posted March 21, 2010 04:32 AM         

The protesters also shouted obscenities at other members of the Congressional Black Caucus , lawmakers said.

"They were shouting, sort of harassing," Lewis said. "But, it's okay, I've faced this before. It reminded me of the 60s. It was a lot of downright hate and anger and people being downright mean."

Lewis said he was leaving the Cannon office building across from the Capitol when protesters shouted "Kill the bill, kill the bill," Lewis said.

"I said 'I'm for the bill, I support the bill, I'm voting for the bill'," Lewis said.

A colleague who was accompanying Lewis said people in the crowd responded by saying "Kill the bill, then the n-word."

"It surprised me that people are so mean and we can't engage in a civil dialogue and debate," Lewis said.

Rep. Emanuel Cleaver , D- Mo. , said he was a few yards behind Lewis and distinctly heard "nigger."

"It was a chorus," Cleaver said. "In a way, I feel sorry for those people who are doing this nasty stuff - they're being whipped up. I decided I wouldn't be angry with any of them."

Protestors also used a slur as they confronted Rep. Barney Frank , D- Mass. , an openly gay member of Congress . A writer for Huffington Post said the crowd called Frank a "faggot."

Frank told the Boston Globe that the incident happened as he was walking from the Longworth office building to the Rayburn office building, both a short distance from the Capitol. Frank said the crowd consisted of a couple of hundred of people and that they referred to him as 'homo.'

"I'm disappointed with the unwillingness to be civil," Frank told the Globe. "I was, I guess, surprised by the rancor. What it means is obviously the health care bill is proxy for a lot of other sentiments, some of which are perfectly reasonable, but some of which are not."

"People out there today, on the whole, were really hateful," Frank said. "The leaders of this movement have a responsibility to speak out more."

Thousands of demonstrators gathered outside the Capitol on Saturday as the House Democratic leadership worked to gather enough votes to enact a health care overhaul proposal that has become the centerpiece of President Barack Obama's domestic agenda. Most were affiliated with so-called tea party organizations that originally sprang up during last summer's protests of the health care proposals.

Heated debate has surrounded what role race plays in the motivations of the tea party demonstrators. During protests last summer, demonstrators displayed a poster depicting Obama as an African witch doctor complete with headdress, above the words "OBAMACARE coming to a clinic near you." Former President Jimmy Carter asserted in September that racism was a major factor behind the hostility that Obama's proposals had faced.

The claim brought angry rebuttals from Republicans.

On Saturday, Frank, however, said he was sorry Republican leaders didn't do more to disown the protesters.

Some Republicans "think they are benefiting from this rancor," he said.

House Majority Whip James Clyburn, D- S.C. , said Saturday's ugliness underscored for him that the health care overhaul isn't the only motivation for many protesters.

"I heard people saying things today I've not heard since March 15th, 1960 , when I was marching to try and get off the back of the bus," Clyburn said. "This is incredible, shocking to me."

He added, "A lot of us have said for a long time that none of this is about healthcare at all. It's about extending a basic fundamental right to people who are less powerful."
http://news.yahoo.com/s/mcclatchy/20100320/pl_mcclatchy/3457015#mwpphu-container

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"Nothing matters absolutely;
the truth is it only matters relatively"

posted March 21, 2010 08:26 AM         

They've been lying about everything in this Socialist Health Care bill. It's no stretch to believe they're lying about this too.

posted March 21, 2010 11:34 AM         

Additional House representatives joined soon, including Major Owens (D-NY), Nydia Velázquez (D-NY), David Bonior (D-MI), Bob Filner (D-CA), Barney Frank (D-MA), Maurice Hinchey (D-NY), Jim McDermott (D-WA), Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), Patsy Mink (D-HI), George Miller (D-CA), Pete Stark (D-CA), John Olver (D-MA), Lynn Woolsey (D-CA), and Nancy Pelosi (D-CA).

