What, No Racists? CNN Loves the Tea Parties! -- UPDATED!!

Added: Dave in Boca, in the comments, reminds us that the Capitol Hill "racial slurs" and "spitting" were a hoax.

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How about some ratings boosters!

At Michelle Malkin, "Desperate CNN: Hey, those Tea Party nuts aren’t so bad after all. Please, please tune in!"

She got this in the mail:

Hi there,

I thought this might be an interesting post for you– a behind-the-scenes piece about the Tea Party and how the stereotypes don’t tell the full story. Let me know if you need anything else!

Reporter’s notebook: What really happens at Tea Party rallies ...

And check this out from the piece:

During the health care debate last month, opponents shouted racial slurs at civil rights icon Georgia Rep. John Lewis and one person spit on Missouri Rep. Emanuel Cleaver. The incidents made national headlines, and they provided Tea Party opponents with fodder to question the movement.

But here's what you don't often see in the coverage of Tea Party rallies: Patriotic signs professing a love for country; mothers and fathers with their children; African-Americans proudly participating; and senior citizens bopping to a hip-hop rapper.

Last week, I saw all of this during a five-city Western swing as the Tea Party Express national tour made its way across the country. CNN was along for the ride, and I was charged with planning CNN's coverage for five stops in two states: St. George, Provo and Salt Lake City, Utah; and Grand Junction and Denver, Colorado.

The piece notes that there were some signs black might find offensive, but the writer, Shannon Travis is black, so his voice is reassuring in this conclusion:

... it's important that with a newsworthy, growing phenomenon like the Tea Party movement, viewers and readers fully understand what they see and what they don't.

And Doug Powers weighs in, "CNN Reporter Totally Ruining the Left’s ‘Racist, Hateful, Vitriolic Tea Party’ Meme":

Proof-positive that once a movement gets large enough, it becomes harder for people ignore the truth, and kudos to Shannon Travis for this honest report — not that Keith Olbermann will bother to read it because it goes against his pre-deranged notions.

More at Memeorandum. And Michelle's got the clip from last year of former CNN hack Susan Roesgen.