All Articles Tagged "tea party"
Obama Appoints New Acting IRS Head; NAACP Leader Calls Tea Party Scrutiny “Legitimate”
President Obama addresses the IRS scandal at a presser yesterday. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
In the midst of a firestorm over the IRS’ admitted scrutiny of conservative organizations, President Obama dismissed the acting commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service, Steven Miller, and today appointed a new acting commissioner, Daniel Werfel. Steven Miller knew that the IRS had been asking Tea Party organizations for more information before giving them tax-exempt status, says The New York Times. Miller will testify before the House Ways and Means Committee on Friday and will step down from his post next month.
Werfel will take the position on May 22.
Daniel Werfel. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak, File)
Attorney General Eric Holder has promised to pursue anyone in the agency that gives false statements on the issue. Moreover, he says there will be an investigation into whether anyone’s civil rights were violated by the IRS’ actions.
“The American people deserve to have the utmost confidence and trust in their government, and as we work to get to the bottom of what happened and restore confidence in the I.R.S., Danny has the experience and management ability necessary to lead the agency at this important time,” President Obama said in a statement released today. Werfel’s job will be to make sure the government adheres to the restrictions of the sequestration.
Conservatives and the media have been up in arms over the IRS scandal, with IRS trending on Twitter for at least the past two days.
Coupled with controversy over the Justice Department’s subpoena of AP journalist’s phone records and the ongoing investigation into the attack in Benghazi, it’s been a tough few days for the administration.
Meanwhile this week, Julian Bond, chairman emeritus of the NAACP, said he and his group faced increased IRS attention in 2004 when he made a speech critical of then President George W. Bush. He argues that the NAACP does actually get out the vote. He says the attention that the IRS paid to Tea Party organizations was “legitimate” because this is a “group of people who are admittedly racist.” Mediaite has the clip, which is also available below.
Have you been paying attention to this controversy? And do you agree with Bond?
Remove Slavery from the History Books? That’s What Tennessee’s Tea Party Is Asking
The Tennessee tea party wants to move “incidents” like slavery and genocide out of the history textbooks. Why? Because they are afraid that these “incidents” would tarnish the image of the founding fathers of the U.S.
Yes, you are reading this right. They want to erase history and the fact that our country was founded on both slavery and the wipe out of the native’s population.
On January 11, members of the Tennessee tea party presented this idea to their state legislatures, with five priorities of action to change the state’s history curriculum and supposedly to educate students on “the truth” about America.
Some of the changes presented that they’re hoping for include the following: to reference the slave trade as the “Atlantic Triangular Trade,” to have the first black President to be announced as “Barack Hussein Obama,” (how convenient) and to state that the Constitution created a Republic and not a Democracy.
Salon reports that the tea party also doesn’t want their kids to learn that many of the founding fathers owned slaves.
Fayette County attorney Hal Rounds, the group’s lead spokesman during the news conference, said the group wants to address “an awful lot of made-up criticism about, for instance, the founders intruding on the Indians or having slaves or being hypocrites in one way or another.”
Overall it would push for a more biased and skewed version of history, one that is completely false and untrue. It is bad enough that the educational system doesn’t teach our full American history or that of other individuals of color who helped build this country. Unfortunately, American history equals white history and the occasional lessons of slavery, the civil rights movement, and if you’re lucky (as hell) the Harlem Renaissance. But now people are trying to rub out the little acknowledgement of our struggles and history that we get?
This is a complete white wash of history at its finest. Will they actually get to change the curriculum? Most likely not, but it’s scary to think there are people out there are who are trying very hard to paint a false picture of our country’s history and founding fathers as clean as a whistle for the most random and useless of purposes. Go get a hobby.
Bianca Clendenin is college student and blogger. Follow her on twitter at @thefoxypoet.More on Madame Noire!
