A mob of people, with a glint in the eye that bespoke of violence barely held in check, converged on Washington once more this week. It appeared that Republican leaders welcomed them. Signs held up from balconies of the Capitol reading “Kill the Bill” by members of Congress seemed to egg on the rowdy swarm. The unconscionable behavior by some of the rabble included spitting on lawmakers, calling out racial slurs as well as homophobic epithets against at least one or more Congressmen. The lack of condemnation by Republican leaders has been taken, along with ambiguous statements, to condone behavior way out of line and unacceptable in our national’s Capitol. It has not been the first time but it must be the last.
John Boehner, the Republican leader in the House, after the fact and a time, decided to make a statement saying that such behavior is not right. However, he had been part of the problem himself up to that point. And lest we forget he had addressed another horde of tea party members when they came to Washington, holding up a thick bunch of papers, saying that this [healthcare bill, supposedly] is the worst threat to democracy he’s seen in his 18 years in Washington. Such hyperbole was welcome fuel to the hooligans and no doubt made them feel that they were being given permission to do as they please to achieve their own ends, which by the way seem quite murky beyond wreaking havoc. I don’t think they have any idea where they go from after destruction. After all, they don’t think the government should exist, and yet they seem to not understand the results of something so drastic.
What I find interesting is how many lawmakers seem to agree or at least egg on this rabble. Makes you wonder why they ran for office and agreed to become part of government if they’re going to encourage people to tear down government. It’s like giving someone a loaded rifle and saying, “Shoot me.” Or have they missed that part of it?
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