Rep. Andre Carson: Tea Party wants blacks 'hanging on a tree'

[alp227]

A top lawmaker in the Congressional Black Caucus says tea partiers on Capitol Hill would like to see African Americans hanging from trees and accuses the movement of wishing for a return to the Jim Crow era.

Rep. Andre Carson, a Democrat from Indiana who serves as the CBC's chief vote counter, said at a CBC event in Miami that some in Congress would "love to see us as second-class citizens" and "some of them in Congress right now of this tea party movement would love to see you and me...hanging on a tree."

full: http://www.thegrio.com/politics/rep-andre-carson-tea-party-wants-blacks-hanging-on-a-tree.php
and: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0811/62396.html

[Enrique]

1. ooh, they're not going to like that n/t

[demosincebirth]

2. I know a few who think exactly the same way, they just don't come

right out and say it like that.

[WingDinger]

3. It's bigger than that, they want all huggers hangers.

[provis99]

4. heh. That's my rep!

his mom Julia was a good rep, too. The only Congressman from Indianapolis who isn't a moron.

[nomb]

5. I hate nepotism. I think it's really bad for society - especially politics.

If someone is born into it, I will almost always vote against them.

[provis99]

6. dude, Julia Carson DIED in office.

Since her constituency could no longer have Julia Carson, they wanted the next best thing, and Andre has been involved in liberal politics his whole life.

[LiberalFighter]

7. It's nepotism if the voters don't have a say.

It's nepotism if the person in power whether elected or a employer hires or appoints relatives with less qualifying credentials then others.

[Judi Lynn]

8. The reason he is in office is because he was ELECTED. Voters had everything to do with it.

From his Wikipedia:

André D. Carson (born October 16, 1974) is the U.S. Representative for Indiana's 7th congressional district, serving since the special election in 2008. He is a member of the Democratic Party.

He is the grandson of his predecessor, former U.S. Representative Julia Carson (1938–2007).<1><2> He is one of two Muslims serving in the U.S. Congress (along with Keith Ellison).

~snip~
Early political career
Before being elected to public office, Carson was a Democratic Party Committeeperson in Indianapolis. In 2007, Carson won a special caucus of the Marion County Democratic Party to become the City-County Councilor for the 15th Council district of Indianapolis-Marion County.<3>

~snip~
Political campaigns 2008Special election

In 2008, André Carson won the nominating caucus of the Marion County Democratic Party, giving him the Democratic nomination for the special election to succeed his late grandmother, Congresswoman Julia Carson. During this election, he was endorsed by U.S. Senator Evan Bayh,<22> then-Senator Barack Obama, former Indianapolis Mayor Bart Peterson, Marion County Sheriff Frank J. Anderson, then-Representative from Indiana's 8th district Brad Ellsworth,<23> and retired U.S. Congressman Andy Jacobs, Jr. U.S. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) and U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) contributed $4,000 each from their own campaign funds and $10,000 each from their political action committees to the Carson campaign.<24>

Carson defeated Republican State Representative Jon Elrod and Libertarian Sean Shepard in the special election on March 11, 2008, securing 53% of the vote.<25>

General election

Carson was re-elected in November 2008 to his first full term in Congress with 65% of the vote. Since that time, Carson's hometown newspaper, The Indianapolis Star, has praised him for "going strong" in his first year in office, writing that Carson has " himself to be relentlessly positive and seriously hardworking."<26>

In 2010, Carson again faced perennial Republican candidate Marvin Scott, who took issue with Carson's Muslim faith during the general election.<27> However, Carson defeated Scott to retain his seat.<28>

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andr%C3%A9_Carson

[LiberalFighter]

9. I know that. I gave reasons why it wasn't nepotism.

[Riftaxe]

10. Fascinating, this is getting to be like a reenactment

of 1930's Germany.