Yesterday, I intended to post my very last comments about demonstrations that preceded Sunday’s health care vote. In fact, I gave Tea Partiers the benefit of the doubt in blaming the worst of the abuses on a small number of racist and malcontented cowards hiding under the cover of more reasonable protesters—the folks who truly believed in the legitimacy of their opposition to the health care reform bill. I still believe that is the case. However, there were a lot more “Klanners” in the crowd than I imagined.

My revised opinion is based on the number of people coming to the defense of card-carrying idiots. Defending them falls under the cliche of “Who are you going to believe? Me, or your lying eyes.” Fox News and several right-wing publications are like holocaust deniers. They demand to see video and audio evidence of racial slurs, as well as an incident in which a U.S. Congressman was spat upon. His account of what happened and his reaction when it occured is rejected by wing-nuts as a far-fetched allegation.  

“Preponderance of evidence” is a legal term applied in civil lawsuits—meaning that if it looks like a duck, quacks like a duck and walks like a duck, it must be a duck. The threshold in civil cases is different than ”beyond a reasonable doubt,” the standard for conviction in criminal trials. In my opinion, there was certainly a preponderance of evidence Sunday that some of the folks among the demonstrators were capable, if not damn likely, to scream racial slurs, epithets and try to intimidate Democrats with physical threats.

Consider the placards referring to the election of Massachusetts Senator Scott Brown, a vote that denied Democrats the super majority that blocked GOP filibusters. ”If Brown can’t do it, a Browning can,” read the signs. Then, of course, there were the placards depicting the President, among other things, as a Socialist, a Nazi and an illegal immigrant. And let us not forget the display cartoonish black-face signs that can only be interpreted as racist. Indeed, the “preponderance of evidence” supports claims of race-baiting and homophobia. In fact, it reached the level of “beyond a reasonable doubt.”

In the past, I’ve been there and witnessed these kinds of irrational demonstrations by both extremes of the political spectrum. In 1968, I covered the Democratic National Convention, when thousands of anti-war protestors caused chaos in Chicago. During the sixties and early seventies, I reported on a multitude of civil rights demonstrations. So I’m aware that emotions get out of control in such circumstances, sometimes resulting in bloodshed. In these kinds of volatile events, it would seem that members of Congress would counsel calm instead of inciting the crowd as several Republican Representatives did Sunday. But what else can be expected of a party led by John Boehner, who was nearly hysterical his closing argument in opposition of the bill.

Consequently, I believe there is a ”preponderance of evidence” that the incivility of protesters including racial and sexual slurs. Also let me add that I’m quite familiar with the “preponderance of evidence” threshold. By and large, it is the same standard that applies to investigative reporting. Journalists have not been granted subpoena powers. Hence, we often reach conclusions based on a preponderence of evidence, and defend ourselves in libel cases using the same criteria. In the ten or so lawsuits filed against me during a 30-year career, the standard withstood the scrutiny of plaintiff lawyers. That’s why I lasted so long in a business with a short shelf-life.

Anyway, I will move along tomorrow to other issues in posting my little essays. Maybe the Tea Party can get rid of the few (hopefully, very few) Klanners cloaked under their organizations banner, and try to cool the tempers of others for awhile. Only time will tell if their worst fears about health care will come to pass. Which I doubt. Then again, I don’t listen to Rush, Glenn and Sean.

Meantime, I recommend that Tea Partiers buy my book in order to relax. They need to have a few laughs. 

My memoir, Odyssey of a Derelict Gunslinger, is available at amazon.com and independent bookstores. It offers much more than $19.99 worth of laughs. It is an account of my illustrious (I choose the adjectives) career.