Has the conservative movement become a champion of gay rights? Is gun-owning, lesbian singer Sophie B. Hawkins of “Damn I Wish I Was Your Lover” fame a liberal in bed and conservative in the head?

Last night, Reason’s Michael Moynihan dropped by the Big Gay Party, a celebration of the role of the conservative movement in advocating for gay rights, which was hosted by conservative gay group GOProud and new media mogul Andrew Breitbart. The party was part of the festivities surrounding the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), which was boycotted by some conservatives because of GOProud’s participation.

The video features interviews with Army Lt. Dan Choi, Gay Activist; Andrew Breitbart, Breitbart.com; Fred Smith, president of the Competitive Enterprise Institute; radio host Guy Benson; Evan Coyne Maloney, the director of Indoctrinate U; Michael Steele, former Republican National Committee chair; Liz Mair, GOProud Advisory Council; Bruce Majors, libertarian blogger; Richard Grenell, Capitol Media Partners; Larry O’Connor, Breitbart.tv; and singer-songwriter Sophie B. Hawkins.

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At 1pm EST today, Americans for Tax Reform and The Daily Caller will host a debate of all announced candidates for Chair of the RNC. The 168 members of the GOP Committee will vote January 14th to select a Chair for a new two-year term, which, of course, includes the period of redistricting and the critical 2012 election.

The race for RNC Chair won’t get a lot of attention from either the media or, sadly, the grass roots, but it is an important campaign. It seems counter-intuitive, but the national GOP actually underperformed this past November. Yes, they won the House and picked up an historic 60+ seats, but it could-and should-have been 75-80 seats. They left 3-4 Senate seats on the table.  Worse, the GOP came up short in Governor’s races, which are critically important with redistricting on the agenda this year. (They lost to Jerry Brown (!), Rod Blagojevich’s Lt. Gov, and a retread who supports socialized medicine, for example.) Don’t get me wrong, it was a great victory, but, watching from the front-lines, it hurts to realize it could have been even greater, but for the disfunction of the national party.

As I have written before, the first job of the RNC Chair is to ‘do no harm.’ Don’t make gaffes on the Sunday shows or in speeches, raise lots of money and execute a robust ground game for election day. In the closing days of the midterms, the RNC pulled out of most of its election-day GOTV operations…because they didn’t have any money…because the current Chair and organization had alienated the grassroots, which cost them lots of donations. (You can see a theme, right?) Who knows how many more races the GOP could have won with a normally functioning party?

But, enough with the past. This isn’t about the RNC we had, but about the RNC we want to have. And that election is in less than two weeks.

So, let’s recap where we are on this race. Because, while most of us were gorging on College Bowl games or ignoring the world because we gorged on things that weren’t College Bowl games, several interesting things happened. So, let’s have a roundup.

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This ought to go over well with the conservative base…

If you thought the fact that RNC Chair candidate, Maria Cino, was an Obamacare lobbyist was outrageous wait until you hear the latest…

The leading candidate in the race – Reince Priebus’s law firm supports Obamacare and says its constitutional!

Yes, you read that correctly.

Reince Priebus’s law firm supports Obamacare and says its constitutional.

Unbelievable.

The far left Think Progress website reported this today:

On January 14, 168 standing members of the Republican National Committee (RNC) will hold an election to select the next national chairman of the party. Current RNC Chairman Michael Steele is running for a second term against a number of challengers, including Saul Anuzis, Ann Wagner, Maria Cino, Gentry Collins, and Reince Priebus.

Priebus, the current state chairman of the Wisconsin GOP, is positioning himself as the true conservative alternative to Steele…

Despite his heated anti-Obama attacks, Priebus makes a living at a law firm far more comfortable with the policies of President Obama. Priebus works as a partner at the Milwaukee law firm Michael Best and Friedrich LLP. Over the summer, the firm created a series of presentations to explain health reform to its clients and to pitch the firm’s services for employers looking to comply with new health reform regulations. In one presentation, John Barlament, a colleague to Priebus at the firm, said that a health reform repeal is not only unlikely, but that the lawsuits brought by Republican Party allies to declare the law unconstitutional probably have no merit. Referring to the controversy over the individual mandate, Barlament explained that the commerce clause of the constitution “gives Congress authority to act on his legislation.”

