Tea Party - arrests, racial epithets, and remember the guy with Parkinsons? I do.

[The Straight Story]

Racist epithets fly at tea party health protest

WASHINGTON — Demonstrators outside the U.S. Capitol, angry over the proposed health-care reform bill, shouted “nigger” today 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.

Capitol Police escorted the members of Congress into the Capitol after the confrontation. At least one demonstrator was reported arrested.

...

A colleague who was accompanying Lewis said people in the crowd responded by saying “Kill the bill, then the n-word.”

Cleaver's office said later in a statement that he'd also been spat upon and that Capitol Police had arrested his assailant. The statement praised the police, who Cleaver said escorted the members of Congress into the Capitol past the demonstrators.

http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20100320/NEWS02/100329990

Health-reform rally heckler says he's sorry and scared

The man who berated and tossed dollar bills at a man with Parkinson's disease during a health care protest last week says he is remorseful and scared.

"I snapped. I absolutely snapped and I can't explain it any other way," said Chris Reichert of Victorian Village, in a Dispatch interview.

In his first comments on an incident that went viral across the Internet and was repeatedly played on cable television news shows, Reichert said he is sorry about his confrontation with Robert A. Letcher, 60, of the North Side. Letcher, a former nuclear engineer who suffers from Parkinson's, was verbally attacked as he sat before anti-health care demonstrators in front of Rep. Mary Jo Kilroy's district office last week.

...

Reichert then stepped from the crowd, bent down, pointed a finger in Letcher's face and as he tossed a pair of dollar bills yelled, "I'll pay for this guy. Here you go. Let's start a pot, I'll pay for you. I'll decide when to give you money. Here. Here's another one."

http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2010/03/24/dollar-bill-throw.html

[zbdent]

1. "Reichert said he is sorry" ... yes ... he was sorry ...

sorry that there were cameras recording him, and people who identified him.

Of course, he's probably now a hero to the TP community ...

[justgamma]

2. assaulting people and no pepper spray? n/t

[OneGrassRoot]

3. Wish the racial slur had been caught clearly on tape...

Every right-winger I know still denies it vehemently. Even if it HAD been caught clearly on audio/video, they'd probably still deny it.

Rush told them to.

[proud2BlibKansan]

5. I could hear it.

It wasn't muffled.

They deny whatever they want to deny regardless of the evidence.

[OneGrassRoot]

6. Never mind. I found and am listening. Thanks. n/t

[proud2BlibKansan]

4. They still deny spitting on Cleaver

Bastards. The local wingnuts bring it up on the blogs every time Cleaver's name comes up. They call him a liar. There was a video that showed the spitting and they claim it's been doctored.

These are nasty and despicably mean people. Hopefully America will wake up to their evil sooner rather than later.

[calimary]

7. Damn! The ANGER!

The negativity is just astounding! That, I think, is the whole problem with the teabaggers. Negativity on Parade! Negativity, hatred, resentment, scapegoating, all unaddressed and unsatisfied, which then leads to lashing out.