Samuel “Joe The Plumber” Wurzelbacher, the conservative activist and failed Ohio congressional candidate who rose to prominence after he had a campaign trail confrontation with President Barack Obama before his election in 2008, posted a tweet Friday accusing Democrats of having “a history of lynching Black Americans.” Wurzelbacher’s tweet was accompanied by a picture showing the word Democrat with the final “T” replaced by an image of a burning cross.
The burning cross photo came from The Black Sphere, a site run by a conservative African-American writer named Kevin Jackson, who originally published the picture as a response to comments Rep. Alan Grayson (D-FL) made comparing the Tea Party to the KKK. TPM reached out to Wurzelbacher to ask about the tweet and he emailed us statements from both himself and Jackson.
“I know the media doesn’t want to talk about it, but racism is/was/always will be part of the Democrat party. I have heard more racist thing out of liberal progressives then I have out of conservatives. I’m tired of the media giving them a pass,” Wurzelbacher wrote. “Myself and a few other conservatives will not allow the left to continue setting the narrative. Racism is wrong on so many levels and when political parties use it as a weapon they aren’t fighting racism they are encouraging it.”
In his statement, Jackson echoed the idea Democrats are racist.
“Unquestionably white Democrats are the most racist people I’ve ever met, and they have infected black Democrats. The irony is that black Democrats will one day realize the racism from their white handlers and, blacks will bite the hand that feeds them. Unfortunately America will likely be bankrupt when it happens,” wrote Jackson.
Wurzelbacher and Jackson made headlines earlier this month after Wurzelbacher published an essay written by Jackson on his website. That essay was entitled “America Needs a White Republican President.”
After receiving the statements from Wurzelbacher and Jackson, TPM sent a follow-up email asking Wurzelbacher if the two men are working togehter. As of this writing, Wurzelbacher has not responded to this question.
See a screengrab of Wurzelbacher’s original tweet below.
