John Lewis hit with the ‘n-word’ by tea party demonstrators

This was posted by McClatchy Newspapers last night:

Demonstrators outside the U.S. Capitol , angry over the proposed health care bill, shouted “[the n-word]” 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.

U.S. Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.) is questioned by reporters about an incident involving tea party demonstrators as he leaves a speech by President Obama to House Democrats on Saturday. Associated Press

U.S. Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.) is questioned by reporters about an incident involving tea party demonstrators as he leaves a speech by President Obama to House Democrats on Saturday. Associated Press

“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 “[the n-word].”

On Sunday morning, Republicans denounced the language. “What you had out there yesterday was a handful of people who got stupid,” said Michael Steele, chairman of the Republican National Committee, on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”

Steele, who is African-American, denied that the language used by Republicans during the health care debate fueled the harsh language outside the Capitol on Saturday.

On Friday, the last two Georgia congressmen chose sides on health care: John Barrow (D-Savannah) announced he would voted against it. Sanford Bishop (D-Albany) said he would vote yes.

Over the weekend, the Atlanta Tea Party in essence took out a classified ad, soliciting primary opposition to Bishop:

“Despite thousands of phone calls, trips to his offices in Georgia and Washington, D.C., and countless polls that show Americans are overwhelmingly opposed to Obamacare, Congressman Bishop is completely ignoring the will of the people of Georgia who elected him,” said Atlanta Tea Party organizer Julianne Thompson.

“The organizers and members of the Atlanta Tea Party are looking for a strong Democratic primary candidate as well as Republican candidates that will listen to the voters, and represent their interest, instead of special interests,” she continued.

Bishop already has two Republican opponents: Mike Keown and Rudy Adams.

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186 comments Add your comment

Paul

March 21st, 2010
7:44 pm

http://www.sbpdl.com

Black people just don’t care about the truth!

meb

March 21st, 2010
7:46 pm

Dan Deacon wrote: Due to the fact John Lewis or any other accuser cannot produce any evidence that the “n” word or any racial slurs were made, it never happened. Document what happened..especially if John Lewis’s
mouth is running off like a sewer. He, Obama or any of the black caucus can’t be trusted and will try anything to push their socialism agenda.
=================================

You mean like all of the other white politicians?

meb

March 21st, 2010
7:48 pm

Paul

March 21st, 2010
7:44 pm
http://www.sbpdl.com

Black people just don’t care about the truth!
======================================

And what about you or this posting shows that you care about anything other than stupidity.

meb

March 21st, 2010
7:53 pm

Cotton Head

March 21st, 2010
5:34 pm
I wish my great granddaddy had picked his own damn cotton!
================================================

Me too!!!!!

Straight Arrow

March 21st, 2010
8:46 pm

We’ve simply got to find a way to create a better species than homo sapiens.

Mitzymy

March 21st, 2010
9:02 pm

The insurance industry is spending upwards of 3 million dollars per day to defeat the health care reform. Does this tell you anything? If this passes, they are going to stop denying you health care for pre-existing conditions. They will no longer be able to raise rates, there will no longer be a ceiling on the amount of coverage, the donut hole that terrifies senior citizens with prescription drug coverage will be smaller until it is gone. We need this real bad, and I am ashamed that the white racist majority does not want it. That is what the tea party members are. Take a look at them the next time they are on the news. Where were they during the Bush administration?

Michael

March 21st, 2010
9:07 pm

GOP press release went on to say that African Americans must now be referred to by the popular codeword – “thug.”

What a Joke!!

March 21st, 2010
9:14 pm

What really ticks me off about some of you racist morons is your gross OVER-GENERALIZATION that ALL Blacks fit into one category. It’s like you are actually stupid enough to think that ALL of us are on welfare and have a spirit of entitlement. I guess that’s what you need to believe in order to continue your false sense of superiority, but let me make it clear to you neanderthals….NOT ALL BLACKS are the same! Just like NOT ALL WHITES are the same!!

You all are BEYOND pathetic!

Just the Facts

March 21st, 2010
9:40 pm

When in doubt, pull out the race card. It’s worked for years and since we can’t come up with anything else that is more clever then will continue to use it.

Jim

March 21st, 2010
9:49 pm

An historic night tonight. Finally, the log jam breaks and the people of this country get a break re: healthcare. And has anyone noticed that the complaining and vile name calling is coming from people who already have insurance? It is almost as though they are saying “we have ours- screw you and your needs”.
As a teen ager, I watched the passage of the Civil Rights Bill and the Medicare Bill. I then went on to teach history and to be a public school administrator. Tonight reminds me of those days where really important matters happened. The times they are a changin.

