Althouse: "On the eve of the health care vote, a group of black Democrat Congressmen (eschewing the private tunnels they usually use to cross from their offices to the Capitol) chose to walk en masse through a crowd of protesters..."

April 4, 2010

"On the eve of the health care vote, a group of black Democrat Congressmen (eschewing the private tunnels they usually use to cross from their offices to the Capitol) chose to walk en masse through a crowd of protesters..."

"... confident that the knuckledragging Tea Party goons they and their media pals have reviled for a year now would respond with racial epithets. And then, when the crowd didn't, the black Congressmen made it up anyway."

That's Mark Steyn, who notes that mainstream media, which spread the phony story (when it was most useful to spread), are showing no interest in correcting it.

By the way, I called bullshit on the story as soon as it was reported, in this blog post and here on Bloggingheads:

220 comments:

«Oldest ‹Older 201 – 220 of 220

Meade said...: John said...
These so-called "honorable" congressmen can say anything they want about the Tea Partiers, the Tea Partiers are going to the polls in November and we will remember their words and actions. WE. WILL. REMEMBER.

Thanks, John.
My sign for Tuesday evening Madison Tea Party Express:

NOVEMBER 2010 -- WE. WILL. REMEMBER.; 4/5/10, 9:56 AM
Alex said...: NOVEMBER 2010 -- WE. WILL. REMEMBER.

Pretty meaningless, since we already knew your vote a year ago. Unless of course you are going to persuade undecideds to vote for Republicans. I just don't see how Althouse is doing that.; 4/5/10, 10:19 AM
Meade said...: Join me, Alex. Sign up!; 4/5/10, 10:41 AM
Dustin said...: It is actually significantly more difficult to go from building to building by crossing the street than it is to use the tunnels. These tunnels are really just hallways (with offices and storage closets all through, and well used). You just take an elevator to the correct floor (these men's offices are not on the ground floor at Rayburn anyway) and walk through the basement level to Longworth or the Capitol tram.

And that's on a day with no protests. When the streets are empty, nobody crosses them (dealing with security, the stairs to get up the entrance, etc). They use the tunnels.

They were obviously attempting to create a race hustle scene by walking directly through the masses on the street, with a smirking lackey with a camera taping the whole thing. That a story appears to have been written before this occurred, and at any rate, doesn't use the video they taped of the entire incident, shows they are extremely dishonest people who want to TEAR this nation apart by exploiting race.

But then, they wouldn't be democrats if they didn't try to lie about race to create hatred.; 4/5/10, 11:28 AM
roesch-voltaire said...: You say spray, he said spit, okay lets split difference it still leaves the face wet --on video Congressman Cleaver wiping his face shows that. What other evidence of bad behavior do we have? According to Fox News, in a March 22nd story, Fisher( a Teabagger) "admonished" the man who called Frank a faggot.
Now of course the protestors themselves would not lie or cover up for anyone using racial slurs? Whom are we to believe?
Lets face it mass demonstration can bring out the worst in folks-- look at how Chris Reichert, the man who throw money at the Parkinson advocate has recanted and states he will never again attend a political protest. From my experience in the sixities, any crowd, left or right, can get mean and nasty one moment, and then in the next instant as an individual over a cup of coffee deny they ever threw stones or spit.; 4/5/10, 11:30 AM
Dustin said...: "Pretty meaningless, since we already knew your vote a year ago. Unless of course you are going to persuade undecideds to vote for Republicans. I just don't see how Althouse is doing that."

Well, Alex may not realize that 4 out of 10 TEA partiers are independents and democrats.

This is the funniest thing about all this. As Chris Matthews or whoever demonize millions of democrats and independents, they just galvanize. The far right TEA partiers come back to supporting the GOP instead of going third party.

These vicious attacks on the TEA party are almost the dumbest tactic imaginable for the left. Obama promised smaller government, lower taxes, no mandate for health insurance, and a greatly reduced deficit. A LOT of these people voted for him on that basis.

I see it all the time at the rallies. This is hardly a far right exclusive movement, and the democrats are living in a dream world if they think this isn't a sea change. This is bigger than the 1960s because it's more mainstream.; 4/5/10, 11:34 AM
Dustin said...: " roesch-voltaire said...

You say spray, he said spit, okay lets split difference"

If you get in someone's face when they are shouting a protest, that's YOUR fault when spittle gets on you, and at any rate, it's a vicious lie to evoke deliberate spitting. That's the real accusation: the choice to spit didn't occur, and you obviously know it.

Of course, there are probably a few nutjobs in the movement, since it's so huge and encompasses so many types of democrats (who often are immoral people). The dems know if they keep searching, every now and then they will find something ugly and people like this jackass with claim it somehow represents the protest movement.

How disgusting. And it is totally unpersuasive. You idiots need the TEA party to vote for Obama in 2012, or you're sunk. You are lying to yourself to say they are 100% votes you never had.

We know democrats burned down the governor's mansion in Texas, attempted to blow up the St Paul GOP convention, befriended Bill Ayers, flew a plane into the IRS at Austin (though psychos pretend he was a TEA partier, they know the truth), and are part of that recent michigan militia arrest.

