“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."--Rep. James E. Clyburn (D-SC)
Rep. James E. Clyburn, the highest-ranking African-American in Congress, clarified statements he made criticizing Bill Clinton and implying that Hillary Rodham Clinton was trying to sabotage Barack Obama:
“I’m not saying anything that people aren’t saying among themselves, and many of them are saying it to me,” Clyburn said on MSNBC. “"That’s all I was saying, that people are saying this. I think it’s a great concern,” adding that he isn't among those who believe that Hillary Clinton is trying to sabotage the party.
The New York Times reports Clyburn calls Bill Clinton's attempt to revise campaign history “bizarre:”
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 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 could to damage Mr. Obama to a point that he could never win in the general election.
According to MSNBC, Clyburn has been talking about this since the beginning of the year:
“I said [this] in January, when we had the debate down at Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, that ‘Bill Clinton needs to chill out.’" he said. "That was in January. At that point, everybody thought that this thing would be over on Super Tuesday and that the leading candidate for the nomination would be Hillary Clinton. That’s certainly what I thought. And even then, I thought the president was saying things that would anger black voters. Now we are down almost into May and I’m saying the same thing. The only difference is that this time there’s another person that’s in the lead who happens to be African American.”
“We have nine contests left. The conduct of this campaign in Indiana and North Carolina could very well be determinative of what we will have after we get a nominee,” he said. Clyburn said also added that party unity will depend on the second-place finisher. “If Hillary Clinton walks off the playing field, Obama is in trouble. If Obama walks off the playing field with Hillary Clinton as the nominee, Hillary Clinton and the Democratic Party, would be in trouble.”
In the following Video report, Dan Abrams discusses Clyburn's remarks with political analysts John Ridley, A. B. Stoddard and Roy Sekoff:
Clyburn is right to be concerned about the Democrats' deserter problem and the Clintons' use of the race card.
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