Clinton Camp Hits Obama | Attacks 'Painful' For Black Voters

[WillyT]

Clinton camp hits Obama | Attacks 'painful' for black voters
Many in state offended by criticism of Obama, remarks about King

<snip>

Sharp criticism of Barack Obama and other comments about Martin Luther King Jr. — all from people associated with Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign — have generated resentment among some black S.C. voters.

The furor comes just two weeks before those voters will have a significant say in who wins the Jan. 26 primary here.

The Clinton-Obama battle has the potential to become a wrenching divide for black voters. Historically those voters have been strong backers of Bill and Hillary Clinton. But many black voters now are drawn to the prospect of a black man winning the presidency.

Those on both sides say watching the battle unfold in the Palmetto State, where black voters could cast half of the votes in the Democratic primary, won’t be pretty.

“To some of us, it is painful,” said state Sen. Darrell Jackson, a Clinton supporter.

U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn, D-S.C., had pledged to remain neutral as Democrats competed for votes in the state’s primary.

But the state’s only African-American congressman was quoted in The New York Times Friday saying he is reconsidering that stance in light of comments from Clinton.

She raised eyebrows in New Hampshire when she credited President Lyndon Baines Johnson, not the assassinated John F. Kennedy or King, for passing civil rights legislation.

“It is one thing to run a campaign and be respectful of everyone’s motives and actions, and it is something else to denigrate those,” Clyburn told the Times. “That bothered me a great deal.”

Efforts to reach Clyburn, leading a congressional delegation examining Asian port security, were not successful Friday.

Clyburn’s office issued a statement Friday night that lacked the fire of his Times interview.

“I encourage the candidates to be sensitive about the words they use,” Clyburn said in the statement. “This is an historic race for America to have such strong, diverse candidates vying for the Democratic nomination.”

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More: http://www.thestate.com/presidential-politics/story/282561.html

Those mines out in that thar field may be old, but some of 'em are still extremely dangerous.

:hide:

[Dems Will Win]

1. The horse has left the barn, Obama could end up with 70% of the black vote

if this keeps up. The Clintons blew it. Clyburn was also upset that CLinton said Barack's quest for the Presidency was a fairy tale.

[CatWoman]

2. that is NOT what Bill Clinton said

some of you people are just as bad as Republicans.

[Didereaux]

3. Rove plays the Kiddy Army like a penny whistle.

[Dems Will Win]

6. Bill and Hillary don't understand that they ARE NOT ALLOWED to criticize the first viable black for

President. If they want to beat Barack, they have to start PRAISING him.

That is the only thing that is politically correct and will avoid losing even more of the black vote.

I don't know why they don't get that.

Too out of touch I guess, and surrounded by Mark Penn types.

[Kahuna]

8. He said that Obama being against the IWR was a fairy tale. Still a lie.

entirely edited:

So Bill TOO is just as bad as republicans. Bill was spinning his ass off and lying the entire time.

[stillcool]

4. I'm shocked!...

can't wait for the fireworks.

[still_one]

5. I do not like Hillary, however, that remark is not racist, it is not complete

and of course it leaves out a lot of people, but what I find amazing is that the woman who started it all, ROSA PARKS, is hardly mentioned

Incidently, it was Johnson who got the civil right act passed through Congress, and he knew by doing so would destroy the Democratic party in the South for years to come

Yes, Kennedy confronted wallace, and King united the movement which he became leader of, but it took a lot of people of ALL races to make it happen, and even though great progress has been made, much more needs to be done

Incomplete statement yes, but that is about it

[stillcool]

7. .........................

1870 The 15th Amendment is passed. It gives former slaves the right to vote and protects the voting rights of adult male citizens of any race.

1889 Florida adopts a poll tax. Ten other southern states will implement poll taxes.

1890 Mississippi adopts a literacy test to keep African Americans from voting. Numerous other states—not just in the south—also establish literacy tests. However, the tests also exclude many whites from voting. To get around this, states add grandfather clauses that allow those who could vote before 1870, or their descendants, to vote regardless of literacy or tax qualifications.

1915 Oklahoma was the last state to append a grandfather clause to its literacy requirement (1910). In Guinn v. United States the Supreme Court rules that the clause is in conflict with the 15th Amendment, thereby outlawing literacy tests for federal elections.
1920
1920 The 19th Amendment guarantees women's suffrage.
1924 Indian Citizenship Act grants all Native Americans the rights of citizenship, including the right to vote in federal elections.
1944 The Supreme Court outlaws "white primaries" in Smith v. Allwright (Texas). In Texas, and other states, primaries were conducted by private associations, which, by definion, could exclude whomever they chose. The Court declares the nomination process to be a public process bound by the terms of 15th Amendment.
1950
1957 The first law to implement the 15th amendment, the Civil Rights Act, is passed. The Act set up the Civil Rights Commission—among its duties is to investigate voter discrimination.

1960 In Gomillion v. Lightfoot (Alabama) the Court outlaws "gerrymandering."
1961 The 23rd Amendment allows voters of the District of Columbia to participate in presidential elections.
1964 The 24th Amendment bans the poll tax as a requirement for voting in federal elections.
1965 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., mounts a voter registration drive in Selma, Alabama, to draw national attention to African-American voting rights.
1965 The Voting Rights Act protects the rights of minority voters and eliminates voting barriers such as the literacy test. The Act is expanded and renewed in 1970, 1975, and 1982.
1966 The Supreme Court, in Harper v. Virginia Board of Elections, eliminates the poll tax as a qualification for voting in any election. A poll tax was still in use in Alabama, Mississippi, Texas, and Virginia.
1966 The Court upholds the Voting Rights Act in South Carolina v. Katzenbach.
1970 Literacy requirements are banned for five years by the 1970 renewal of the Voting Rights Act. At the time, eighteen states still have a literacy requirement in place. In Oregon v. Mitchell, the Court upholds the ban on literacy tests, which is made permanent in 1975. Judge Hugo Black, writing the court's opinion, cited the "long history of the discriminatory use of literacy tests to disenfranchise voters on account of their race" as the reason for their decision.
1971 The 26th amendment sets the minimum voting age at 18.
1972 In Dunn v. Blumstein, the Supreme Court declares that lengthy residence requirements for voting in state and local elections is unconstitutional and suggests that 30 days is an ample period.