Congressman Suggests People Will Don 'White Hoods' If Wilson Not Rebuked
In an obvious reference to the Ku Klux Klan, Rep. Hank Johnson, D-Ga., says that people will put on "white hoods and ride through the countryside" if emerging racist attitudes, which he says were subtly supported by Rep. Joe Wilson, are not rebuked.
FOXNews.com
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Rep. Joe Wilson's outburst last week drew new recriminations from his colleagues Tuesday, with a member of the Congressional Black Caucus suggesting that a failure to rebuke the South Carolina Republican would be tantamount to supporting the most blatant form of organized racism in American history.
Making an obvious reference to the Ku Klux Klan, Rep. Hank Johnson, D-Ga., said Tuesday that people will be putting on "white hoods and white uniforms again and riding through the countryside" if emerging racist attitudes, which he says were subtly supported by Wilson, are not rebuked. He said Wilson must be disciplined as an example.
Hours later, the House passed a resolution to formally admonish Wilson, who bellowed "You lie!" as President Obama delivered a health care reform address to a joint session of Congress last Wednesday. House Democratic leaders had decided days ago to move forward with the measure if Wilson did not apologize on the House floor.
But although Wilson was widely condemned by colleagues on both sides of the aisle for breaching protocol, some went a step further and accused Wilson of being racially motivated.
"He did not help the cause of diversity and tolerance with his remarks -- if I were a betting man I would say it instigated more racist sentiment," Johnson said Tuesday. "And so I guess we'll probably have folks putting on white hoods and white uniforms again and riding through the countryside intimidating people. ... That's the logical conclusion if this kind of attitude is not rebuked, and Congressman Wilson represents it. He's the face of it."
Originally Posted by Gingersnap
