Update: On Meet the Press Sunday morning, RNC Chairman Michael Steele (who is Black) calls these Tea Party Activists: "Idiots! ...They are Stupid! They DO NOT represent the Republican Party!"Preceding the president's speech to a gathering of House Democrats, thousands of protesters descended around the Capitol to protest the passage of health care reform. The gathering quickly turned into abusive heckling, as members of Congress passing through Longworth House office building were subjected to epithets and even mild physical abuse. A staffer for Rep. James Clyburn (D-S.C.) told reporters that Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D-Mo.) had been spat on (ASSAULT) by a protestor. Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.), a hero of the civil rights movement, was called a 'ni--er.' And Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) was called a "faggot," as protestors shouted at him with deliberately lisp-y screams. Frank, approached in the halls after the president's speech, shrugged off the incident. But Clyburn was downright incredulous, saying he had not witnessed such treatment since he was leading civil rights protests in South Carolina in the 1960s.
"It was absolutely shocking to me," Clyburn said, in response to a question from the Huffington Post. "Last Monday, this past Monday, I stayed home to meet on the campus of Claflin University where fifty years ago as of last Monday... I led the first demonstrations in South Carolina, the sit ins... And quite frankly I heard some things today I have not heard since that day. I heard people saying things that I have not heard since March 15, 1960 when I was marching to try and get off the back of the bus." "It doesn't make me nervous as all," the congressman said, when asked how the mob-like atmosphere made him feel. "In fact, as I said to one heckler, I am the hardest person in the world to intimidate, so they better go somewhere else."
Asked if he wanted an apology from the group of Republican lawmakers who had addressed the crowd and, in many ways, played on their worst fears of health care legislation, the Democratic Party, and the president, Clyburn replied: "A lot of us have been saying for a long time that much of this, much of this is not about health care at all. And I think a lot of those people today demonstrated that this is not about health care... it is about trying to extend a basic fundamental right to people who are less powerful."
From Rep Cleaver's office:
This afternoon, the Congressman was walking into the Capitol to vote, when one protester spat on him. The Congressman would like to thank the US Capitol Police officer who quickly escorted the others Members and him into the Capitol, and defused the tense situation with professionalism and care. After all the Members were safe, a full report was taken and the matter was handled by the US Capitol Police. The man who spat on the Congressman was arrested, but the Congressman has chosen not to press charges. He has left the matter with the Capitol Police.
From Rep Louise Slaughter's office:
Sometime early this morning, someone threw a brick through the front window of her Pine Avenue office.
The damage was discovered about 12:30 a.m., city police said.
These things that you report are very ugly
ReplyDeleteAs Ugly as Joe Wilson shouting to the president remarks that have been analyzed as anti-Latino and Racist.
Now the last scare tactic is to say that the Legislation will fail because of the courts and the "unconstitutionality" :
"The New Republic" : The Health Care Repeal Fantasy - The "National Review" is wrong saying that Republicans can repeal health care reform if it passes:
The New Republic
The Health Care Repeal Fantasy
By Jonathan Chait
Jonathan Chait (born 1972) is a senior editor at The New Republic and a former assistant editor of The American Prospect. He also writes a periodic column in the Los Angeles Times.
March 9, 2010
The Health Care Repeal Fantasy
http://www.tnr.com/blog/jonathan-chait/the-health-care-repeal-fantasy
Some excerpts :
The closest thing to Obamacare in the United States is the plan enacted in Massachusetts. It was put into place by Mitt Romney, who National Review endorsed for president in 2004, and is still defended by current Tea Party darling Scott Brown. In the last poll, 11% of Masschusetts residents favored repeal. I don't think it's going anywhere.
On top of that, in every other advanced nation, universal health care schemes (almost all of which are far more government-intensive than Obama's plan) are durable and popular. Conservative parties in such countries run on slogans like "Tories Will Cut The Deficit, Not The NHS." Lowry might argue that the United States is "exceptional," and perhaps Massachusetts isn't really part of America. But the same phenomenon has happened here with Medicare, a single-payer health care plan right-wing which Republicans are currently trying to protect by imposing a new supermajority requirement to cut a single dollar from it.
Medicare is different than Obama's plan, and not just because it's far more left-wing in its design. Medicare enjoyed a great deal of Republican support in 1965, wheras today's far more partisan and right-wing version of the GOP unanimously opposes Obama's considerably more moderate plan. Lowry focuses on the fact that Medicare's Republican support protected Medicare. I think the more important dynamics is that it protected Republicans from the accusation of opposing Medicare. If health care reform passes, Democrats are going to have a clean shot at Republicans for years or even decades to come. The principle of universal coverage may be difficult to enact in a political system gripped by stasis and special interest capture. But, once in place, allowing all citizens access to regular medical care strikes nearly everybody as an obvious requirement of civilized society.
