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On his Tuesday program, Thom Hartmann had on former Tea Party Express leader and current radio host Mark Williams to discuss why Williams is so anti-union and how inconsistent that is with his professed beliefs in democracy and freedom.

Hartmann is clearly debating Williams with one hand metaphorically tied behind his back and it's really too easy to show not only the inconsistency but the ignorance from which all of Williams' reactionary anti-union stance (himself a member of the AFTRA union) originates. But that's what I find of most of these tea party types: their stances rarely are consistent with their professed values and as soon as you carry their statements to their (il)logical conclusions, they immediately backtrack and say, "wait, I don't mean that!"

Sadly, it takes far more self-awareness than Williams is capable of to re-evaluate his point of view, but kudos to Thom for trying.

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Appearing on RT's CrossTalk, Cliff Schecter and tea party leader Mark Williams got into a heated debate over foreign policy. When host Peter Lavelle brought up the fact that President Obama is actually more of a hawk on foreign policy than many give him credit for, Mark Williams immediately went into the typical right-wing meme that President Obama hasn't done anything on foreign policy:

Williams: Again, he's not a hawk after all. The fact that Osama bin Laden is dead. The fact that Qadaffi is dead. These were all ready in the works. We've been fighting al Qaeda since 2001 and actually before that covertly. So this is nothing that Obama went out and did. It's not like he's Rambo, ripped off his shirt, stuck a knife between his teeth and went out.

This is a President who goes around the world, apologizing for this country, apologizing for the American people, apologizing for what we have done in the world. Bows before foreign leaders. Bowed before the Saudi king. He even bowed before a mayor in Louisiana.

This is a guy who has no foreign policy. What he does have is a thirst for and lust for the use of power.

Schecter: That's patently ridiculous. I guess in Mark's world it would be preferable if we had a President who declared victory in Iraq and got up on an aircraft carrier and pumped his own chest before thousands of Americans died in a war that wasn't planned out, where Paul Wolfowitz said "oh the oil will pay for the whole thing and the rest". That's ridiculous.

You know I can bring back pictures of George W. Bush walking, holding hands with the Saudi leaders and frankly if anyone bowed down to the Saudi's it was the Bush family, it wasn't Barack Obama.

From there Williams goes into the standard right wing meme of "but Bush isn't running for President". This is rather ironic from a party that constantly invokes Reagan and Carter to say that bringing up a former President is somehow dodging the debate.

But what really gets me about this whole exchange is the bowing issue. Apparently on January 20, 2009, America made a major change in that our President should no longer travel overseas. Every time Obama makes a trip to a foreign country the right starts into their faux outrage mode. That faux outrage is always exacerbated if Obama shows respect by bowing or kissing or showing the traditional form of respect that is part of that country's culture. This started only two months into the Obama presidency when he bowed before the Saudi King, yet the right never once exhibited the same outrage when George Bush did the same thing or even kiss the Saudi Prince.

It was great seeing Cliff back on the talk shows fighting the standard right wing attack lines. He can take them down like no other. If you would like to see more of Cliff's appearance on CrossTalk, check out the full episode on YouTube.

He's baaaack. Or trying to be. Mark Williams was booted out the Tea Party because of his insane, racist screed against the NAACP. Is he that desperate to get some publicity? The Wisconsin protests are really messing with their heads because goons like Williams are calling for people to lie and try and sign up to be actual organizers.

UPDATED: His post is very confusing and now his site link is broken so I've had to update this post, but this is how his rant started.

http://action.seiu.org/page/s/solidarityaction

.

That link will take you to an SEIU page where you can sign up as an “organizer” for one of their upcoming major rallies to support the union goons in Wisconsin.

Here is what I am doing in Sacramento, where they are holding a 5:30 PM event this coming Tuesday: (1) I signed up as an organizer (2) with any luck they will contact me and I will have an “in” (3) in or not I will be there and am asking as many other people as can get there to come with, all of us in SEIU shirts (those who don’t have them we can possibly buy some from vendors likely to be there) (4) we are going to target the many TV cameras and reporters looking for comments from the members there (5) we will approach the cameras to make good pictures… signs under our shirts that say things like “screw the taxpayer!” and “you OWE me!” to be pulled out for the camera (timing is important because the signs will be taken away from us) (6) we will echo those slogans in angry sounding tones to the cameras and the reporters. (7) if I do get the ‘in’ I am going to do my darnedest to get podium access and take the mic to do that rant from there…with any luck and if I can manage the moments to build up to it, I can probably get a cheer out of the crowd for something extreme.

