Political Racism At The Door

Horrible economic times have historically given birth to far right even racist extremist in politics. The same is true in this election cycle where republican tea party supported candidates are appealing to a subtle and not so subtle fear. An appeal for older white Americans to fear the brown people and especially the brown President. Two years after President Obama won an electoral majority not seen in decades, a loud minority of right wing voices echoed by Fox News and right wing hate radio are ushering in candidates who question the First Amendment or not know what the First Amendment means as Republican Tea Party candidate Christine O'Donnell has illustrated, or candidates such as Republican Sharon Angle of Nevada who has used Latinos as scapegoats in political ads to scare white voters.


MSNBC's Rachel Maddow did a great job on last night's broadcast illustrating point by point the outright racist things these and other candidates have said without much of a condemnation or a peep from the mainstream media or their Republican peers repudiating them. Kentucky Senate candidate Rand Paul questioned the constitutionality of the Civil Rights Act, you know the act that ended a state sponsored racially segregated caste system. If this guy wins the 8% black population in Kentucky is probably screwed. These right wing candidates question the fundamental structure of the U.S. government to fit their agenda including the separation of church and state. They proudly speak of the 10th Amendment and states rights with little knowledge of the Supremacy Clause or that the 13th, 14th and 15th Amendments post-Civil War further modified what states could do with respect to American citizens within their borders.

The Tea Party and their financial supporters are not new. They just have a different name and a louder microphone. These are the same people that thought President Bush did a great job. These are that 20 or so percent. Not the majority of the American people. These people are praying that the majority of the American people do not come out and vote because if they do their candidates, their ideas, their policies lose. What does it say for an agenda or movement that in order for it to win it requires the majority of Americans to not vote. All the forecast that show Republicans taking over Congress rely on Democrats not showing up. Democrats, independents, and young people need to vote November 2 in mass and once again stop the worst of us from governing all of us.