Tea Party Ugliness: John Lewis Called N-Word

[Big Daddy Weaver]

From Yahoo:

WASHINGTON — Demonstrators outside the U.S. Capitol , angry over the proposed health care bill, shouted "n*****" 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.

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."

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."

Reading this article made me sad. After all of the sacrifices made by Congressman Lewis and beatings and blood spilled in the fight for equality and a better society, it's just crap that he still has to endure this hate. When I worked for Lewis, I covered the phones generally for an hour a day and periodically in the afternoons. The Chief of Staff had whatever person answering the phone fill out a form about the call. There was a box at the top of the form labeled OBSCENE.

If Congressman Lewis was in D.C., he'd call the Atlanta office at the end of the day and we'd give him a concise recap of the types of calls received from constituents. And we received more than a few obscene calls during my time in Atlanta - even had a racist comment hurled at Lewis during a live interview on CSPAN about black history.

[Mark]

"They were shouting, sort of harassing," Lewis said...

Just heard a reference to this for the first time, about ten minutes ago on ABC's "This Week." Didn't know it involved John Lewis, because they didn't mention any names.

Too bad. Lewis is a gracious, fine man who deserves better than this. Heck, nothing like this should be occurring in 2010.

[Stephen Fox]

I was gonna sit this one out for a little while but came across this discussion on Booktv this afternoon.

http://www.booktv.org/Program/11260/Aft ... Lewis.aspx

John Lewis interviews former Republican Senator who comes from Jewish background and his black wife.
At one point the wife challenges her husband about the tea parties who says it is a separate matter. Interesting moment in the segment.
I think both Cohen and his wife are right though they didn't pursue it.
These incidents yesterday are disturbing, but in the same way black criminals, looters and sinners were in the back of the Memphis March for increased pay for sanitation workers.
Of course I know Civil Rights was of a much more noble cause than the Tea Party movement. But they do have the right to protest, and so far there are leaders in the Tea Party movement who are outraged by this element in their ranksand their potential to hijack and distract from their concerns.
I am in conversation with one such local leader. I don't think there is much substance to her movement, but she is appalled by such behavior as yesterday.

At same time, since Bdidd brought it up here is an interesting inflection, nuance on the whole discussion:

http://www.tnr.com/blog/john-mcwhorter/ ... have-party

McWhorter raises the more substantive discussion, than the distraction of the malcontents yesterday in DC.

And Langham Cohen is a piece of work all on her own. May explore her later.

[Jonathan]

These incidents yesterday are disturbing, but in the same way black criminals, looters and sinners were in the back of the Memphis March for increased pay for sanitation workers.
Of course I know Civil Rights was of a much more noble cause than the Tea Party movement. But they do have the right to protest, and so far there are leaders in the Tea Party movement who are outraged by this element in their ranksand their potential to hijack and distract from their concerns.

Good to hear a reasoned analysis of the few outliers from the protests in DC yesterday (bully for you, Stephen). He and I seem to agree that, it is not credible to say that the few folks who acted poorly are representative of movement as a whole....not in 1960 and not in 2010.

[Big Daddy Weaver]

Good to hear a reasoned analysis of the few outliers from the protests in DC yesterday (bully for you, Stephen). He and I seem to agree that, it is not credible to say that the few folks who acted poorly are representative of movement as a whole....not in 1960 and not in 2010.

The "few folks" argument is definitely not easy to buy these days especially with guys like Scarborough and Tancredo prominently on display in this movement. See my Tea Party Racism: An Evangelical Ex-Congressman and A Southern Baptist Pastor Speak. from about six weeks ago.

I'm not making the argument that all or most Tea Party protesters are racist. But the "few folks" argument is just not convincing.

[Sandy]

These incidents yesterday are disturbing, but in the same way black criminals, looters and sinners were in the back of the Memphis March for increased pay for sanitation workers.
Of course I know Civil Rights was of a much more noble cause than the Tea Party movement. But they do have the right to protest, and so far there are leaders in the Tea Party movement who are outraged by this element in their ranksand their potential to hijack and distract from their concerns.
I am in conversation with one such local leader. I don't think there is much substance to her movement, but she is appalled by such behavior as yesterday.

I think it is an old political saying, and I don't know where it came from, but when the pot boils, the scum always comes to the surface.

The whole Tea Party movement is at the fringes of American politics, a small minority which has employed the strategy that the squeeky wheel gets the grease. Any time you have a political movemment, especially if it is relatively undefined, and has no real national central leadership, you'll have extremists on the edge of it whose only way of getting attention is in a negative way. I agree that the tea party movement has neither the substance, nor the nobility, nor the level of support of the Civil Rights Movement. But I also agree that most of those who identify with it are very likely just as appalled by the extremists who are making horses rear-ends out of themselves in protests as anyone else is.

