Republicans: New spokespeople for the KKK?

From Forward Progressives
(Click on the link to read more)

The Republican Party, Racism and the Dangerous Road They're Taking Our Nation Down

July 29, 2013 By Allen Clifton

Living in Texas, whenever I hear someone say "racism isn't that big of an issue anymore," I just have to laugh.  Is it better than it was decades ago?  Of course it is.  But for someone to really believe that racism is no longer an issue in today's society-well they're simply naive, ignorant or both.

I wrote a piece a while back outlining what is referred to as the "Southern Strategy."  Essentially, it was a movement in 50's and 60's where Republicans identified that African Americans were often voting for Democrats.  They used this as a "negative" and sought out to make white people aware of it with the hope that racism within many whites would drive them toward the party African Americans weren't voting for the Republican party.

Basically, "Hey look, black people are voting for Democrats and you white people don't want to do what black people do now do you?  So vote Republican!" It was a clear strategy that targeted racism and officially moved Republicans away from the party of Lincoln to the party which not only embraced racism - it sought it out.

Since the emergence of the tea party a few years ago, a growing portion of the Republican party has delved into the irrational and embraced some of the more radical parts of the conservative movement.
Here's a quick run down of just a couple of key bullet points supported by most tea party Republicans:

• Conservatism, the irreplaceable hub of our Nation, our Christian Faith, and the highest standards of western culture and technology.
• America First: America before ANY foreign or alien influence and the removal of the United Nations from our borders. We condemn the U.N. and advocate withdrawal of the United States from membership in the U.N.
• The Constitution Of The United States: as originally written and intended! The finest system of government ever conceived by man.
• Free Enterprise: private property and ownership of business.
• Positive Christianity: the right of the American people to practice the Christian Faith, including prayer in school.
• Oh and on guns…
• The fact is to all you government officials considering confiscating guns, what you are considering is TREASON against the Constitution and Citizens of the United States of America.

Except-I didn't write those talking points.  I didn't pull them from a right-wing tea party website.
I pulled them from the Traditionalist American Knights-of the Ku Klux Klan.  I only changed one part on the first bullet point from "The white race" to "conservatism."  And I only did that to show how easily interchangeable those two seem to be with these set of beliefs.  Everything else in bold is directly pulled from their website.