Here's a screen grab from one of our readers that captured his fundraising ask:

You might remember when he went on TV and said this: Teabagger Mark Williams says: 'Obama is an Indonesian Muslim turned welfare thug and a racist in chief' and tries to defend it!
Even if that fails he'll still try to go all August Town Hall on the events. Too bad, the people trying to protect their collective bargaining rights deserve better, but they must know to expect more of this. As for Williams, once a creep, twice a creep, three times a creep---always a creep.

Since his url isn't working now you can find his post at the bottom of this very long post from Patriot Action Network:

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Mark Williams -- having seen his Tea Party Express booted from the National Tea Party Foundation for his nakedly racist screed about "coloreds" -- went on CNN Newsroom with Don Lemon yesterday and announced he was stepping down as the TPE spokesman. In the process, demonstrated exactly why the Tea Parties cannot distance themselves from their racists within quite as easily as they'd like:

LEMON: So I want to ask you, why did you resign from the Tea Party Express?

WILLIAMS: To take the spotlight off of me. It's a movement. It's not about me. It's not about my ego. It's not about my fat head. I did succeed in getting the NAACP to the table. And by the way this tea party federation which represents exactly 40 groups out of 5,000, I was never a member of. I have no idea who they are, but they threw me out.

Hmmmm. This is most peculiar, since the press release announcing the formation of the National Tea Party Foundation in April 2009 lists the Tea Party Express as one of its founding member organizations. And I can't find any indication the Tea Party Express ever indicated that this listing was in error.

In any event, Williams then went on to explain that he was still very much a Tea Party activist:

LEMON: OK. So listen, if you say that you wanted to take the spotlight off of you, I have to ask you then why did you accept this interview if you don't want to be in the spotlight?

WILLIAMS: I weaselled on you last time. The reason why I canceled last time was because the day before David Webb went on TV and did all this nonsense about kicking me out of a group I never belonged to, I had sat down with the Urban League, the NAACP, Reverend Al and a bunch of other people and we reached an agreement to put all the rancor behind us and find common ground.

This guy Webb, looking for headlines, cashing in, whatever it was, decided he would chime in. That makes me the issue when the issue should really be America and what we're working to save.

LEMON: OK.

WILLIAMS: I am still a Tea Partier. I just don't speak officially for the Tea Party Express.

And then he demonstrated exactly the kind of racist ignorance that is embedded deeply in the movement he formerly represented:

Continue reading »

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(h/t Heather for the video)

C&Lers know that I've had a history with the odious Mark Williams over the years. He once sent out an email claiming that we were trying to hurt his dog to drum up support for his failing radio show.

With no where to go he turned to the tea party movement and now is leading one of those buses that drives around screaming about death panels and calling Obama an Indonesian Muslim turned welfare thug and a racist in chief' who is taking away our freedoms and whatnot. Dylan had him come on the air following Mark Potok of the SPLC, who issued a new extremism report that says hate groups have exploded in 2009. Dylan wanted to know from Williams why they tolerate hate groups becoming part of the tea party movement.

Mark, how do you draw the bright line between the very admirable and understandable principles that are advocated by so many....and the more radical views and hide if you will inside the tea party umbrella?

Williams: That's real simple. There's wingnuts and there's normal people...

Ratigan: It's not that simple...

{}

What confuses me about the tea party, is the tea parties willingness to accept the wingnuts as you put it

Williams: So it's our fault that they are nuts?

Ratigan: You have not shamed them Mark....Do you accept racists and Nazis in the tea parties?

Williams: Here at Sacramento...

Ratigan: I'm asking you a question my man, do you want to have a conversation or do you want to come on my TV show and do a commercial for yourself?

Ratigan walks off camera.

Williams: I'm answering the question. We have a women here from a local NBC affiliate who after an anti-Semitic rant at Sac State was promoted from reporter to anchor does that make NBC, does that make you an anti-Semitic?