Youth, Minorities, Politics :
Milenials.com
Vicente Duque
Perhaps we can ALL agree, Democrat & Republican & Independent that these Tea Party activists are wrong. They should be arrested for spitting on our representatives, for calling them ni**er or fa**ot. This is ASSAULT!!!!
ReplyDeleteThe Tea Party People get angry when one calls them Tea Baggers, yet look what they call others. The Tea Party is strongly fueled by the same lunatics who during the 2008 presidential campaign were calling Obama a Muslim, a communist, a socialist, and other names.
ReplyDeleteHow can any group expect to be taken seriously when they refuse to refute the racist loonies who bring the most energy to their "loose movement?"
And this is the bunch that William Gheen and ALIPAC are proudly associating themselves with and trying to make their own!
ReplyDeleteI rest my case (for now)
Tea Party Leader, GOP Condemn Racial Slurs Hurled at Black Lawmakers
ReplyDeleteRepublican National Chairman Michael Steele and one of the organizers of Saturday's Tea Party rally strongly condemned the racial slurs that some black lawmakers alleged were yelled at them by some health care protesters as they headed for a procedural vote at Capitol Hill.
Republican National Chairman Michael Steele and one of the organizers of Saturday's Tea Party rally strongly condemned the racial slurs that some black lawmakers alleged were yelled at them by some health care protesters as they headed for a procedural vote at Capitol Hill.
"I absolutely think it's isolated," Amy Kremer, the grassroots coordinator of the Tea Party Express, told Fox News on Sunday. "It's disgraceful and the people in this movement won't tolerate it because that's not what we're about."
Steele rejected the notion that the incident may make any association with the Tea Party Movement a danger.
"It's not a danger," Steele told NBC's "Meet the Press on Sunday." "It's certainly not a reflection of the movement or the Republican Party when you have idiots out there saying stupid things."
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/03/21/tea-party-leader-condemns-racial-slurs-hurled-black-lawmakers/
The New York Times : Obamacare approved in House 224-206 - Health Care : the hallmark of Obama's presidency - Biggest Legislative Triumph of Mr Obama and Ms Pelosi
ReplyDeleteHistorical Stellar Moment :
Historical Super Nova :
Historical Vote in the House of Representatives - What Republican Teddy Roosevelt proposed in 1912 in a famous presidential speech - Teddy Roosevelt was not reelected ..... Almost one hundred years later Teddy's dreams will be reality. Calvin Coolidge, Franklin Roosevelt, Harry Truman, Lyndon Baines Johnson : They can rest in peace in their tombs, and Bill Clinton, still alive can take a peaceful nap. All they tried their best and had many disappointments in Social Legislations.
The New York Times :
House Clears Path for Final Health Vote
By DAVID M. HERSZENHORN and ROBERT PEAR
March 21, 2010
House Clears Path for Final Health Vote
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/22/health/policy/22health.html?pagewanted=2&src=me
Some excerpts :
By a vote of 224-206, the House approved the key procedural measure necessary to pass the legislation, showing that Democrats and Mr. Obama had succeeded in cobbling together the votes they need to achieve a goal sought by presidents and progressives for more than a half-century.
.............
The vote marked the biggest legislative triumph yet for Mr. Obama. But Republicans, who in both the House and Senate remained united against the legislation, say they will use the outcome to bludgeon Democrats in this year’s mid-term elections. The White House has promised an intensive effort to convince the country of the bill’s benefits, but if Democrats suffer substantial losses in November it could hobble Mr. Obama for the balance of his term and eclipse his hopes of major energy and immigration bills.
...............
The bill would require most Americans to have health insurance, would add 16 million people to the Medicaid rolls and would subsidize private coverage for low- and middle-income people, at a cost to the government of $938 billion over 10 years, the Congressional Budget Office says.
The bill would require many employers to offer coverage to their employees or pay a penalty. Each state would set up a marketplace, or exchange, where consumers without such coverage could shop for insurance meeting federal standards.
The budget office estimates that the bill would provide coverage to 32 million uninsured people, but still leave 23 million uninsured in 2019. One-third of those remaining uninsured would be illegal immigrants.
................
Passage for the bill would be a triumph for Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who helped rescue the measure when it seemed doomed after raucous town hall-style meetings in August and the Democrats’ loss of their 60-vote majority in the Senate in January.
Ms. Pelosi said the bill would free people to pursue their dreams without having to worry about being bankrupted by medical bills or losing health insurance when they switch jobs.
“It’s liberating legislation,” Ms. Pelosi said. “It’s to free Americans to live their passion, reach their aspirations without being job-locked because they have to have health care, especially if they have someone in their family with a pre-existing condition.”
