SOMEONE SEND BECK JOHN LEWIS’ BIO…. Glenn Beck wasn’t exactly pleased with Sunday’s developments on health care reform. On his Fox News program yesterday, he seemed especially incensed about images of Speaker Pelosi, Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.), and other Democratic leaders marching from their caucus meeting to the Hill, arm in arm, en route to passing their long-sought legislation.
Showing viewers the image, Beck said, “They locked arms, because they wanted to compare themselves to the civil rights activists. How dare you! Look at these people [image of civil rights activists at a diner counter]. They refused to get up! … I don’t know how you could be offended by that.”
Um, Glenn? John Lewis doesn’t have to compare himself to a civil rights activist; he was a civil rights activist. He was a giant of the civil rights movement, and the advances of the era were made possible because of John Lewis’ extraordinary courage and heroism. When he locks arms with his allies to go pass health care reform, he understands the symbolism far better than a self-described rodeo clown.
One of these two men knows a little something about refusing to bow to conservative hysteria and scare tactics, and I’ll give you a hint, it’s not the deranged media personality.
When Beck said, “I don’t know how you could be offended by that,” he probably misspoke — there’s supposed to be a “not” in there somewhere — but if he was offended by a photo of Pelosi, Lewis, and others linking arms and walking to the Capitol, he was taking offense at the wrong developments. What Beck should have been offended by were the disgusting racist and anti-gay slurs from right-wing activists on hand to protest health care reform.
In one instance, an African-American lawmaker was spat on.
But Democrats weren’t intimidated, they stood tall, and they did the right thing. To borrow a phrase, I don’t know how you could be offended by that.
