Congressman Explains His Allegiance To The Clintons
Eric L. Wesson
kccall.com
Rep. Emanuel Cleaver II has been under a great deal of pressure lately concerning his decision to support Sen. Hillary Clinton over Sen. Barack Obama for the Democratic nomination for president and his decision to step down as senior pastor, after 35 years, of the St. James United Methodist church.
Rep. Cleaver went one-on-one with THE CALL to set the record straight.
ELW: Some community members are upset about your choice to support Sen. Clinton in her quest to become the Democratic nominee for president of the United States. Some that I have listened to say that you have not stated a position other than they (the Clintons) are friends of yours. You were the first black mayor of Kansas City. Why not support the first black serious contender for president?
EC: “When I endorsed Sen. Clinton a year ago, there were people from across the state who came and endorsed Sen Clinton. African Americans from across the state sat with her and then endorsed her. That is easy to understand because, according to the polls, African Americans endorsed her by a margin of 70 percent.”
“When we made that endorsement very few African Americans really knew who Sen. Obama was. So it was not a big deal. He won the Iowa caucus and was victorious in South Carolina. African Americans began to leave Sen. Clinton and started endorsing Sen. Obama. I gave her my word and I did not say, ‘Well, now that there is a black man in the race with a legitimate chance to win, I am going to join the other side.’”
“I feel that such a decision would have been unethical, immoral. While some other people felt comfortable in doing that, I do not feel it would have been the right thing to do. The issue of loyalty is just one aspect of my personal relationship to Sen. Clinton.”
ELW: Help us understand the other factors outside of your personal relationship to Sen. Clinton which musters your loyalty and should muster the support of the community.
EC: “There is a core connection in the sense of community between Sen. Clinton and this community. When I made a request in a back room at the Mayflower hotel to get money for the future, President Bill Clinton told his Secretary of Transportation to make it happen. As a result we were able to get constructed, a project that had been on the drawing board since 1984. I proposed and was successful in getting the name changed to the Bruce R. Watkins drive. If it were not for the Clintons the project would still be begging for an opportunity to be constructed but for that
relationship. I am not the only person who drives Bruce R. Watkins drive. So when people think about the personal connection they don’t realize that they also have a personal relationship.”
[...]
“I hear people talking about the super delegates, but like most members of Congress they do not know what they do. Most members of Congress did not even know that they were super delegates before a few months ago. The most interesting part of this whole theory is the part where it appears that black people don’t like black people. We claim to but we don’t. The only people who are receiving attacks are African American elected officials.”
Sen. Kennedy and Sen. John Kerry represent the state of Massachusetts where Sen. Clinton won by 13 points. Yet, they are endorsing and supporting Sen. Obama. They are under no attack or assault. There are 25 white members of Congress whose districts voted for Sen. Clinton but they are endorsing and supporting Sen. Obama. They are under no attack. Two weeks after Sen. Clinton won New Mexico the governor endorsed Sen. Obama. He is under no attack or criticisms. People understand that is the way the system is. The only people who are getting attacked are black people. The Hispanic community did not attack the governor of New Mexico after he endorsed Sen. Obama.” (more…)
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