Video Seems To Confirm No Spitting On Congressman

There's some higher resolution video below I hadn't seen before. Unlike what was claimed during recent Tea Party protests in Washington, DC, it would appear Cleaver was simply walking close by in front of a protester. The protester's hands were cupped as he was shouting. While it appears Cleaver may have experienced a spraying of sorts as a result of the yelling, it does not support a conclusion that he was intentionally spat upon, as claimed.

Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D-Mo.) issued a statement late Saturday saying that he was spit upon while walking to the Capitol to cast a vote, leading the Capitol Police to usher him into the building out of concern for his safety. Police detained the individual, who was then released because Cleaver declined to press charges.

You can see it clearly at 1:25 seconds in. If that is indeed the case, then Cleaver owes an apology to protesters for his false accusation. Cleaver goes on to engage the protester, wiping his face seconds later while going up the steps. But his claim of having been spat upon very much mischaracterizes events in my view.

Comments

[Lisa Graas]

Yup. No spitting. It is rather annoying when someone is spraying inadvertantly like that. Happens to me a lot, being a mother of four and all. REALLY annoying.........but it's not "spitting". Big difference.

[joyMc]

There is now and will continue to be an effort on the part of dems and the left to make the opposition appear to be dangerous troglodites, barely restrained from their homocidal tendencies, dangerous really; in need of strict supervision; not normal and actually the fringe element in this all. I would not put it past these leftist sleeze to invent and create incidents just to be blamed on the right. The media of course will be supportive of the left as always. We will see it everywhere, every day. And of course conservative will be code for racist. It already is. But it will not work. The harder they try the more people they (the left) will piss off.

[Bilby]

This won't sway any Democrats. They don't care if it isn't true. Bringing it up now will simply be characterized as being a sore loser.

[Mrs. Peperium]

Can you say Tailhook 10?

There was a cop right there. Did she look as if anything was askew? No.

They were looking for something to happen.

[Tully]

"How DARE you yell at me? I'm a CONGRESSMAN!"

[Burton Snodgrass III]

lol, this is so obviously set up by by rep.emanuel cleaver. He sees where the camera is, picks out the guy yelling with cupped hands, purposefully walks close to the guy, chastises him and then walks close to the camera and "wipes his face" for dramatic effect next to the camera. cleaver is calling racism when it is NOTHING. The black caucus was trying to provoke an incident and used that guy to try to get it. They could have left in the underground area but had to walk through the crowd. Get it? cleaver is a liar, and not a very 'cleaver' one.

[Burton Snodgrass III]

BTW, who has ever spit on someone while cupping their hands? You would most likely shield the person of your spit by your own hands. I didn't see the accused "spitter" wiping his hands. Maybe it was like that Seinfeld spitting episode where Kramer and Newman suposedly get hit with the same wad of spit. I'm surprised that the whole black caucus didn't complain that they were all hit by that guy's spit, lol.

Kramer feels the sting of saliva and yells out, "I'm hit!" before the spit reportedly ricochets toward Newman. Back ... and to the left. Back ... and to the left.

How about Black and to the LEFT?

[Murgatroyd]

A Democrat congressman is found to be lying. In other news, scientists prove that water is wet, Joe Biden says something stupid and obnoxious, and Generalissimo Francisco Franco is still dead. Film at eleven.

[Diane]

What I'd like to know is why did Cleaver come back to that very spot with a different police officer (around the 2:45 mark), look around, and then leave. What were they looking for. Seems very odd to me.

[mark l.]

ask barney frank to say:
"She sells seashells on the seashell shore."
bring a raincoat.

or, at home, trying yelling/growling "socialist" with feeling of absolute contempt...

I have little doubt that the congressman felt the rancor in tone, and heard what they feared+believed. not surprised that it departed from reality.

[Mwalimu Daudi]

The Reichstag fire and the Cleaver spitting: similar strains of the same disease that infects all totalitarian thugs.

[Just another observor]

The Congressman came back, in my opinion, looking for the alleged "spitter." He looked directly at the guy who had cupped his hands around his face and then made a gesture as if the guy was shorter. I do think that he really thought he was spat upon and I agree with these posts and others that the guy was probably shouting intensely and spittle erupted. Since I have been known to spit from way too much nasal issues, that guy nor no one within eyeshot tried to spit. I mean, sit at your desk now and pretend to spit. The head rears back, the lips purse, missile away!

Another urban myth solved!

[evil monger]

If the Dems think people are mad now, wait until everybody who currently has insurance finds out that their big prize from Obamacare is paying higher premiums to wait in line behind winos whose insurance they also get to pay for.

[Uncle Joe]

No wonder Cleaver said he wouldn't try to press charges. He realized a lot of cameras were present and an accusation would be proven false in court, after the press made a huge f'ing deal of it.

[jeanneb]

Look at the 1:21 mark, just before Cleaver arrives at "cupped hands" guy.

A guy in their entourage has TWO cell phones taping right in the yellers face, no more than 24 inches away. If they guy was spitting or yelling racial slurs, there's your proof.

Where is HIS video?!

[MilwaukeeD]

Any bets that before taking that walk in the sunshine, they said "Hey, lets go through that charged up crowd and see if we can stir them up some more? Man, back in the day, we knew how to protest!" They could have taken an alternative route. They were trying to provoke an incident, and are probably grossly disappointed that was the best they could do. Old guys sometimes have flecks of spit. Sorry. Now, if those old boys had been chewing some tobacco, then they really would have something to complain about. What a civil crowd. Nothing was even thrown! If those were demonstrators at a World Trade Organization meeting, you can be sure things would have been thrown. Had they been Palestinians protesting Israelis, they would have thrown rocks, with great accuracy. Again, what a civil protest. Chanting "Kill the Bill" is so tepid. And just one, female cop walking with them? She didn't even have a shield and baton at the ready. Where were the water canons?

[Jane]

Please join me in posting the following at every news site you can. If we all do a few, it might help. We are the Army of Davids.

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f7wYt9jee2U&feature=player_embedded#

There was no spitting. Look at 1:20 in the tape. The congressman was walking close to this man's mouth as he was shouting along with the others. I would like a retraction and an apology to these people the congressman and this news source is slandering.

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[Pete]

Dan you the man!

[valr]

I'm so happy bloggers along with dana and Oreilly, didn't let this story go..The " victims " are now backing away from their fake story! I for one think that they and the media owe the tea partiers an public apology
We have got to make it difficult for Liberals to label us racists. We should fight them back,and NEVER apologize!

[xerocky]

I'll bet the "N" word didn't happen either for that matter.

[Ohio Granny]

Well well well. It appears the haters of truth over at Youtube are taking down all evidence of non-violence and non-racist shouts because, well, the actual events get in the way of their narative. The real "racists" are the people who ban together base on race and color and try to get special priviledges. I thought Justice was blind so that everyone would be equal. Barack Obama works tirelessly to incite the mob mentality against success. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D-Mo.) wants to start a race war.
One by one, all the accounts of no violence, no racist remarks, and evidence that people of color are on the side of limited government are being removed from view by people with a desire to promote lies and cause violence against us.
We still have prayers. We still have truth.

[mark l.]

"It appears the haters of truth over at Youtube..."
owned by google.

wondering how much of the information age and internet tech will be developed along political lines.

dems have had it in for microsoft, but google seems to be part of their "apparatchik".
************

it's one thing to develop a grand computer system and make billions, versus developing a single search algorithim, and making billions.

I wish bing(msft) all the best in taking them down, but would also root for an improved algorithim. google is so big, I can't help but believe they would, in a vacuum, develop the same growing pains of msft. This time though, they were smart enough to favor the party that was most likely to meddle and shake them down.

[xerocky]

Bing is every inch as good as google.

[Dude305]

I'm sure that when Cleaver came back he couldn't identify the spitter because all white people look the same to him.

[Mike2Cents]

Glad to have Dan Riehl's 'view' on this.
If nothing else, this video shows what a classy bunch there was there.
Sort of like Code Pink meets Mark Levin.
But, whatever.
Game over.
And the screaming side lost.
Instead of voices being heard, it was spittle being felt.

[xerocky]

"Game over."

You didn't happen to read the news today, did you?

[Mike2Cents]

Um...why, yes...I did.

[Burton Snodgrass III]

"Game Over"? lol, it won't even be the end of the first quarter until this November's elections! I wouldn't give 2 cents for nonsense. Mike is a premature enunciator.

[CommonSense]

The spitting, and the attempted hiding of it, are pretty obvious. The fact that people are trying to explain it away is even more disgusting. The spitter has his hands over his mouth so he can spit without appearing to, but you can see the jerk of him spitting and the quick turn away afterwards. The "tea party" crowd is full of white supremacists and paranoid right-wing anti-government types. Those who make excuses for them are only enabling their delusions and helping to spread intolerance and racism. I'm saying this not as a "Liberal" or a "Democrat" (I am liberal on some issues, conservative on others, and not a Dem), but as an American and a human being. It's time we took a stand against this type of belligerence. These are not representative of true Americans, only representative of some of the worst aspects of human behavior when faced with change. Even if that change is for the better.

[Connecticut Dan]

Mr or Mrs CommonSense, First your name says out loud you think you make common sense over others so your arrogance is apparent. I can't tell if Mr. Cupped hands intentionally spitted, but if he did the Congressman reacted and looked the man in the face, upon returning he couldn't point him out. Come on! Me thinks thou protests to much... Bottom line, they didn't need to walk through that crowd, they were obviously fishing for an incident. I'm in the land of Connecticut where the "beautiful people" won't stand for conservatives to even talk. (Head of minutemen needed body guards and Ann Coulter was attacked on Liberal Collage campus) So give me a break if some Congressman who ignores the people he works for has someone yell at him.... Too bad when we vote these people out of office we can't take the generous pension and benefits package away from them too.