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Tea Party Founder Infamous For Holding N-Word Sign: Its A Fake

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by Tommy Christopher | 11:36 am, March 31st, 2010

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As we reported Friday, a photograph of Dale Robertson, the self-proclaimed founder of the Tea Party movement, belies his claim in the Washington Times that he’s “never seen any racial slurs” at Tea Party events. The photo shows Robertson holding a sign with the n-word on it.

I spoke to Dale Robertson, who says that the photo is a fake. Since Robertson’s quote was linked to the photo on Friday, many conservatives have asserted that Robertson is a fake. Let’s try to get to the bottom of both charges.

The photograph in question, available in hi-res here, depicts Robertson holding a sign that says “Congress=Slaveowner, Taxpayer=N***ar.” The misspelled n-word appears to have been duct-taped over the original sign, which Robertson claims read “Congress=Slaveowner, Taxpayer=Slave.” He says he never taped anything over the original sign, nor did anyone else. He says the photo must be a fake.

The Washington Independent‘s Dave Weigel reported on the sign in January, including the fact that the Houston Tea Party said they had thrown Robertson out of the Feb. 27, 2009 event because of the epithet, and disavowed any connection to Robertson. Weigel tried to get a comment from TeaParty.org, Robertson’s group, but as of this writing, Weigel says they never got back to him.

Since Weigel’s story, Robertson has been depicted as a “faker” and an “impostor” who “is not the leader of a Tea Party organization,” and “has never organized anything.” The basic idea is to paint Robertson as a fame-whoring nobody, with no connection to the movement.

However, Robertson has been credited as a Tea Party founder and used as a source by media outlets as diverse as agnostic C-SPAN, the liberal Thom Hartman Program, and the conservative Washington Times. In fact, it was the Washington Times’ quote of Robertson that resurrected the n-word story.

Furthermore, according to Robertson’s website, he staged a one-man Tea Party in Washington, DC, on February 5th, 2009, weeks before Rick Santelli‘s “loser homeowners” rant that first put Tea Parties on the radar. All this despite the fact that,he knew that “parking would be difficult, staying alive even harder,” as Robertson claims on his website.

Finally, he says he has organized events with the groups in his network:

“I’ve done a number of Tea Party events. I’ve done the Liberty Concerts, which are in Houston, and I spent a lot of money out of my pocket. Again, out of my personal pocket. I’ve put over a hundred thousand dollars into this movement to support and defend this movement against people like the Republican Party. So, I’ve put a lot of money into this. including.”

In what Freedom Works founder Dick Armey even calls a “leaderless movement,” it is unclear what bona fides would satisfy Robertson’s critics. While he may not have the influence of a Freedom Works, I’m sure Robertson would say that his claim of grassroots purity trumps the better-funded groups that have usurped him. The fact that Robertson tried, unsuccessfully, to sell his site could be interpreted either way.

Now, about that photo. There are several facts that cut against Robertson’s claim that the picture is a fake. Following Weigel’s report, TPM noted that another version of the photo, an obvious fake that said “I work 4 U,” was posted on Robertson’s site. I asked Robertson about that photo:

TC: there was a story in January on TPM that shows a photo of a website where you’re holding that sign. It’s the same photo but the sign’s been altered to say, “I work for you”. Do you remember posting that?

DR: One of my web guys put that on there.

TC: Can you explain that because people would say that it seems like you’re covering up for the original sign?

DR: Well, you see, anybody can make those signs the way they want to make those signs and I just felt it was stupid and I took it off. ‘Cause I said, “Look, that’s just dumb.” And so I had it taken off.

TC: Why did he put it up there like that?

DR: I don’t know.

Robertson promised, yesterday, to send a picture of the original sign, but has yet to do so.

Mediaite’s resident Photoshop expert, Philip Bump, provided extensive analysis of the Houston Tea Party photo. You can read his full report here, but he sums it up by saying

“There’s no evidence that the photo was altered in any way. For it to have been altered convincingly requires a level of sophistication that doesn’t seem to be worth the pay-off in this case.”

Robertson, though, believes that the Republicans are behind an attempt to portray him as a racist in order to hijack his movement.

“I know who they are.” he says. ” They’re Republicans, uh, basically the precinct chairs who tried to seize the Tea Party movement. Who’ve taken donations illegally and they know that but I don’t have the resources to go after them ‘cause I don’t have millions of dollars in my pocket to sue the Republican Party. It’s just a game they’re playing but, y’know, you’re living in the world of politics. They don’t care about the truth. All they care about is stealing dollars and so they are.”

