Hidden Power in the Capitol

Walk softly and carry a big stick (in this case a big whip). A headline grabber? Not exactly. Busy? Every day. Congressman Jim Clyburn is at the center of the Democrats' most pressing concerns on Capitol Hill. As the majority whip, the No. 3 Democratic position in the House of Representatives, he's in charge of keeping the party together on votes. For the past year or so, Representative Clyburn has been and for at least the next year will continue a very popular-and powerful-man. So what exactly is a party whip? A whip in the U.S. House of Representatives manages their party's legislative program on the House floor. The Whip keeps track of all legislation and ensures that all party members are present when important measures are to be voted upon. The role of the Whip can be traced back to the Parliament of the United Kingdom which adopted the term Whip from the fox-hunting position, ‘whipper-in,’ or the person who kept the fox hounds focused on their mission. In Congress, the Whip’s job is to count votes and ‘whip’ up support for legislation and keep members focused on the mission.

The 15-year veteran of the House is the highest-ranking Black person in Congress. He traces his political to lessons learned in a where his father went to divinity school but made only $10 a week from the Church of God and instead supported his family as a contractor; his mother graduated from college when he was 13 and then just hung the diploma in her beauty shop. He was always interested in politics. Congressman Clyburn stated made plans at age 12 to go to college and work in Washington, D.C. He became the first Black congressman from South Carolina since 1897.

As a student at South Carolina State College (now University) in 1960, he organized the state's first sit-in at an Orangeburg drugstore with six friends; later, he would join a civil rights group led by future Congressman John Lewis, now Clyburn's right-hand man. Congressman Clyburn was a community organizer, a teacher, an employment counselor, and a failed candidate for state representative before beginning a 20-year career in state government, most prominently as human affairs commissioner.

Although a soft-spoken man, when he latches onto an issue, he'll make his voice heard. Right now, his passions are turning the rural areas around South Carolina's Interstate 95 corridor into a center for biofuels and improving the state's health and education programs, (other South Carolina politicians should take note – try to help one of the poorest states instead of…that’s another blog – coming very soon). He's also focused on smoothing assistance for Katrina victims, and the people of his district.

He was unanimously elected chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus and took charge of the party's faith working group in the House. He was also elected chairman of the Democratic caucus. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Majority Leader Steny Hoyer are the public faces of the House Democrats, but it's Jim Clyburn who handles the nuts and bolts of holding the party together on votes.

House of Representatives Formally Apologizes for Slavery and Jim Crow

The United States House of Representatives issued a formal apology to Black Americans for the wrongs committed against them and their ancestors who suffered under slavery and Jim Crow segregation laws this passed Tuesday. Representative Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick, chairwoman of the Congressional Black Caucus, said, “today represents a milestone in our nation's efforts to remedy the ills of our past." The bill is H. Res. 194.

Five states have issued apologies for slavery, but past proposals in the U.S. Congress have stalled, partly over concerns that an apology would lead to demands for reparations — payment for damages.

The resolution, passed by voice vote, was the work of Tennessee Democrat Steve Cohen, the only White lawmaker to represent a majority Black district. The Cohen resolution does not mention reparations. It does commit the House to rectifying "the lingering consequences of the misdeeds committed against Blacks under slavery and Jim Crow." Cohen became the first White to represent the 60 percent Black district in Memphis in more than three decades when he captured a 2006 primary where a dozen Black candidates split the vote. He has sought to reach out to his Black constituents, and early in his term showed interest in joining the Congressional Black Caucus until learning that was against caucus rules. One of his first acts as a freshman congressman in early 2007 was to introduce the slavery apology resolution. His office said that the House resolution was brought to the floor only after learning that the Senate would be unable to join in a joint resolution. Cohen faces a formidable Black challenger, attorney Nikki Tinker, in a primary face-off next week.

It says that Africans forced into slavery "were brutalized, humiliated, dehumanized and subjected to the indignity of being stripped of their names and heritage" and that Black Americans today continue to suffer from the consequences of slavery and Jim Crow laws that fostered discrimination and segregation.