The democratic, constitutional republic in which we live provides for the protection of free speech, the right to protest, to petition the government for redress of grievances and to participate in the government through the ballot box. That includes all citizens, regardless of their lack of tact or their ability to proclaim their ignorance when they open their mouth.

[Jonathan]

Good to hear a reasoned analysis of the few outliers from the protests in DC yesterday (bully for you, Stephen). He and I seem to agree that, it is not credible to say that the few folks who acted poorly are representative of movement as a whole....not in 1960 and not in 2010.

The "few folks" argument is definitely not easy to buy these days especially with guys like Scarborough and Tancredo prominently on display in this movement. See my Tea Party Racism: An Evangelical Ex-Congressman and A Southern Baptist Pastor Speak. from about six weeks ago.

I'm not making the argument that all or most Tea Party protesters are racist. But the "few folks" argument is just not convincing.

So if it is not "all" nor "most" and not "few"...what is it? "A few plus some"? What percentage would that work out to? 2%+a smidgen?

You wrote:

With guys like Tancredo and Scarborough as popular keynote speakers, who can deny the centrality of racism and xenophobia to the Tea Party Movement?

This is just lazy, BD. You're saying that this can't be denied simply because they were invited to speak? Goodness, does this work for pro-big government rallies too?

[Big Daddy Weaver]

Good to hear a reasoned analysis of the few outliers from the protests in DC yesterday (bully for you, Stephen). He and I seem to agree that, it is not credible to say that the few folks who acted poorly are representative of movement as a whole....not in 1960 and not in 2010.

The "few folks" argument is definitely not easy to buy these days especially with guys like Scarborough and Tancredo prominently on display in this movement. See my Tea Party Racism: An Evangelical Ex-Congressman and A Southern Baptist Pastor Speak. from about six weeks ago.

I'm not making the argument that all or most Tea Party protesters are racist. But the "few folks" argument is just not convincing.

So if it is not "all" nor "most" and not "few"...what is it? "A few plus some"? What percentage would that work out to? 2%+a smidgen?

You wrote:

With guys like Tancredo and Scarborough as popular keynote speakers, who can deny the centrality of racism and xenophobia to the Tea Party Movement?

This is just lazy, BD. You're saying that this can't be denied simply because they were invited to speak? Goodness, does this work for pro-big government rallies too?

I'll let individuals determine the percentage. But it's definitely more than a "few folks"

Let's not pretend that Scarborough and Tancredo are just some random dudes who happened to give a 20 minute speech at a Tea Party rally. They were selected to be keynote speakers at a well-publicized national Tea-Party convention. Their presence as keynote speakers certainly suggests that the movers and shakers in this movement are comfortable with these men and the views that they've consistently espoused for a number of years now. Not like Tancredo and Scarborough are new to the scene. And I don't recall Scarborough and Tancredo getting booed down with their offensive remarks - quite the opposite.

Also, lazy? Really? Now, if I responded to you with a "That's lazy," $5 says you'd manage to incorporate the words "academic elitism" into your answer....

[Jonathan]

Let's not pretend that Scarborough and Tancredo are just some random dudes who happened to give a 20 minute speech at a Tea Party rally. They were selected to be keynote speakers at a well-publicized national Tea-Party convention. Their presence as keynote speakers certainly suggests that the movers and shakers in this movement are comfortable with these men and the views that they've consistently espoused for a number of years now. Not like Tancredo and Scarborough are new to the scene. And I don't recall Scarborough and Tancredo getting booed down with their offensive remarks - quite the opposite.

Also, lazy? Really? Now, if I responded to you with a "That's lazy," $5 says you'd manage to incorporate the words "academic elitism" into your answer....

Yes, I'll stick with lazy. The tactic is pretty clear: make the very small minority the issue rather than having to address the concerns of the majority. Actually, the tactic was to use a vulgar image to describe the group ("tea baggers") and then focus on the minority acting badly. BTW, I didn't happen to catch what Scarborough or Tancredo said during their speeches. Anything racist or xenophobic? And if so, does that mean that the movement is racist or xenophobic?

The Tea Party movement is an anti big government movement...given the lack of restrictions (as compared to, say, an SEIU or Teacher's Union rally) in participating or speaking, there is going to be very wide spectrum of folks attending. Of course, you knew that.

[Lamar Wadsworth]

My parents were both southerners with 8th grade educations, but they would have washed my mouth out with soap if I'd ever called anyone a "n*****." I was taught to respect my elders and to show the same degree of respect whether they were black or white. The first man I called to be a pallbearer at the funerals of my parents was a black man who had been among my father's closest friends as far back as I can remember. I realize that not everyone was raised the way I was raised.