It will be interesting to hear what GOP Leader John Boehner, GOP Whip Eric Cantor and Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell have to say about this.

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Next month the Republican National Committee will elect a chairman to lead their party into the 2012 presidential election.

Current chairman Michael Steele, who has been a source of controversy throughout his two year tenure, is being challenged by a number of candidates.

Many Republicans are unhappy with Steele’s leadership style and management. But despite the relevance of these concerns, they should not be the central issue.

Of central concern should be crystallizing the Republican Party’s vision for our nation and electing a chairman in tune with this vision, committed to it, and capable of rallying the party and the nation around it.

Despite the sweeping Republican victory in the 2010 congressional elections, there’s little evidence that the election reflected a new love affair between voters and the Republican Party. Much work remains to be done to restore party credibility.

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I don’t really have a particular dog in the fight for RNC Chair. After twenty years in politics, I think well-run individual campaigns are more important to victory than the machinations of a national party organization. The RNC should mostly just raise lots of money, get out the vote and then…get out of the way. Its really kind of a political Hippocratic oath; first, do no harm…to the party’s brand or its candidates.

Still, I’ve been fascinated by Dan Riehl’s coverage of the race and, specifically, the problems swirling around the frontrunner (!?), Reince Priebus. Priebus is GOP Chair in Wisconsin and, along with about three dozen other state chairs, had a pretty good election cycle this November. (Of course, also along with three dozen other state chairs, he had a pretty disastrous cycle in 2008.) Until very recently, he was also on staff at the RNC, serving as General Counsel after steering Michael Steele into the Chairmanship.

On the side, it seems, he also used his legal skills and government and political contacts to secure federal stimulus money for clients. Redstate thinks there is nothing unusual in this, just another lawyer-helping-his-clients situation. Although, as Dan Riehl points out today, his work went quite a bit further than simply advising clients on the stimulus’ impact. And keep in mind, Priebus was the state GOP Chair at this exact time. At the very least, that obvious conflict sets up some pretty funny juxtapositions.

On March 5, 2009, Priebus co-authored a client alert heralding the awarding of $500 million to Wisconsin and noted:

The $529 million in stimulus funds allocated for Wisconsin state and local transportation projects is likely to result in increased opportunities for Wisconsin road, bridge and other transportation contractors, subcontractors and suppliers.

Of course, a little less than a year later he told this to the Stevens Point Journal:

“The stimulus, the jobs bill, all of them — they all create a very small amount of government jobs, but they cost us our future,” Priebus said. “We get very little in return for the massive amount of money that we’re putting toward these government programs.”

I doubt the media would ever do anything with those two quotes. Doubtless, they will also overlook this quote from a pitch also co-authored by Priebus:

If you are interested in learning about other provisions included in The Act, the Michael Best Stimulus and Economic Recovery Team is prepared to assist you in understanding the implications and in developing and implementing a strategy to secure the benefits of this unprecedented legislation. Specifically, we will assist you to identify opportunities, prepare appropriate proposals and make targeted contacts to secure funds.

Well, isn’t that precious.

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Reince Priebus is currently being touted as a front-runner to replace current RNC Chair Michael Steele. But Priebus’ leading role among a select group of high-powered Wisconsin attorneys targeting clients to assist them in maximizing stimulus dollars, at the same time the anti-stimulus RNC employed him as interim general counsel, raises some troubling questions, not just for Preibus, but for the Republican Party as a whole.

