I Don't Believe John Lewis & Andre Carson

Both RNC Chairman Michael Steele and Tea Party Express organizer Amy Kremer have condemned racial epithets allegedly directed towards Democratic Congressmen John Lewis and Andre Carson by Tea Party protesters. Both Lewis and Carson are members of the Congressional Black Caucus and were en route to Capitol Hill for a procedural vote.

I suppose Steele and Kremer had to address the matter but by making a condemnation they have effectively acknowledged the incident took place. Now perhaps Steele and Kremer know something I don't. But if we only have the word of Lewis and Carson on which to rely that any such incident took place then I'm inclined to be skeptical. Simply put, I do not believe John Lewis and Andre Carson when they claim Tea Party protesters shouted racial epithets at them.

Now, if I am presented with corraborating evidence confirming Lewis and Carson's version of events then I will condemn those acts of racism with the vigor they deserve. But it seems awfully convenient that Lewis and Carson were barraged with racial epithets the very weekend of the Obamacare vote.

There have been Tea Party gatherings in D.C. for nearly a year. That certainly creates the potential for plenty of interaction between protesters and elected officials. The liberal media have spent months accusing the Tea Party of harboring racist sentiments yet no one has made the allegation a Tea Party protester has shouted a racial epithet towards an elected official who happens to be African-American - until now on the very weekend of the Obamacare vote. Of course, a story like this would not only have the effect of diverting attention away from the Obamacare vote but also presents an opportunity for the liberal media to say, 'See we told you. The Tea Party people are a bunch of racists.' This despite all evidence to the contrary.

One must also remember that it was John Lewis who accused John McCain and Sarah Palin during the 2008 election of "sowing the seeds of hatred and division." When I asked Lewis about it when he spoke at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government shortlly after Obama's election in November 2008 he said he wasn't referring to McCain and Palin directly but rather at their audiences.

Lewis cited an incident alleged to have taken place during a Palin rally in Scranton, Pennsylvania in October 2008. He claimed that someone at that rally shouted "kill him" in reference to Obama. Lewis said he was based this information from reports on television and radio. But if Lewis had exercised due diligence he would have known that no such incident took place. You can't take what Keith Olbermann says at face value. According to the Secret Service, there were no such utterance. If there had been the Secret Service would have certainly taken action.

What I am saying here is that John Lewis isn't above accusing anonymous people of racism to advance his own political agenda and I believe that is what happened in this instance. Again, if I am presented with irrefutable, unimpeachable evidence that corraborates Lewis and Carson were subjected to racial epithets then I will condemn those acts with the vigor they deserve. But until then I must remain skeptical.