls due to Tea Party support and check out this screen grab of his Tea Party chapter's website:
Politicians like Louisiana State Treasurer John Kennedy court his vote at Tea Party events.
That right there is a sad commentary on politics today.
The good news is that while the Tea Party wields influence and power they do not represent the majority of the American people, who I believe are good and decent and reject the racism and religious bigotry that fuels so much of the Tea Party.
