Tea Party member addresses common misconceptions

From Joshua Williams of The Famuan, the student newspaper at the Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University, on Oct. 14:

Jerome Hudson laughs when people ask if the Tea Party is racist. Hudson, a 24-year old broadcast journalism student at Tallahassee Community College, would know. He is an unofficial member of the Tea Party—and he is black.

"I never suggest that racism doesn't exist, but there isn't an apparatus of racism in the Tea Party movement," said Hudson. "There is always going to be fringe elements in every political organization, but as much as everybody wants to talk about race, the Tea Party movement wants to talk about the issues.

"I just don't prescribe to, at least not anymore, that everything has to be looked at through the prism of race or victimhood."

In the last two years the Tea Party movement has gone from a leaderless mob of political radicals to a national phenomenon.

The movement, still lacking organized leadership, has spread to nearly every state; and although many Tea Party-backed candidates are unlikely to be elected, in a few states they have proven to be worthy opponents.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) is vying for his seat against Tea Party candidate Sharon Angle, and some would consider Christine O'Donnell's victory in the Republican senate primary over GOP favorite Mike Castle (R-Del.), more than surprising.

According to the latest Rasmussen report, Tea Party favorite Marco Rubio continues to hold an 11-point lead over independent candidate Gov. Charlie Crist in Florida's race for the U.S. Senate.

As the race to the midterm elections tightens, it remains unclear what effect tea partiers will have.

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