[...] Foxx then extended her claims of the GOP's progressive history to the issue of civil rights. "Just as we were the people who passed the civil rights bills back in the '60s without very much help from our colleagues across the aisle," said Foxx. "They love to engage in revisionist history." When Foxx finally yielded her time on the floor, Rep. Dennis Cardoza (D-CA) passionately rebuked her:
CARDOZA: Today, what I’m hearing on the floor really takes the cake. The gentlelady from North Carolina, in her statement just now, indicated that the Republican GOP had passed the Civil Rights Act legislation with almost no help from the Democrats. I can’t believe my ears. It was the Kennedy and Johnson administration where we passed that Great Society legislation. It was over the objections of people like Jesse Helms from the gentlewoman’s state that we passed that civil rights legislation. John Lewis…
FOXX: Would, would the gentleman yield?
CARDOZA: No, I will not yield. John Lewis, a member of this House, was beaten on the Edmund Pettus bridge to get that civil rights legislation passed. Tell John Lewis that he wasn’t part of getting that legislation passed.
When she was given a chance to respond, Foxx could only say that Jesse Helms wasn’t elected to the Senate until 1972. [...]
Ryan Rudominer, National Press Secretary of the DCCC released this response: "It speaks volumes that House Republicans would send out one of its top lieutenants -- Virginia Foxx -- to make such an absurd statement about the Civil Rights era given her own history of making such racially offensive remarks."
Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.) dropped the racially charged term "tar baby" on the House floor. Foxx said, "I thought about just a common sense way to describe this to people: the Democrats have a tar baby on their hands and they simply can't get away from it. They are stuck on this problem."
Rep. Virginia Foxx said the murder of 21-year-old Matthew Shepard in 1998 was not a hate crime. "It's really a hoax that that continues to be used as an excuse for passing [hate crimes] bills," Foxx said on the House floor during debate on the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act. And guess who was in the House gallery to hear Foxx say this? Matthew Shepard's mother.
DCCC Executive Director just sent this urgent message to DCCC supporters:
Friend --
Breaking news: Since the historic health care vote, outside Republican special interest groups have spent nearly $2.4 million directly attacking Democrats who voted "yes" on health care.
They have made it clear - they will say or do whatever it takes no matter the cost.
I won't let their special interest friends stop us from creating the change our country needs. This year already, opponents of health care reform led by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce have spent $60 MILLION on attack ads.
That's right - you can help us with rapid response protecting our Democrats who voted YES on health care and are under attack by GOP extremists - and you can even have a chance to meet Speaker Pelosi and Al Gore at a dinner December 3rd (ticket, flight and hotel included).
There has never been a more critical time for grassroots Democrats like you to stand with Congressional Democrats as we move America forward. The Republicans have no plan for fixing America's broken health care system. Their only goal is taking back control of the House next year. I need your grassroots support to help Democrats stand up to their dishonest attacks.
Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chairman Chris Van Hollen released the following statement in response to comments by Representative Louie Gohmert (R-TX) suggesting that a new terrorist attack in New York City would be welcomed by Democrats as a means of creating jobs:
“Congressman Louie Gohmert’s outrageous comments not only insult the victims of 9/11 and their families but also offer the latest evidence that the Republican Party has been taken over by right-wing extremists. House Republicans should immediately condemn Congressman Gohmert’s offensive remarks.
“Whether they’re attending ‘tea party’ rallies featuring Holocaust imagery, comparing health insurance reform to terrorism, or staying silent about plans to burn public officials in effigy, the tenor from House Republicans grows more alarming by the day.
“It’s long past time for the House Republican Leadership to speak out against this disturbing pattern of increasingly extreme rhetoric from their ranks and engage in the constructive search for solutions that America’s many challenges demand.”