Ratigan: Mark, do I run NBC? Are you a guest on my show? Do you have any intention of answering any of my questions because I don't want to continue to fool with this. You're wasting valuable oxygen. Can we please cut off this man's microphone, He has no interest in answering my questions, Mark a pleasure. Actually not really a pleasure. It was offensive, you're offensive. Your treatment of my show as a vehicle to spread your propaganda, ignore my questions, offensive and an indication of what is wrong with the dialogue in this country. Period. Not to mention that a group that would accept Nazis and racists.

The comedy started as soon as Williams tried to separate himself from wingnuts. Mark is never on to answer any question and Dylan got a taste of what an idiot this man is. Williams will never be able to justify the Radical-hate filled-Patriot-racist-right wing elements that make up the tea parties.

FOX News and movement conservatism reached out to the outer fringes of Planet Wingnuttia to build the tea party movement. Obviously not everyone is part of the Patriot movement that has joined in, but a large segment of these haters do inhabit there and have found a nice new home to be very open with their beliefs. They certainly carry enough signs around at their tea party events to let the world know what and who they are.

Ratigan gets mad props for dislodging Williams from his show. Yes, it's unfortunate that he gets asked to come on many cable news shows, but this is the best possible treatment. It's too bad that not enough Villagers take the few minutes to understand the teabaggers. They are merely an extension of the movement conservatives of the 80's only they didn't have a the media infrastructure that they do know.

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[H/t Heather]

Nutbag wingnuts never ever go away even when they lose their tiny radio shows. They just come back again and again and again. Big money republicans always keep their wingnuts around in one form or another.

Anyway, Conservatives are crying a little more than usual lately because their racism has been so prominently displayed in their teabagger meetings and protests. And what do you know, my old pal Mark Williams is leading a teabagger party and his racism gets exposed by Anderson Cooper last night quite easily. He lies with the best of them and got caught by Anderson. Check it out.

COOPER: But I mean, Mark, what you're saying makes sense to me here when I'm hearing what you're saying. But then I read on your blog, you say -- you call the president an Indonesian Muslim turned welfare thug and a racist in chief.

WILLIAMS: Yes.

COOPER: Is that the kind of...

WILLIAMS: That's the way he's behaving.

COOPER: But I mean...

WILLIAMS: I mean, if he cares to be...

(CROSSTALK)

COOPER: Do you believe he's Indonesian? Do you believe he's a Muslim? Do you really believe he's a welfare thug?

WILLIAMS: He's certainly acting like it.

GERGEN: You think he's a racist in chief? Racist in chief? Is that what you called him? That's unbelievable. It's unbelievable,

WILLIAMS: Until he embraces the whole country -- what else can I conclude? He and guys like James are totally, totally isolating the rest of this country; if you're a working-class American, then you know, that's it.

CARVILLE: I tell you, if you're an American, and you like what you're hearing from this guy, if you like celebrating a man's death, go over there with these people.

Mark Williams found his new calling by joining up with the teabaggers which seems like a good fit to me since there was no where for him to go after he lost his radio show in Sacramento. In the segment he tries to downplay the psychos that make up a large part of the teabaggers and says there is no racism and then is exposed as a racist. You can't make this up.

Here's some context on this guy. His behavior was so outlandish that I've posted several clips of him over the years and he doesn't like me so much. I remember when I called Williams "Puke" in a post for his obnoxious comments he made on Hardball about Cindy Sheehan's son during Cindy's stand at Crawford ranch back in August of 2005.

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O'Donnell: "Mark, if you don't mind, you're making the case that Cindy Sheehan is hurting the morale of our troops?"

Williams: "She is aiding and abetting the enemies of this country and the people who killed her son. And right now Casey Sheehan is spinning in his grave!"

And the best response he could make to me was that I was trying to have his dog assassinated.

After Katrina hit, he acted like the lowest of the low when he attacked Katrina victims by saying they were too dumb and lazy to get out of NOLA.

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Williams: ..they didn't have the necessary brains and common sense to get out of the way of a Cat 5 Hurricane and then when it hit them- stood on the side of the convention Center expiring while reporters were coming and going..

Morris:...that's just sickening---that is atrocious what you are saying...

He calls Kanye West a racist while he spews racism.

Williams: The only role race plays in this is that the American black population has been the prototype for an entire race of people being, being turned into a group of dependents of the government--trapped there, I'm using that word very loosely are screaming we want help, we want help..

