NAACP President: Tea Party Needs to "Repudiate Racist Acts" and "Take Responsibility"
Members and supporters of the Tea Party movement have lashed out at the NAACP for passing a resolution Tuesday condemning its "extremist elements." From Sarah Palin to RNC Chairman Michael Steele, candidates and leaders sympathetic to the movement are calling the civil rights organizations actions "politically motivated".
In an interview with CBS News, FreedomWorks' President and CEO Matt Kibbe suggested that the NAACP passed the resolution with a political agenda in mind. Kibbe told CBS News Political Analyst John Dickerson, "There is a political agenda here that has nothing to do with eliminating racism in American. They want to change the subject. They're trying to mobilize voters in an election that looks very bad for Democrats."
On Thursday's "Washington Unplugged," NAACP President and CEO Benjamin Todd Jealous spoke with CBS News Chief Washington Correspondent Bob Schieffer about the response to the resolution.
"We're simply asking them to repudiate racist acts and bigotry in their ranks or accept responsibility," Jealous said.
In response to Kibbe's comments, Jealous told Schieffer, "Look, all [Kibbe] has to do to end this is repudiate the racism and bigotry. Why is that so tough?"
Schieffer also asked Jealous for his opinion on the president's dwindling poll numbers, especially since he has delivered on several of his legislative promises.
Jealous responded, "I don't want to subject him to more Monday-morning quarterbacking... But voters across the country are concerned that jobs have fallen off of Congress' radar screen... They seem to have a plan for everything except for putting our country back to work."
Watch the full interview above as part of Thursday's "Washington Unplugged," which also features Politico Executive Editor Jim VandeHei on President Obama's "failure to communicate" and a report from Christine Delargy on the new app that's revolutionizing how voters can connect with their elected officials.
"Washington Unplugged," CBSNews.com's exclusive daily politics Webshow, appears live on CBSNews.com each weekday at 2:00 p.m. ET. Click here to check out previous episodes.
