It's been hard for tea partiers to diversify their ranks, adding to the perception that they're all white people who aren't just mad about taxes; they're mad about being taxed by a black president for social programs that benefit the black community.
Nothing if not image-conscious, the tea partiers are eager to attract black people who share their views and who can help dispel the notion that there's a racial undercurrent to the anti-tax movement. But this desire may leave them vulnerable to an opportunistic radical like the man in the video above: Michael.
On Saturday Michael (he's known only by his first name) joined that hardy pack of tea partiers who congregate regularly on the corner of Federal Highway and Oakland Park Boulevard. As you can see, it was a rather milquetoast speech, stressing that his people and the tea partiers have a common enemy and that they should combine forces against it.
The applause might have come a little slower had Michael gone into more depth about his doctrine, which is on display at michaelwarns.com.
According to Michael's site, God is angry with America for allowing a group of black women to seize power and wealth. In his view, exactly 33 percent of black women are "Lilith," a satanic group bent on destroying men. He preaches:
LILITH must be revealed. This WOMAN has made man in the world impotent and obsolete.The Lilith-in-chief is Oprah Winfrey, of course, whose uses her talk show to "BASH MEN EVERYDAY," says Michael.
Among the men who Michael says were victimized by a Lilith: Michael Jordan, Michael Jackson, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., Kobe Bryant, and George W. Bush.
It's not clear whether Michael was invited to speak at the tea party corner. But I'm guessing he won't last. This Lilith business may sound crazy even to people who think that Americans shouldn't pay taxes.
Update: Sorry, folks, I wasn't aware that Michael the Black Man had become something of a local legend. Thanks for the heads-up, commenters. Here's a story about him from 2008.