Missouri Tea Party to NAACP: Enough Bigotry! - The 9.12 Project Network

Tea Party Preempts 'Racist' Resolution, Condemns 'Bigoted' NAACP
Published July 13, 2010

A Tea Party group in Missouri, reacting to the NAACP's plan to take up a resolution branding the conservative movement as "racist," has drafted a resolution of its own condemning the civil rights group for reducing itself to a "bigoted" and "partisan attack dog organization."

The St. Louis Tea Party had an all-hands-on-deck response to the NAACP's plan to denounce the nationwide network of activists at its annual convention across the state in Kansas City. The NAACP as early as Tuesday could take up language to "repudiate the racism of the Tea Parties" and stand against the movement's attempt to "push our country back to the pre-civil rights era."

In a matter of hours, the St. Louis group drafted and fired off to the NAACP a resolution demanding the organization withdraw its "bigoted, false and inflammatory" statement. The missive accused the NAACP of resorting to political tactics and urged the IRS to reconsider whether it can continue to qualify for tax-exempt status.

Tea Party organizers routinely defend themselves against charges of racism, disavowing racially charged signs that appear in their protest crowds and provide fodder for Tea Party critics. The NAACP resolution, first reported by the Kansas City Star, was expected to make reference to an incident in March when Tea Party protesters allegedly hurled racial epithets at black lawmakers on Capitol Hill ahead of a health care vote. Tea Party members afterward challenged that account and no evidence was produced to show any racist attacks.

St. Louis Tea Party organizer Bill Hennessy wrote on the group's website Tuesday that the Tea Party stands for smaller government and fiscal responsibility, and accused the NAACP of abandoning black America.

"When you look at the crime and poverty and family breakdown of the African-American community ... you see a half-century of failure by the NAACP," he wrote. "None of those persistent problems was caused by the Tea Party movement, yet the principles of the Tea Party are exactly what's needed to wind down the multi-generational destruction in the African-American community.

"The NAACP was once a vital weapon in the war against segregation and oppression. All that's left is a bigoted and malicious shell that does far more harm than good for people who need a break," he wrote.

Fellow St. Louis Tea Party organizer Dana Loesch accused the NAACP of morphing into a political organization.

"They no longer prioritize civil rights," she told Fox News.