First of all, what did Williams really write? Some excerpts from Williams’ blog post are quoted at CNN and the NY Daily News websites; however, these websites report that Williams removed the particular post after growing criticism. Also, CNN reports Williams saying the post was intended as a satire. In any case, it seems that the blog post is nowhere to found on the web so that people can judge for themselves if it comes across as a satire on racism or if it actually appears to condone racist views.
Secondly, the The National Tea Party Federation, which CNN reports, “represents the Tea Party political movement around the country”, which claims to represent 85 Tea Party groups and more than a million activists, and which “expelled” Williams’ Tea Party Express group, seems to be not so prominent after all. If you Google on “Tea Party”, its website does not appear at least the first four pages (first 40 hits) excluding the news stories within the past week. It was formed only 4 months ago: April 2010. It has no meeting or conference information on its website. It’s guestbook page has a grand total of 19 posts. In other words, it is hardly some grand national Tea Party association with the authority to kick people or organizations out of the Tea Party movement.
Third, Williams has stated his views on racists in the Tea Party movement several times, indicating that neither he nor his group, Tea Party Express, support racism. He has further pointed out that Tea Party participants and speakers have repeatedly denounced racist kooks who show up at Tea Party events looking for publicity. Also, Williams has pointed out that it is not necessary to continuously defend himself or his group against accusations that are obviously false. To do so would be to raise an issue that where none exists.