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He Said What?? Herman Cain’s 7 Most Outrageous Statements
By Jay Anderson
With Chris Christie and Sarah Palin wisely choosing to sit 2012 out, there aren’t many “colorful” candidates left vying for the chance to unseat President Obama next year. One exception, literally and figuratively, is former Godfather’s Pizza CEO and radio talk show host Herman Cain. Seemingly left for dead once Tea Party favorites Michelle Bachmann and Rick Perry ascended the ranks, Cain has recently seen his poll position improve dramatically. A recent string of straw poll victories has Cain back in the game, trailing only perpetual snooze/frontrunner Mitt Romney in most reputable polls. Of course, given the topsy turvy nature of the race and his frequent bouts of verbal diarheaa, Cain could very easily be back in single digits next week. So what better time to review some of his most infamous statements? After all, nobody will care come January when he finishes 8th in New Hampshire, so why let a perfectly good slideshow go to waste? Shall we?
1. Black Folks Are “Brainwashed”
For a guy who has shouted “I left the Democratic plantation!” to adoring Tea Party crowds, Cain’s black folks “have been brainwashed into not being open-minded, not even considering a conservative point of view” proclaimation during a CNN interview wasn’t exactly new news. In fact, it’s a pretty standard Black Republican talking point. What’s interesting is that Cain claimed he could salvage the “one-third to 50 percent of black Americans” who are open-minded. Yep, cause as we all know, insulting people’s intelligence is the best way to get them to vote for you.
Tea Party Invites Morgan Freeman to the Party
(Fox News) – Actor Morgan Freeman has received a standing invitation to attend a Tea Party event after he dismissed the conservative grass-roots movement as racist. Ali Akbar, a 26-year-old black small business owner who is one of the original national Tea Party organizers, wrote an open letter to the Academy-Award winning performer, who is African American, inviting him to a Tea Party in Tennessee, the place of Freeman’s birth, or any location in the country, to prove his opinion is wrong. “Your comments about the Tea Party have caused me physical pain,” Akbar wrote. “You’ve rekindled the old painful paradigm of Uncle Tom – that any black man who votes Republican is some kind of sellout. It’s not true. I work hard, pay my taxes, love Jesus, and I’m good to my family and community. In effect, your comments have stereotyped an entire group of people. And I know in my soul that you must regret that on some level.”
Congressional Black Caucus Chair Seeks to Support & Critique Obama
Unlike the extremely outspoken Rep. Maxine Waters, the chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus Rep. Emanuel Cleaver has attempted to promote the cause of African-Americans through polite means. While he stands by many CBC members’ critiques of the president’s failure to address black unemployment, he has done so without fiery words. Cleaver understands that his group must be free to pursue black interests in Congress, even if that means going against the opinion of America’s first black president. But at the same time, the former mayor of Kansas City is highly sensitive to appearances. A black president being attacked by fellow African-American politicos can help fuel hostile foes of Obama’s legislation. The Miami Herald reports that Rep. Cleaver tries to balance the CBC’s scrutiny with support of the president — but this balancing act is not easy.
Miamiherald.com has more on this black leader caught in a political catch-22:
Cleaver is a lifelong Democrat who prizes political loyalty, and black unemployment has put him and the group he leads in the awkward position of criticizing the policies of a president they admire, but not the president himself.
“It’s not personal,” Cleaver said. “They’re attacking his policies, or lack thereof, with regard to this gigantic unemployment problem among African-Americans. If we can’t criticize a black president, then it’s all over.”
When lawmakers swarmed around Obama as he was leaving the House of Representatives chamber after his recent speech on jobs, caucus members were in the crush, eager for a handshake, a pat on the shoulder or an autograph.
“This is an unprecedented circumstance where an African-American president who is an iconic, heroic figure enjoys a status with African-Americans that no one since Martin Luther King has enjoyed,” said former Rep. Artur Davis, D-ALA., who was a member of the black caucus until leaving office a year ago.
Rep. West Accuses Herman Cain: Muslims "Backed Him Into a Corner"
Rep. Allen West is becoming famous for saying the most ridiculous things. As a man who entered Congress not even a year ago, he has transformed from being the Tea Party poster boy for their claims of racial inclusion into a figure who inspires vigorous head scratching with his boisterous words. Having JUST left behind the rancor caused by comparing himself to Harriet Tubman and black Democratic leaders to overseers on the Democratic plantation (I kid you not), Rep. West couldn’t just sit back for a moment and relax. That mouth had to keep on flapping — but now instead of trash-talking obvious enemies, he has decided to take on his real nemesis: GOP presidential hopeful Herman Cain.
