The one photo the GOP does not want anyone to see was snapped at yesterday's NAACP GOP Presidential Candidate Forum. The NAACP invited all 9 Republican candidates to the forum, but only one showed up: Tom Tancredo. All the Democratic Presidential hopefuls showed up for their forum.
The excuses given by the Republican campaigns mostly had to do with scheduling conflicts--just too busy to make it.
The resulting photo of Tancredo--standing on a stage of empty podiums sums up the Republican party's commitment to civil rights in America: the only Republican interested is the guy running to deny immigrant workers their rights.
One has to wonder why this photo was not the lead on every morning show and on the front pages of every morning newspaper in America.
The reason, most likely, is a coordinated effort by Republicans to pressure news agencies to downplay the obvious implications of having 8 out of 9 of their Presidential candidates as "no shows" for a debate at the NAACP.
What is keeping the obvious story about Republicans and racism out of today's headlines? David Beckham's arrival in Hollywood.
This is an ideal moment to stand up and demand the kind of news coverage we want in America. Contact your local TV stations and newspapers. Ask them to run this photo and to write an article about Republicans, civil rights and racism.
Update [2007-7-13 12:32:59 by Jeffrey Feldman]: - Be sure to Digg the post--Digg.com broadcasts topics like this to a very wide audience...
Update [2007-7-13 13:34:58 by Jeffrey Feldman]: - USA Today has put out a clearer version of the same photo, albeit cropped to only show one half of the stage. I have added it to the original post.
Update [2007-7-13 14:28:58 by Jeffrey Feldman]:
Well...the Dittoheads have showed up at Frameshop to accuse liberals of being the real racists of racism (that didn't take too long). That must mean the photo and this story have started to circulate widely. Good work, everyone!
Update [2007-7-13 16:32:43 by Jeffrey Feldman]: - I am tracking the spread of this post via the Frameshop traffic meter. People all over America are discussing this photograph--on both sides of the political spectrum. Amazing!!
Update [2007-7-13 18:27:6 by Jeffrey Feldman]: - I've invited the readership at HuffPo into this discussion.