The CPC's founding statement of purpose states that it was "organized around the principles of social and economic justice, a non-discriminatory society, and national priorities which represent the interests of all people, not just the wealthy and powerful". The founding members underscored that the Cold War was over, and that the nation's budget and overall priorities should reflect that. They called for cuts in outdated and unnecessary military spending, a more progressive tax system in which wealthy taxpayers and corporations contribute their fair share, a substantial increase in federal funding for social programs designed to meet the needs of low and middle-income American families, and trade policies that increase the exports of more American products and encourage the creation of well-paying jobs and sound investment in America. They also expressed their belief that those policy goals could be achieved in concert with a commitment to long-term fiscal responsibility.
[edit] Ideology

According to its website, the CPC advocates "universal access to affordable, high quality healthcare", fair trade agreements, living wage laws, the right of all workers to organize into labor unions and engage in collective bargaining, the abolition of significant portions of the USA PATRIOT Act, the legalization of same-sex marriage, strict campaign finance reform laws, a complete pullout from the war in Iraq, a crackdown on corporate welfare and influence, an increase in income tax rates on the wealthy, tax cuts for the poor, and an increase in welfare spending by the federal government.

Supporting organizations

The non-profit organization most closely associated with the Congressional Progressive Caucus is the American Progressive Caucus Policy Foundation which works to connect the caucus to progressives outside the Congress.

In addition, an array of national liberal organizations work to support the efforts of the progressive caucus, including the Institute for Policy Studies, The Nation magazine, MoveOn.org, National Priorities Project, Jobs with Justice, Peace Action, Americans for Democratic Action, and Progressive Democrats of America. Also co-sponsoring the kickoff event were the NAACP, ACLU, Progressive Majority, League of United Latin American Citizens, Rainbow/PUSH Coalition, National Council of La Raza, Hip Hop Caucus, Human Rights Campaign, Association of Farmworker Opportunity Programs, and the National Hip Hop Political Convention.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Congressional_Progressive_Caucus

Good for them.

I believe in progressive politics.

Raymond

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"Nothing matters absolutely;
the truth is it only matters relatively"

posted March 21, 2010 05:04 PM         

I wouldn't believe a word any of them said. They lie about everything and that's the only way they ever got elected to office in the first place. Their very name is a lie.

Funny how no one has come forward to confirm what these racist Socialist clowns said they heard. Neither can it be confirmed by video tape footage.

There have been no incidents of violence or racist language at tea party rallies. There has been violence at town hall meetings by union thugs of the Service Employees International Union.

katatonic, take your charge of bigotry and stick it where the sun don't shine. You sound like a babbling idiot.

March 21, 2010
Scurrilous charge or outrageous racism

When I first read the words attributed to my congressman, Emanuel Cleaver (D-MO), that he heard "a chorus" of people yelling n*****" as he walked through the protester's gauntlet at the nation's capitol, I was immediately suspicious.

Here is why. I grew up in the playgrounds of America's most racially charged city at its most racially charged moments -- Newark, New Jersey in the 1960's -- and I heard a white kid drop the n-bomb only once directly on a black one.

So shocking was the moment that I remember where I was, the name of the n-bomber (Bruno), and the startled look on the black kid's face. In a scarily transitional neighborhood where racial tension was a constant and confrontations an everyday occurrence, this simply did not happen.

Yes, a few white people used the n-word among themselves the way they might use any expletive: that is, not in polite company. In those circles where the f-word was used regularly there was a high likelihood that the n-word would be too. Those rare occasions where the n-word leaked out in a racially mixed crowd were excruciating for everyone.

Thus when Bruno, a kid I barely knew, called out his black opponent at the beginning of a fight, jaws dropped all around. We talked about it for years afterwards. In the 15 years or so I have been actively involved in conservative politics in Kansas City, I have not heard the word used in any public forum ever, let alone directed at a black person.

So when I hear any black person my age or younger who grew up in the north recount how they were frequently called the n-word growing up, I disbelieve them. When I see charges of overt racism being leveled at Tea Party-type protestors, I am at the very least suspicious.

When I heard the accounts of Cleaver, Congressman Lewis and others, I did not necessarily disbelieve them, but I decided to check the source, a piece in the notoriously liberal McClatchy papers by one William Douglas, and I began to see how the record was being twisted.

"Cleaver," Douglas reported, "said he was a few yards behind Lewis and distinctly heard ‘nigger.' ‘It was a chorus,' Cleaver said."

I presumed that the available videotaped evidence would support Cleaver's claim. It has not. The "chorus" of the people in the video is clearly saying "Kill the Bill." Chances are that Douglas edited his comments to suggest that the "chorus" was shouting racial epithets. If Douglas did this, he should be fired.

posted March 21, 2010 06:15 PM         

whatever

there a lot more cities than that.

