u.s. tea-party wingnuts with their masks off

The supposedly anti-government, anti-public-spending crowd in the US shows its true face.

Representative Andre Carson, an Indiana Democrat, told a reporter that as he left the Cannon House Office Building with Georgia Democratic Representative John Lewis, a leader of the civil rights era, some among the crowd chanted “the N-word, the N-word, 15 times.” Both Mr. Carson and Mr. Lewis are black.

“It was like going into the time machine with John Lewis,” said Mr. Carson, a large former police officer who said he wasn't frightened; he said he worried about the 70-year-old Mr. Lewis, who is twice his age. “He said it reminded him of another time.”

Kristie Greco, spokeswoman for Democratic Whip Jim Clyburn, said a protester spit on Representative Emanuel Cleaver, D-Mo., who is black. Mr. Cleaver's office said the protester was arrested but said the congressman won't press charges.

Mr. Clyburn, who led fellow black students in integrating South Carolina's public facilities a half-century ago, called the behaviour “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,” Mr. Clyburn told reporters.

Never doubt what is fueling these people's anger. According to a blog at Firedoglake (otherwise unsourced), "many protesters shouted "kill Obama 'pause' bill" ".

If the tea-partiers are so opposed to government spending, why aren't they protesting the two occupations the US is funding to the tune of at least $880 billion and as much as $1.03 trillion, this year alone? Because they don't give a crap about government spending. They're furious that a man with brown skin is living in the White House.

Although there's nothing funny about this incident, the Globe and Mail's headline was, perhaps unintentionally, amusing: "Washington turns ugly on eve of historic health-care vote". Turns ugly? You're too kind.