In a sign that the will of the voters carry more weight than owing favors to the Clintons, Black lawmakers are beginning to rethink their support for Senator Hillary Clinton. In another sign of trouble for Hillary Clinton, one of the former first lady's congressional Black supporters intends to vote for Senator Barack Obama at the Democratic National Convention, and a second, better known lawmaker is openly discussing a possible switch. Congressman David Scott's defection and Civil Rights Icon Congressman John Lewis' remarks highlight one of the challenges confronting Clinton in recent days. "You've got to represent the wishes of your constituency," Scott said in an interview Wednesday in the Capitol. "My proper position would be to vote the wishes of my constituents." The congressman represents a district in Georgia that gave more than 80 percent of its vote to Senator Obama in the February 5 Georgia primary. These lawmakers are now beginning to realize that they have to run for office again and voters will remember where they stood in the next elections.
Congressman Lewis, whose Atlanta-area district voted 3-to-1 for Senator Obama, said he is not ready to abandon his backing for the former first lady. But several associates, who spoke on condition of anonymity, citing private conversations, said the nationally known civil rights figure has become increasingly torn about his early endorsement of Senator Clinton. In an interview, Lewis likened Obama to Robert F. Kennedy in his ability to generate campaign excitement, and left open the possibility he might swing behind the Illinois senator. "It could happen. There's no question about it. It could happen with a lot of people ... we can count and we see the clock," he said. What he can see is his career as a politician disappearing if he doesn’t follow the will of the people. If he needs a little more insight, just ask the Republican lawmakers who lost elections by following President Bu$h last year.
Obama's recent string of 11 primary and caucus wins coincides with an evident shift in momentum in the contest for support from party officials who will attend the convention. The Senator Clinton still holds a sizable lead among the roughly 800 so-called superdelegates, which are chosen outside the primary and caucus system. But Christine Samuels, until this week a Clinton superdelegate from New Jersey, said during the day she is now supporting Senator Obama. Two other superdelegates, Sophie Masloff of Pennsylvania and Nancy Larson of Minnesota, are uncommitted, having dropped their earlier endorsements of Senator Clinton. On Wednesday, David Wilhelm, a longtime ally of the Clintons who had been neutral in the presidential race, endorsed Obama. The comments by Scott and Lewis reflect pressure on Clinton's Black supporters, particularly elected officials by voters, not to stand in the way of what is plainly the best chance in history to have a Black president. "Nobody could see this" in advance, Congressman Jim Clyburn of South Carolina, the highest-ranking Black in Congress, said of Obama's emergence. He is officially neutral in the race, but expressed his irritation earlier in the year with remarks that Clinton and her husband the former president had made about civil rights history. Neutral, this is why we can’t get anything done in congress. When you win a election you are a representative of the people. And the people of South Carolina have clearly spoken.
One Black supporter of Clinton, Congressman Emanuel Cleaver of Missouri, said he remains committed to her. "There's nothing going on right now that would cause me to" change, he said. IS THE MAN BLIND AND DEAF? He said any suggestion that elected leaders should follow their voters "raises the age old political question. Are we elected to monitor where our constituents are ... or are we to use our best judgment to do what's in the best interests of our constituents." No man, you are an ELECTED official; elected to represent the people who voted for you. In an interview, Cleaver offered a glimpse of private conversations. He said Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr. of Illinois had recently asked him "if it comes down to the last day and you're the only superdelegate? ... Do you want to go down in history as the one to prevent a Black from winning the White House? "I told him I'd think about it," Cleaver concluded. Well think about this Mr. congressman, do you like that seat in congress? Congressman Jackson, an Obama supporter, confirmed the conversation, and said the dilemma may pose a CAREER RISK for some Black politicians. "Many of these guys have offered their support to Mrs. Clinton, but Obama has won their districts. So you wake up without the carpet under your feet. You might find some young primary challenger placing you in a difficult position" in the future, he added.
Senators Obama and Clinton are in a competitive race for convention delegates. Overall, he has 1,276 in The Associated Press count, and she has 1,220. It takes 2,025 to clinch the nomination. But the overall totals show two distinct trends. Obama has won 1,112 delegates in primaries and caucuses, and Clinton has won 979 in the same contests in the AP count. The former first lady leads in the superdelegate chase, 241-164. "My strong belief is that if we end up with the most states and the most pledged delegates, and the most voters in the country, then it would be problematic for political insiders to overturn the judgment of the voters," Senator Obama said recently. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California said she hopes one or the other of the rivals emerges as the clear winner through the primaries and caucuses. "I don't think it was ever intended that superdelegates would overturn the verdict, the decision of the American people," she said.
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