"First they ignore you, then they ridicule you, then they fight you, then you win." -- Mahatma Gandhi
Cleaver: "Loyalty Trumps Race" | Missouri Political News Service

Cleaver: “Loyalty Trumps Race”

February 18th, 2008 by mopns · No Comments

Emanuel Cleaver claims he’s is an ethical dilemma when it comes to either supporting his “friend” Hillary Clinton, or follow his constituents and support the first Black man for president. Below is an excerpt from a NPR piece broadcast last week:
“Do you maintain your loyalty and your word? Or, do you say, ‘My district went one direction and I am therefore ethically obligated to follow the district.

Uhhh yes. Can you believe Congressman Cleaver is so naive to believe the Clinton’s will reward him for his foolish loyalty?

Read more of this “Is we’s sick massa?” rhetoric from Cleaver:

Let’s say we’re at the convention in Denver and everything is all tied up and it all boils down to you, you have the last superdelegate vote. Do you want to go down in history as denying the first African American a seat in the Oval Office?’ And it’s a powerful question. “I always answer the question by saying, ‘Loyalty trumps everything,'” including race, Cleaver says.

Cleaver is not only receiving backlash form his own constituents, but from Democrat African American bloggers as well. Here’s an open letter from the blogger “Skeptical Brotha” to what he calls “handkerchief Heads”.

Dear Handkerchief Head:

You have been unconscionably silent in the face of Bill Clinton’s racially divisive tactics on behalf of Senator Clinton’s presidential campaign. I can only surmise from your silence that you either approve of Bill Clinton’s tactics or are too gutless to publicly register your opposition. Whatever the case may be, I have taken the liberty of writing to formally register my unbridled indignation and to withdraw whatever support I may have given to your re-election campaign.

Pretending that the President’s comments were somehow taken out of context or don’t mean what they plainly imply simply will not do. Burying your head in the sand or defending the indefensible won’t do either. It’s time to do-you know what-or get off the pot. You can delay addressing these comments if you want to, but you do so at your peril.

Some of us were raised to believe that members of the Congressional Black Caucus were among the best Black public servants in the country. Your actions belie that notion and constitute a slap in the face to those that came before you in the Reconstruction era. They fought valiantly for a seat at the table for African Americans before they were disenfranchised through the white supremacist tactics of mob violence, grandfather clauses, literacy tests, and poll taxes.

Continuing to languish on the Clinton plantation in light of these racially divisive tactics is a betrayal of the progressive ideals of the Democratic Party and to the many unsung heroes of the civil rights movement who fought to make America a functioning and pluralistic democracy. As for me, I am through with the Clinton’s and I am too through with you.

Sincerely,

Skeptical Brotha, a Negro who has some damn self-respect.

Related: 

Daily Kos: In politics, shouldn’t duty trump friendship?

KSDK Video: Candidates Try To Sway Missouri Superdelegates


Comments

comments

Tags: Decision '08 · Rep. Emanuel Cleaver

0 responses so far ↓

  • There are no comments yet...Kick things off by filling out the form below.

Leave a Comment