Frances Rice: Do Democrats commit hate crimes against black Republicans

"For instance, the liberal media expressed no outrage and not one word of condemnation was uttered by any Democrat after SEIU (Service Employees International Union) thugs attacked Kenneth Gladney, a black man. Gladney was beaten, kicked and called a racist name while working as a vendor at a health care reform town hall meeting in St. Louis on August 6, 2009, called by U.S. Rep. Democrat Russ Carnahan.

"The assault was a calculated attempt to intimidate and silence Tea Party protesters and town hall activists. On the morning of the Gladney attack, the White House presented to Senate Democrats a 'battle plan' to quell the protests. The advice given to the Democrats by the White House was to 'punch back twice as hard', and the first casualty was Kenneth Gladney. In the emergency room of the St. John’s Mercy Medical Center, Gladney was treated for injuries to his knee, back, elbow, shoulder and face suffered in the attack.

"The six people arrested in the Gladney case, including a Post-Dispatch reporter, were charged with mere misdemeanor ordinance violations, with a total of ten charges spread out among the six offenders. Not one Democrat rushed to a microphone to denounce the attack against Gladney as a 'hate crime'.

"Based on the lack of any outrage by Democrats over the Gladney beating, it seems that the newly enacted 'hate crime' legislation pushed by Democrats would not apply to cases of hateful brutality against black Republicans. The Hate Crimes Prevention Act was signed into law by President Barack Obama on October 28, 2009 and is designed to punish crimes of violence against people because of their race, color, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or disability."