Brody's Notes & Scribbles... The Ugly Americans Version 2010-The Tea Party Members

By Brody Levesque (Bethesda, Maryland) Mar 20 | I am sitting at home now, quietly reflecting on the scenes I saw unfold today on Capitol Hill as thousands of so-called Tea Party types gathered around the U. S. Capitol and the House & Senate Office buildings. What I witnessed was nothing less short of breathtaking as the scope of the true nature & character of these people was put on display for all to see and hear.

There was absolutely no sense of civility, or even pretense of basic manners and dignity. No, what I witnessed was bigotry, discriminatory ideology, and hateful speech being advocated by so-called patriotic Americans against other Americans that, from my understanding of the protesters line of thought, are apparently less 'American' than they are. To say that the behaviours I witnessed was bizarre and disgusting is a gross understatement, it was an affront to human dignity.

Two well respected members of Congress, Civil rights veteran and follower of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Rep. John Lewis (D-GA) and fellow Congressional colleague Andre Carson (D-IN) were exiting from the Canon House Office building after the Democratic Caucus meeting with the President, when several members of the crowd gathered at the entrances, Tea party protesters, began yelling "Kill the Bill," and then hurling the ugly racist epithet, 'Nigger' at the two representatives who happen to both be African-American. I later asked the obviously shaken and upset Congressman Lewis about what had happened and he simply said,

"People have been just downright ugly and mean-spirited about this."

Mean  spirited? Well, it went further, according to TPM correspondent Brian Beutler, he reports that earlier in the afternoon today; 

"...standing outside a Democratic whip meeting in the Longworth House office building, I watched Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA) make his way out the door, en route to the neighboring Rayburn building. As he rounded the corner toward the exit, wading through a huge crowd of tea partiers and other health care protesters, an elderly white man screamed "Barney, you faggot"--a line that caused dozens of his confederates to erupt in laughter.

After that incident, Capitol police threatened to expel the protesters from the building, but were outnumbered and quickly overwhelmed. Tea party protesters equipped with high-end video cameras were summoned to film the encounter and the officers ultimately relented."

 

Rep. John Lewis (D-GA)  & Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA) Photo By Talking Points Memo dot Com 

Another journalist asked Congressman Frank, who is openly Gay, about the incident: 

"I'm disappointed at a unwillingness to be just civil," Frank said. "The objection to the health care bill has become a proxy for other sentiments. Obviously there are perfectly reasonable people that are against this, but the people out there today on the whole--many of them were hateful and abusive," he added. 

Now, I need to place emphasis on the fact that the nasty crap described above occurred inside a Congressional Office building, not out on the street.  

Congressman Frank also told the journalist, 

"If this was my cause, and I saw this angry group yelling and shouting and being so abusive to people, I would ask them to please stop it," Frank concluded. "I think they do more harm than good."

Beutler also reports that shortly thereafter, the same group of people surrounded Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA) as he entered a first-floor elevator:

"Above the cacophony, I heard one man call Waxman a "crook" and a "liar."

Not quite as inflammatory as yelling faggot or nigger, but still it's indicative of the extreme ugliness of the political climate not only here in Washington but across the American landscape.

I was with a group of reporters who listened as House Majority Whip James Clyburn (D-SC) commented, 

"This is incredible, "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," Clyburn said. "I think a lot of those people today demonstrated this is not about health care." 

A fellow correspondent asked him, "What is it about?"

Representative Clyburn replied "It's about trying to extend a basic fundamental right to people who are less powerful."

What I witnessed today made me slightly ill & also angered that basic fairness and the rules have been tossed out by a bigoted and ugly group of Americans whose ignorance and intolerance seems to be something that they actually revel in.  It is very sad to see this. It is also a sad commentary on what unfortunately seems to be a growing movement in the U.S. with more persons being sympathetic to its political message and its biased & hateful laden rhetoric.

UPDATED AT 11:00PM EST MARCH 20TH, 2010:
The Washington D. C. Congressional office of Rep. Emanuel Cleaver II (D-MO) has issued the following statement this evening:

"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 other 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.
This is not the first time the Congressman has been called the “n” word and certainly not the worst assault he has endured in his years fighting for equal rights for all Americans. That being said, he is disappointed that in the 21st century our national discourse has devolved to the point of name calling and spitting. He looks forward to taking a historic vote on health care reform legislation tomorrow, for the residents of the Fifth District of Missouri and for all Americans. He believes deeply that tomorrow’s vote is, in fact, a vote for equality and to secure health care as a right for all. Our nation has a history of struggling each time we expand rights. Today’s protests are no different, but the Congressman believes this is worth fighting for."

In a phone call from a Staff Member from the office of Democratic majority leader, Congressman Steny H. Hoyer (D-MD) who represents a suburban Washington D. C. congressional district, the staffer read the following statement:

"Today’s protests against health insurance reform saw a rash of despicable, inflammatory behavior, much of it directed at minority Members of Congress. According to reports, anti-reform protestors spat on Rep. Emmanuel Cleaver, yelled a sexual slur at Rep. Barney Frank, and addressed my dear friend, Rep. John Lewis, with a racial slur that he has sadly heard far too many times. On the one hand, I am saddened that America’s debate on health care — which could have been a national conversation of substance and respect — has degenerated to the point of such anger and incivility. But on the other, I know that every step toward a more just America has aroused similar hate in its own time; and I know that John Lewis, a hero of the civil rights movement, has learned to wear the worst slurs as a badge of honor.
America always has room for open and spirited debate, and the hateful actions of some should not cast doubt on the good motives of the majority, on both sides of this argument. But Members of Congress and opinion leaders ought to come to terms with their responsibility for inciting the tone and actions we saw today. A debate that began with false fears of forced euthanasia has ended in a truly ugly scene. It is incumbent on all of us to do better next time."

The Majority Leader's reference to euthanasia stems from remarks made earlier in the week by Minnesota Republican, Rep. Michele Bachmann, who appearing at a Tea Party rally against health care reform, told the crowd that "Grandma Isn't Shovel Ready," in reference to the so-called 'Death Panels' that were erroneously touted by the far right as a component of the HCR package, a charge that the White House and Democratic Congressional leaders have vehemently denied and angrily denounced as cheap political theatre and scare tactics.