Needabailout, too!

March 21st, 2010
10:13 pm

Yes, Jim, the times-they-are-a-changin’.I’m excited for our future, just as I was when Obama was elected. What concerns me is, how long before these outraged ‘patriots’ strike back against ‘The Establishment’? Fly their over-fueled airplanes into govt. buildings? Or begin cleaning the glass scopes of their high-powered rifles, to end the tyrannical ‘Socialist’s hold that is wrecking their country? How long before our headlines splash with news of retaliation against the ‘abomination against the Constitution’? Yes, the times they are a changin’. And what we may see soon of our neighbors may be frightening.

Truthteller

March 21st, 2010
10:24 pm

This is going to be the beginning of the end of a lot of things we’ve gotten used to in America and a lot of political careers. Load up on that .223 ammo! It’s going fast…

Pussification of America

March 21st, 2010
10:28 pm

The passing of healthcare will be yet another step in the pussification of this once great nation. What happened to self-reliance and personal responsibility? Can you imagine the guys that won WWII cheering Nancy Pelosi? It looks like we are on the track to big government that will take care of all our needs. All we have to do is keep voting the Dems back in office. GROW A PAIR, AMERICA! Man up and take care of your own needs.

Used to be Disgusted

March 21st, 2010
10:54 pm

Republicans are a bunch of brain dead morons. What a group of pathetic losers!

Pith

March 21st, 2010
11:17 pm

I want to see videos of the incident because so far videos posted on youtube do not support the accusation: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uiMFcoTzk2A&feature=rec-LGOUT-exp_rev-rn-1r-1-HM and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-SCs6pSE8_I&feature=related.

Not a rascist...but a realist

March 21st, 2010
11:21 pm

Is there any evidence other than “he said” that these comments were made. John Lewis has made a career out of keeping racism “stirred up”.

Racism goes BOTH WAYS.

As far as the comment about minorities finally getting FREE healthcare. THEY ALREADY DO!! It’s called MEDICAID and PEACHCARE!!!! I work at a location that deals with insurance and patients. I am not exaggerating when I say 8 out of 10, if not 9 out of 19 patients with Medicaid are minorities (black and Hispanic). I for one am TIRED of paying for this “insurance” for these people who do not work for it.

YES, let’s institute drug tests for these recipients. The leaching will go down greatly.

I’m not racist at all. I despise Obama, Pelosi, Lewis, Frank all the same. Not because they are democrats, but because they are idiots.

You people that think this “healthcare reform” is going to improve things…keep drinking the koolaid and we’ll see by 2014.

Not a rascist...but a realist

March 21st, 2010
11:22 pm

Meant 9 out of 10 above

Republican turned Democrat

March 21st, 2010
11:37 pm

YES WE DID! The GOP can use whatever racist, hateful, vile language they want. It’s partly because of that sickning racist rhetoric that I no longer can stand being a part of the GOP. Great day for America. Sad day when reality hits home when a congressman is called the n-word and there are people in this forum in denial or taking up for the one who said it. Sick

Used to be Disgusted

March 21st, 2010
11:38 pm

Barak kicked some republican ass tonight. Well-done, Mr. President.

Republican turned Democrat

March 21st, 2010
11:40 pm

And for “Not a racist but a realist”…changing your name doesn’t change who you are. You’re a bigoted person full of hate who can’t stand seeing the poor receive the help they need. If your skin were black, I guarantee you would see things totally different. The only thing real about you is that you’re really a racist regardless of how you’d prefer to view yourself. It is quite obvious what you are.

WPWW

March 22nd, 2010
12:07 am

Give me a break!!! Assuming anyone actually did yell “der verboten” word…it was a paid agent provocateur for the DNC or feds (attempting to discredit the Tea Party movement). Also, the “racist” tag is a cultural marxist buzzword meant to force compliance to the (BS) “PC” agenda.

http://www.anunews,net

WPWW

March 22nd, 2010
12:10 am

….Also, there are far too many lemmings here that are duped by the phony “Left vs. Right” paradigm. The Globalist Elite leverage this paradigm as a control mechanism for the sheeple. Fact is, the DNC & GOP “leadership” are 2 sides of the same coin…controlled by the Elite. Stop being duped by the “mainstream” propaganda!

http://www.infowars.com

http://www.anunews.net

Keeping It Real

March 22nd, 2010
3:28 am

Used to be Disgusted = Too Stupid and Uneducated to Even Correctly Spell the Name of His “god”

Needabailout, too!

