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 was Clinton in the begining, but switch after her and Bill tone changed. I’m now Obama.
I think this whole situation is out of control. If the so called Super-delagates wanted this over they could end it after the May 6 (IN & NC) they don’t. I say “WE THE PEOPLE” need to vote all them out of office and put some fresh faces in Washington that will do the RIGHT thing and put us “WE THE PEOPLE” first.
Unless Clyburn is expressing the same disdain for the comments of Jeremiah Wright and Michelle Obama, who cares what he thinks? Were their comments seemly?
He simply doesn’t want anyone to say anything about Obama. But he is saying that if Hillary is the nominee, she isn’t getting the Black vote because she ain’t Obama. It would be stupid for any political candidate to allow him or herself to not tell the truth for fear of becoming a political outcast by a bloc of voters.
The Obama campaign has searched for potentially racially insensitive comments just so that they could express some sort of disappointment in the tone of such rhetoric. It is his campaign that has repeatedly infused race into this election while holding up the guise of taking the highroad.
Clyburn should go sit down and stop tacitly threatening candidates with the loss of Black voters. It’s obvious that he is a Barack supporter even though he hasn’t said so. But the next primary is in NORTH Carolina not South Carolina so ultimately who cares what he has to say?
The Clintonites will destroy the party. Sad!
It is nice to know that on Jan 10, 2008 at a Republican event. I guess Hillary wanted to have some Republicans vote for her, she said that she will not be removing troops from Iraq. This event took place in North Carolina. Please somebody tell me whats up with Hillary and her flip-flopping. At least lets have McCain go up against Obama. Those two at least talks about the issues.
Mr. Clyburn has just put his foot in it, just like all of those before him. The divisions of the party have not been caused by Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama, but by elected officials such as himself and the Democratic Leadership. This constant manipulation or interpretation of the facts has been appalling.
Why is he not speaking out regarding the “gender bias” that has plagued this campaign season, it has been outrageous and just as damaging.
No matter how you do the math, neither candidate has enough elected delegates at this point that is a fact.
Why are our “elected” representatives not looking at what each candidate’s platform has to offer and vetting this? Why is the Democratic Leadership not speaking as a whole against the Republicans, they don’t have to wait for a nominee to speak out to the American people.
The American people in the end will elect the person that represents what they need and want in their lives.
The Democrat Leadership should be embarrassed by their actions, or lack of, unfortunately it will not be forgotten!
“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.”
Highly unlikely that 25-30 percent of black people would vote for Senator McCain given the history of black voters, and their strong support of Senator Clinton before Senator Obama made race an issue in this primary.
Recent polls indicate that if Senator Obama were to win the nomination, 1 in 4 supporters of Senator Clinton would vote for Senator McCain, and if Senator Clinton were to win the nomination, 1 in 10 supporters of Senator Obama would vote for Senator McCain.
How can anyone conceive threats and name calling as unifying? Castro from his point of view has managed to unify Cuba, Chavez has done his country, but look how they did it. Theats and terror.
I think Mr. Clyburns comments and attitute is much more damaging. It is not so much the candidates, but the self-serving machines that fuel them that threaten our country.
Any candidate that claims to be able to adjust the price of gas is lying to you. Oil, and by extension gasoline, are GLOBAL commodities. Their price is set by current market value like silver or gold. Big oil companies for their efforts receive a modest 10% or so profit on their investment. It doesn’t take a mathematician to realize that 10% of 100$ is more than 10% of 50$. When Chuck Schumer or Barack Obama talk about big oil ripping you off and fat cats getting rich from your suffering, they either: a) have no idea what they are talking about. or b) are using generic angst about the rising cost of fuel to fan discontent and promote a socialist agenda. The price of oil is high right now for 3 major reasons and host of smaller ones. 1) rampant specualtion (these are the rich fat cats Schumer should be worried about). 2) the emergence of China and India primarily as oil demanding states. 3) the falling dollar ( with the dollar taking a beating the cost of all commodities has begun to rise) One important point to keep in mind, oil companies are corporations. They are not ‘owned’ by one Cuban cigar smoking wall street insider, who laughs at our distress. They are owned by thousands of individual americans who hold stock in the company. An attack on the company is an attack on their 401k plans. Do any of you reading this have a 401k? If the answer is yes odds are pretty good that YOU are Big Oil too.
It is not just the Clintons who may doom the Dems. Obama and his group have also said and done some nasty things. He has become so arrogant, the way he points his finger while speaking makes me sick. His has a ton of baggage as do the Clintons and I am willing to bet the Republicans are not sitting around doing nothing to uncover some of his mistakes. More and more will come out about this guy. Many of us still question his experience, he is going to fly by the seat of his pants. We must all remember that the President does not independently have the authority to make the changes he assures us he will make. It will take Congress to back him up and right now their rating is worse than Bush’s rating. Change I CAN NOT believe in.