2016 Postmortem
Related: About this forumThis is why endorsements are important to our presidential candidates and in the primaries.
An e-mail that I've just now received from the Hillary Clinton campaign and endorsed by highly respected and civil rights icon, John Lewis, (you might have seen him during the Benghazi witch hunt - er- hearing last week ), is helping to launch the "African Americans for Hillary" campaign and is asking supporters to join.
When I set off to march across the Edmund Pettus bridge in Selma, Alabama, 50 years ago, I did so with the knowledge that I might not come back alive.
But I also knew that what we were trying to accomplish was vital to holding on to the promise of our country: that every person, regardless of race, had a say in their government.
I could never have guessed that in the year 2015, Id be fighting essentially the same fight all over again.
While Republican candidates keep insisting that there isnt a problem, Hillary Clinton has committed to turning the tide in favor of expanding voting rights for all Americans. Thats why Im proud to be a part of this week's launch of African Americans for Hillary -- and I hope youll join me.
I was proud to hear Hillary reaffirm her commitment to protecting voting rights in Alabama recently at the Alabama Democratic Conference Convention -- as well as to reforming our criminal justice system and advocating for funding for historically black colleges and universities.
I look forward to fighting for her the way shes fighting for all of us. That starts right here, when you stand with her.
African Americans for Hillary is a group of supporters making that commitment right now -- because we know how important Hillarys campaign is to our values and our communities. Will you join me?
Join African Americans for Hillary
Thank you,
John Lewis
Needless to say, I'm not African American so I can't join, but man! I wish I could.
Endorsements are very important because those who endorse will help to campaign for their candidate, and their reputation matters.
brooklynite
(94,518 posts)bravenak
(34,648 posts)BlueCaliDem
(15,438 posts)And Cornell West?? Seriously?? He's not exactly loved in the Black community. If anything, he's pretty much loathed because of his overzealous loathing of President Obama.
Choosing Cornell West as the Sanders campaign Black voter outreach shows a lack of understanding of our Black community and their wants and needs, and it was an amateur move that will hurt not help Sanders.
kelliekat44
(7,759 posts)BlueCaliDem
(15,438 posts)They all despise Cornell West and his friend, Tavis Smiley.
JustAnotherGen
(31,818 posts)A LOT of CAPS!!!!! TO MAKE YOUR POINT!
Lisa D
(1,532 posts)ProgressiveVC
(79 posts)But the candidate to actually work for civil rights gets my vote
BlueCaliDem
(15,438 posts)ProgressiveVC
(79 posts)but he's a party democrat hedging the future.
im just a lowly primary voter.
sufrommich
(22,871 posts)Some of you need to really think about what you're saying.
ProgressiveVC
(79 posts)Committee assignments, White House photo ops, DNC (DWS) relationships
Hedge the future: as in, CYA
sufrommich
(22,871 posts)He is the epitome of decency and honesty.
ProgressiveVC
(79 posts)with DWS at the DNC helm, who knows.
JaneyVee
(19,877 posts)ProgressiveVC
(79 posts)but she certainly wasn't fighting for civil rights when she was on the board of walmart, first lady, sen of ny...
Instead, she was a free-trade loving, drug war pushing, patriot act renewalist.
DemocratSinceBirth
(99,710 posts)Always a dutiful student, she agreed, settling into the library to pore for hours over Johnsons positions on civil rights, foreign policy and health care. She prepared with such ardor and delivered such a compelling case that she even convinced herself. By the time Ms. Rodham graduated from college, she was a Democrat.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/11/us/politics/in-debate-hillary-clinton-will-display-skills-honed-over-a-lifetime.html?_r=1
Thank you in advance.
Response to DemocratSinceBirth (Reply #22)
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DemocratSinceBirth
(99,710 posts)I am sure you are familiar with DemocratSinceBirth so if you think you can bully him around he respectfully submits you are barking up the wrong tree.
Response to DemocratSinceBirth (Reply #25)
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leftofcool
(19,460 posts)Google is your friend
Response to leftofcool (Reply #28)
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DemocratSinceBirth
(99,710 posts)Neither her nor her supporters will be bullied by you and your associates...I actually find the bullying tactics sad, contemptible, and actually laughable, being perpetrated on the "internets" and all.
Response to DemocratSinceBirth (Reply #31)
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LuvLoogie
(6,999 posts)Extra "care" points for you.
John Lewis isn't a "fan" of Hillary. They are colleagues in a larger endeavor. I doubt you have any concept of the amount of work Hillary has done throughout her life.
Response to LuvLoogie (Reply #35)
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DemocratSinceBirth
(99,710 posts)Go hector every other Democrat but one who voted for it.
Hey, my first vote was too. But I didn't vote for the patriot act.
View profile
or have the opportunity or bully pulpit the senator/first lady/secretary of state has to fight for civil rights. whats her record again?
Today, regardless of lessons learned over the years, it is important that every young person understand that Hillary Clinton is one of the most important global voices on LGBT human rights in our time.
In the past few days there has been a lot of talk about Hillary Clinton and the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). DOMA was a 1996 piece of legislation designed to deny marriage equality to gay couples. President Bill Clinton opted to support DOMA early to take it out of play in advance of the 1996 election. At the time, I headed the largest LGBT advocacy organization, the Human Rights Campaign, and was quite literally in the maelstrom of this painful battle.
