Drowning in Hate: Ugly rhetoric perverts our politics (More Tea Party slander from jourbalists)

Newsweek ^ | The April 12, 2010 Issue | Ellis Cose

[2ndDivisionVet]

Much has been made of the abuse showered on members of Congress at a recent tea-party demonstration on Capitol Hill. Georgia Congressman John Lewis was greeted with racial slurs. Emanuel Cleaver, a black congressman from Missouri, was spat on. Congressman Barney Frank, who is openly gay, was tarred with homophobic epithets. Later, Democrats in various cities had their offices vandalized. And Congressman Alan Grayson of Florida said one of his 5-year-old twins picked up the phone and heard a voice threatening to kill him if he voted for the bill. The startled child, Grayson told me, initially thought the threat was aimed at him.

Frightening a child in such a way is inexcusable. But presumably the caller thought she had reached the congressman himself. And, frankly, I'm not that worried about Grayson. Congressmen can pretty much fend for themselves. Lewis spent his formative years being beaten and tear-gassed by armed, foulmouthed racists on the Southern battlefield for civil rights. And let's face it: taking verbal abuse is part of a politician's job description.

The more serious danger from this corrosive conduct—and the failure to acknowledge it for what it is—is to our fraying national sense of purpose. It's a symptom of "what happens when [the citizens of] a country can't talk to one another constructively," said Cleaver's spokesperson.

When I asked Frank whether the rhetoric was worse than during the Clinton era, he said it was. To find its equivalent, said Frank, "I think you have to go back to the '60s, early '70s." The crazy talk then, he noted, was from the radical left, the likes of SDS. But at least in that era, respectable liberals denounced the radical fringe. Now the Republican establishment quietly acquiesces. And the right-wing media egg it on.(continued)

[2ndDivisionVet]

Do they really think this is working?

[JaguarXKE]

Do they really think this is working?

If by working you mean it blowing up in their faces and ensuring the Dems' defeat in November because more and more people are waking up to the media's agenda, then yes, it's working. /sarc

[EagleUSA]

Just another crock of liberalism and lies. It is so old now, it is not even newsworthy...but has it ever been?

[ez]

I don’t believe a single word of this.

[muawiyah]

I suppose they think it's working, but the news cycle opinions in Newsweek have always lagged about 2 weeks behind the daily periodical cycles, plus, whatever it was back to the previous month.

I strongly suspect this article was written BEFORE Lewis and his CBC gang decided to try to provoke some noise ~ which failed.

It would simply be too difficult to believe that any reporterette was this ungodly stupid.

Just chalk it up to a conspiracy to defame, and add Newsweek to the list of those to be SUED

[Farmer Dean]

Liberals are not the most creative thinkers.The race thing worked for them in the past,so they go with what they know.
Like the boy who cried wolf too many times,Dems are losing their credibility.

[ToughLove]

The persistent lies, I believe, are starting to undermine the credibility (choke) of the MSM to the degree that more and more serious people are now questioning the sanity of the State Media. The first paragraph of this so-called “analysis” is chock full o’ nutty stuff, none of which can be verified. Let them continue spewing this garbage, because it only makes their pathetic arguments stink worse.

[stevie_d_64]

Collective delusionalism???

[JohnBovenmyer]

Throw THIS back at them!!! Iowahawk's a satirist, but he's closer to the truth than they are. MUCH closer.

[TigersEye]

Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, D-Mo., won't press charges after being spat on by ...protestor (I call BS)

Tea party protesters use racial epithet against Georgia's John Lewis

ABC: Anti-ObamaCare Protest ‘Turned Very Ugly’ with ‘Racial and Homophobic Slurs’

All of these accusations have proven to be unfounded. No video or audio exists to support them and no charges were filed by Emanuel Cleaver.

Fox News is about to report these lies. I just e-mailed them and challenged them to provide evidence. If anyone is up e-mail them at Friends@foxnews.com

Congressman Tim Ryan D-OH uses a homosexual slur against Tea Partiers on the floor of the House.

Congressman Ryan Denounces Protestor Behavior

Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, D-Mo., won't press charges after being spat on by ...protestor (I call BS)

Tea party protesters use racial epithet against Georgia's John Lewis

ABC: Anti-ObamaCare Protest ‘Turned Very Ugly’ with ‘Racial and Homophobic Slurs’

All of these accusations have proven to be unfounded. No video or audio exists to support them and no charges were filed by Emanuel Cleaver.

Fox News is about to report these lies. I just e-mailed them and challenged them to provide evidence. If anyone is up e-mail them at Friends@foxnews.com

Congressman Tim Ryan D-OH uses a homosexual slur against Tea Partiers on the floor of the House.

Congressman Ryan Denounces Protestor Behavior

Congressman Tim Ryan D-OH uses a homosexual slur against Tea Partiers on the floor of the House.

Congressman Ryan Denounces Protestor Behavior

[lodi90]

Lewis spent his formative years being beaten by DEMOCRATS. These Alinsky bomb throwers are shameless.

[stevie_d_64]

But they do...Like I said...Collective Delusionalism...

[Psycho_Bunny]

And still, the $100,000 is unclaimed.....

[randita]

The lengths to which they are going to discredit the TPM to the point of lies and slander reveal how much they fear its impact.

The goal is to isolate and marginalize the TPM to the point that independents will fear it more than they currently dislike Democrats. Look what they did to Palin.

They’ve tried the same tactic regarding evangelical Christians and admittedly, it has worked to some extent.

[Eye of Unk]

Well they have been supporting a multitude of lies in electing Obama, they are working many times harder to support the lies and to further cloud or divert the truth.

Being that the truth is like sunlight to a vampire to them its no wonder they maintain the philosophy of creating more lies, its obviously plain to see to anyone with even half a brain.

I’m not worried about the percentage of America that honestly believes that hate hype coming from the MSM, not when CNN and the others are dying faster than rats in a rubbish fire. You can fool some of the people but not all, and some amount of Americans will believe it, and they are so stuck on stupid its just a lost cause trying to tell them otherwise.

[Bahbah]

Based on the comments, the majority are well informed and are not buying this. They see it for exactly what it is.

[TigersEye]

0bama the "Uniter" sets Americans against each other.

Obama To Supporters: "Argue With Friend and Neighbors Get In Their Face!"

Obama Mocks Fox, "Teabaggers"

Obama Mocks Republican 'Armageddon' Rhetoric (Again)

Obama: Police Acted 'stupidly' in Scholar Arrest

NRA: Barack Obama - "bitter gun owners"

A President who mocks and taunts Americans, who incites his followers to be confrontational, is troublesome.

[maine-iac7]

Why is this piece of totally disproved tripe being posted YET AGAIN? wanna keep the lies going?

The most frightening thing in the whole diatribe is a fact - Alan Grayson has not only reproduced - he has twins. s/

[popdonnelly]

Tea Partiers are not engaging in “ugly rhetoric”. If anyone is perverting the process, it’s the Democrats with their constant lying, dishonesty, and deal-making. They ought to cut out the propaganda.

[Touch Not the Cat]

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