In this video age everything is on tape somewhere and the attempt at provoking TEA party activists did not work. The gloating Congressional representatives did not need to walk through the crowd but of course they did in an attempt to capture an embarrassing incident on tape. Second, note that when the representatives walked directly through the crowd an aid has cameras in both hands. The idea must have been to document an infraction. It did not work because other than exercise their constitutional right to address their government for a redress of grievances nothing happened. Nothing intentional happened at least intentionally.
When Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D-MO) claimed that a TEA protester spat upon he is shown here to be off base. Clearly an activist is yelling and directly in his face. However, unless the protester wanted to spit into his own hands, not likely, he did not spit upon the Representative. Another odd aspect of the alleged incident is that the two-handed cameraman walked right by the alleged spitee taping him but no documented tape emerged. In addition, despite the direct observation of the incident by a Capitol Hill police presence, there were no charges filed. Cleaver even walked back in attempt to identify the individual, and he is directly in front of him but he could not pick him out of the crowd.
At about 1:15 in the video, you can see a man with his hands cupped and Cleaver walking by. As the man yelled, it appears from Cleaver's body language, at most some saliva "sprayed."
The incident hardly represents "spitting," which would be a conscious act.
Note also that you do not hear a single "N" word shouted although Rep. Carson (D-IN) claims he heard it 15 times.
Sometimes taping backfires; too bad Rep. Cleaver it shows you as a fool.
African-American congressmen were subjected to nothing but "Kill the bill" which is in a citizen's right. However, this is how William Douglas of McClatchy Newspapers described the alleged incident.
WARNING: RACIAL EPITHET AHEAD, AS IT APPEARED IN THE NEWSPAPER:
Demonstrators outside the U.S. Capitol, angry over the proposed health care bill, shouted “nigger” 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…
“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.”
Did you catch that last part? As Jack Cashill at the American Thinker points out, there’s some sleight of hand going on here. Lewis himself isn’t quoted as saying he heard it. The “n-word” claim is attributed to an unnamed colleague. Who? Apparently it doesn’t matter who.
Somehow this is turned into the headline, “Tea party protesters use racial epithet against Georgia’s John Lewis.” Not “Georgia’s John Lewis claims” or “Colleague of Georgia’s John Lewis alleges.” No, they make a direct statement of fact that is, based on the story itself, tenuous at best. Some guy who was with Lewis claims he heard somebody yell something. Nothing untoward happened.
Two more tapes emerged of the alleged incident that do not contain the "N" word.
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