The U.S. Congress has issued apologies before — to Japanese-Americans for their internment during World War II and to native Hawaiians for the overthrow of the Hawaiian kingdom in 1893. In 2005, the Senate apologized for failing to pass anti-lynching laws. The House "apologizes to African-Americans on behalf of the people of the United States, for the wrongs committed against them and their ancestors who suffered under slavery and Jim Crow."

"Slavery and Jim Crow are stains upon what is the greatest nation on the face of the earth," Cohen said. Part of forming a more perfect union, he said, "is such a resolution as we have before us today where we face up to our mistakes and apologize as anyone should apologize for things that were done in the past that were wrong."

More than a dozen of the 42 Congressional Black Caucus members in the House were original co-sponsors of the measure. The caucus has not endorsed either Cohen or his chief rival, attorney Nikki Tinker, in the Memphis primary, although Cohen is backed by several senior members, including Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers, and Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charles Rangel. Ms. Tinker is the former campaign manager of Harold Ford, Jr., who held Cohen's seat until he stepped down in an unsuccessful run for the Senate in 2006.

Senator Obama Names a Kennedy to Help Pick Veep

Democratic nominee Senator Barack Obama turned in earnest to the general election and the hunt for a running mate Wednesday, as he was embraced by Democratic leaders who signaled forcefully and sometimes impatiently to Senator Hillary Clinton that her marathon duel with him was over. Senator Obama picked a three person team including President John F. Kennedy's daughter Caroline to help him choose a vice president. The other two were former Deputy Attorney General Eric Holder, No. 2 job at the Justice Department under President Clinton; and longtime Washington insider Jim Johnson. Johnson is widely known among Democrats for having helped previous candidates, including John Kerry four years ago, sift through vice presidential possibilities. He is a former chief executive officer for the mortgage lender Fannie Mae. Kennedy's name came as a surprise, although she endorsed Senator Obama at a critical time last winter, saying he could be an inspirational leader like her father. She also campaigned for him.

Senator Clinton has told lawmakers privately that she would be interested in the vice presidential nomination. Senator Obama was noncommittal after his chat with her behind the scenes at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee today. "We're going to be having a conversation in coming weeks, and I'm very confident how unified the Democratic Party's going to be to win in November," he told reporters after a vote in the Senate where he received congratulations from all sides.

While Senator Clinton still wasn't conceding, even after Tuesday's primaries and a flood of "superdelegate" endorsements of Senator Obama sealed the nomination, there were many signs that she was closing shop. She began bidding campaign staff members farewell, and a number were told not to come to work after Friday. Last paychecks were expected to go out June 15. Senator Obama showed patience, but other Democrats urged her to get out of the way. "I don't see why we don't get on with it and endorse" Obama, said Representative Charles Rangel, a strong Clinton supporter and congressman from her home state of New York. He said it was only a matter of time before he and other Clinton supporters formally back Obama.

Meanwhile, the dam holding back endorsements broke from coast to coast on the day after the primary elections concluded. Seven senators who had stayed out of the matter said they were giving Senator Obama their commitment and would work toward uniting Democrats for the election, now exactly five months away. Tennessee Governor Phil Bredesen was joined by two other superdelegates to say they hoped to bring the party behind Senator Obama even though Senator Clinton won their state. Former Vice President Walter Mondale, who had been a Clinton supporter, announced he was backing Obama. It hardly mattered in terms of delegate math now; Senator Obama had more than enough to prevail at the party convention in Denver in August. But Senator Obama's new backers were also sending a message to Senator Clinton that her race was over.

Bob Johnson, the founder of Black Entertainment Television, was lobbying members of the Congressional Black Caucus to urge Senator Obama to place Senator Clinton on the ticket. He said he was doing so with her blessing. Rangel, a founding member of the caucus, expressed doubts that Johnson's approach would work. "I don't really think that the way to get Obama to (choose) Clinton would be to put pressure on him. I think it would have the opposite effect," Rangel said. Uncle Tom, er Bob Johnson is still trying to get his massa back in the White House. If Senator Obama chooses Senator Clinton he had better double his security force and hire a food taster.

In related news Senator Clinton is scheduled to endorse Senator Obama on Saturday.