Yes, another overly loud and painfully cantankerous Tea Party “favorite,” who also gleans his popularity from the fact that his blackness seems to prove that the overwhelmingly white political organization is not racist. Rep. Allen West probably does not appreciate his doppelganger, who is stealing his shine as the black far right lap dog. And he made his feelings known in a rather lengthy offhand comment made to left-leaning political site, Talking Points Memo. When asked his opinion of Cain’s recent apology to Muslim groups for making inflammatory comments against them, Wild Wild West had this to say:
Cain issued an apology to Muslims in July following his meeting with officials at a Virginia mosque for a “discussion about religion and politics.” The meeting came after Cain claimed that American communities had the right to ban mosques in their neighborhoods.
His apology earned him a verbal beating from former supporters on his Facebook page and on anti-Muslim blogs.
Not gonna happen with West, the Tea Party favorite told TPM following a news conference at the Capitol Hill screening he hosted of an anti-“Ground Zero mosque” film.
“He did not frame things in a very good objective and historical assessment, and I think he kind of got himself backed into a very ugly corner,” West told TPM. “I would never give anyone the opportunity to come back and exploit me making some type of gaffe, and I think that’s what happened.”
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allen west, black members of tea party, Black Tea Party, Congress, dc, GOP, Herman Cain, Islam, Muslims, politics, tea partyBlack Legislator Stands by Tea Party Critique
(CNN) - As members of the Congressional Black Caucus converged in Los Angeles for its final national job fair series, one of its ranking members responded to his own previous inflammatory comments in Miami about the tea party, comparing their movement to Jim Crow laws that segregated and marginalized African Americans in society. A video surfaced Tuesday on TheBlaze.com, a website run by conservative host Glenn Beck, that shows Rep. Andre Carson, D- Indiana, who holds a leadership role in the CBC, at an August 22 event in Florida. ”Some of these folks in Congress would love to see us as second-class citizens. Some of them in Congress right now of this tea party movement would love to see you and me … hanging on a tree,” Carson said, according to the audio. On Wednesday, Carson told CNN he stood by those remarks.
Tea Party to Black Lawmaker: We're No Lynch Mob
(Indianapolis Star) — U.S. Rep. Andre Carson is being called upon by many aligned with the tea party movement to apologize for comments he made recently which suggested those in the group want to see blacks “hanging on a tree.” Speaking recently at a Congressional Black Caucus event in Miami, Fla., Carson said: “Some of these folks in Congress right now would love to see us as second-class citizens. Some of them in Congress right now with this Tea Party movement would love to see you and me — hanging on a tree.” Emery McClendon, an African-American from Fort Wayne who is among the most popular speakers at tea party events both in Indiana and nationally, said Carson should apologize.
Government Sponsored Diversity Causes Segregation in School District
by Cynthia Wright
The Wake County School District in Raleigh, North Carolina is still making headlines due to its proposed plan to restructure the school zones. The thoughts fueling the actions didn’t happen overnight, since those that believed there should be a needed “shift” in diversity goals happened to become involved with the school board. It also doesn’t help matters much that the seats of the board are comprised mostly of Tea Party supported Republicans – who have a less-than credible track record when it comes to anything involving diversity or those in poorer communities.
In 1954, when Brown v. Board of Education was passed, it symbolized that diversity and quality education should go together – in this modern age, Wake County is attempting to refute that entire sentiment.
When talks of “rezoning” the schools were first introduced late last year, it sparked a discussion, examining whether the issue was about racial equality or more about certain families wanting their children to attend schools closer to their homes.
“This is Raleigh in 2010, not Selma, Alabama, in the 1960s – my life is integrated, If we had a school that was, like, 80 percent high-poverty, the public would see the challenges, the need to make it successful. Right now, we have diluted the problem, so we can ignore it,” Board member John Tedesco explained to the Washington Post.
