It seems that ugly crowd of protestors harassing members of Congress in the Capitol complex this afternoon got even uglier than we thought. As noted earlier, in addition to menacing behavior toward multiple members of Congress, one protestor called Rep. Barney Frank a “faggot”, a taunt greeted by laughter from fellow protestors.
We’re now getting reports that other protestors yelled “nigger” at Rep. John Lewis (D-GA).
More shortly.
Late Update: Our account of the ugliness, from our two reporters on the Hill.
Our report from the Hill on “nigger” and “faggot” being hurled at black and gay lawmakers during this afternoon’s tea party protests.
Rep. Zack Space (D-OH), who voted for the House health care bill last fall, has announced that he will vote no on the Senate bill tomorrow. We’re told that this wasn’t a surprise to Speaker Pelosi but that she didn’t release him to vote no either, as sometimes happens late in the game when the leadership knows it has enough votes and can spare some to protect vulnerable incumbents.
Rep. Michael Capuano (D-MA) announces he’ll vote ‘yes’ on Health Care Reform.
Sends email to constituents: “After careful review and absent any last minute changes on reconciliation, I will vote YES on health care reform. Although I am not happy with every aspect of this bill, I have come to the conclusion that the benefits for Massachusetts and the country outweigh the problems.”
President Obama’s invokes Lincoln this afternoon in his talk to House Democrats: “I am not bound to win, but I’m bound to be true. I’m not bound to succeed, but I’m bound to live up to what light I have.” Watch.
From Politico …
In the jittery days following Scott Brown’s Senate victory, Nancy Pelosi was eager to resurrect comprehensive health reform. But first, she had to get past longtime ally Rahm Emanuel, who was counseling President Barack Obama to consider a smaller, piecemeal approach.
Rep. Tim Ryan (D-OH) takes to the floor of the House to denounce racist and homophobic slurs by Tea Party protestors on Capitol Hill today.
We’ll be here through the day with all the latest health care reform developments. The House convenes at 1 p.m. ET, and Democrats are expecting the actual vote to come between 6 and 10 p.m. ET.
As described yesterday by Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD), the House will debate for two hours the reconciliation package, a.k.a., the “fix” to the Senate bill. Following the vote on the reconciliation bill, they will then vote on the Senate bill.
Do Democrats have the votes? Here’s the latest on that question.
TPM Reader AI pipes up:
Watching the whip counts, I remain fairly optimistic that Pelosi will get the votes. But I still can’t help but be bothered that this is even down to the wire. Really, this should not be a tough call for any Democrats in Congress.
Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-OH), one of the group of pro-lifers ostensibly led by Rep. Bart Stupak (D-MI), will vote for the Senate bill.