Tea Party's Whip-Wielding Obama Float Stirs Anger

A local Tea Party float has caused a mild media stir thanks to its less-than-sensitive mascot: a man in a Barack Obama mask whipping a "future tax payer." Organizers of the parade have gotten complaints about the float, which some saw as political, racist, or just plain "over the top," the Yakima Herald-Republic reports.

The head of Remember US, We the People, the group that created the float, isn't buying that. "It's ridiculous when people say it is racism," he says. "It has nothing to do with that. We need accountability." The head of the local NAACP chapter actually agrees, saying he found the float "sad" but not racist. "A lot of people will see it in different ways. I don't see it as being racist." (More Tea Party stories.)