Michael Best Creates Economic Stimulus Team Press Release February 20, 2009 – lists Reince R. Priebus

Priebus isn’t only listed among a short list of key contacts, from 4 – 5, on multiple press releases like this one dated March 5, 2009 – he’s also listed as a co-author of the document. He’s also Co-Chair of the Construction Group and Government and Public Policy Group at Michael Best & Friedrich LLP, with ties to the National Utility Contractors, as well. He’s claimed to have two jobs in recent interviews, politics and law. But once one looks beneath the surface, it appears the two are somewhat indistinguishable.

Wisconsin Receives $529 Million in Federal Stimulus Money for Transportation Projects: Contractors Should be Ready for Fast Bidding and Expedited Project Timelines

It’s also worth noting that during Priebus’ first cycle as the Republican Party of Wisconsin chairman, the party paid his law firm, Michael Best & Friedrich (MBF), $80,000 for unspecified “legal fees.” All payments were made from 10/31/2008-11/13/2008. A review of FEC reports found the only prior RPW payments to MBF occurred in the 2004 election cycle. By that accounting, Priebus’ so called two jobs aren’t separate at all. He seems more interested in using one hand to wash the other, at the expense of taxpayers and donors. There is nothing new in that kind of politics, and very little that’s good for America, or the GOP – especially now.

Want to cash in on $42.5 million in stimulus spending, in addition to $300 million already alloted – call Reince Preibus.

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From Mike Allen at Politico:

Norm Coleman — former U.S. senator from Minnesota and the current chief executive officer of the American Action Network and Forum, a key outside GOP group — is likely to enter the race for Republican National Committee chairman now that Michael Steele is expected to announce that he will not seek reelection.

“Norm is leaning towards running, based on his ability to raise money and act as a national surrogate,” a close source said.

Friends say Coleman’s big push would be his ability to help the RNC retire its daunting debt: “I was the best fundraiser of all the Senate candidates.”

However, committee insiders say Coleman was hurt by leaked news that he had promised Steele he wouldn’t run against him, since many in the GOP are agitating for change. (more…)

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On today’s edition of Coffee and Markets, Brad Jackson and Ben Domenech are joined by Alex Pappas, a writer and reporter at the Daily Caller, to discuss the race for RNC Chair including, who’s running, and how the Tea Party may impact the race.

We’re brought to you as always by BigGovernment and Stephen Clouse and Associates. If you’d like to email us, you can do so at coffee[at]newledger.com. We hope you enjoy the show.

Related Links:

RNC chairman race narrows; Conn. chairman, Chris Healy, says he will not run
Dick Cheney hosts fundraiser for potential challenger to RNC chairman Michael Steele
Hotline Whip Count: The RNC Chairman’s Race
Alex Pappas’ articles at the Daily Caller

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Yesterday, FreedomWorks and the Conservative Steering Committee brought together four top contenders to potentially replace Michael Steele as head of a cash-strapped RNC.

While the race is presumably wide-open and the event may have little bearing on how it ultimately turns out, there are two very good reasons to suggest the next RNC Chair could be female and the fact that Tea Party activists figured so prominently in yesterday’s event indicates the movement will likely continue to be a player in Republican politics going forward.

“I was encouraged by the responses from some of the candidates yesterday who seemed to understand that the Tea Party movement is not here to be an arm of the GOP, but can function best as an outside force to keep the party on the right track. Today was further validation that the movement is having an impact, and will continue to be a powerful force in the political landscape,” said FreedomWorks president and CEO Matt Kibbe.

As NRO’s Jim Geraghty point out, with more via the Campaign Spot, the RNC’s 168 members, each with their own concerns, will ultimately decide who heads the RNC going into 2012, not some consensus from yesterday’s event. However, the stagecraft around a January election is beginning to shape up. It doesn’t look good for current chair, Michael Steele, though yesterday’s participants were mostly careful to avoid any harsh, direct criticism. Steele seems to genuinely remain well-liked, if perhaps considered not ideally suited for the job.

