Democratic congressional leaders Wednesday demanded Republicans join them in condemning a spate of threats and vandalism that has followed Sunday’s vote on a sweeping overhaul of the U.S. health care system.
More than 10 Democrats have reported trouble since the weekend vote, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer told reporters. Windows have been smashed at Democratic offices in at least three states, and federal agents were investigating whether a cut gas line at the home of a Virginia congressman’s brother was related to the lawmaker’s yes vote.
Democracy “is not about violence,” Hoyer said at a news conference with South Carolina Rep. James Clyburn, the No. 2 Democrat in the House of Representatives.
“Both of us believe that to remain silent in the face of such activity gives the impression of either condoning or sanctioning such actions,” added Hoyer, D-Maryland.
The top Republican in the House, Minority Leader John Boehner, told reporters that he has urged opponents to demonstrate legally.
“I’ve made statements that I understand people are angry, but violence and threats are inappropriate and irresponsible,” the Ohio congressman said. “If people are angry, they ought to register to vote and get involved in a campaign.”
The white-hot rhetoric that dominated the last several months of debate on the historic health care bill culminated in unruly protests by the Tea Party movement at the Capitol over the weekend. Three African-American House Democrats, including civil rights leader Rep. John Lewis of Georgia, reported protesters shouted racial slurs at them and spit at one of them, while Rep. Barney Frank, D-Massachusetts, an openly gay House member, had anti-gay slurs yelled at him.
Republican House members encouraged protesters outside and inside the House gallery, some of whom carried messages like “Vote no or else” or “If Brown won’t stop it, a Browning will” — a reference to newly elected Massachusetts Sen. Scott Brown accompanied by a silhouette of a pistol.
Since the vote, an Alabama blogger has launched a “window war” against Democrats and has kept a tally of the recent incidents of damage, including ones in upstate New York, Arizona and Kansas. A message left for Michigan Democrat Bart Stupak, whose last-minute decision to support the bill helped give Democrats the votes it needed to pass, warned that “there are millions of people across the country who wish you ill, and all of those thoughts projected on you will materialize into something that’s not very good for you.”
Clyburn, who is African-American, said he has received a fax in his office with a picture of a noose drawn on it and had threatening telephone calls at his home.
“We’re giving aid and comfort to these people, and this stuff gets ratcheted up,” Clyburn told CNN. “We in this Congress have got to come together in a bipartisan way and tamp this foolishness down. It doesn’t make sense. That’s not what a democracy is all about.”
Hoyer told a news conference that “a significant number, meaning over 10” lawmakers had reported either threats, vandalism or other incidents. Capitol police officials have briefed House Democrats on reporting suspicious or threatening activity and taking precautions to avoid “subjecting themselves or their families to physical harm,” he said.
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Article courtesy cnn.com