Youth, Minorities, Politics :
Milenials.com
Vicente Duque
Boehner is right. It is time for the GOP and teapartiers to Grow Up! Here is what happened today in Congress:
ReplyDelete"Moments ago, while members were on the floor for a vote, a protester stood up in the visitor's gallery and began shouting "Kill the bill! Kill the bill! Kill the bill!" Clerks quickly removed him. But as they were doing so, a number of Republicans--at least half a dozen, from what I could see from a few feet away--were cheering the man.
Representative Barney Frank, who was the target of yesterday's homophobic epithets, told reporters he was "appalled" and that he felt the Republicans "were encouraging him to resist. ... I've never seen members of the House cheering on a guy resisting being kicked out of the gallery. It's a dangerous situation and the Republicans are cheering him on."
Frank says he approached one of his Republican colleagues--I think he said it was Missouri's Roy Blunt--and told them his caucus should not be stoking this kind of emotion. Blunt apparently replied by saying he wasn't one of the Republicans cheering.
Meanwhile, conservative activists are staging a rally on the North lawn, which is right outside the House chamber. A trio of Republicans went to the House balcony and started waving hand-made signs saying "Kill...the...bill" as the crowd chanted. As a colleague of mine remarked, that scene was more farcical than scary--like a scene out of Evita. But there's something just a bit unsettling about all of this."
http://www.tnr.com/blog/the-
treatment/breaking-ugly-scene
Joe Wilson calling Obama a liar is somehow a racist statement?
ReplyDeletePeople get upset when called racial or gender slurs but it is ok to use those slurs against the tea party protesters? Hypocrisy much?
I am not a fan of people saying racist things to others, whether they are white people saying them about latinos or latinos saying them about white people.
I hope you speak out with the same vigor when you see people saying racist things about whites.
One of the worst things you can say about a white person, is that they are racist. Which is why falsely accusing someone of being a racist is one of the worst things you can do to a person.
While your post says that the Democrat congressmen were spat on and called racial slurs as they walked to vote, there is a video which contradicts those allegations.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-SCs6pSE8_I
or do a youtube search for "Congressional Black Caucus 3 20 2010"
An American stating "kill the bill" is just exercising his freedom of speech and opinion much like the pro-amnesty crowd were chanting their opposition to our current immigration laws yesterday. Or does the left adhere to a double standard for themselves?
ReplyDeleteWhy Some Black, Dark or Brown People participate in Tea Parties ?? - Explanation and History of Great Philosophers of Freedom
ReplyDeleteThat some Black, Dark or Brown people participate is not a good excuse for Tea Party Bigotry, Aggression and Bad Behaviour.
Philosophers have studied for 500 years why people subject themselves to despots and tyrants. And to ideas that diminish the dignity of human beings. Like going with enthusiasm into the Nazi Party of Hitler's Germany, and subjecting the will to Mussolini or Stalin.
History is good to understand why some people are companions and subjects to those that despise them. Think of Lou Dobss asking the votes of Latinos for next November's election in New Jersey.
Think of Henry VIII surrounded by sycophant courtesans. Henry VIII, Great Tyrant ruled England from 1509 until 1547 and could have been the inspiration for the writings of a Great French Philosopher of the earliest Illustration : Étienne de La Boétie (1530 – 1563)
From Wikipedia :
Étienne de La Boétie (1530 – 1563) :
La Boétie was a French judge, writer, political philosopher and friend of Montaigne, author of the Discourse on Voluntary Servitude (Discours de la servitude volontaire)
He served with Montaigne in the Bordeaux parlement and is immortalized in Montaigne's essay on friendship. La Boétie’s writings include a few sonnets, translations from the classics, and an essay attacking absolute monarchy and tyranny in general, Discours de la servitude volontaire ou le Contr'un (Discourse on Voluntary Servitude, or the Anti-Dictator).
The essay asserts that tyrants have power because the people give it to them. Liberty has been abandoned once by society, which afterward stayed corrupted and prefers the slavery of the courtesan to the freedom of one who refuses to dominate as he refuses to obey. Thus, La Boétie linked together obedience and domination, a relationship which would be later theorised by latter anarchist thinkers. By advocating a solution of simply refusing to support the tyrant, he became one of the earliest advocates of civil disobedience and nonviolent resistance.
It was once thought, following Montaigne's claims, that La Boétie wrote the essay in 1549 at the age of eighteen but recent authorities argue that it is "likely that the Discourse was written in 1552 or 1553, at the age of twenty-two, while La Boétie was at the university."[2] The essay was circulated privately and not published until 1576 after La Boétie's death.
Raciality.com
Vicente Duque
Most of the populace voted for Obama, including the majority of caucasians. The people are turning against the progressives, Obama included, because of legislation. It has nothing to do with racism.
ReplyDeleteObama is a Marxist, as was his father. Many people did not understand this when voting for him.
To most others commenting here I say, "You lie!"