The discussion on Wednesday suggested a group of GOP leaders who have largely moved beyond questions of identity. They seemed more interested in the actions of the Obama administration and the reaction of the Tea Party. The GOP, as this crop of candidates sees it, is the tool to channel Tea Partiers’ objections, a process that began in 2009, continued and intensified in 2010, and, they hope, will reach full fruition in 2012.

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If nothing else has proven that Republican National Committee Chair Michael Steele is not in tune with the GOP today, his recent statements on the Tea Party movement should serve as exhibit number one.

Showing that he has no clue the effect that the Tea Party movement had on the 2010 elections, in a five-page memo to committee members last week, Steele said that the GOP saved the day by stopping Tea Partiers from going third party in 2010.

Daily Caller excerpted Steele’s comments on Nov. 20. “The RNC,” Steele told the members, “welcomed the energy and limited government principles of Tea Party voters and grassroots conservatives, and worked hard to ensure that their views found expression within the Republican party, and not in a potentially ruinous third-party movement.”

Given the shambles the party was in at the end of 2008, circumstances were ripe for a new party to emerge. Encouraging those millions of disaffected conservative voters to become active Republicans was at the center of the RNC’s turnout strategy.

Steele is trying to spin the situation and make it seem as if his efforts and that of the national party corralled the Tea Party movement and led the Tea Partiers to an electoral victory. Nothing could be further from the truth.

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The Washington Post reports that today at their national conference in Kansa City, MO the NAACP will vote on a resolution condemning the Tea Party movement as racist.

Of particular interest is a passage in the Post report that describes part of the reasoning behind the resolution:

As an example, authors of the statement point to reports by black members of Congress that they endured spitting and racial epithets before voting for the health-care overhaul.

Here is a quick reminder of our thorough debunking of the phantom racial epithets including video footage from five separate angles and perspectives at the very moment the racial slurs were supposed to have been yelled.

So it has come to this.  The charges first leveled by Rep. Andre Carson that fifteen protestors yelled racial slurs fifteen times at he and Rep. John Lewis have become part of the agenda of the nation’s oldest and most respected civil rights organization.  This proves Mark Twain’s famous adage, “ A lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes.”

Here is the route this lie took on its travel around the world:

• Rep Carson tells reporters the infamous tale.
• It’s repeated endlessly by members of the media eager to paint the Tea Party as racist.
• Terrified GOP leadership rush to condemn the Tea Party for their racist behavior (how’d all that bending over backwards for the Congressional Black Caucus work out for you Mr. Steele?)

Then, slowly the truth put on its shoes:

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In tracking the response to the launch of the site and petition to draft Sarah Palin for the Chairmanship of the RNC, we have seen varied reactions ranging from enthusiasm, to curiosity, to skepticism, to racist bigotry, to deafening silence.

One common denominator in near uniformity, however, is the consensus that Michael Steele is, at best, ineffective as Chair of the RNC for one or more of the following reasons.

Steele V. Limbaugh
Praising ACORN’s Bertha Lewis
Steele Doesn’t Know If GOP Ready To Lead
RNC chairman doubts GOP will win back the House this November
Republican National Committee spent nearly $2,000 at West Hollywood strip club Voyeur
Harsh Criticism [Of Steele] Is Based on Race
Michael Steele: GOP “Has Not Been the Most Welcoming” to Immigrants (Video) …Update: Polls Prove Steele Wrong
Michael Steele’s Unwinnable War
RNC has still not been reimbursed for the $2,000 spent on entertaining donors at a lesbian/bondage nightclub in West Hollywood.”

The only questions remaining are when to replace Michael Steele, and with whom?

As to when, some people suggest that it should not be until the end of his current term. For our position, please see the petition:

THEREFORE, We, the undersigned, submit that Sarah Palin, as soon as is practicably possible, ought to replace Michael Steele and take over the reins as Chair of the Republican National Committee.

As to who, the answer can only be Sarah Palin. Why? Notwithstanding the reasons we have outlined here and here, it is because she will raise more money and command more control over the media narrative than ANY other Republican in the field. Seating Sarah would also set the Progressive-Democrats on their heels, forcing them to ratchet up their vile PR smear campaigns.

