This is the first installment of a multipart series by citizen journalist Dan Sandini on a group of liberals’ counter protest to the Portland Oregon’s Tax Day TEA Party. Despite attention from national media outlets, local left-wing media and politicians uniformly ignored the hateful rhetoric of these Left-wingers. Part One covers the Patriotic Foundations of the Oregon TEA Party, the central role played by the International Socialists Organization (ISO) at Portland State University (PSU), “astroturfing,” and racism.
>> Caution Strong Language Content: Reader Discretion is Advised.<<
Seen on National TV: “F-You … Shove the Constitution Up Your Ass … !”:
Neil Thomas of Portland State University’s International Socialists Organization offers the “double bird” at the singing the National Anthem on Tax Day.
Late Thursday night the TEA Party received a reliable anonymous tip: The Portland State University Chapter of the International Socialists Organization would be there tomorrow. The date was April 14th and the next day was Tax Day, the annual TEA (Taxed Enough Already) Party in Pioneer Courthouse Square. Little did the TEA Party realize the level of hateful rhetoric that would be exhibited by the Left. While TEA Partiers expected to be disturbed by the occasional “infiltrator” nothing prepared them for the Left’s hatred: homophobia, racism, anti-Americanism, and threats of violence. While largely ignored by local media (with the exception of Talk radio) this behavior was seen nationally on Fox, providing a very embarrassing look at the naked underbelly of the Left’s Progressive movement in Portland Oregon. The videos can be viewed here.
TEA PARTY: PEACEFUL, TOLERANT PATRIOTIC FOUNDATIONS
Keep in mind that the annual Tax Day TEA Party is a family event for which proper permits are obtained. Since its foundation in February 2009 by Portland State’s own Geoffrey Ludt, the demonstration has attracted mainstream Oregonians who peacefully advocate lower taxes. This type of political demonstration evokes images of respectful, spirited debate; red, white, and blue; and checkered tablecloths. It’s traditionally what Portland is all about.
Left: TEA Party Chair John Kuzmanich advocates “Limited Constitutional Government!” Right: PSU Alum and TEA Party family man Geoffrey Ludt organized the first peaceful meeting in February 2009
John Kuzmanich, a runner up in last year’s Republican Primary for Congress leading up to the race with David Wu, is the Oregon TEA Party Chair. A respected businessman, he organized and headed up the Tax Day TEA Party. As Mr. Kuzmanich summarizes:
“The American Tea Party Movement represents you, the People, and the core American principles that keep you free. It’s that simple.
1. Limited Constitutional Government
2. Individual Freedom
3. Economic Liberty”
This year’s event featured National entertainment brought in using donations from conservative minded donors, many of whom are out of work and struggling financially. A former Miss Oregon sang the national anthem. Many veterans were in the crowd and on stage including a multiple Purple Heart recipient with sons currently serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. Businessman Alex Law took to the stage to expound on the loss of his family business under the social engineering of the Obama Administration. At times the testimony on stage was heart wrenching. This quickly turned to shock and disgust as much of the peaceful rally was ruined and drowned out by hateful counter protesters. This behavior resulted in significant financial loss to the TEA Party that had paid permit fees, travel expenses, and rented stages and equipment. At times those on stage could not even be heard due to the illegal use of canned air horns.
ASTROTURFING
The peaceful patriotic values of the TEA Party stand in stark contrast to the hateful anger exhibited by the Leftist counter protesters. Again, the counter protest was organized at least in part by Portland State University’s International Socialists Organization, commonly referred to as the ISO. The PSU ISO, supported in part by taxpayer dollars, turned out in force.
Astroturfed?: An unidentified organizer carrying numerous prefabricated signs quickly moves off as inclement weather moves in.
It began with an unidentified white minivan that pulled up along the square unloading numerous prefabricated signs, which had been used at previous events. This brought about suspicions by TEA Party Participants of “Astroturfing.” These suspicions were added to when approximately half an hour into the main event, poor weather forced a large number of the counter protesters, not keen on inclement weather, quickly off the street. A local videographer recorded a man leaving with a large number of prefabricated signs.
Some of the counter protesters have been identified with the Sally McCracken building, a drug rehab house in an area of Chinatown known as “Crack Alley.” It’s unknown how many of these people were there and how they became involved. At least two Portland Anarchists were spotted in the crowd, mixing with the ISO and spouting hateful rhetoric.
