A Question Of Racism

A reader writes:

If you can only show that a movement is significantly animated by racism by showing obvious kooks supporting it (white hoods, people holding Obama witch-doctor posters, whatever), then you will of course not find many of those. Welch is right that those people are genuinely unpopular.

What is far less unpopular is believing that lots of federal tax money went to black welfare queens in the 1980's (despite no such evidence) or that lots of federal tax money in today's democratic health care proposals would go to illegal immigrants (despite explicitly being precluded by law, and despite no evidence that enforcement would be a problem). Are these views not "animated by racism?"

You don't have to wear a white hood to have views that are significantly animated by racist beliefs and fears--and saying that a lot of the hysterical protest on the right (stylized as a desire for 'small government') is significantly animated by racist beliefs and fears is most decidedly not to say that "limited government sentiment is automatically a form of subliminated racism." Much of it is so animated, but that doesn't mean that each person with such 'limited government' views is a racist, let alone has a penchant for white-hood wearing.

Here's a question: what proportion of the people clamoring about 'limited government' at these rallies seem to have no problem with--indeed seem to much support--federal programs that they think benefit them and people like them (Medicare, Social Security, federal spending that provides jobs in their community, such as on defense, etc.), but are rabidly opposed to things that they think will go to people unlike them? I think an answer to that question would go a long way to answering how much of the protest is animated by racism.