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Defeat Socialism in America – Draft Sarah Palin for RNC Chair

The bottom line is this…

America is under attack. The progressive left is attempting to forever alter the foundation of this great nation with their record deficits, record spending, record unemployment, corruption, thuggery, assault on liberty and socialist policies. The Obama-Pelosi Regime must be stopped before they destroy this great nation. Republicans need a great and dynamic personality to lead the party in a vigorous offensive against the Socialist agenda of the Progressive Democrat movement. We don’t have time to waste and we can’t afford to lose this battle against the immoral statists destroying our country.

Michael Steele has made too many critical missteps and has failed to lead the party against the radical Socialist agenda of the Progressive Democrat movement. The failure of Chairman Steele to successfully sell Liberty over Socialism, and to cultivate and facilitate those future candidates who can, is emblematic of the dysfunction of the Republican party, a dysfunction which has over the past four years led the party to near-ruin. We need a true and tested leader.

We need Sarah Palin.

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Rand Paul’s controversial remarks about the 1964 Civil Rights Act illustrate what I have been saying for years, that Republicans would benefit tremendously from knowing and appreciating the heritage of our Grand Old Party.  That landmark legislation was the culmination of a century of efforts by Republicans to protect African-Americans from their Democrat oppressors.  Let’s look at the facts.

On his deathbed in 1874, Senator Charles Sumner (R-MA) told a Republican colleague: “You must take care of the civil rights bill – my bill, the civil rights bill.  Don’t let it fail.”  In March 1875, the Republican-controlled 43rd Congress followed up the GOP’s 1866 Civil Rights Act and 1871 Civil Rights Act with the most comprehensive civil rights legislation ever.  A Republican president, Ulysses Grant, signed the bill into law that same day.

Among its provisions, the 1875 Civil Rights Act banned racial discrimination in public accommodations.  Sound familiar?  Though struck down by the Supreme Court eight years later, the 1875 Civil Rights Act would be reborn as the 1964 Civil Rights Act.

During the twenty years of the FDR and Truman administrations, the Democrats had refused to enact any civil rights legislation.  In contrast, President Dwight Eisenhower signed the 1957 Civil Rights Act, which had been written by his Attorney General, a former Chairman of the Republican National Committee.  The original draft would have permitted the federal government to sue anyone violating another person’s constitutional rights, but this powerful provision would have to wait until the 1964 Civil Rights Act.  The bill had to be weakened considerably to secure enough Democrat votes to pass, so violations would be civil, not criminal offenses, and penalties were light.  Vice President Richard Nixon helped overcome a Democrat filibuster in the Senate.  The GOP then strengthened enforcement with its 1960 Civil Rights Act.

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After my article last week, Michael Steele and the Southern Strategy, now is time for some truth-telling about the Democratic Party.  The Democrats’ own southern strategy was far, far worse than even worst accusations aimed at the Republicans.

In his recent speech criticizing the GOP’s so-called southern strategy, RNC Chairman Michael Steele scored big points… for the other team.  Instead of criticizing his own party, he would do well to focus the public’s attention on the appalling heritage of the Democratic Party – the party of slavery and big government, socialism and the Ku Klux Klan.

“The Republican Party, on the contrary [to the Democrats], holds that this government was instituted to secure the blessings of freedom, and that slavery is an unqualified evil.  [Republicans] will oppose in all its length and breadth the modern Democratic idea that slavery is as good as freedom.”

In this classic speech, Abraham Lincoln condemned the pro-slavery policies of the Democratic Party.  The founders of our Grand Old Party knew to call Democrats ‘slave-ocrats.’  And another Republican, Robert Ingersoll, observed: “Every man that loved slavery more than liberty was a Democrat.”  One of Lincoln’s friends, Rep. Owen Lovejoy (R-IL), had this to say:

“The principle of enslaving human beings because they are inferior, is this: If a man is a cripple, trip him up; if he is old and weak, and bowed with the weight of years, strike him, for he cannot strike back; if idiotic, take advantage of him; and if a child, deceive him.  This, sir, this is the doctrine of Democrats and the doctrine of devils as well, and there is no place in the universe outside the five points of hell and the Democratic Party where the practice and prevalence of such doctrines would not be a disgrace.”