How DOMA was handled by the Clinton Administration was wrong. It was constitutionally indefensible. It was also a time when so many Americans were still caught in a fog of misunderstanding about LGBT Americans and the issues that affect our lives. That made for foggy judgment.
In recent days, some have been trying to reconcile presidential candidate Hillary Clinton with the first lady Clinton, circa 1996, on this issue. Here is my take. Putting aside the fact that the decision on DOMA in 1996 was not Hillary's to make, the Hillary of 1996 is not the Presidential Candidate of today. She knows that DOMA was discriminatory and wrong. Her perspective and knowledge on LGBT issues has deepened extensively since those days.
Her views have now been shaped by 20 years of being a serious student of repressive anti-gay global policies around the world; an observer of the devastating effect of anti-gay policies, including DOMA, on friends and family here at home; and, a leader who has had plenty of time to reflect on ways to be very effective in tough political moments. Secretary Clinton has emerged as among the most important global voices on LGBT rights.
This is a Secretary of State that made a historic UN speech, stating simply: "Gay rights are Human rights." And, she implemented the most LGBT supportive human resources policies in the history of the government as both a Senator and Secretary of state. For all of her leadership, I am grateful.
I trust the more experienced and wiser Hillary Clinton of today to lead on this and many other critical issues, both domestically and around the world. We still live in a country where there are no basic LGBT civil rights protections in areas like employment, housing and public accommodation. With the monumental Supreme Court victory on marriage equality behind us, it is time to finish the job. And to complete that work, I will be counting on President Hillary Clinton.
-Elizabeth BurchWhen I set off to march across the Edmund Pettus bridge in Selma, Alabama, 50 years ago, I did so with the knowledge that I might not come back alive.
But I also knew that what we were trying to accomplish was vital to holding on to the promise of our country: that every person, regardless of race, had a say in their government.
I could never have guessed that in the year 2015, Id be fighting essentially the same fight all over again.
While Republican candidates keep insisting that there isnt a problem, Hillary Clinton has committed to turning the tide in favor of expanding voting rights for all Americans. Thats why Im proud to be a part of this week's launch of African Americans for Hillary -- and I hope youll join me.
I was proud to hear Hillary reaffirm her commitment to protecting voting rights in Alabama recently at the Alabama Democratic Conference Convention -- as well as to reforming our criminal justice system and advocating for funding for historically black colleges and universities.
I look forward to fighting for her the way shes fighting for all of us. That starts right here, when you stand with her.
- John Lewis
If it is okay with you I will defer to the wisdom of the former Executive Director of the Human Rights Campaign and a civil right pioneer over a random internet poster.
Thank you in advance.
LuvLoogie
(6,999 posts)Washington, DC -The Childrens Defense Fund (CDF) celebrated forty years of changing the odds for children and honored Former Secretary of State and CDF alumna Hillary Rodham Clinton on Monday, September 30, 2013. Secretary Clinton was recognized for her dedication and contributions to child advocacy.
CDF is pleased to recognize Hillary Rodham Clinton, who has been a tireless voice for children. Shes brilliant. She cares deeply about children. She perseveres. Shes an incredibly hard worker, and she stays with it. Shes done extraordinarily well in everything shes ever done. and Im just so proud of her, said Marian Wright Edelman, President of the Childrens Defense Fund.
In a video tribute Clinton, said Its the mission that CDF has stood for that Im proud that I was a small part of promoting We worked hard in the White House. We certainly appreciated the efforts of organizations like CDF kind of, you know, charging ahead.
Hillary Rodham Clinton was with CDF from the beginning. Rodham joined CDF as a young staff attorney right out of law school and knocked on doors to research and help prepare CDFs first landmark report, Children Out of School in America a major catalyst for the enactment of the Education for All Handicapped Children Act, now the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. She became a CDF board member and ultimately board chair until she became First Lady.
- See more at: http://www.childrensdefense.org/newsroom/cdf-in-the-news/press-releases/2013/honoring-hillary-clinton.html#sthash.Xoj6Mql6.dpuf--
Response to LuvLoogie (Reply #32)
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Gothmog
(145,168 posts)BlueMTexpat
(15,368 posts)While I would be most proud to join John Lewis, saying that I am AA would be false advertising.
But I LOVE John Lewis.
BlueCaliDem
(15,438 posts)But dang, I wish I could change my ethnicity just to join the group!
procon
(15,805 posts)His endorsement will carry a lot of weight with voters. He was an Obama superdelegate at the 2008 Democratic National Convention, I guess he is now a Clinton superdelegate.
BlueCaliDem
(15,438 posts)Thanks for that info, procon!
Cha
(297,186 posts)BlueCaliDem
(15,438 posts)This IS wonderful news! And it shows why endorsements matter. That was the point I was trying to make.
LWolf
(46,179 posts)demonstration of the fact that no group, including African Americans, is a monolith.
I'm sure that the African Americans for Bernie Sanders group, and the Bernie Brigade, will welcome them into the process.
BlueCaliDem
(15,438 posts)That's why his endorsement is so important for any Democratic presidential candidate. That's why endorsements matter, contrary to what some Sanders supporters are saying.