It's pretty simple.... the left doesn't like the message so they are trying to silence the messenger... the thing is folks are smart.. they can see through such absurd accusations. I was at the rally in Washington, DC a few weeks ago... The evidence of racism and that charge of folks making racial slurs or homophobic slurs... Didn't happen.. purely fabricated to slander the tea party movement. America is not that dumb.
The democrats accused the Tea Party of being racist and violent. So why would they even consider walking through the middle of the crowd? They were probably hoping something negative would happen so they could say I told you so. Nothing happened so they had to make stuff up.
The basis for all the righteous indignation and condemnation were reports of racial epithets, as well as one spitting incident, directed at members of the Congressional Black Caucus as they made a dramatic attempt to smear the Republicans..
Since all of the over-wrought vituperation directed at the Tea Party movement, and by extension to Congressman Herger and Tea Party Patriots (by a local writer), originates from news reports, we'll first focus on the McClatchy pieces.
The April 8 article appears to enshrine as established fact that "protesters shouted racial epithets at Rep. John Lewis and spat on Rep. Emanuel Cleaver . The protesters also used a slur as they confronted (openly gay) Rep. Barney Frank ."
That slur, "fruit," apparently heard by a reporter, is condemnable, but unreported was the fact that surrounding protesters chastised the individual.
Next, we'll dispense with the supposed "spitting" incident.
As can be clearly seen from a 5 minute You Tube video, which I've posted at Polecat News and Views under the title "How Quickly Spread the Tea Party Smears" (use link at the Daily News web site), Mr. Cleaver walks by a protester who's shouting "Kill the bill" repeatedly with gusto.
Since his mouth obviously indicates shouting, not spitting, and since the Congressman admitted in an interview on Fox 4 News (Kansas City) that he was simply on the receiving end of such inadvertent spittle, McClatchy is reporting erroneously. Perhaps they simply failed to go back and follow up on the Cleaver office's press release of the arrest of the spitter there was no arrest because there was no spitting.
The AP likewise put out that inaccurate news item, which remains an erroneous part of the April 8 McClatchy article "Candidates viewing tea party support as double-edged sword."
Initially reported by McClatchy's William Douglas together with James Rosen, in a web-based article about tea party protesters screaming a racial slur at a black congressman," the incident, the source of the umbrage and hyperventilation, can be described as utterly fallacious.
The accusation is based entirely on statements made by the congressmen, and unsupported by a single ubiquitous video, audio or cell phone recording (as Jesse Jackson Jr. was doing).
Andrew Breitbart offered $10,000, now $100,000, for proof of the slur.
The word of Rep. Lewis, while he was a courageous hero of the civil rights struggle, is not sufficient.