Very definitely, slavery was a southern strategy of the Democratic Party.

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David Weigel, at The Washington Post, asked me to comment on Michael Steele’s view of  the so-called Southern Strategy.

Speaking at DePaul University on April 20, RNC Chairman Michael Steele urged Republican leaders to work with the Tea Parties.  He has the right approach, to which I would add the fact, per my article on BigGovernment.com, that The Republican Party began as a Tea Party Movement.

Steele then went on to say:

“We have lost sight of the historic, integral link between the party and African-Americans.  This party was co-founded by blacks, among them Frederick Douglass.  The Republican Party had a hand in forming the NAACP, and yet we have mistreated that relationship.  People don’t walk away from parties.  Their parties walk away from them.  For the last 40-plus years we had a ‘Southern Strategy’ that alienated many minority voters by focusing on the white male vote in the South.  Well, guess what happened in 1992, folks, ‘Bubba’ went back home to the Democratic Party and voted for Bill Clinton.”

Chairman Steele makes an interesting point, but he is accepting as true the Democrat version of events.  The theme of Back to Basics for the Republican Party is that celebrating our party’s heritage is not just for minority outreach but for all Republicans to appreciate that the GOP has been a great force for good ever since being founded in 1854 to oppose the Democrats’ pro-slavery, anti-freedom agenda.  I drew on that record of achievement in writing the historical information on the RNC website, also posted as Heroes and Heroics.

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I just made a donation in Michelle Malkin’s honor to the GOP.

Let me say right up front, I’m not a religious guy.  I support Republicans because they are the party of Small Business, they are the party of Liberty.

On the moral stuff, the personal stuff, the family stuff, I’m a State’s Rights guy.  The Federal government isn’t meant to concern itself with social policy.   You don’t like something, you can vote with your feet.

Also, I like strippers.  Not so much strippers themselves, or even strip clubs anymore (I’m getting old), but I like living in a country unafraid of pole dancing.   And in my youth, I was certainly comfy with two drink minimums and single moms working their way through college.  In 1996, I picked up a truck load of surfers in Newport Beach, drove them to go vote for Bob Dole, and then we high tailed it to Mermaids next to the John Wayne Airport.

Life isn’t all debauchery.  Character still counts.   Everyone doesn’t have to be me.  So unless they are knocking on my door, or trying to teach my kid evolution is a lie, Christians don’t bother me in the slightest.   I know many Christians are my brother in the land of live and let live.

Growing up, my favorite Republicans were Roger Stone and Dick Morris…  this is my Republican party.

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In 1864, the GOP relabeled itself the “National Union Party” in an effort to attract moderate Democrats in support of President Lincoln’s re-election.  To reach out even further to Democrats, the convention dumped the Republican vice president, Hannibal Hamlin, from the ticket and replaced him with a Democrat, Andrew Johnson.  The man most responsible for this tragedy was the chairman of the Republican National Committee, Henry Raymond.

A former lieutenant governor, Raymond had founded The New York Times.  He won the chairmanship by arguing that Republicans should shift toward the Democrats.  To that end, he convinced the national convention to nominate a Democrat as Abraham Lincoln’s running mate.  Like his namesake, Andrew Jackson Johnson rose to prominence in Tennessee.  The only southern senator not to go with the Confederacy, Johnson seemed a good prospect for postwar reconciliation, but instead of being a moderate, President Johnson turned out to be a hard-line Democrat.  And, one of his strongest supports was the chairman of the Republican National Committee, Henry Raymond.

