Claude Rains unavailable for comment.
A Southern California Tea Party activist and Republican Party official came under fire Saturday after it was revealed that she sent an email including an altered photo depicting President Barack Obama as an ape.
The e-mail sent by party central committee member Marilyn Davenport shows an image posed like a family portrait, of chimpanzee parents and child, (That’s right, the deceased mother of the President of the US is portrayed as a chimpanzee, too.)with Obama’s face superimposed on the child. Text beneath the photo reads, “Now you know why no birth certificate.”
County GOP Chairman Scott Baugh said he “received it Friday afternoon and quickly responded with an email telling Davenport it was “dripping with racism and is in very poor taste.” Baugh has called for Davenport’s resignation, and says the incident should be referred to the ethics committee.
“If Davenport refuses to resign, she should be ousted, said Michael Schroeder, former chairman of the California Republican Party and an Orange County GOP activist. “I looked at it, and my jaw dropped,” Schroeder said.”
Davenport responded initially by blasting the leak as “cowardly,” and attacking the “liberal media.”
Scott Moxley of the OC Weekly pointed out some startling facts about Orange County:
“Orange County might be a beautiful oceanfront locale, but it’s also home to Holocaust deniers, vicious anti-gay bigots and freakish big-haired televangelists.
Here, one of our Republican politicians welcomed the inauguration of the first African American U.S. president in early 2009 by sending out an email that depicted a watermelon field in front of the White House.”
When Los Alamitos Mayor Dean Grose emailed the White House watermelon photograph, he was defended by…guess who? Marilyn Davenport. California Republican Party Michael Schroder said that whe “Newport City Councillman voted against installing grass turf near the beach because it would “attract Mexicans”,” Davenport also came to his defense as well.
Reached by telephone before her “official” comments on the matter, Davenport told OC Weekly “Oh, come on! Everybody who knows me knows that I am not a racist. It was a joke. I have friends who are black.(Emphasis mine.) Besides, I only sent it to a few people–mostly people I didn’t think would be upset by it.”
I wonder if any of Davenport’s black friends received the email, and why did she think that some people might be upset by it?
In her “official” statement, Davenport said that “I will NOT resign my central committee position over this matter that the average person knows and agrees is much to do about nothing.” The full statement can be read here.
KCAL and KCBS reported during their respective 10 and 11 p.m. broadcasts that in a telephone interview Davenport blamed the media for this controversy and slammed down the phone.
15 Responses to Tea Party Activist’s Racist Email Shocks Orange County GOP
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at the risk of violating Godwin, might I note that Hitler’s personal physician when he was an adolescent and young man, Dr. Edouard Bloch, was Jewish. That didn’t keep Hitler from implementing the Holocaust.
What one says and does can be judged on its own contents. That Davenport claims she only sent it to people who would not be upset is her own admission that the contents WERE upsetting, at least to some, and that she did not care about their feelings, she merely wished to avoid the pushback she now is rightly receiving.
Shocked my foot. That’s the way all of the Teabagger Republicans think.
Shame,Shame,Shame!!! Tea party back door antics come to light.
Hate and demonization are the tactics of the Tea Party. These past ten years since the Bush-Cheney era have brought our nation
to its lowest depths since the great depression. Bush signed the bill granting a bailout to Wall Street but to hear the lies of the Tea Party you would believe every bad thing was caused by President Obama. The far right wing extremists should read the 13th Chapter of First Corintians and they will find that none of the things they advocate are found in that chapter.
Bob
GReat response…and Tea Baggers can’t understand why we call them racists.
She doesn’t have any black friends. She doesn’t know any black people. She is an Orange County Republican, OKAY.
If the Republican Party of Orange County doesn’t oust her immediately, then it tells us all we need to know about the Tea Party and the Republican Party. I’m afraid for my country if these are the kind of people who are put in charge.
