Tea Party demonstrators outside the U.S. Capitol who were angry over the proposed health care bill, shouted “ni*ger” Saturday at U.S. Rep. John Lewis, a Georgia congressman and civil rights icon who was nearly beaten to death during an Alabama march in the 1960s. They then redirected their venom and shouted obscenities at other members of the Congressional Black Caucus. “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.”
A colleague who was accompanying Lewis said people in the crowd responded by saying kill the bill, then wielding 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 racial epithets. “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.”
Protesters also confronted Rep. Barney Frank (D- Mass.) who is openly gay by calling him a “fa*got.” “I’m disappointed with the unwillingness to be civil,” Frank said. “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.”
Okay (sigh), I'll simply call it as I see it:IMO, the REAL issue prompting so much raw anger, ignorant behavior and HATRED from "Tea-Party" members is the REALITY that there is a "n*gg*r" in the "WHITE" House and he ain't the door-man_smh!To the degree that other "issues" MIGHT actually matter(?) to the "We want Jim-Crow" and "Kinsmen of the Klan" groups, those issues are secondary.