RACISM
Front and center for the Left were the despicable racist remarks that were hurled at black TEA Party participants in a vain attempt to intimidate free political expression. Like a page out of pre-Civil Rights America, members of the ISO can be seen standing idly by while counter-protesters scream: “Show your face!” “Uncle Tom,” and “Token Black.” TEA Party members of all ethnicities stared on in disbelief and disgust. One patriotic citizen journalist caught the remarks on tape.
roup chanting racist slurs at Black TEA Party participants: “Show Your Face!,” “Uncle Tom,” “You’re a Token!,” “You’re a House Black!.” PSU ISO member Neil Thomas is highlighted.
Here is the transcript from the segment of the racist remarks that were caught on tape:
“Come on brother show your face! [Show your face] Show your face brother! Be a proud black man. Solidarity! Show your face! Show your face! Show your face! Show your face! There he is! You’re an Uncle Tom! There’s the one black guy! The token black man! You’re a token! You’re a house black! You’re the kind that says when massa say sing you say ‘we sing ‘massa!'”
Two men incited the racist remarks. One is Ibrahim Mubarak, also known as the “Duke of Dignity Village.” The other is as yet unidentified anarchist, Caucasian male. Mubarak hosts a radio show on KBOO in Portland and is closely associated with Dignity Village, a controversial semi-permanent homeless camp on Portland City Property. A female voice can also be heard yelling, “Show your face!” While it may be the ISO was not an active participant in this, members were clearly standing among the perpetrators and were at a minimum complicit. Although they helped organize the protest, the ISO has yet to come forward to condemn the behavior. Several attempts to contact Mubarak for this story were unsuccessful.
The Faces of Racism: (Left) KBOO’s Mubarak, the Duke of Dignity Village (Center) At least Complicit: Neil Thomas PSU ISO, (Right) an as yet unidentified anarchist participant.
What do we know about those who hurled the racist slurs? Mubarak has been written about extensively in the Willamette Week for previous encounters with the law. According to Bryan Pollard, editor of Street Roots, he now avoids Mubarak’s Dignity Village entirely. “The stories that I hear coming out of the village are much the same as the stories I heard in the beginning,” he says. “Donations going into the hands of a few, drugs, drinking, people fighting and beating each other up.” Mubarak was born Keith Jackson in 1956, he grew up in Chicago where, according to Willamette Week, he says he ran with gangs and dealt drugs. A former Burnside crack dealer, he was convicted on drug charges four times between 1998 and 2000. In 2001 police received several calls from Mubarak’s wife claiming Mubarak had physically abused her. Read more about the checkered life of Mubarak here.
The African-Americans who these remarks were aimed at remained stolid in the face of the blind hatred and continued to participate in the TEA Party. They have learned to stand tall in the face of racism. The real concern here is for the kids who attended the TEA Party with their families. A TEA Party Mom was just off camera with her two African-American children. Reached for comment she had the following to say:
Just off camera: a TEA Party Mom and her two boys (faces blurred for fear of reprisals)
“My kids are a different color than me. After years and years of living with these two gems, I can honestly say I do not see their color … I am seeing racism, I am seeing hate … that ain’t how my family rolls and that ain’t how the Tea Party rolls … When I go to Tea Parties, … not once have I ever had anyone say anything racist, inappropriate, wrong, bad, demeaning, divisive, or even a mention of my family’s color … Last year at a Tea Party on the Oregon State capital steps, my youngest son fell down the marble steps. Guess who came running to help him? John Kuzmanich … I can now say this … I am with the right people.”
NEXT UP
We will have more on the PSU ISO and their role in Part II of this series which will focus on homophobia and slurs against homosexuals. Every effort was made to get the story straight. Please send tips and corrections to dansandini@gmail.com.
[Part 1 – Part 2 – Part 3 (coming soon)]
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About the Author
Inspired by Andrew Beitbart and James O’Keefe, Dan Sandini is an independent citizen journalist working out of Portland, Oregon. He is a staunch advocate of the First Amendment. In 2010 he was assaulted by Democrat thugs for having the temerity to record a speech by then gubernatorial candidate John Kitzhaber, at a forum that was open to the public and being recorded by the local news. He produced a video of the Orwellian experience which has received almost 70,000 views. Following the 2011 Tax Day TEA Party he produced videos detailing the hateful rhetoric and behavior of the Left, including homophobia, racism, anti-Americanism, and threats of violence. These videos have scored almost 300,000 YouTube views and were featured on The Glenn Beck Program, The O’Reilly Factor, and Sean Hannity.
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