Gee…everyone laughed when George W. Bush was portrayed the same way. Where’s the humor now? Hypocrites……
Jay…honestly…you believe the crap she and other GOP and Tea Party reps claim when they post something, say something or email something racist…Do you honestly think they are not racist…I mean think about it…If you are not a racist…Like myself…You would never dream of doing these things…for you know how insulting and racist these images are and how they hurt people. My husband is AFro-American and I am white and part Native American…My children are mixed race…I find this whole issue highly disturbing…These are not your average Joes spreading a joke…These are elected officials who are suppose to be upstanding citizens who are caring and honor equality..This is so far from any of those qualities. If the GOP and Tea Party are the fair minded people they claim to be they should demand that any reps. who spread this stuff be fired immediately…There is no excuse for this…None…
Yes, but George Bush is not African American; his fore fathers were not Slaves; did not become a full citizen of the United States of America until the Civil Rights Act of 1964… People of his race were not lynched openly, were discriminated against by law; and were not systematically disenfranchised from 1865 to 1964… So, you see; it is not the same thing my dear friend!
very hurtful to see things like this in 2011:
How many of these Orange county republicans have children in the military fighting for america now are in the last 20 years. They are doing very well in this country while our minorities who are serving their country does anybody know just how many of these tea and republicans have kids in the military I’m a vet and it hurts to hear people talk about a country they don’t even know the wonderful thing about america is its diverities thank God
I am a 68 year old black man who served 4 years in the USAF during the Vietnam years. I have seen the signs that said “White Only” and “Colored Here”. Been told where I could or couldn’t eat or sleep while in uniform in the 60′s. I will not go back to those days.
I really have to agree with those who think racists are morons.
You racists really are idiots that should read a birth control for dummies book. The very least, please stop making contact with the general public
.
That being said please work with me on these next two paragraphs and allow me to show by example, with a comparison on how this pictured is viewed by people.
Think of a picture of a beautiful sunset. The sun is glowing from just under the horizon. Imagine the sky and how it looks. Notice how it is reflecting a radiance of colors off the atmosphere as it fades off from left to right and over your head to the east behind you. Looks pretty awesome huh? If you included clouds or anything else in the sky you have my kind of imagination and can be called “CREATIVE”. You created that yourself without outside influence from me. I never suggested adding them. That was all you. Good job
Now, think of a picture of the most physically attractive person whom you never have met but would like to meet. Notice how their hair has been groomed. How well does the light you created reflect from their eyes? Did you place them in your new sunset? Visualize what they are wearing and notice how well it is completing their figure.
If you are now realizing you need to add clothing to this picture or if you had a thought about a sexual interaction with this person, guess what? You could be labeled a “PERVERT”. I’ll admit I am a little perverted cause I visualize a beach at sunset with sheer clothing almost every time.
I don’t make the rules, know who you are and accept it, change it or keep denying it. It’s your choice and you have to be happy with who you are. It really comes down to what YOU CHOOSE to see in the picture as to what kind of person you really are.
Now this particular picture of our president is not the first one of its kind nor will it be the last. There was never a discussion about race when a previous president was depicted in similar fashion. I myself did not in any way think about race when I first saw this picture. I, like most people only thought of it as a way to express controversy on tracing origin of birth with a little humor. It also at the same time serves well at poking some fun towards intelligence (or lack thereof) and behaviors just like the similar pictures of the previous presidents have. It was meant to be humorous as the caption clearly reveals. Race never came to mind until racists pointed it out.
It would have to be said that those who first thought this was about race and continue to say this is about race are in fact a “racist”.
Again
I don’t make the rules, know who you are and accept it, change it or keep denying it. It’s your choice and you have to be happy with who you are. It really comes down to what YOU CHOOSE to see in the picture as to what kind of person you really are.
You may have thought the picture was comic in nature when you first saw it. You may of not. If you did not, bugger off…
Beauty as well as humor is in the eye of the beholder. Mother Nature has more control over us on what we perceive as funny or beautiful then what our first thoughts are when we first see someone.
Again
I don’t make the rules
Why is it the FIRST thing a bigot says is, “But I have friends who are black.” (Of course, black can be substituted with “gay“, “Jewish“, etc. to fit the target of bigotry in question.)