This is a man who is leading the teabagger brigade and is lapping up the attention. I hope the media sees these clips so they know who they are dealing with.

ROFLMAO= "Rolling on Floor Laughing My Ass Off"

Jane has some observations about Mark Williams.

Download (5760) | Play (6238) Download (3719) | Play (3698) (h/t Scarce)

Hamsher: So let me do the dirty work and mention what the wonks won’t — this guy has a perfectly frozen forehead. Per. fect. ly. Watch the clip at Media Matters and look betwen his eyes and at his eyebrows. Absolutely immobile. No lift, no scrunch. Nobody of Williams’ age has that little movement without being shot to shit with Botox unless they’ve got some sort of neurological disorder. Watch him. He’s a preening, vain little trash talking popinjay and my guess is Matthews (or any other anchor) probably doesn’t want anyone delving too heavily into the subject of cosmetic enhancement on his show lest the floodgates open and everyone’s fair game.

You know?

Can we call him Botox Mark? Media Matters supplies the transcript and has video also:

WILLIAMS: I hope what we get is the truth from General Petraeus about every step forward on the ground being made by the military since we started this being ruined, and two steps backwards being taken on Capitol Hill, by the Democrats playing politics with this and plucking the pennies off the eyelids of the newly dead. Meanwhile, "Nancy Botox" is out there saying, you know, "We're leaving! We're running! We're gonna go away!"

MATTHEWS: This doesn't help me any.

MATTHEWS: You know, Mark, that doesn't help me any.

MSNBC needs to answer a simple question. Why is he on your network? Media criticism has aways been a big part of C&L....And you wonder why I've written about him for a few days...

You've seen this post so you know Williams as a low class right wing screecher. However, let's take a look at Tedd Webb's website. Is Mark Williams really a liberal?  That's what it says here.

Williams was the night time show host, a Liberal by definition. He was teamed up with Lionel at one of the stations ‘Battle of The Talk Show Hosts’, and Lionel turned on him that night. He was loudly booed at Ruth Eckerd Hall.

Mark was a great talent, but got into some trouble with the front office for some off the air stuff and soon departed.

It would appear that he changes his positions as the wind blows---kind of like Mitt Romney.

Remember this one from the likes of Mark Williams during Hurricane Katrina:

Williams: ..they didn't have the necessary brains and common sense to get out of the way of a Cat 5 Hurricane and then when it hit them- stood on the side of the convention Center expiring while reporters were coming and going..

Williams: The only role race plays in this is that the American black population has been the prototype for an entire race of people being, being turned into a group of dependents of the government--trapped there, I'm using that word very loosely are screaming we want help, we want help..

Then the Coretta Scott King funeral happened and we were treated to this tirade from Lady MacCheney

MATALIN: -- the achievement gap between the white and black students at a high, closing, narrowing. I mean, you know, I think these civil rights leaders are nothing more than racists. And they're keeping constituency, they're keeping their neighborhoods and their African-American brothers enslaved, if you will, by continuing to let them think that they're --or forced to think that they're victims, that the whole system is against them. Articulate it better, Sean; it's so sad to me

Jane writes this:

"Bigot bigot bigot bigot bigot. The Post.blog is hosting a bigot. It doesn’t matter how many times Ben wants to take away with the left hand what he gives with the right, we know what he is and what he means. And as the hatred of brown people becomes the new gay, there is going to be a lot more of this disingenuous claptrap...read on

John "Five in the Noggin'" Gibson's abortion lunacy

John Gibson put forth the most ridiculous idea I've heard defending Bennett's recent statements about blacks and abortion. He claimed that liberals don't want blacks to protest abortion because it would lower the voting block for the democratic party. You have to see this hack to believe it. Kirsten Powers jaw almost fell off.

Download | play -WMP

Download | play -QT

Gibson: I think liberals are worried that blacks are going to start worrying about abortion...liberals don't want blacks thinking about abortion because they don't want those people peeling away from the support from abortion which is a liberal, sacred cow.

Powers: Are you saying black people don't have power because of abortion?

Gibson puts words and ideas into Bennett's mouth.

Powers: That's not what he's saying....he's tried to back away from it and say-oh-it was taken out of context...

He's at the same level as Mark Williams and Glenn Beck in the B-level talk show host scale who barely have an audience and it's amazing that FOX has this guy on the air at all.