In August 1866, Johnson tried to divide Republicans by setting up his own party, using the “National Union” name.  The effort failed, because at what was supposed to be the founding convention, nearly all the delegates were Democrats.  One of the few Republicans to attend was the chairman of the Republican National Committee, Henry Raymond.

Republicans knew they had to act quickly.  On September 3, in what amounted to a national convention, delegates from both northern and southern states met in Philadelphia to retake the party.  Charging him with “abandonment of the principles” of the party, the RNC ousted Henry Raymond and elected the governor of New Jersey, Marcus Ward, as the new chairman.

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Sean Mahoney, a New Hampshire businessman who until today served as the Republican National Committeeman for the Granite State, announced today he is resigning from the RNC. Mahoney, who has served on the RNC’s Conservative Steering Committee and co-sponsored an RNC resolution against government bailouts, drew a grim comparison between out-of-control government spending in Washington and the RNC’s own profligacy in a letter to Chairman Michael Steele today.  While blasting recent RNC scandals and writing the Committee “has clearly lost its way,” Mahoney writes favorably of the Tea Party movement in his letter.

2010 04-06 RNC Letter

“Thus, it is with profound disappointment that I tender my resignation today as Republican National Committeeman for New Hampshire,” Writes Mahoney.  “I have concluded that there simply has to be a more productive and meaningful way to serve the causes I care most about – preserving what’s left of our individual liberties, restoring the liberties we have lost and drastically reducing the size and scope of the federal government.”

Mahoney continues, “On April 15th, for example, hundreds of thousands, probably millions, of ordinary Americans all across the country will make a statement that Washington is out of control and out of touch.”

“The powerful in Washington will belittle these folks and dismiss their list of legitimate grievances,” he concluded.  “As for me, I would prefer to stand with the hundreds of concerned taxpayers in Manchester, New Hampshire who have courageously cut back their family budgets to make ends meet rather than with a crowd of self-important politicians who spend other people’s money with reckless disregard.”

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UPDATE: The bounty is now $100,000 for any audio/video footage of the N-word being hurled at Congressmen John Lewis and Andre Carson.

***

After 14 months of committing 100% to health care reform, the day after the signing of the Health Care bill was to mark the Democratic Party’s new primary concern: destroy the uprising, annihilate by all means necessary, the Tea Party movement.

The first sign that a plan was in place was the ham-fisted, high-camp posturing of the most controversial members of the Democratic caucus walking through the peaceful but animated “Tea Party” demonstrators on Capitol Hill. There is no reason for these elected officials to walk above ground through the media circus amid their ideological foes. The natural route is the tunnels between the House office buildings and the Capitol. By crafting a highly symbolic walk of the Congressional Black Caucus through the majority white crowd, the Democratic Party was looking to provoke a negative reaction. They didn’t get it. So they made it up.

The proof that the N-word wasn’t said once, let alone 15 times, as Rep. Andre Carson claimed, is that soon thereafter — even though the press dutifully reported it as truth — Nancy Pelosi followed the alleged hate fest, which allegedly included someone spitting, by walking through the crowd with a gavel in hand and a shit-eating grin on her face. Had the incidents reported by the Congressional Black Caucus actually occurred the Capitol Police would have been negligent to allow the least popular person to that crowd – the Speaker – to put herself in harm’s way.

That crowd was a sea of new-media equipment. Not only were tens of thousands people armed with handicams, BlackBerrys and iPods, so also was the mainstream media there, covering every inch of the event. Why did not one mainstream media outlet raise the specter that perhaps a video would exist to prove the events occurred? I am still dealing with the same press telling me we didn’t prove that ACORN was aiding and abetting criminal activity because we “did not provide enough audio and video evidence.” (Insert laugh track.) Is there not a blatant double standard at play here? Nancy Pelosi tipped her hand that race was a central part of her strategy. She invoked the Civil Rights Act and compared it with the universally reviled health care bill. Her caucus is doubling down on the civil-rights rhetoric. There are no coincidences.

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