Raymond

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"Nothing matters absolutely;
the truth is it only matters relatively"

posted March 21, 2010 08:46 PM         

jwhop when you judge a group of people as acting identically you are showing bigotry. plain and simple. you do this all the time, lumping everyone you don't like into one or another category that spells e-v-i-l to you; why do i suspect you are capable of better arguments than schoolyard bully tactics?

i can't currently receive videos where i am...connection hassles. so i won't swear that this event happened as either party claims, but i sure as hell won't call either of them liars without checking the facts more.

but i even heard someone on fox noose today pointing out that while many members of congress may be socialists, obama is NOT. a socialist would not be giving so much to the "plutocrats" (his word). i forget his name but he is an apparently independent thinking conservative!

posted March 21, 2010 10:56 PM         

I seem to remember that when you came here acoustic, you had no defensible opinions of your own. I remember directing you to some sources who could give you your opinion.

No thanks are necessary acoustic. I'm always happy to assist the clueless.

I understand your aversion to American Thinker since it involves actual thinking and that's painful for leftists.

Best to let others think for you and avoid the pain of all that heavy lifting.

katatonic, O'Bomber sold you out and you don't even realize it. You think O'Bomber is going to continue to castigate and harrass insurance companies. In reality, O'Bomber is handing insurance companies 32,000,000, that's 32 Million new members on a silver platter....oh, and paying insurance companies from the federal treasury. Such a deal. In effect, O'Bomber has made the IRS the collection agency for the insurance companies.

posted March 21, 2010 11:09 PM         

i've also told you i don't put any "belief" into any politicians. they have to prove themselves and obama hasn't done that yet. but he wins hands down over the alternatives and i won't rule him completely out either until i've seen how he handles himself. and i don't mean whether he bows to other leaders or not! a president who manages to be anything other than a figurehead and/or scapegoat is a remarkable creature in this day and age...

posted March 22, 2010 12:39 PM         

2010
About those racial slurs allegedly tossed at black congressmen yesterday
Rick Moran

I find it fascinating that in all the reports in the MSM on the story involving racial epithets being shouted at black Congressmen, very few mention that the only evidence for these racial slurs comes from the Congressmen themselves.

And they'd never lie about something like that, right?..............

posted March 22, 2010 01:34 PM         

ag - you are always screaming show the fact show the facts, is it too much to ask to have someone show the facts and substaniate the claim?

i know what the "n" word sounds like, i hear darker brown people use it all the time when referring to each other...which seems to be perfectly acceptable. so i will recognise the word if i hear it on the footage. especiually if it is a chorus from a crowd of people.

footage please.

posted March 22, 2010 01:46 PM         

That said, I'm not at all confident that video footage would have caught everything. It very seldom does.

posted March 22, 2010 02:22 PM         

i'm quite sure if it really happened ACLU will be all over it and it will be on the news tonight.

i am busy celebrating the fact that my kids can go back on my insurance for a few more years...and go see a doctor when they need to now!

wonder why the news does not ever report the fact that brown skinned people call other brown skinned people the "n" word all the time? to say it is a term of endearment when they say it, but if a person with peach skin says it, it is racist, so, based on the race who says it, depends on if it is a racist slur or not. to me that just sounds ......racist.

posted March 22, 2010 04:55 PM         

the word, "Nigga" is used by some people who have African American descent as an endearment term with others like them. I have never heard them use the word,"nigger" which is the word that's used against people of African American descent. I was against being called either word.

I prefer to use neither word.

Raymond

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"Nothing matters absolutely;
the truth is it only matters relatively"

posted March 22, 2010 11:35 PM         

There is no video and no audio showing anyone using racist language against anyone walking through tea party members.

posted March 23, 2010 03:26 PM         

it seems they actually like throwing the word around and it makes me very uncomfortable. just as uncomfortable when a particular uncle i have uses the word. i always let him know i find it offensive, but i never tell my brown skinned friends i find it offensive, maybe i should....i just don't like the word.

posted March 24, 2010 07:07 PM         

I have never heard a person of African American ancestry use the n'word with the er suffix. I only heard them use it with the a suffix to address a fellow African American person.

I agree with all your other points.

Raymond

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"Nothing matters absolutely;
the truth is it only matters relatively"