For the third episode of Iconic America, PBS explored the history and meaning of the Gadsden Flag and during the portion covering the Tea Party protests during the Obama era, the assorted cast sought to reduce those protests to racists and other bigots.
Libertarian activist Matt Kibbe lamented that “If you look at Tea Party rallies after the 2010 election, it's a totally different vibe. And, unfortunately, that, in my mind, it was kind of the beginning of the end, because you had a lot of folks showing up at this point that are just more angry.”
As Kibbe was speaking, B-roll footage showed a crowd of Tea Party protestors, one of the men near the front of the crowd could easily be identified as a black man.
Other protestors included a woman holding an old MRC “Don’t Believe The Liberal Media” sign while another had a sign of Obama photoshopped as Steve Urkel and the “Did I do that?” meme next to graph depicting a struggling economy.
These normal protestors of all races were lumped in with birthers who wanted to “send him back to Kenya” and conspiracy theorists who claimed Obama is a Muslim. History professor Hasan Kwame Jeffries declared, “When we think about the political rhetoric of political conservatives and the Tea Party, it took on a absolutely different tone under the Barack Obama administration.”
Jeffries’s brother is current House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and he also claimed “We see racism and anti-government politics coming to a head in a way that we hadn't seen in a long time.”
There were also plenty of signs claiming Obama was a socialist or communist or photoshopped with a Hitler mustache with an archival news report recalling “The Iowa Tea Party purchased a billboard comparing Barack Obama to Hitler and Vladimir Lenin.” No, Iconic America has not run any episodes on the left and media’s never-ending quest to compare conservatives to Hitler and other dictators.
Ultimately, host David Rubenstein sat down with Rep. James Clyburn and asked, “In 2010, there was a Tea Party rally at the Capitol. Do you have a sense from listening to that rally and the people there that they were as much interested in being anti-black as they were anti-Obamacare?”
Clyburn was completely convinced that it was, “Oh, yeah. They were anti-Obama. The Obamacare they didn't care about. Look at what happened in Kentucky. They got Obamacare in Kentucky, they called it something else. Everybody loved it. So, it was all about Obama.”
Maybe Clyburn isn’t the best voice to assess the motives of Obama critics because it is very possible to protest Obama and not be a racist.
This documentary was sponsored by viewers like you.
Here is a transcript for the May 10 show:
Iconic America: Our Symbols and Stories with David Rubenstein: The Gadsden Flag
5/10/2023
10:24 PM ET
MATT KIBBE: If you look at Tea Party rallies after the 2010 election, it's a totally different vibe. And, unfortunately, that, in my mind, it was kind of the beginning of the end, because you had a lot of folks showing up at this point that are just more angry.
FEMALE PROTESTOR: Hell no, we won't go!
MALE PROTESTOR: Send him back to Kenya.
HASAN KWAME JEFFRIES: When we think about the political rhetoric of political conservatives and the Tea Party, it took on a absolutely different tone under the Barack Obama administration.
CROWD: U-S-A! U-S-A! U-S-A!
FEMALE PROTESTOR 2: He was born Muslim. He was raised Muslim.
FEMALE PROTESTOR 3: He was born in Kenya.
CROWD: U-S-A!
MALE PROTESTOR 2: I've never seen any evidence of his Christianity.
MALE PROTESTOR 3: I think there's a great possibility that he's a Muslim.
UNIDENTIFIED MAN: If you have a Muslim father, then the offspring are Muslims.
MALE PROTESTOR 4: We do this for your future! We do this for you!
JEFFRIES: We see racism and anti-government politics coming to a head in a way that we hadn't seen in a long time.
REPORTER: The Iowa Tea Party purchased a billboard comparing Barack Obama to Hitler and Vladimir Lenin.
BARACK OBAMA: I don't know how passing healthcare will play politically, but I know it's right. Teddy Roosevelt knew it was right. Harry Truman knew it was right. Ted Kennedy knew it was right.
DAVID RUBENSTEIN: In 2010, there was a Tea Party rally at the Capitol.
Do you have a sense from listening to that rally and the people there that they were as much interested in being anti-black as they were anti-Obamacare?
JAMES CLYBURN: Oh, yeah. They were anti-Obama. The Obamacare they didn't care about. Look at what happened in Kentucky. They got Obamacare in Kentucky, they called it something else. Everybody loved it. So, it was all about Obama.
REPORTER: During the healthcare debate, the racial epithets allegedly hurled at Black members of Congress by Tea Party members.
KIBBE: It's definitely heated. I've seen the footage. Like, it's definitely heated.
And it's become very partisan and the activists are against the legislation and the congressmen walking down the stairs are for it, but the accusation was, amongst other things, a political cudgel to beat up the Tea Party with.
RUBENSTEIN: Did you see any of this?
CLYBURN: Yes. John Lewis--yeah.I was two steps from him when people were yelling racial epithets. I saw Cleaver and I saw people jeering at him. He told us when we got to the floor that someone spat at him.
