On the recordMarch 20, 2010
I'm not going to take my entire 5 minutes here, but I wanted to come to the floor after hearing about, experiencing, and reading some reports of what happened here today in the Nation's Capitol to some of the finest servants that this institution has ever seen by some of these tea bagger protestors who have been out today. It's one thing to have disagreements on policy and it's one thing to have disagreements on political philosophy and how that is implemented and the role, either more or less of government, and what the government role and responsibility may be, but today, we had several Members of Congress, as they were walking from this Chamber back to their office, get spit upon; get called derogatory, racial remarks; derogatory remarks about a Member of Congress' sexual orientation. That is unacceptable. And I am calling upon, Mr. Speaker, the Republicans who spoke at this tea party today and who have supported this movement to come out and condemn this tea party. This behavior is irresponsible. It does not belong in a civilized society. It shows that many people in this country want to divide this country, want to seek out our differences and not what unites us. It's a shame. One of those Members was John Lewis, one of the greatest civil rights leaders this country has ever seen.