If one disagrees with Congressman Lewis on matters of public policy, that is fine. I have no objection to anyone engaging Lewis in substantive debate on any issue being considered by Congress. However, regardless of whether one agrees with him politically, John Lewis deserves respect for his service to our country. His service in the civil rights movement helped secure the freedom of all Americans. My regard for what Lewis and others did at the Edmund Pettis Bridge in Selma is equal to my regard for what my father and other American and Allied soldiers did at the beaches of Normandy on D-Day.
To show such vile disrespect to one who has served this country so nobly is as offensive to me as trampling the flag of our country under foot.

[Sandy]

BTW, I didn't happen to catch what Scarborough or Tancredo said during their speeches. Anything racist or xenophobic? And if so, does that mean that the movement is racist or xenophobic?

That would probably depend on your perspective, and would be a subjective evaluation. Both have previously made both racist and xenophobic remarks in the past, or at least, have played to the xenophobia of their audience, depending on who it might be. There's some debate as to whether those gathered in Nashville recently were representative of the entire movement, or even certain parts of it, and at any rate, it was an extremely small group of people, even compared to the movement itself, which isn't more than perhaps 5 or 6% of the entire electorate, if that much. The way this movement appears to be put together, those who attend the gatherings appear to be a vocal minority, but even the whole movement doesn't amount to more than a small percentage of the most conservative voters.

The Tea Party movement is an anti big government movement...given the lack of restrictions (as compared to, say, an SEIU or Teacher's Union rally) in participating or speaking, there is going to be very wide spectrum of folks attending. Of course, you knew that.

I'm not sure about that. A wide spectrum representing, perhaps, the whole fringe of the extreme right, but not a wide spectrum in terms of the variety of views represented. It's a fringe movement at best, and it is a relatively narrow fringe movement in terms of its common threads. I would guess that, because of the nature of the groups, the places from which they draw their constituents, and the voices that they consider authoritative, which would include politicians like Tancredo, Ron Paul and Sarah Palin, activists like Scarborough and the radio disc jockey crowd, there is a tendency to think that the whole group is nodding in agreement with every word that is spoken by their chosen spokespersons. But one of Scarborough's strategies, similar to that of the radio deejay crowd, is to create the impression that there are actually more people who think their way than there are. The idea is to get loud, to become activist, to continuously call congressmen and senators, to show up at town hall meetings and yell the loudest, to show up in Washington and draw attention to your vociferous protests. When you incite that kind of behavior, there are those who, out of their own frustration and rage, vent by shouting out the ugliest, most hurtful things they can think of. And that's what's happened here.

[Dave Roberts]

I find the reawakening of racism by some (admittedly a fringe) of the Tea Party quite upsetting. The calling of names like that discredits the very movement they say they are for. There may indeed be a need for third party movement in American politics because the GOP and Democrats can't talk with each other about any of the issues facing the country, but with the kind of friends the Tea Party seems to be attracting, it will be DOA. Even Palin carries the baggage of attachment to the Alaska Secessionist Movement.

[Jonathan]

As with any political movement, if you want to find a fringe element that does things that you find distasteful, you're going to find it. This will be especially the case when a group in power begins to overextend their reach. But it is lazy to extrapolate the actions of a very few to the motives of the very many.

[Stephen Fox]

As this conversation evolves I am leaning toward Dave and Sandy; though I did relish the moment of common ground with Jonathan at the outset.

[Dave Roberts]

As with any political movement, if you want to find a fringe element that does things that you find distasteful, you're going to find it. This will be especially the case when a group in power begins to overextend their reach. But it is lazy to extrapolate the actions of a very few to the motives of the very many.

If what you say is true, then it is critical for the Tea Party to denounce this behavior and to sever its links to those who foster it. I lived through the 1960's and 1970's. I have seen the ugliness of racism, and it's time for all responsible groups to denounce its purveyors and separate themselves from it, especially those who appeal to Christians for part of their power.

[Stephen Fox]

And what are we to do with Dyson at Tavis Smiley's confab this weekend calling Obama just a latter day Jackie Robinson?

[Stephen Fox]

From TNR online today www.tnr.com

In search of a little pick-me-up, Republican members took to wandering out on the balcony and revving up the crowd. Two or three scrawled ‘No’ on sheets of paper and began waving them over the railing, tittering like school boys. Tennessee’s Zach Wamp snatched up a discarded poster board, propped it against a column, and, black marker in hand, began gleefully writing “LET’S MEET ‘EM AT THE STATE LINE” in big block letters. (Homemade signs were all the rage among members. Inside high windows along the east side of the capitol, someone had put up more letters spelling out “VOTE NO” and “SCRAP THE BILL.”) Caught up in the naughtiness of it all, Pennsylvania’s Jim Gerlach rushed over to steady the posterboard while Wamp scribbled.

But it wasn’t until a couple of the old guys goaded Tea Party prom queen Michele Bachmann onto the balcony that the fun really got started. After only a second or two of faux resistance, Bachmann sidled up to the edge, clasped her hands together and shook them above each shoulder like some kind of pink-clad prize fighter. The crowd below went hog wild, and more than one member made a snorting reference to Bachman’s “Evita” moment. Soon, other Republicans began sliding out to stand beside her and bask in the reflected love.

[Sandy]

As with any political movement, if you want to find a fringe element that does things that you find distasteful, you're going to find it. This will be especially the case when a group in power begins to overextend their reach. But it is lazy to extrapolate the actions of a very few to the motives of the very many.

If what you say is true, then it is critical for the Tea Party to denounce this behavior and to sever its links to those who foster it. I lived through the 1960's and 1970's. I have seen the ugliness of racism, and it's time for all responsible groups to denounce its purveyors and separate themselves from it, especially those who appeal to Christians for part of their power.

I don't think the "Tea Party" can, Dave. Whatever "spokespersons" exist among them are not accepted by all. There is no "Tea Party," there are widely scattered "Tea Parties," and not all of them rally around the same spokespersons. It's a paper tiger. Obnoxious, rowdy, outlandish, extreme behavior is their way of attracting attention to their issues and attempting to convince elected representatives that their numerical strength is greater than it really is. Nor do all of them appeal to Christians for help.

[Tim Dahl]

People are afraid. Sadly, fear often morphs to anger, which brings out the utterly sinfull and ugly side.

[Jonathan]

People are afraid. Sadly, fear often morphs to anger, which brings out the utterly sinfull and ugly side.

Tim is spot on here. Fear is the least helpful component in this debate. Conservatives need to continue to fight big government without being afraid that there will be a small number of folks who show up who will also do and say heinous things.

[Stephen Fox]

to Health Care Reform.
How would you place this response on the spectrum of civil speech. Would the SBC folks on this board be comfortable with this type attitude in their diaconate?

On Sunday, March 21st, 2010, a day that will live forever in infamy, American freedom was brutally attacked and crushed by the Oligarchy of Obama, the most openly corrupt and inept government since ancient Rome. What will the citizenry now do? Will we rise up and demand a return to the U.S. Constitution and life as free men and women, or will we cravenly roll over as whimpering, whipped dogs, grateful for any crumbs that fall from the table of our new masters? What will it be, my fellow Americans, constitutional freedom and the rule of law...or bread and circuses?

[Ed Pettibone]

to Health Care Reform.
How would you place this response on the spectrum of civil speech. Would the SBC folks on this board be comfortable with this type attitude in their diaconate?

On Sunday, March 21st, 2010, a day that will live forever in infamy, American freedom was brutally attacked and crushed by the Oligarchy of Obama, the most openly corrupt and inept government since ancient Rome. What will the citizenry now do? Will we rise up and demand a return to the U.S. Constitution and life as free men and women, or will we cravenly roll over as whimpering, whipped dogs, grateful for any crumbs that fall from the table of our new masters? What will it be, my fellow Americans, constitutional freedom and the rule of law...or bread and circuses?

Ed: And Stephen, just what "attitude" do you see in that quote.

[Stephen Fox]

Of Texas utterred the words "Baby Killer" on the House Floor last night during Stupak's speech.

According to CNN he has also flirted with Birther Movement in language on the microphone on the House floor.

Ed, the deacon's blood seem kinda baptized in Blood if you know what I mean, what the phrase connotates.

I don't think he cares a lot for the President I voted for

[Jonathan]

Of Texas utterred the words "Baby Killer" on the House Floor last night during Stupak's speech.

According to Neugebauer, he said "the bill is a baby killer"...a lot of reasonable folks tend to agree with him. You have a problem with that? Given how this bill was rammed through, don't be surprised if there is a significant public reaction.

Kimberly Strassel, in today's WSJ, wrote:

President Obama was elected by millions of Americans attracted to his promise to change Washington politics. These were voters furious with earmarks, insider deals and a lack of transparency. They were the many Americans who, even before this week, held Congress in historic low esteem. They'll remember this spectacle come November.

Tru dat.

[Stephen Fox]

Bill is not a baby killer, it is a poor woman saver.

It will save lives, born lives, many of whom were at one time baptized in a Baptist church who would have otherwise died cause they couldn't afford health insurance.

Not to say Bill Cosby makes some good points.

Look closely at Randy Neubarger with us. I think he may have more in common with the Birch Society than he does with Abraham Lincoln,even Robert E Lee for that matter.
Some where along the way I fear Texas Baptists failed him and his world view.

Did you see my TNRlinks Chait on Obama and the Baptist Michelle Cottle on the underbelly of the Tea Party.

Both ring true to me.