Tea party protesters scream 'nigger' at black congressman

20 Mar 2010 Demonstrators outside the U.S. Capitol, angry over the proposed health care bill, shouted "nigger" Saturday at U.S. Rep. John Lewis, a Georgia congressman and civil rights icon who was nearly beaten to death during an Alabama march in the 1960s. Protesters also shouted obscenities at other members of the Congressional Black Caucus, spat on at least one black lawmaker and confronted an openly gay congressman with taunts. Capitol Police escorted the members of Congress into the Capitol after the confrontation.

Protester spits on Rep. Cleaver 20 Mar 2010 A congressman who was spat on by a protestor on Capitol Hill says he is declining to press charges, but turns out the Capitol Police say they made no arrests. Missouri Democrat Emanuel Cleaver was making his way through a group of angry protestors when the incident occurred. Cleaver, who is black, was also one of several lawmakers who faced racial epithets as they walked to the Capitol to vote.

Brick thrown through window of Rep. Slaughter's office

19 Mar 2010 The "Slaughter Solution" on health care isn't the only thing that has come under attack in U.S. Rep. Louise M. Slaughter's world this week. Sometime early this morning, someone threw a brick through the front window of her Pine Avenue office. The damage was discovered about 12:30 a.m., city police said. Slaughter, D-Fairport, NY, is head of the House Rules Committee, which will structure the debate on health care reform votes set for this weekend.

Obama Rallies Democrats in Final Push for Health Bill

20 Mar 2010 President Obama and House Democratic leaders on Saturday closed in on the votes needed to pass landmark 'health care' legislation, with the outcome hinging on their efforts to placate a handful of lawmakers who wanted the bill to include tighter limits on insurance coverage for abortions. Mr. Obama, in an emotional address at the Capitol, exhorted rank-and-file House Democrats to approve the bill, telling them they were on the edge of making history with a decisive vote scheduled for Sunday. "Every once in a while a moment comes where you have a chance to vindicate all those best hopes that you had about yourself,
about this country," he said. "This is one of those moments."

Dems race to lock in final votes

21 Mar 2010 Democratic leaders are still locking down the final votes needed to pass the centerpiece of their domestic agenda -- an historic rewrite of the nation's health care laws that would expand [overpriced] health insurance access to nearly every
American. They hope to secure the votes of a trio of veteran Blue Dogs – Rep. Loretta Sanchez of California, and retiring Reps. Marion Berry (Ark.) and John Tanner (Tenn.) – as well as a handful of anti-abortion Democrats who could break from
hard-liner Bart Stupak (D-Mich.) to back the bill.