March 22nd, 2010
5:34 am

How about ‘Baby Killer’ shouted at Rep. Stupek by a House Republican, later dismissed by Republicans as “just being frustrated” by the moment. So emotional overload justifies disrespectful epithets, not just from a handful of ‘idiots on the street’ but also from Congressional elected officials. Nice.

Needabailout, too!

March 22nd, 2010
5:51 am

WPWW-I just checked out your websites. Since government takeover is imminent, I hope they make a clean sweep and eliminate the cesspools of propaganda you’ve provided. It’d be doing us all a favor.

American Indian

March 22nd, 2010
8:48 am

I have republicans friends and one thing I learned from them is that they value animal life more than human life. Take a stray dog for example, a republican would empty their bank account to help a stray, but when it comes to human life they could care less.

All bush had to do is take half the money used for this senseless conflict (because it’s damn sure not a war) and help improve the education system in this country along with health care, but what do the ReFublicans do, they wait until a game-changer get in office before they attempt (ATTEMPT) to help the Americans out of the hole in which THEY dug for eight years.

The vote is in, move forward with your lives and get the hel**** off the computer.Go help the homeless children, and the sick elderly.

I’ve got some volunteering to do….

BW is a moron

March 22nd, 2010
9:46 am

Crybaby! SO WHAT? Does it really bother a someone when they are called a name.
BIG DEAL. Just another black politician that claims he was callled the “N” word
when a big bill comes up. I think this is about the 18th time for john lewis in the last
12 years. He is surely thin skinned.
You can call me names all day and night. I’m not a little boy.

WPWW

March 22nd, 2010
12:16 pm

Needabailout, too! – The propaganda is what’s spoon-fed to Americans via the controlled “mainstream” media, the puppets on “Crapitol sHill” & the “Sheepltainment” industry. The Powers-That-Be will no doubt target internet freedoms & fact-filled sites (to enlighten those with aptitude to learn & understand the TRUTH) such as the following…

http://www.anunews.net

http://www.infowars.com

***The bogus Left/Right paradigm is a ruse leveraged to control the populace!

Joyce Cross

March 22nd, 2010
12:22 pm

We are not a representative republic anymore. What about the will of the people?? We have to get rid of lawmakers like Lewis and Bishop at the ballot box. No one supports idiots like the ones yelling racial slurs at lawmakers but this law is WRONG. It is Un-American and Un-Constitutional to force people to purchase anything. Anyone who believes you can insure 30 million people for free is very stupid. Everyone who still has a job is going to pay and when you are sick you will be waiting a long time to get medical care, just ask the people in Canada. This law mandates the destruction of the private health insurance business. This vote is about corruption, pure and simple. The American people know what is going on. Throw the bums like Lewis and Bishop out of office. This day will be remembered and those who voted for this law will be remembered for trampling on the freedom and liberty of the American people.

RetLTC

March 22nd, 2010
1:13 pm

Check the demographics. The long gone era that many right wingers long for ain’t coming back in spite of all the fear and all the anger.

Sarah Caldwell

March 22nd, 2010
2:11 pm

Tea party goers, tell me again how you’re not racist.

jfk

March 22nd, 2010
3:03 pm

you can’t trust what lewis says he heard. his ears are still ringing from when he got hit on the head with the dirt clods in the 60’s.

becky sue

March 23rd, 2010
11:06 am

GOP+KKK = Republican Tea Party…….Micheal Steele you are gonna be picking cotton with the rest of them….. Sell your soul to the devil.. Told you about the Tea Party….KKK…

1911A1

March 23rd, 2010
2:15 pm

The word I think of when I think of John Lewis is “fossil.” (Or maybe “socialist.”) Time for him to go home and retire, along with the rest of those crooks on Capitol Hill.

[...] Here’s the Insider post that ran. This from a Detroit news outlet: 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. “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.” [...]

KILL THE BILL

April 2nd, 2010
1:08 am

Sorry but as of April 2, 2010 there is STILL no evidence that proves this actually happened. Scores of videos have been combed and $100K reward offered and yet, NOTHING.

If this man felt harassed it’s his own fault for not listening to his constituents.

KILL THE BILL is all they were shouting… if it’s racist to shout, well, that’s a stretch!