BACKGROUND
Republican Congressman Louie Gohmert of Texas suggested Tuesday night that Democrats may actually want another terrorist attack because rebuilding the city would create jobs. [Media Matters, 11/18/09]
Dozens of House leaders greeted the crowd at a Capitol Hill rally where a sign comparing health care reform to a Nazi concentration camp was displayed. [Star Tribune, 11/06/09; Think Progress, 11/05/09]
Michael Steel, a spokesman for Boehner, said the tea party event was an example of the tactics the Republican leader has heartily endorsed. “Throughout the year, Boehner has encouraged Members to engage in what he calls ‘entrepreneurial insurgency,’ using innovative strategies and tactics to communicate our better solutions to the American people,” Steel said. “The rally yesterday was a great example, and Boehner thanked Reps. Bachmann, King and Price for taking the initiative and making it happen.” [Roll Call, 11/9/09]
“Rep. Virginia Foxx: Health care reform is a bigger threat than ‘any terrorist right now in any country.’” [Think Progress, 11/02/09]
The Danville TEA Party, in Congressman Tom Perriello’s district, planned to close their Saturday rally by burning Members of the House in effigy. [Chatham Star-Tribune, 11/13/09]
Speaker Pelosi just announced this contest to DCCC supporters:
Friend --
On November 7th you helped make history when House Democrats passed landmark health insurance reform legislation that will cover 36 million more Americans, protect Medicare and rein in the worst abuses of health insurance companies.
I want you to know that we would never have passed the Affordable Health Care for America Act in the House if not for you and your unflinching commitment.
That's why I would like to offer you the opportunity to join me and Vice President Gore for dinner.
Although we should all take great pride in our victory in the House, our work is not done. Republicans and their allies in the health insurance industry have already unleashed a massively funded anti-reform campaign attacking Democrats with half-truths and distortions. Their goal is to derail health care reform and then defeat Democrats in next year's election. I need your generous support to help defend Democrats who are targets of the Republicans' multi-million dollar campaign.
There has never been a greater need for grassroots Democrats like you to support Congressional Democrats as we move America forward. The Republicans have abandoned all pretense of trying to fix America's broken health care system. Their sole focus is regaining political power next year. I need your grassroots support to help Democrats stand up to their dishonest attacks.
Please contribute today and you could join me and Vice President Gore for dinner next month.
New Anti-Reform Scare Ad Targeting Seniors Was Created By Maker Of Racially-Tinged Willie Horton Spot
The massive ad campaign designed to frighten seniors about health care reform currently being waged by the 60 Plus Association, the self-styled conservative counterpart to AARP, is the handiwork of the same ad guru that created the infamous Willie Horton ads, we’ve confirmed.
The ad guru’s behind-the-scenes role suggests that scare tactics similar to those used in the racially-charged 1988 Horton spot have now been pressed into service to defeat health care reform.
Yesterday 60 Plus launched a seven figure ad buy targeting 15 House Dems in senior-heavy districts who voted for the Dem proposal [...]
Update: It’s also worth noting that the 60 Plus Association supported Bush’s plans to privatize Social Security, too.
In a move sure to spark controversy, the Danville TEA Party will close their "Fired Up for Freedom" rally by burning Rep. Tom Perriello and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in effigy in response to the passage of landmark healthcare legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives.
DCCC Chairman Chris Van Hollen released this statement:
"These shocking and despicable acts are becoming all too common at extreme right-wing Republican rallies. Hanging Members in effigy or displaying images of Nazi concentration camps on the steps of the Capitol have no place in any debate and Republican Members of Congress must condemn these actions.
"While there should be a robust debate about reforming America’s broken health insurance system, violent expressions are beyond the boundaries of a respectful debate.
"The American people are counting on Republicans to join Democrats in a constructive debate to help President Obama bring about urgently-needed health insurance reform."
One week has passed since NRCC Chairman Pete Sessions (TX) made controversial remarks defending the insurance industry's practice of charging women more than men for health insurance by equating being a woman to being a smoker:
REP. PALLONE (D-NJ): Why should a woman pay more than a man?
REP. SESSIONS (R-TX): Well now. We’re all different. Why should a smoker pay more than a non-smoker?
Yesterday his office provided their first public response to the controversy in a statement to the Dallas Morning News that stood by the comparison.
"We scoured the statement provided by Representative Sessions’s office about his insulting remarks to look for the phrase 'I was wrong,' but found nothing," said Jesse Ferguson, Southern Regional Press Secretary for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. "I guess it’s hard too hard for him to criticize his patrons in the insurance industry for charging women more than men for the same health insurance. For Representative Sessions and the GOP leadership, being a woman is a pre-existing condition worthy of discrimination but, increasingly, for women across this nation being an extreme Republican is a pre-existing reason to vote for someone else."
(Opinions expressed by these sites are not necessarily those held by us. So don't even try to blame us for things they say. It will just make you look lame. Seriously.)
