Today in Racism

[Trigger warning for violent imagery.]

Stay classy, Tea Partiers:

At the annual Sportsman's Day parade last weekend in Naches, WA (a small town southeast of Seattle), a tea party group called "Remember Us We The People" — which is affiliated with the Tea Party Patriots — sponsored a float that many local residents are "calling offensive and in bad taste":

Local members of the Tea Party sponsored a float, decorated to look like a Radio Flyer wagon, pulled behind a truck. In that truck a number of people sat holding signs that read everything from "Obama Care" and "Healthcare Take Over" to "Wasted Tax Money."

But the thing that got people upset was a man in shirt and tie wearing a mask of President Barack Obama. In one hand he held a sign that read "Hey Kids! Thanks for paying our debt!" In the other hand he held a horse riding crop which he snapped at a young teen in front of him pretending to pull the wagon by the handle wearing a shirt that read "Future Tax Payer."

..."Remember Us We The People" president Kirk Groenig said the float "maybe" went "a little too far" but nonetheless complained, "When they don't like your message, they try to deem you as racist, that's really unfortunate."

You know what's even more unfortunate...? Demonstrable racism parading down Main Street. Asshole.

Think Progress has video of the float here.