Rep. Alan Grayson (D-Fla.) wants you to know what the “t” in Tea Party stands for: a burning KKK cross — and he’s absolutely refusing to apologize for the characterization.
In a fundraising email sent out on Monday by his 2014 re-election campaign, the Florida Congressman included a picture of KKK members burning a cross. The words “Tea Party” are written over the image so the cross creates the “t.”
“Now You Know What the ‘T’ Stands For,” the email reads.
After getting slammed for the email, Grayson sent a statement to Roll Call, doubling down on his comparison between the Tea Party and KKK.
“Tea Party members have circulated countless altered pictures depicting President Obama and the First Lady as monkeys,” he wrote in his statement. “Tea Party members also called my fellow Member of Congress, civil rights hero John Lewis, a ‘n***ger,’ and Rep. Barney Frank a ‘faggot.’ One could go on and on, because there is overwhelming evidence that the Tea Party is the home of bigotry and discrimination in America today, just as the KKK was for an earlier generation. If the shoe fits, wear it.”
Grayson’s fundraising email included the transcript for his appearance on Politics Nation with the Rev. Al Sharpton. During that interview, the Congressman compared the Tea Party to the Ku Klux Klan.
“At this point, the Tea Party is no more popular than the Klan,” Grayson told the host.
After the transcript is a fundraising plug, calling Grayson “honest” and “blunt.”
“Congressman Alan Grayson deserves your support, like no one else,” the email reads. “He, and only he, is saying the things that you are thinking, and so much need to be said.”
Clicking on the cross image brings one to a donation page for Grayson’s 2014 re-election campaign. Grayson’s Twitter account — which is not verified by Twitter and seemingly run by his campaign staff — then tweeted out a link to the text of the email.
In response, Jennifer Burke, national outreach director of TheTeaParty.net, refuted Grayson’s comparison.
“As a black Tea Party activist, I could say that there’s nothing more offensive than equating the Tea Party with the Ku Klux Klan,” she said in a statement. “The hate speech uttered by sitting congressman Alan Grayson is deplorable, even by the low levels reached in recent years when Democrats routinely call us racists and suicide bombers.”
The Tea Party: “No More Popular Than the Klan” http://t.co/fpWxvNM2nZ
— Rep. Alan Grayson (@AlanGrayson) October 21, 2013
This piece has been updated to include additional information.
