CLYBURN TO CARVE OUT POWER SEAT AT THE TABLE... Majority Whip Jim Clyburn of South Carolina is in his 18th year as a member of the U.S. House. As he enters the land of minority status in less than a month, the veteran lawmaker, who is now 70, spoke with reporters yesterday in the large conference room that is soon to be Republicans real estate in only a
few weeks.
-- READ "CREW of 42" the unofficial blog on the Congressional Black Caucus... http://www.crewof42.com --
-- READ "CREW of 42" the unofficial blog on the Congressional Black Caucus... http://www.crewof42.com --
Regardless, Clyburn is looking forward to focusing on the newly created Assistant Leader position. He views the job as an opportunity to assist poor and minority communities often overlooked in a corporate driven political environment. Most of those issues bread and butter priorities the liberal wing has traditionally championed. That old time religion of liberal causes focuses on "the least of these" in rural communities.
"Nobody can tell me that creating an opportunity in society is wrong. That’s what we re trying to do here. There are still people locked in low income communities without the opportunity — on their own – their families can’t do it. their churches can’t do it — why shouldn’t the government intervene? And this whole notion that the government doesn’t have a role to play is outrageous."
Clyburn referenced several conversations where people have come to him complaining about the lack of focus on minority communities on the federal level. An ironic situation has developed on the watch of the first black President of the United States as many liberal groups have felt neglected.
On Monday, the National Coalition of African Owned Media ran a full page ad in the Washington Post critical of what they claimed was a lack of attention by the Obama Administration on the issue of minority media ownership. To date, no other African American group had publicly criticised the Obama Administration. This was preceded by a critical editorial by National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA) Danny Bakewell.
The NNPA represents over 200 black owned newspapers. Bakewell penned a stinging editorial last month entitled "DNC Abandons Black Voters and Loses the House" and blamed the Tim Kaine for losing the midterms after not focusing ad dollars in minority communities. "Tim Kaine, he and his DNC trusted minions turned their backs on us (the NNPA) and Black voters...."
White House Senior Advisor Valerie Jarrett met with Bakewell last week.
Clyburn has heard the criticism.
"I hear people saying we aren’t doing this and we aren’t doing that and that the Democratic party is taking this and that for granted. And I’m trying to carve out a niche to make sure the Democratic party will not be taking people for granted."
"That is something totally different than what we have been doing before. It’s like the old saying: If you keep doing the same old thing in the same old way you will keep getting the same result. I’m trying to carve out a new way to get a new result. And I ain’t got a couple more years to do this," he added.
Clyburn is working on his memoirs and was reflective about the future in his new leadership position. "I’m trying to carve out a new seat at the table that I know fits comfortably with what African Americans, Hispanic Americans have been saying to me all over this country for the last few years. I’ve been trying to do this from the leadership table with this new position."
Though Clyburn’s Assistant Leader position is set to fit someplace between Steny Hoyer’s position of Minority Whip and John Larsen’s position, the details of how much staff he will have and how much real estate he will be given remains unclear.
Though Clyburn would not go into detail it is widely understood that a major staff reduction is in the offing. Office space along with budget and security considerations will also be reduced. Clyburn said he does not know when he will know what the size of his budget will be. He also stated he didn’t not know when he will know.
-- READ "CREW of 42" the unofficial blog on the Congressional Black Caucus... http://www.crewof42.com --