Tea Party Demonstrators Repeatedly Call Rep. John Lewis a "Nigger" and Barney Frank a "Faggot"

Tea party demonstrators at the U.S. Capitol sink to a new low as they call Rep. John Lewis a nigger and Barney Frank a faggot over their support of health care reform.

It is a disgrace that factions within the Republican Party continue to show how racist they are. Demonstrators outside the U.S. Capitol, irate over the proposed health care bill, sank to the lowest levels of human dignity in this country, when some repeatedly shouted "nigger" Saturday at U.S. Rep. John Lewis. This was the same man was was nearly beaten to death during an Alabama march in the 1960s by a pack of racist degenerates. The demonstrators also shouted obscenities at other members of the Congressional Black Caucus. Where are the expressions of outrage against this act of overt racism from the leaders of the Republican Party -- John Boehner, Mitch McConnell and Michael Steele? This is a disgrace. You have a right to disagree with the bill, but why call a black supporter of the bill a nigger?

"They were shouting, sort of harassing," Lewis said. "But, it's okay, I've faced this before. It reminded me of the 60s. It was a lot of downright hate and anger and people being downright mean."

Lewis said he was leaving the Cannon office building across from the Capitol when protesters shouted "Kill the bill, kill the bill," Lewis said."I said 'I'm for the bill, I support the bill, I'm voting for the bill'," Lewis said.

A colleague who was accompanying Lewis said people in the crowd responded by saying "Kill the bill, then the n-word." "It surprised me that people are so mean and we can't engage in a civil dialogue and debate," Lewis said.

Rep. Emanuel Cleaver , D- Mo. , said he was a few yards behind Lewis and distinctly heard "nigger.""It was a chorus," Cleaver said. "In a way, I feel sorry for those people who are doing this nasty stuff - they're being whipped up. I decided I wouldn't be angry with any of them."

Protestors also used a slur as they confronted Rep. Barney Frank , D- Mass. , an openly gay member of Congress . A writer for Huffington Post said the crowd called Frank a "faggot."

When former President Jimmy Carter made the assertion that racism was a major factor behind the hostility to President Obama and his proposals, he was dismissed and derided, but he spoke truth to power. It's as though we are back in the early 1900s and a black man dare not try to lift himself up and be in some type of leadership position in this country. There is no other word for me to use but to say this is racist behavior. You may not agree with the President, but why call him or members of the Congress, who are black niggers? Why did they have to call Barney Frank a faggot? Shameful, absolutely shameful.

UPDATE#1:  Republican Party leaders and Tea Party protest organizers have finally come out and condemned the racial and homophobic slurs hurled at black and a gay lawmaker by some of the health care demonstrators Saturday at the Capitol. House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, during an appearance Sunday morning on NBC, called the actions by some protesters "reprehensible" and said that they were isolated incidents that shouldn't reflect on Tea Party participants as a whole. Amy Kremer, coordinator of the Tea Party Express, said, "I absolutely think it's isolated," Kremer told Fox News on Sunday. "It's disgraceful and the people in this movement won't tolerate it because that's not what we're about."