Mark Williams steps aside as chairman of the Tea Party Express
[cnn-photo-caption image= http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2010/images/06/19/art.mwilliams0619.gi.jpg caption="'This initiative came from me,' Tea Party activist Mark Williams said Saturday of his new role within the Tea Party Express."]
Washington (CNN) - Conservative radio talk show host and prominent Tea Party activist Mark Williams is giving up his role as the chairman of the Tea Party Express, Williams told CNN Saturday.
Williams said his decision stemmed from his involvement in two other major projects.
One is opposing the construction of a mosque near the site of Ground Zero in New York, where the twin towers of the World Trade Center were destroyed by Islamist hijackers on September 11, 2001.
Related: Protesters descend on Ground Zero for anti-mosque demonstration
The other is leading a recall effort against some members of the Sacramento City Council and running for a spot on the local body himself after the council voted to boycott Arizona over its new immigration law.
"What I'm doing is thinking globally and acting locally," Williams said of his bi-coastal commitments.
Williams said he will continue to be involved with the Tea Party Express as a spokesman, a featured speaker at the group's events, in television and print media, and generally as a public face of the organization.
But Williams will be taking a back seat when it comes to the Tea Party Express' day-to-day managerial responsibilities.
"I'll still be shooting my mouth off and appearing on TV," said Williams. "I just won't be as critical in strategy which is fine by me."
Pointing out that the organization has grown so large and consists of a network of volunteers spread out all over the country targeting a number of midterm races, Williams said the group now needs something akin to a chief executive officer.
The Tea Party activist said he's already weighed in internally within the organization about who should succeed him as chairman.
And the outspoken conservative said recent controversial comments on his part played no role in his change in status within the Tea Party Express.
"This initiative came from me," said Williams. "Once I got involved in this recall effort, I realized I would have zero time."
Williams also said the recall effort "is an example of Tea Party philosophy in action. You see something wrong and you step in to fix it."
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Oh, and those who look into Mark Williams' past, like Michael "Weiner" Savage, will find a very disturbing look at extreme right-wing hate mongering.
If you are a Nazi or KKK admirer, he is your man.
Hey Mark, why don't you let the good people of NYC worry about NYC, and you stick to your neck of the woods. Can you really think globally and act locally in two towns 3000 miles apart?
Your monkey-brained comments might fly with the stale, pale, male tea party, but as long as this country is truly great, fear and hate will only win you Republican primaries.
Well chalk one up for another case of right wing nut job turns to religious bigotry to prove America doesn't need the TeaBaggers! This guy will say or do anything to make a buck and to capitalize on the right wing hysteria that he and his ilk stir up for both profit and political gain. If this guy represents the Tea Baggers point of view then it's proof they are all waaaaaaaay outside the mainstream of the America I know and love. Good riddance.
So one more guy pimping a living off the never-ending culture wars changes horses in midstream, and this is news why?
BUH-BYE! We won't miss you one bit, promise...
Is there a"Tea Party" way to catch a dog? (yeah right probably shoot it)
So there you have it. I would not vote for one of these idiots for dog catcher.
Why be the speaker of a backward thinking group when you can affect policy in the name of backward thinking causes?
We need to be aware fo these poeple getting into small own councils and on school boards and moving us back to the 19th century. They are far worse than the causes they oppose.
Darn! I hope this won't mean that the teabuggers have stopped trying to radicalize the repuglican party? I wanted it to be torn to pieces by the 25%-30% of the right wing nut cases that seem to be trying to get their way. Now Rubio is having his house foreclosed, He'd be a great party representative, Angle in Utah is having to admit she was a democrat years ago and the extremists need to exert their influence more.
And one more thing: ask youselves why this party attracts the michael savages, the mark williams and the steve kings of this country.
Because the tea party espouses racism and nativism and treason against our country. Simple and true.
Translation: with *me* out front, even the press was starting to notice that the whole "Tea Party" movement is made of racist idiots who think all Muslims should be killed. We can't have that.
I'd love to see CNN ask him how he squares the teabaggers' love of "private property rights" and organizing demonstrations to try to tell a private property owner not to build an Islamic center. Or do only "real Americans" (read: white evangelical Christians) get rights?
so in other words, he wants all the glory, and none of the work. Heh, sounds like a republican to me.
What a loss. But I am sure there are many other idiots like him that can fill his shoes.
Since most of the Tea party members dont wrok it would be a good thing for them help clean up the oil in gulf state. Bless.
Mark Williams wasn't really the 'chairman' of the Tea Party Express.
.
Mark Williams WAS the Tea Party Express.
.
We won't be hearing much more from them
Down they go.
I don't care if we are only fighting Muslim Extremists and not the "tolerant" Muslims. I believe that putting-up a Mosque within eye-shot of the World Trade Center Memorial would be the same as raising a Japanese Flag at the Arizona Memorial in Pearl Harbor.
No Mosques anywhere near the World Trade Center Memorial, now or ever.!!!!!!!!!
That would be sacrilegious.
this racists and racists like him should all but put infront of a firing squad and let this country and world be a better place.
Good, The Tea Party is about Freedom and if he wants to get involved in other non-sense projects then go do it and wipe his name of the Tea Party movment..
Yup... getting out before the tea bags splinter into a dozen nut-bag groups
Both the stands that Tea party express Chairman of politburo Mark Williams has mentioned in his statement, one being opposed to mosque being built few blocks from 9/11 site with private money and Arizona boycott issue by Sacramento City Council clearly shows the extreme fringe of the right wing tea party express racist leanings. Tea party express is not a popular movement but a extremist right wing fringe that is confusing the moderate middle class Americans by showing the only common issue of deficit and abusive spending of this nation leaders and congress. Tea Party express is full of racists. Don't confuse the issue.
He's too busy for Tea-Bagging anymore, what a shame.
Sounds like the Tea Party Express is "taking on water..."
This guy is from my old hometown of "Sacratomato"?!? Oh gawd, I'm really embarrassed.
This makes sense. They need someone who can handle all the logistics and management full-time.
I am not trying to sound snarky here buy, I thought the Tea Party was a totally organic movement with no leaders?