He should know better

In today's Philadelphia Inquirer, Harold Jackson writes a column explaing why the Tea Parties are just like the Know Nothings, an anti-immigrant group of the 19th century. Jackson's thesis is at best gibberish and at worse a race baiting attack on a phony caricature of the Tea Party that he has created. I was so annoyed by the column as yet another of the many bogus attempts to denigrate the Tea parties that I sent Jackson the following e-mail:

"I read your column on the history of the Know Nothings and its relevance to the tea party movement. It seems to me that you are the one who is the heir to the Know Nothings, except you “know nothing” about the Tea Party and its members. To try to conflate the Tea Party and anti-immigrant viewpoints is pure nonsense. There are essentially no anti-immigrant folks in the Tea Party. That is a canard spread by the DNC as part of its Tea Party as bigots and racists paradigm. There are those in the Tea Party who are anti-illegal immigrants; they want to secure the borders. In that view, they are joined by 76% of the American people according to the last poll on the subject (with 13% who were not sure). You surely understand this difference; yet, you feel compelled to write about the Tea Parties in this manner.

Beyond this, your view that the Tea Party is long on complaints and short on solutions is also nonsense. Their solution to high spending is an easy one: cut spending. Their solution to over regulation by the feds is easy; cut regulation. Their solution to the federal government overstepping its powers is also easy; respect the Constitution. The real truth is that you disagree with the Tea Parties. That is your right, thanks to that very same Constitution. Nevertheless, your disagreement does not make your view correct. Nor does it mean that your stilted view of reality must be promoted as the truth. Indeed, your views would carry more weight were you to explain why more spending, more regulation and more government would be good for the country. That would lead to a real debate. Instead, you engage in vilification of the Tea Parties. Clearly, you are the heir to the intolerance of the Know Nothings."

UPDATE: Needless to say, I have received no response from Mr. Jackson.