What? WHAT? Part 25

First of all, let me remind everybody that this isn't a racism issue, and there's no racism involved, and that the Tea Party isn't racist, and there isn't even a Tea Party and if you think any of this is racist, then you're a racist.

The Weekly has obtained a copy of an email sent to fellow conservatives this week by Marilyn Davenport, a Southern California Tea Party activist and member of the central committee of the Orange County Republican Party.

Under the words, "Now you know why no birth certificate," there's an Obama family portrait showing them as apes.

That was published last Friday. Then:

UPDATE, APRIL 16, 5:55 P.M.: This afternoon, Marilyn Davenport sent an email to fellow Orange County Republican elected officials, apologizing if anyone was offended by her depicting President Barack Obama as an ape--while also blasting the "liberal media" for reporting the story.
"I simply found it amusing regarding the character of Obama and all the questions surrounding his origin of birth," Davenport wrote. "In no way did I even consider the fact he's half black when I sent out the email. In fact, the thought never entered my mind until one or two other people [Scott Baugh, Orange County GOP boss, and this writer] tried to make this about race. . . . I received plenty of emails about George Bush that I didn't particularly like yet there was no 'cry' in the media about them."

Davenport continued: "That being said, I will NOT resign my central committee position over this matter that the average person knows and agrees is much to do about nothing."

Right! No one called it racist when W. was depicted as a Chimp! There's your double standard! How DARE you try to make this harmless joke about RACE!

Still, it's kind of a PR problem - you know, because people keep wrongly accusing the tea party of hating ALL black people when they really only hate the one black person. And not because he's black. No, they hate him because he hasn't lowered taxes, and there's no proof whatsoever that he was born in the United States, and he refuses to compromise on the slightest thing, and he's a Muslim.

And the Muslim thing, THAT'S NOT INTOLERANCE! They're just saying.

Oh, and his black wife. They hate her too. But most of the blacks, they're just fine with. Micheal Steele, for example... okay, him too, but that's because those people can't run things. What? WHAT?

Anyway, because of the PR imbroglio, there have been suggestions that maybe it would be better if Marilyn Davenport wasn't in a leadership position. Sadly, it's easier said than done.

UPDATE, APRIL 17, 3:40 P.M.: Orange County Republican Party Chairman Scott Baugh determined today that his group's bylaws prevent a vote to remove Marilyn Davenport as an elected member even though she emailed a racist image of President Barack Obama to fellow Tea Baggers and Republicans.

The most drastic action the party can take is a censure, he said. Meanwhile, Davenport refuses to resign and Baugh continues to seek an apology and her voluntary resignation from the central committee.

I can see her point - she refuses to admit she's racist, she refuses to relinquish power despite the fact that she represents a tiny sliver of her constituency - she is, in fact the archetype for Tea Baggers.