Senator Obama Picks Up More Superdelegates and Union Backing

Senator Barack Obama has all but erased Senator Hillary Clinton's once-imposing lead among national convention superdelegates. Friday he picked up more endorsements plus the labor backing of the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) union as elements of the Democratic Party began to unite around the Illinois senator for the fall campaign. The union claims about 600,000 members who work in the federal and Washington, D.C., governments. Senator Obama, who won a convincing victory in the North Carolina primary and lost Indiana narrowly on Tuesday, has been steadily gaining strength in the days since.

Senator Obama picked up the backing of five superdelegates, including Representative Donald Payne of New Jersey, a member of the Congressional Black Caucus who had been a Clinton supporter. The developments left the former first lady with 271.5 superdelegates, to 268 for Senator Obama. Little more than four months ago, on the eve of the primary season, she held a lead of 169-63.

In addition to Payne, Representative Peter DeFazio of Oregon and two members of the Democratic National Committee from California announced they were supporting Senator Obama. He also received the endorsement of John Gage, president of the AFGE. "Our people, I think, recognize the enthusiasm and vitality behind Senator Obama's campaign," he said in a statement.

"After careful consideration, I have reached the conclusion that Barack Obama can best bring about the change that our country so desperately wants and needs," said Representative Payne, who in a statement said that Senator Clinton is a good friend and he still holds her in high regard. Payne is one of at least 10 superdelegates who have switched allegiances from Senator Clinton to Senator Obama. None have publicly switched the other way.

In the overall race for the nomination, Senator Obama leads with 1,856.5 delegates, to 1,697 for Senator Clinton. He is just 168.5 delegates short of the 2,025 delegates needed to win it. Senator Obama padded his delegate lead in Tuesday's primaries, but most uncommitted superdelegates still want to remain on the sidelines. The Associated Press interviewed more than 70 undeclared superdelegates or their representatives Wednesday, and many said they don't want to get involved until the voting ends June 3. However, the comments of some of the uncommitteds were anything but encouraging for Senator Clinton. Pennsylvania Representative Mike Doyle said Senator Clinton's pitch to superdelegates has been that she can win the popular vote, but that was undercut when Senator Obama netted more than 200,000 popular votes in the Tuesday contests. "The math just got very tough for her after last night," Doyle said. "I think most of us out of respect for her are content to wait a little longer. ... The absolute best way for this to end is for the candidates to end it, not the superdelegates. That's the ending we all dream about every night."

Former President Bill Clinton helped many of these publicly uncommitteds get their current positions, so they are very hesitant to endorse an opponent of the most powerful family in the Democratic Party. There is some speculation that Senator Clinton is only staying in the race to recoup fundraiser money for the $11 million of her own money she lent her campaign.

Wednesday Senator Clinton lost another supporter in Virginia state House member Jennifer McClellan. "I think the time has come to support Senator Obama as the likely nominee," McClellan said in a conference call with reporters. "Given what happened last night, it's very unlikely we will have a different result, and it is time to come together as a party and prepare for victory against John McCain in November." Senator Obama also got the support of North Carolina Democratic Party Chairman Jerry Meek, North Carolina Democratic National Committee member Jeanette Council and California DNC member Inola Henry. Arizona Democratic Chairman Don Bivens also appeared closer to backing Senator Obama after receiving e-mails from both camps Wednesday. "The Obama one was more flattering and sort of laid out the mathematical facts," Bivens said. "I'm still uncommitted, but I do believe that yesterday's results put me at a decisional plateau." He said the rest of the contests' outcomes are more predictable. "I think that we're at a point where the track got shorter and you can see the finish line." Superdelegates supporting Senator Obama recently have given a number of reasons. They recognize he is the front-runner and want to end a divisive party fight. They were impressed with his handling of a crisis that confronted his campaign in the comments of his former pastor. They simply think Obama would be a more attractive choice at the top of the ticket. They also don't want to risk alienating Black voters who are excited about Senator Obama's chance to become the first Black president. Senator Obama is going to be a tremendous boost for southern states like North Carolina. He will turn out segments of the electorate, particularly young people and Blacks, who have historically low turnout levels. That will help Democratic candidates up and down the ballot.

Senator Obama planned to start traveling to swing states to signal that the general election has begun.