Tea Party gets it right, finally.

The Tea Party is struggling to find its identity, and that is a good thing. Today it was announced that national officials have ousted Tea Party Express chief Mark Williams, and have distanced themselves from the Express over its refusal to oust Williams
Williams is the radio talk show host who posted the letter to President Lincoln, as though it were from a slave. It was patently offensive and racist. He did take the letter down off his website, but offered no apology.
The national party today said they were ousting him and that particular tea party.
Here is the story.

And here is a story about Joe Biden who had some interesting things to say about them.

A few paragraphs from the story.

In defending the National Tea Party Federation, spokesman David Webb said Sunday the coalition of local and regional tea party groups has expelled the Tea Party Express from its ranks for refusing to remove its spokesman, conservative talk radio host Mark Williams, after he posted a blog that satirized the NAACP and referred to its president, Benjamin Jealous, as "Tom's nephew and NAACP head colored person."
The blog post was "clearly offensive," Webb said.
"Self-policing is the right and the responsibility of any movement or organization," Webb said on "Face the Nation" on CBS. "I denounce any acts that I see many leaders do."

This is good. This is exactly what they needed to do.  This gives them some credibility. It will take time for the tea party to define itself. Distancing itself from unwanted groups is a good thing. Williams does have a right to say what he wants, and the party has a right to define who it is and who it keeps company with.