Whether you believe Robertson about the photo or not, the point isn’t that he speaks for all Tea Partiers. Nobody does. But to question his authenticity as a Tea Party leader on the basis that he lacks the resources to organize on a grand scale sort of proves his point. He was at least a very early adopter of the Tea Party, and the fact that better-funded organizations stepped in later to harness the energy that people like Dale created is exactly what he is railing against.

Next Page: Full Transcript of Dale Robertson Interview:

Pages: 1 2

Dale Robertson, Dale Robertson n-word, Dave Weigel, Dick Armey, N-word, Rick Santelli, Tea Party, teaparty.org, Tommy Christopher

J Baustian

The so-called Tea Party movement had no founder and needs no leadership or organization.

It is ad hoc, it is spontaneous, it was a phenomenon of the moment and cannot be controlled.

Besides the hundreds of thousands who attended rallies, there are millions more who agree in principle with the ones who joined the protests. These millions are also not looking for someone to tell them what to think or who to follow — they are entirely capable of thinking for themselves.
http://www.facebook.com/people/Chris-Kelly/720731075 Chris Kelly

You know how even beginning to type “Ron Pa” brings forth hordes of glassy-eyed supporters eager to copy-n-paste pro-Paul screeds? The partiers are like that, with the post from J Baustian being a good example. Especially since J Baustian’s comment doesn’t comport with reality.

In reality, the tea parties have almost completely ignored a vital, fundamental issue that raises their taxes and reduces their power.

Why would the partiers almost completely ignore a vital issue that directly impacts what they claim to care about? It almost certainly has something to do with the fact that their string-pullers – like Armey – are on the wrong side of that issue.

The partiers are useful idiots: they were useful idiots for Bush before, and they’re useful idiots for Beltway hacks like Armey now.
felixw

I am waiting for the Mediate article on Kevin Jackson, the African-American who is author of The Big Black Lie. Jackson says he has attended dozens of tea parties, and has never encountered a single racist incident. He believes that these racism charges are diversionary tactics to smear a movement that is trying clean up the bloated, intrusive, out-of-control government. Someone should explain to me, why this one photoshopped sign is big news, while Jackson’s first person testimony is not. The answer is pretty easy: the media doesn’t want to report on the tea parties; the media only wants to smear the tea parties. So honest coverage is thrown out the window.
http://www.facebook.com/people/Chris-Kelly/720731075 Chris Kelly

The fact that the partiers have to keep denying they’re racists – and the way they keep denying it – shows just how incompetent their leaders are and how those leaders are willing to give oxygen to far-left concepts. That shouldn’t be surprising; it fits in with all their other incompetent actions such as thinking they can separate fiscal matters from social matters. We really are dealing with people who just don’t get anything.
KevinWhymark

A fake? It’s too bad he admitted he wrote it on air.

Here is a link, watch the video at the bottom:
http://www.alan.com/2010/03/31/tea-partier-tells-mediaite-racist-sign-was-forged-we-have-him-on-record-defending-its-use/?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Feed:+liberaland+(Alan+Colmes+Liberaland)
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http://pulse.yahoo.com/_C5GR6P5P3F5VVYLMDESFPAJPKY Joe D

Maybe you could explain the inherent linkage between social and fiscal matters that the tea partiers are so ignorant about? Maybe you could explain how the gov’t should be involved in either issue? They cannot be separated NOW because the gov’t has linked them together, and people like you can’t get your head around how they could ever be disconnected. Since every idiotic social program/reform/policy take money from taxpayers of course they are joined at the hip. Remove govt’s influence on social issues and you decrease the monetary connection. My choice to do drugs should never effect your income – but in our society it does. Is that good? Does that make sense? Is that what you like? Or are you one of these morons who says “Well, if the state doesn’t take care of them, who will?”
If the tea party DIDN’T deny they were racist then you’d say “See, they don’t even deny it. If they would at least deny it we might believe it.” But your a leftist and your brain is hard-wired badly. You have not the brain power to see no matter what they do or say YOU will call them idiots and racists. I suppose if someone called you a racist you would say nothing, or would you deny it – especially if the media made it an issue EVERY DAMN DAY you were alive? I would imagine if you never denied it that you might be a racist. Actions speak louder than words, and except for a tiny minority of idiots, the tea parties actions show they are for smaller govt. To a leftist life you that’s blasphemy, you can’t deal with it. You have to attack the party because you cannot attack the message.