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Tea Party movement boots commentator Mark Williams and his Teabilly Express for his racist "Dear Mr. Lincoln" letter

The National Tea Party Federation, an organization that represents the Tea Party political movement around the country, has expelled conservative commentator Mark Williams and his Tea Party Express because of an inflammatory blog post he wrote, federation spokesman David Webb said Sunday.

Appearing on the CBS program “Face the Nation,” Webb said that Williams and the Tea Party Express — which has held a series of events across the country to generate support for the movement — no longer were part of the National Tea Party Federation.

“We, in the last 24 hours, have expelled Tea Party Express and Mark Williams from the National Tea Party Federation because of the letter that he wrote,” Webb said of the blog post by Williams that satirized a fictional letter from what he called “Colored People” to President Abraham Lincoln.

Webb called the blog post “clearly offensive.”


Williams did not immediately respond to a request for comment Sunday afternoon.

Williams wrote the blog post in response to a resolution by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) that called on Tea Party leaders to crack down on racist elements in the movement.

The NAACP, the nation’s main group advocating civil rights for African Americans, cited signs carried at Tea Party events and racial slurs reportedly shouted at black congress members during an event as some examples of racism in the movement.

NAACP President Benjamin Jealous told CNN that other Tea Party leaders besides Webb, who is African American, should come out against racist elements in the movement.

“We hope that the household names, Sarah Palin and so forth, will come forward and say the same thing,” Jealous said, later adding: “We don’t think the Tea Party is racist, but we don’t think they’ve gone far enough yet either.”

Some political leaders interviewed on Sunday talk shows also said the Tea Party movement itself wasn’t racist, but needed to distance itself from any elements that bring prejudice and bigotry to its events.

“There are some members who have used the Tea Party — whether it’s the Tea Party itself, there are some individuals who have tried to exacerbate racial tensions in this country,” House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Maryland, said on CNN’s “State of the Union.” “I have seen some virulent fliers that have been directed at our members, clearly referencing race, the president’s race and race generally.”

On the same show, however, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, steered clear of the issue, saying: “I am not interested in getting into that debate.”

This is Mark Williams letter:

Dear Mr. Lincoln

We Coloreds have taken a vote and decided that we don’t cotton to that whole emancipation thing. Freedom means having to work for real, think for ourselves, and take consequences along with the rewards. That is just far too much to ask of us Colored People and we demand that it stop!

In fact we held a big meeting and took a vote in Kansas City this week. We voted to condemn a political revival of that old abolitionist spirit called the ‘tea party movement’.

The tea party position to “end the bailouts” for example is just silly. Bailouts are just big money welfare and isn’t that what we want all Coloreds to strive for? What kind of racist would want to end big money welfare? What they need to do is start handing the bail outs directly to us coloreds! Of course, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People is the only responsible party that should be granted the right to disperse the funds.

And the ridiculous idea of “reduce[ing] the size and intrusiveness of government.” What kind of massa would ever not want to control my life? As Coloreds we must have somebody care for us otherwise we would be on our own, have to think for ourselves and make decisions!

The racist tea parties also demand that the government “stop the out of control spending.” Again, they directly target coloreds. That means we Coloreds would have to compete for jobs like everybody else and that is just not right.

Perhaps the most racist point of all in the tea parties is their demand that government “stop raising our taxes.” That is outrageous! How will we coloreds ever get a wide screen TV in every room if non-coloreds get to keep what they earn? Totally racist! The tea party expects coloreds to be productive members of society?

Mr. Lincoln, you were the greatest racist ever. We had a great gig. Three squares, room and board, all our decisions made by the massa in the house. Please repeal the 13th and 14th Amendments and let us get back to where we belong.

Sincerely

Precious Ben Jealous, Tom’s Nephew NAACP Head Colored Person

And it was Mark Williams who called the NAACP racist!