Rep. Tom Tancredo, R-Colo., waves after speaking at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington on March 2. (click title to entry - thank you)
Feb. 23 — To the Editor:
A few weeks ago in Nashville, we witnessed the worst of America on display at the first national "Tea Party" convention.
The nativist, racist message that has been seeping out of this movement has never been put forward cogently until this point. Then former GOP Rep. Tom Tancredo walked on to the stage and confirmed what many believed about this so-called "movement."
Tancredo cited a lack of civics exams for people to vote. This was a tactic used by many states in the deep South to prevent African-Americans from voting. He also disparaged our nation's strong history of immigration by saying the president was elected by a bunch of people who couldn't speak English. Racism? Oh, I think so.
Then came former half-term Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, full of her frightening, yet uninformed "just folk" speak. How is that "hopey, changey stuff working out for ya?" she asked.
Well, Gov. Palin, a lot better than if you had been elected vice president. America is finally working its way out of the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression. We have a president who believes in diplomacy and understands the nuances of international relations. We have a president who respects the separation of church and state and, most importantly, we have a president who has a solid grasp of the English language. None of which, by the way, I believe would have occurred under a McCain-Palin administration.
According to the tea party movement, America has lost its way and its freedoms are being eroded. Wrong. What the tea party movement fears is progress, and this frightens them no end....
