Lately, we've been getting a lot of ahem concern about our tone, and specifically, Alan Grayson's tone. Why, it's as if Grayson went full Godwin. Granted, the Ku Klux Klan is pretty close to the Nazis in ideology and in propensity for violence, but there's a point to be made.
The Tea Party IS very close to the Ku Klux Klan. They're only at the barely-veiled-threat stage of the violence spiral, but they've got that same violence gene as the Klan. They've certainly got the same bigotry.
Alan Grayson has nothing to apologize for. He made a valid comparison, which shows how dangerous the Tea Party really is.
Let's keep the comparison going. How did the Ku Klux Klan look back in earlier eras? Look at their heyday, in the 1920's. The Klan was popular. The Klan was mainstream. It wasn't just a few meth-heads and child molesters wearing those white sheets back then. The Klan numbered in the millions, they were part of mainstream politics, they had political machines that got their people into elected office, and they wielded power.
Sound familiar?
Back then, the Klan was very dangerous, and their machinations contributed to the countless lynchings and other anti-black and anti-minority violence that plagued not just the South, but the entire nation.
When you look at the demographics, the Klan back in the day, and the Tea Party of today are composed of the same assholes.
Who do you think shows up at these Tea Party rallies? The scumfuck pictured above that waved a Confederate Battle Flag in front of a residence with a black family inside.
Or how about J. T. Ready? Remember him? He was a regular at Tea Party rallies in Arizona, and palled around with Joe Arpaio and Russell Pierce. When he wasn't doing Heil Hitler salutes in more private meetings with his fellow Neo-Nazis. And that was before he flamed out in a murder-suicide, taking out his girlfriend and a toddler with him.
That's the Tea Party demographic for you. The kind of people who say "We're not violent, yet..." The kinds of people who get stirred up with campaign lit putting crosshairs on Democratic members of Congress. Ask Gabby Giffords about that. They're the kind of people who curbstomp those who disagree with them.
No, Alan Grayson is NOT out of line. He was well within his rights, and within facts, to compare the Tea Party with the Klan.
If the white sheets fit, wear 'em!