Clyburn Fears Clinton Conduct Could Doom Dems’ White House Chances
Rep. James Clyburn says Bill Clinton's conduct in the Democratic primary could hurt the party come November. (AP Photo)
The highest ranking black member in Congress issued grave warnings to the Democratic candidates Friday, saying the racially charged contest could turn away black voters and doom the party in November.
South Carolina Rep. James Clyburn, in an interview with FOX News, singled out Bill Clinton for comments he said were not “seemly” and could damage his wife’s presidential campaign if she becomes the nominee. Clyburn on Thursday had told The New York Times that the former president’s “bizarre” conduct had “incensed” the black community.
“I am concerned … that the conduct of this campaign could very well make the nomination not worth having,” Clyburn told FOX News. “Our party is much bigger than Bill Clinton. It is much bigger than Sens. Clinton or Obama. It is a party that is here to serve the American people. … And I don’t want to see us conduct a campaign in such a way that it does irreparable harm to our being able to do that.”
Clyburn voiced concern that if Hillary Clinton beats Barack Obama, she might do so at the expense of the party’s usually loyal black base.
“When this campaign is over, if Hillary Clinton is the nominee, she cannot get elected president if 25-30 percent of black people vote for (John) McCain. She is going to have … to have that same 92 percent of black people that Obama (has) now,” he said. “And if (Obama) is the nominee he is going to need her help and her husband’s help getting white voters that he is not now getting.
“And I don’t see how you can go back to these people and get them to vote for the nominee if you have done all these things and said all of these things about him during the campaign … because you are not going to be able to reverse field in the middle of general election,” he said.
Bill Clinton took heat in late January for equating Obama’s victory in the South Carolina primary to Jesse Jackson’s win in the state 20 years ago. Obama supporters said the remarks were demeaning since they compared him with a black candidate whose appeal was more narrow.
But the comments came up again Monday, when Clinton told a Philadelphia radio station that he believed Obama “played the race card on me” during the incident.
Clyburn said he didn’t understand that.
“Many of the surrogates in the Clinton campaign of recent days have been saying things that have been angering African American voters over again,” he said. “I mean, who played the race card on President Clinton? … What does he mean by that unless he is trying to send some kind of signal on race?”
Clyburn, an influential superdelegate, says he hasn’t taken sides in the Obama-Clinton race, but analysts say he, like many other prominent black politicians, has been swept up in the near-lockstep support that Obama’s historic bid for the presidency enjoys among black voters.
“Jim Clyburn … is squarely in the corner of Sen. Barack Obama,” FOX News contributor Juan Williams said. “Jim Clyburn and a lot of the older black politicians started out with Hillary Clinton because of their long standing ties to the Clinton camp, but as they saw black voters overwhelming going to Barack Obama they have run to the front of the parade.”
Clyburn stressed Friday that he still hasn’t declared whom he will support at the Democratic convention in August.
Obama himself disputed the notion that the contentious tone of the race is doing irreparable harm to the party.
“I never believe in irreparable breaches,” he said Friday. “I’m a big believer in reconciliation and redemption.”
And Hillary Clinton has repeatedly said it’s Obama who’s running the negative campaign.
Asked about a mailing that criticizes her trade stances during a round of local interviews Friday, she sharply rebuked him.
“He’s done this repeatedly and I don’t why he keeps doing it. It’s misleading, it’s factually wrong,” she told a Louisville, Ky., station. “He’s running a very negative campaign below the radar screen with all of his mailings and phone calls.”
FOX News’ Major Garrett contributed to this report.
I recall from the last debate that Hillary stated she would help Obama in the general election if he gets the nomination. Unfortunately, Obama did not indicate he would help Hillary in the general election if she gets the nomination. Thus this attack should be toward Obama or anyone else who will not support the results of the nomination. I was not offended by any of Bill’s comments. At the end of the day, each voter will have a choice to make in the general election.
heres my prediction.
if hillary is determined to be the most electable, the superd’s will give the nomination to obama anyway because he is black and the superd’s are afraid of a race war. thing is obama can not win against mccain because too many people in this country will not vote for him. this includes, republicans, latinos, asians, hillary supporters, some independents and some dems. so mccain becomes the president and again, race war.
if obama becomes the nominee, again, he will not win against mccain. result: president mccain.
and so it doesnt matter how you cut it or what the math looks like. the fact is that mccain will become the president and there will be a race war. the black community is preparing, as we speak (here in sc) for boycotts, riots in the streets and protests and whatever else they have to do to ensure that their man becomes the president. they will not take no for an answer. the people of the US need to stop being afraid and do what is best for this country. while he may woin the nomination because of his skin color, we can vote for him for president for the same reason.
Clyburn doomed the Democrats!
This whole situation is hilarious! Our first black president is being called a racist!
Now, suppose the Obama was running a close second rather than Hill… I’m almost certain the black leadership would ask him to withdraw so the party would not be damaged… wink, wink.
you people all need to stay home if you think Clinton’s have done something wrong here. Seriously, you don’t know one thing about politics and it’s insulting that you have an opinion. Obama is a bum with a hugh chip on his shoulder who started a “race” war. He will lose to Mccain.
We need a “fact tracker” in today’s political scene. Just like the death trackers used to jam the number of deaths in war down our throats.
Example: Obama=12 erroneous or factual errors in March.
Billory=65 erroneous or factual errors in March.
Truth loses its place when it can be so readily smothered with lies. We need to be able to hold liars accountable for their deeds. It needs to be more difficult to make lies pay. Repeated and habitual lying needs to be tallied up over time and lead to the sure destruction of the person doing the lying, not the reverse.
How about a “now hear this” section in the news where clear lies of the day are jammed in to face of the public…………
Hey Alfredo, you are an excellent example of why everyone should vote Repub. Please check your spelling and grammar. It’s also great to see that the polls are correct, about the uneducated Dems falling in line behind the the Clinton machine.
If Hillary’s last name wasn’t Clinton, and she wasn’t selfish, she would have dropped out of the race after Super Tuesday.
She’s still hanging on to her idea of inevitability and using every means, fair or foul, to get the Democratic nomination. The goalposts have been moved clear into the parking lot!
The other Republican candidates did the honorable thing by dropping out early when their campaigns showed signs of faltering. They cleared the way for John McCain to become the front runner. He isn’t the best candidate, as the others seemed more electable, but the Republican party is unified behind him.
See Hillary. See Hillary continue her negative campaign. See the Democratic party lose in November.
I’m a Republican who is really enjoying this in-fighting amongst the Democratic Primary candidates. That only means one thing!!! Come November, the Republicans retain the White House. I’m so glad “Billary” is sticking his nose into this so deeply. Everytime he opens his mouth, he does more damage to her chance of becoming President. Keep it up Bill!!!
Gee, what happened to our “first black President?”