Democrats are the thugs and psychos, and when you race hustle, you lose more votes.; 4/5/10, 11:40 AM
Alex said...: Meade - why? I've always voted GOP. In fact, attending tea parties doesn't convince me that it converts swing voters over to the GOP. In fact, I think it's going to be "the economy stupid" that will vote the Democrats out in November.; 4/5/10, 11:41 AM
Dustin said...: Alex, if you aren't a moby, you're an eeyore.

At least Meade is out there trying to help the movement, instead of poo pooing it.

If you don't see how the TEA party brings independents and democrats to the GOP, you're lost. And of course Althouse isn't devoted to bringing votes to the GOP. Irrelevant.

Trust me, the dems in the TEA party have noticed that the Dem MSM has called them racist and worse. They react to that.; 4/5/10, 11:49 AM
roesch-voltaire said...: You say spray, he said spit, okay lets split difference it still leaves the face wet --on video Congressman Cleaver wiping his face shows that. What other evidence of bad behavior do we have? According to Fox News, in a March 22nd story, Fisher( a Teabagger) "admonished" the man who called Frank a faggot.
Now of course the protestors themselves would not lie or cover up for anyone using racial slurs? Whom are we to believe?
Lets face it mass demonstration can bring out the worst in folks-- look at how Chris Reichert, the man who throw money at the Parkinson advocate has recanted and states he will never again attend a political protest. From my experience in the sixities, any crowd, left or right, can get mean and nasty one moment, and then in the next instant as an individual over a cup of coffee deny they ever threw stones or spit.; 4/5/10, 11:52 AM
Alex said...: roesch-voltaire - I'm sure you're inclined to believe the best in Code Pink.; 4/5/10, 11:55 AM
Anonymous said...: Here is the "spitting" incident. Hilariously bogus. Watch the VIDEO:

http://the-raw-deal.com/2010/04/02/racist-tea-party-exposed-well-the-truth-finally-came-out/

Nathan R. Jessup
http://the-raw-deal.com; 4/5/10, 1:02 PM
Anonymous said...: Let's be clear here. There is a video of Barney Frank being called a FAGGOT.

Ann Althouse is 100% in support of calling Barney Frank a FAGGOT. She thinks there is nothing wrong with it. That's why she doesn't object to it.

I'm just curious how often Ann throws about the FAGGOT word in her household?; 4/5/10, 2:32 PM
Anonymous said...: Is Meade the person who called Barney Frank a FAGGOT?; 4/5/10, 2:33 PM
Anonymous said...: Here's the video of Barney Frank being called a FAGGOT. Again - Ann Althouse thinks this is cool. She thinks that Barney Frank is a faggot who deserves to be called a faggot. Except she claims that it's a lie that he's been called a faggot, even though she thinks he is a faggot, despite the fact that there is a video of him being callled a faggot, which Ann thinks is a fraud.

http://www.towleroad.com/2010/03/teabaggers-call-barney-frank-faggot-at-us-capitol.html; 4/5/10, 2:37 PM
Ann Althouse said...: downtownlad said..."Let's be clear here. There is a video of Barney Frank being called a FAGGOT. Ann Althouse is 100% in support of calling Barney Frank a FAGGOT. She thinks there is nothing wrong with it. That's why she doesn't object to it. I'm just curious how often Ann throws about the FAGGOT word in her household?"

You know very well that is a lie. I haven't said one word about the Frank incident. Not. One. Word.; 4/5/10, 2:48 PM
ken in tx said...: Methadras, It also doesn't matter if the protesters said it or not because the congressmen knew they were thinking it because they were mostly white people. Everybody knows how white people think.; 4/5/10, 5:14 PM
LoafingOaf said...: Althouse: You know very well that is a lie. I haven't said one word about the Frank incident. Not. One. Word.

And that has left me scratching my head. I've seen you go on in post after post, claiming that the allegations that Tea Partiers spewed hate speech at black and gays was all a fabricated lie.

But you haven't addressed the BArney Frank incident. You'd prefer that that gets forgotten about entirely. Because Barney Frank looked everyone in the eye and said that not only did the incident occur, but that he was hit with numerous homophobic attacks that day.

Althouse knows that the Barney Frank incident occurred. That's why she doesn't wanna talk about it. Even though the Tea PArtiers in her own comment section have shown on numerous occasions that they are down with homophobia (for example, see when Andrew Sullivan browsed the Althouse comment section and found numerous homophobic attacks on him).

Althouse wants the Barney Frank incident brushed under the rug. She will not do a post saying Barney Frank made it all up. She will not post about that incident at all. Because it blows up her claim that the hate speech allegations at the Tea PArty protest were made up.; 4/5/10, 11:11 PM
reader_iam said...: Perhaps Althouse is questioning the gay-black analogue. Perhaps she's questioning analogues. Perhaps she's interested in piercing the veil between what's actually offensive, on personal and micro interpersonal levels, and what's presented as an outrage on the macro level for political reasons.
--
And, Loafing Oaf? Perhaps Althouse is not only not homophobic, but embracing of gay people, both in general and personally.

Would it rock your world, if that's the case?; 4/5/10, 11:42 PM
reader_iam said...: I'd bet serious money that Barney Frank knows what's up w/r/t to both 1) what's a serious threat & what's not and 2) gay vernacular. Who here would actually posit that he doesn't thoroughly know and understand context[s]? And far better than most, including here, I daresay.; 4/6/10, 12:02 AM