April 24, 2008, 7:53 pm
Black Leader in House Denounces Bill Clinton’s Remarks
By Mark Leibovich
The third-ranking Democrat in the House of Representatives and one of the country’s most influential African-American leaders sharply criticized former President Bill Clinton this afternoon for what he called Mr. Clinton’s “bizarre” conduct during the Democratic primary campaign.
Representative James E. Clyburn, an undeclared superdelegate from South Carolina who is the Democratic whip in the House, said that “black people are incensed over all of this,” referring to statements that Mr. Clinton had made in the course of the heated race between his wife, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, and Senator Barack Obama.
Mr. Clinton was widely criticized by black leaders after he equated the eventual victory of Mr. Obama in South Carolina in January to that of the Rev. Jesse Jackson in 1988 – a parallel that many took as an attempt to diminish Mr. Obama’s success in the campaign. In a radio interview in Philadelphia on Monday, Mr. Clinton defended his remarks and said the Obama campaign had “played the race card on me” by making an issue of those comments.
In an interview with The New York Times late Thursday, Mr. Clyburn said Mr. Clinton’s conduct in this campaign had caused what might be an irreparable breach between Mr. Clinton and an African-American constituency that once revered him. “When he was going through his impeachment problems, it was the black community that bellied up to the bar,” Mr. Clyburn said. “I think black folks feel strongly that that this is a strange way for President Clinton to show his appreciation.”
Mr. Clyburn added that there appeared to be an almost “unanimous” view among African-Americans that Mr. and Mrs. Clinton were “committed to doing everything they possibly can to damage Obama to a point that he could never win.”
Rest of article at link above.
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From Reuters.com
April 24th, 2008
Top House Democrat denounces Clinton campaign tactics
Posted by: Richard Cowan
WASHINGTON - “Scurrilous” and “disingenuous” were among the words a top Democrat in the U.S. House of Representatives used on Thursday to describe Hillary Clinton’s campaign tactics in her bid to defeat Barack Obama for their party’s presidential nomination.
House Democratic Whip James Clyburn, of South Carolina and the highest ranking black in Congress, also said he has heard speculation that Clinton is staying in the race only to try to derail Obama and pave the way for her to make another White House run in 2012.
“I heard something, the first time yesterday (in South Carolina), and I heard it on the (House) floor today, which is telling me there are African Americans who have reached the decision that the Clintons know that she can’t win this. But they’re hell-bound to make it impossible for Obama to win” in November, Clyburn told Reuters in an interview.
Obama holds a sizable lead in delegates won in state-nominating contests which could be hard for her to overcome.
The purported theory is that an Obama defeat in November against Republican presidential candidate John McCain would let Clinton make another presidential bid in four years, Clyburn said.
Rest of article at link above.
Some folks want him to endorse Obama. I don't know....maybe he should.
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3 comments:
Rikyrah,
Don't you find this peculiar? I mean...are we missing something? How is it that James Clyburn is (acting) shocked about The Clintons unless...he really is shocked. I mean...didn't he get the memo not to trust these people or did he trust them because of some significantly different concessions in a relationship they personally had together.
I'm just saying...a lot of us had the only physical evidence to not trust The Clintons based on his policies during his administration. That was enough.
But I am not now feeling Clyburn's reproach because it seems late in sending a warning...like 16 years late and it seems very green and undetermining if he is trying to start something will Bill and Hilary, if he sending a warning shot, or if he really is heart-broken like a naive waif.
I'm just confused, "Why now? and not then?"
And does this have to do with the election or does it have to do with bridges burnt and favors?
I mean...I was not surprised of Bill Clintons' attempt last week to bait sympathy and to rally a base of support that repelled Obama. That is politics. But I am wondering if people can't figure out what is fair and what must be done to win.
People excused Obama for placating Whites of Rev. Wrights' sentiments and said it had to be done in order to win but when Bill Clinton does the same thing in being disingenious, we call it unfair. I see that a lot of people can't decide on what and how they want to fight dirty and to what extreme.
When I heard Bill Clinton played the race-race card, I laughed. I thought it was political warfare to win in turning the tables since Obama got away with it in the race speech by playing that only older Blacks were angry and it should not matter to the populace to worry about it.
I'd like more fair dirty fighting and I thought that was what all sides reduced it to. I guess Mr. Clyburn didn't understand that and that some people are going to get their feelings hurt.
Andrea,
I don't see it in isolation, and maybe I'm naive in all of this. But, since I wear the tinfoil hat with pride, the timing of Clyburn dropping this, in conjunction with the recent Pelosi interview on Larry King saying a huge HELL NO to the ' Unity' Ticket..and reiterating ' the pledged delegate winner is the one who the Superdelegates should back'....
I don't think it's coincidental.
I think too many folks focused in on the Clintons/Race Card memo, which is obvious, and ignored his warning that Black folk ain't having no parts of them stealing this for her, and the Dems being stupid enough to think that Black folk will just shuffle along and vote for her.
I have thought it was a warning to the HHH (your ass is awfully close to being mowed over if you are seen as colluding with Hillpatine- Negroes WAKE THE FUCK UP) and to White Superdelegates (don't listen to the HHH - the amount of pull they have with Black folk would fill a thimble- and Black folk ain't having it).
But maybe I just wear the tinfoil hat too often.
Ohhhhh! I didn't see what you see but now hearing your opinion, I agree that it's a plausible message using the media as a homing pigeon to send Bill the message. See...I didn't see that. And thank is keen you see that and if that is what Clyburn's message means. We just don't know though.
Since he is one not speak and to try to seem like "the grown up" that he emotionally seems to be in all respect and reverance, he is also elusive in clarifying the ultimatum as an ultimatum for us to see what he is threatening as a wager.
It's like you get that he is having a private conversation with The Clinton Establishment and using the media as the podium but what is being said is inconclusive for us to completely understand because he is clearly speaking in a coded language that only The Clinton Establishment will understand and surely speaks and comprehends of his message.
We here...we are just trying to break the coded language. And look...you see one thing I didn't see (hear) and vice-versa.
I love code talk but it it is a motherfucker when it stumps you.
I think this message was for us to know that "Bill was sent a message" but we were not supposed to hear the complete private conversation. Blacks operate like that. We don't blast everything. It's a good quality we adapted to in slavery, reconstruction, and to survive during Jim Crow but sometimes now we need RADICAL TRANSPARENCY.
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