Jesse Lee Peterson of the Brotherhood Organization of a New Destiny has carved out a unique niche for himself as the far-right’s arbiter of who/what is racist and who/what is not racist in today’s political environment.
Thus, we see him declaring that “Barack Obama hates white people – especially white men” and claiming that he was elected by “by black racists and white guilty people” while defending the racist rants of people like Michael Richards and Duane Chapman.
Given Peterson’s rather limited role, I was a little confused when he announced that he was launching a petition to defeat RNC Chair Michael Steele if he runs for re-election … until I realized that he was doing so in order to reassure and provide cover to those who have “fears of being called ‘racists'” for opposing Steele:
Rev. Jesse Lee Peterson, Founder and President of BOND Action, a national 501 (c) (4) nonprofit organization created to educate, motivate, and rally Americans to greater involvement in the moral and political issues that threaten America, announced today that his group is launching a “Michael Steele Must Go!” petition drive. Rev. Peterson was one of the first Republicans to publicly call for embattled RNC Chairman Michael Steele to step down last January, citing his financial mismanagement and lack of conservative convictions to lead the committee.
“I am encouraging the national committee members to vote Michael Steele out in January,” said Rev. Peterson. He added, “Steele has shown with words and by his actions that he is a liability to the party. Republicans cannot afford to go into the 2012 presidential election cycle with a weak and potentially corrupt committee head.”
…
Rev. Peterson said, “I’m encouraging Republicans around the country to sign our petition and send a message to the voting committee members to get over their fears of being called ‘racists’ or any other apprehension they have and replace Steele with a qualified conservative Republican.”
Peterson is hoping to get 10, 000 signatures for his petition. He currently has 13:
