WASHINGTON — House Democrats heard it all Saturday — words of inspiration from President Barack Obama and raucous chants of protests from demonstrators. And at times it was flat-out ugly, including some racial epithets aimed at black members of Congress.
Most of the day’s important work leading up to Sunday’s historic vote on health care was being done behind closed doors. Democratic leaders cajoled, bargained and did what they could to nail down the votes they will need to finally push Obama’s health care overhaul bill through the House.
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But much else about the day was noisy, emotional and right out in the open. After more than a year debating the capstone of Obama’s domestic agenda and just hours to go before the showdown vote, there was little holding back.
The tone was set outside the Capitol. Clogging the sidewalks and streets of Capitol Hill were at least hundreds — no official estimate was yet available — of loud, furious protesters, many of them tea party opponents of the health care overhaul.
RELATED: Right-Wing Protesters Denounce Obama In D.C.
Rallies outside the Capitol are typically orderly, with speeches and well-behaved crowds. Saturday’s was different, with anger-fueled demonstrators surrounding members of Congress who walked by, yelling at them.
“Kill the bill,” the largely middle-aged crowd shouted, surging toward lawmakers who crossed the street between their office buildings and the Capitol.
The motorcade that carried Obama to Capitol Hill to whip up support for the bill drove past crowds waving signs that read “Stop the spending” and “Get your hands out of my pocketbook and health care.” Many booed and thrust their thumbs down as Obama rode by.
As police held demonstrators back to clear areas for lawmakers outside the Capitol Obama’s speech, some protesters jeered and chanted at the officers, “You work for us.”
Rep. Andre Carson, D-Ind., told a reporter that as he left the Cannon House Office Building with Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., a leader of the civil rights era, some among the crowd chanted “the N-word, the N-word, 15 times.” Both Carson and Lewis are black, and Lewis spokeswoman Brenda Jones also said that it occurred.
RELATED: A Dozen People With Guns Protest Obama Speech
“It was like going into the time machine with John Lewis,” said Carson, a large former police officer who said he wasn’t frightened but worried about the 70-year-old Lewis, who is twice his age. “He said it reminded him of another time.”
Kristie Greco, spokeswoman for Democratic Whip Jim Clyburn, D-S.C., said a protester spit on Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, D-Mo., who is black and said police escorted the lawmakers into the Capitol. Cleaver’s office said he would decline to press charges, but Sgt. Kimberly Schneider of the U.S. Capitol Police said in an e-mail later: “We did not make any arrests today.”
Clyburn, who led fellow black students in integrating South Carolina’s public facilities a half century ago, called the behavior “absolutely shocking.”
“I heard people saying things today that I have not heard since March 15, 1960, when I was marching to try to get off the back of the bus,” Clyburn told reporters.
Inside House office buildings, protesters made their views known by visiting lawmakers’ offices and chanting at legislators walking by.
Among the demonstrators was Delane Stewart, 65, of Cookeville, Tenn., who had come with her husband, Jesse.
“You know what’s coming next if this happens?” she said, referring to the health bill’s passage. “They’re going to come after gun control.”
Retired businessman Randy Simpson, 67, of Seneca, S.C., also said the health bill was just a first step.
“My concerns are about the health care bill, and the direction it takes us is toward communism, quite frankly,” he said.
At a daylong meeting of the House Rules Committee, members of both parties squeezed into a tiny hearing room traded accusations in a session that was often a shouting match.
“You all in the minority know what the American people think,” Rep. Alcee Hastings, D-Fla., said loudly and mockingly at Republicans repeatedly saying the public overwhelmingly opposes Obama’s health care bill.
Rep. Joe Barton, R-Texas, said a tricky voting procedure Democrats had been contemplating “corrupts and prostitutes the system” and would “unleash a cultural war in this country.”
Obama’s Capitol Hill visit was the day’s emotional peak for House Democrats as he sought to energize them to finally approve the legislation.
He conceded that it could be tough for some to vote for the bill, but predicted it would end up being politically smart because once it becomes law people will realize they like its provisions like curbs on insurance companies.
“It is in your hands,” the president said in what Clyburn later called the best speech he’d ever heard Obama make. “It is time to pass health care reform for America, and I am confident that you are going to do it tomorrow.”
at 10:42 pm
the video is on youtube…while he does get spit on…i dont hear a crowd of people screaming n****rs and stuff.
Thanks BP for your on the spot reporting once again
at 10:01 pm
This is why I am against movies and television shows that try to gradually reinvent the slavery experience to make slave owners seems generous and compassionate and feature slaves freely speaking their minds without negative consequence. Over time it makes something barbaric and shamelessly inhumane appear to be less harmful than it actually was, falsely paints flattering pictures of what was actually dehumanizing , arrogant, inconsiderate cruelty and makes actual accounts of the cruelty of the time appear exaggerated in contrast to the re-engineered lie. In retrospect, future generations could simply say that blacks have never had it bad without ever actually being confronted with the reality of the conditions of slavery which are a holdover of the racist and quickly dismissive environment of the present day.
The latest developments are nothing more than the legacy of those who have benefited for generations from been given special treatment thanks to an environment that artificially suppressed blacks from achieving their true potential. Is it really surprising that such disrespectful and shamelessly displays are occurring? Just a few generations ago, my own mother rode on school buses that (she was later told as an adult) had the heaters removed intentionally (reasoning was that it was “too good” for “those people”) and was not allowed into the “public” library. And this was post-slavery but during segregation.
The fact is that for generations, it has been ok socially to discount the potential of blacks in America and to downplay or disrespect their achievements (remember the once respected office of President being greeted with a shout of “You lie”.). This recent display comes as no surprise as it has never been a matter of “if” but when. It has nothing to do with what someone has earned but everything to do with what someone else wants to micromanage even if they would not want the same treatment. Racists overcompensate for issues of self worth by trying to elevate themselves at the expense of others rather than facing their own flaws and working to better themselves. By the way, that’s the reason I am opposed to other blacks using the “N” word because no matter how we try to re purpose it or racists try to hide behind the excuse that it applies only to “certain people”, the discouraging, hateful, and racist way that it was used,by the racists pretending to be outraged at political issues, is all the word has ever been about. To be black and say otherwise is to be wilfully ignorant and self-loathing.
at 10:12 pm
Why is anyone surprised by these racist outburst? Don’t people know the history of these United States? Have you all had your head in the Sand. The election of Barrack Obama, like ronald reagan only enraged and inspired even more to the viciousness that always lies just below a thin veneer of civility. All the bigots need is an excuse and a conservative call for action like they are receiving from the right wing politicians.
Ae we seeing the end of the second reconstruction.
at 4:50 pm
you have to understand, these idiots who are all enraged, have their hateful teachings and sucky lives. So when they get a representative who gives them instructions to throw bricks through democratic party HQs around the country, or see their elected official get up and act seriously unprofessional in government hearings, that gets them excited like they’re fighting for a great cause. It only reveals that the hateful mobs, taking to the streets, are easily manipulated idiots! Guess who knows this, the people who are their representatives! So the top CON-JOB SCHEME right now, is use these dumb asses in the streets, to do your racist bidding, and then GET PAID FROM THE ANGER YOU INCITE. The only people who will be arrested are these idiots in the streets, who are at the verge of doing something violent/illegal, by the day, just to become infamous, for a cause. lol This is the psychology behind it and the representative does/talks something racist/disrespectful, sees these stupid muppets take to the street acting on it, and the representative sets up a web site ASKING FOR DONATIONS TO SPREAD THE WORD OF HATE! The guy who shoulded “baby killer” at the hearing for health care, just put out a new video asking for money. The guy who screamed YOU LIE, at Obama, did the same thing, and then tells his fans to become upset and DONATE to make sure the anger continues. These people in the streets are giving a LOT of money to the reps, and taking all the fall for the stupidity. lol So I say, let them continue to show themselves, in the streets, they’re paying for their anger and have a lousy return on investment. Their reps are con-men!
at 12:19 pm
It’s no more than a Want to Be Rapper or Thug does to other black people! What’s the difference? The Skin Color of the Person(s) Who Does It?
at 9:00 pm
sewsss,i sure be glad when you find some wood so, you can take this crap off this web site, wasting space for more importing stuff.
at 8:21 am
this doen’t surprise me at all i knew tea bagger are bunch of racist people and what republican did. didn’t surprise me. republican did not condemn this act they encourage it that didn’t surprise me either. minority and blacks and any1 that do not like hatred and racism. must step and vite in movember. this act on sunday by tea bagger and republican makes want to vomit
at 5:47 pm
i am not TOO upset, i call european americans CRACKERS all day, EVERY day, to their face, PEACE!
at 1:31 pm
First of all, congressman usually enter the capital from the underground tunnel that starts across the street from the capital building where they take their votes. Why on this particular day did they choose to go thru the protestors and enter in the same way the general public does. Also, if you watch the clip of congressman Clever walking thru the crowd, you will see Jesse Jackson Jr. walking in the rear with not one but two video recorders in his hand. If there was someone spitting on the men directly in front of him wouldn’t he had caught it with his cameras? If someone yelled N****r wouldn’t he had heard it too and put his cameras on the people who he thought said it. Spitting on someone is a form of assault, no one was arrested even though police were behind and in front of the congressman who was supposedly spit at. Liberal Democrats know that they are losing moderate voters quickly and they have to hold on tight to their base which includes Black people. They are ratcheting up the race claims to keep Black people focused on that and not focused on the fact that they aren’t creating jobs, aren’t improving schools, aren’t shaping legislation that improves the lives of Black people in anyway really. Liberals are using the Tea Party as a boogeyman to make sure that moderate and educated Black people don’t join their ranks but instead ball their fists and get caught up into this racism vs. Black people red herring. Don’t let these people get away with failure. Look at the schools in our communities, do you know who it is that is running them? Liberals. Look at the inner cities, do you know who the mayors are white or black? Liberals. As soon as we make the Democratic party work for our vote instead of blindly giving it to them, we will see results. Until then, shut up, sit down and yell at all those ugly racists.
at 2:39 am
David Shuster Pleads With Congressmen: Stop The Incendiary Rhetoric! (VIDEO)
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/03/24/david-shuster-pleas-with_n_512342.html
at 12:46 am
its sad we have to come to this point but its always been this way. that goes to show you how they ignorant and easily broken they are. you have to spit on someone and then yell racial slurs to try prove a point but their point will never get across when you disrespect someone to that degree. thats those ignorant no class having trash for you. then they try to cover up their racism with polictics as an excuse but racism is racism. the congressmens handle the situation very well in a classy manner by walking away. but lord have mercy if i was to witness any circ**stance of disrespect like that i would have had to attack some of those evil swollen swine faced bastards.
at 10:03 pm
I believe that I would have forgotten that I am saved had I been there.. Now normally, I don’t comment with someone who does not show their face but proudpeople, I so totally agree with you.. We’ve wasted so much time fighting and killing each other that, we lost our reasons to fight outside of ourselves.. So much time has past, so little time to prepare now.. All of the names that you all can come up with isn’t gonna make any difference.. It’s time for another type of change..
at 9:06 pm
I hate to say this but there is a civil war brewing. That is extreme but we are in extreme times. These tea party people hate everything that effects their monetary status and superior mentality. We are so divided but I hope we become united soon before they take over and we are again placed in chains.
at 12:59 pm
i wish i would be around some racist ass crackers when s**t like this happens, f**k these b***h ass honkeys
at 8:52 am
wow I guess all news outlets have their lies..there is video proving that this story is false..i guess everyone needs to be enabled..
at 7:37 am
It’s amazing to me that when Ex-President George Bush called for the war in Iraq to find,”Weapons of mass destruction”, not one of these Tea Party Bastards ever tried to take the government to court or file suit when no weapons were found. Fast forward to 2010, President Obama signs legislation to make Universal Healthcare for everyone and the lawsuits begin! What’s wrong with this picture?!! Black people wake up!!Get informed, and get armed!!
at 2:19 am
“stylemaker2020 I AGREE WITH YOU BLACK KING 1000%… BLACK PEOPLE LET’S GET IT TOGETHER… UNITY WE STAND… DIVIDED WE FALL…
at 12:37 am
http://www.colorofchange.org/hate/?id=1691-1128364
We’re calling on RNC Chair Michael Steele, House Minority Leader John Boehner and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell to publicly do two simple things:
- Unequivocally condemn bigotry and hate among their supporters, and make clear that those who embrace it have no place in their party.
- Make clear that they will not tolerate fear-mongering and coded appeals to racism from officials in the Republican party, at any level.
at 10:19 pm
A NATION DIVIDED CANNOT STAND. AMERICA IN IT’S FINAL STAGE. THIS IS JUST THE CHANGING OF A NEW AGE, NOT THE END OF THE WORLD. BLACK PEOPLE UNITE AND BE PATIENT. REMEMBER YOUR FATHERS AND GRAND FATHERS AND GREAT GRAND FATHERS OF NOT TO LONG AGO. THE STRUGGLE STILL CONTINUES!!!