GA Congressman Target of Racism, Swastika

The right-wing backlash against Democrats took a decidedly ugly turn in Smyrna, Georgia, home to moderate Democratic Rep. David Scott: On Tuesday, a swastika was found painted across a sign with the Congressman's name at his office. The Associated Press reports that Scott, who is black, has been the recipient of racist hate mail in the last week, including multiple N-word references to him. But Scott's dilemmas don't end there: On Wednesday, Talking Points Memo reports that leaked emails from a Tea Party protest group that suggesting that "CNBC approached Tea Party activists, looking for angry protest events that would make good television." The leaked emails were written by Tea Party Patriots leaders and deal with "a media request for an event this week that will have lots of energy and lots of anger. This is for CNBC." The Tea Baggers note that a protest against "the Congressman who got a swastika painted on his office" should be "a riot! literally..." Scott landed in the news one week ago when he shouted back at health care protesters during a town hall meant to discuss plans for an area highway. Scott, who is a moderate Democrat, represents an Atlanta-area district that is mostly white. The FBI, Capitol Police, and Smyrna Police Department are investigating the vandalism; Tea Party Patriots released a statement against violence and its leader has since decided to skip the Scott event; CNBC has yet to weigh in.