We Have Been Here Before

I hesitated to post this photo from the Huffington Post -- it is just so sad and frightening. But the country has been here before, in my lifetime, and perhaps it is worth bearing witness to the crazily bigoted and racist fringe that seems to be driving the core of elected Republican politics. This is the opposition to health care reform. The Huffington Post reports,

A staffer for Rep. James Clyburn (D-S.C.) told reporters that Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D-Mo.) had been spat on by a protestor. Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.), a hero of the civil rights movement, was called a 'ni--er.' And Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) was called a "faggot," as protestors shouted at him with deliberately lisp-y screams. Frank, approached in the halls after the president's speech, shrugged off the incident.

But Clyburn was downright incredulous, saying he had not witnessed such treatment since he was leading civil rights protests in South Carolina in the 1960s.

Perhaps tonight, after the health care bill passes the House of Representatives, which looks increasingly possible, and then later in the week, after President has signed the bill and the Senate passes reconciliation of the House measures, things can cool down or move in a new direction. Let us hope so.