Even though the controversy is still brewing, Superintendent Tony Tata and his staff have spent the better part of the year (with an end date in October) trying to develop a plan that will be as “fair” as possible for the district’s students enrolled in the 2012-13 school year.
The developing plan that Tata is proposing states that parents will be able to choose from several nearby schools, along with one magnet and one “achievement” school.
Unfortunately, this doesn’t bode well with everyone on the board. Board Chairman Ron Margiotta has come out against the plan due to its heavy reliance on achievement schools as a way to even out the educational opportunity for all students. ”I have a problem with setting aside any seats for achievement. It’s substituting achievement for race, or economics. It’s sad if we say that every school in the county is not an achievement school. Some of the schools in my district are non-achieving, and I want to know why.”
At the same time, no one has bothered investigate why certain schools are performing better than others, relying on the separation of schools by socioeconomic class won’t address the problem. At the end of the day, the students that are going to be impacted by the policies being developed are those in the poorer communities – which, are primarily made up of minorities that can’t afford quality housing. With 10% of the population living in poverty, no one appears to be advocating extensively for those that will be affected the most and it is rather difficult to believe that anyone on the board truly will. Leaving some to believe that unless the board’s political and racial makeup changes (5 of the seats are up for reelection) Wake County government-sponsored diversity will soon be completely in the past.
Cynthia Wright is an avid lover of all things geeky. When she isn’t freelancing, she can be found on her blog BGA Life and on Twitter at @cynisright.
Congressional Black Caucus Decides To Give The Tea Party A Taste Of Their Own Medicine
by Cynthia Wright
With the recent Gallup Poll showing that President Obama has slowly began to lose support within the black community – the Congressional Black Caucus hasn’t been shy with their distaste for Obama’s political direction. Adding fuel to the fire, the CBC seems to be taking up their frustrations with the source of its discourse – the Tea Party.
Even though Obama’s approval rating has decreased to 81% from the 95% earlier in his term, some heavy players in the CBC are urging Obama to finally make moves when it comes to his 2008 campaign promises.
Maryland US Representative, Elijah Cummings admits that he is not the only one in the Caucus to feel frustrated by the President’s recent actions.
“When he came in, he talked about hope, he talked about jobs, he has talked about fairness, he has talked about addressing Wall Street effectively and efficiently, and trying to make a difference,” Cummings told CNN’s State of the Union talk show on Sunday.
It also didn’t help matters much with Obama appearing to coddle the Tea Party during the government cutbacks.
Since unemployment in the black community is at approximately 16% (with no alleviation in sight) – many in the CBC are tired of waiting for Obama to fight back. That mentality has caused the 43-lawmaker team to go up against the Tea Party to make their opinions known.
“The Tea Party discovered something. That is if they organize, if they talk loud enough, if they threaten, if they register to vote and elect a few people, they can take over the Congress of the United States. They called our bluff and we blinked. We should have made them walk the plank,” US Representative Maxine Waters told onlookers at a CBC job fair in Atlanta, Georgia.
During another summit in California, Waters again lashed out towards the group.
“I’m not afraid of anybody. This is a tough game. You can’t be intimidated. You can’t be frightened. And as far as I’m concerned, the ‘tea party’ can go straight to Hell.”
Of course, such comments didn’t go unnoticed by the group for that long. Soon after Waters comments spread a prominent Tea Party group, the ‘Tea Party Patriots’ quickly came to its defense.
“…now an elected Democratic representative says that we can ‘go straight to hell. The president and all leaders of the Democratic Party, who have called for civility in the past, are neglecting to censure their own. Is civility only required from their opponents? Perhaps it’s time for a new-NEW era of civility. … The president’s silence on these latest violations of civility has been deafening, but not surprising.”
Even with all this, it is hard paint the Tea Party as the victim, being that they made it their mission to “destroy” the current government and how some view it. Are they really surprised that there is push back or are they surprised about whom is doing so? Especially now, since the CBC is refusing to sit idly by and do nothing – only time will tell how this all will pan out.
Cynthia Wright is an avid lover of all things geeky. When she isn’t freelancing, she can be found on her blog BGA Life and on Twitter at @cynisright.
