I never thought I'd see the day on a progressive blog where I'd have to defend John Lewis, a hero of the Selma Bloody Sunday march, and one of the "Big Six" in the civil rights movement. John Lewis went on from his SNCC activist days to become a prominent member of Congress, where he has represented Georgia's fifth congressional district since 1987. He sits on the Ways and Means Committee, but he hasn't gone all establishment on us. He was one of the first congressional members to call for the impeachment of George Bush.
So, what's not to like about John Lewis, I was wondering. Why all the enmity? What did he do wrong? He endorsed Hillary, that's what he did wrong. And now people who aren't worthy to hold his coat are taking cheap shots at him.
And no, you're not going crazy. John Lewis is still a hero of the progressive movement. Follow me for a brief history of the events surrounding this endorsement, and an analysis of shameful attempts to spin it into something it is not.
Let's go over what really happened first, before we get to the more creative versions of history created by the spinners. Back in March, before he endorsed Hillary, John Lewis talked to NPR's Juan Williams:
"I’ve talked with President Clinton and I’ve had a call from Mrs. Clinton, but neither have asked for support; they just asked how do I think things are going. And Mr. Obama has called and asked for my help and my support." |
OK? John Lewis had talked to the Clintons and to Obama. Obama had asked for an endorsement; the Clintons had not. John Lewis had originally gotten interested in Obama's campaign at the time Obama announced, but he was still receiving calls from the Clintons and had not made a decision. He was thinking a lot about what he would do, and was ambivalent about who he would endorse at this point. He could see good in both candidates. Here are his words, from the NPR interview:
For a long time, many African-Americans didn’t know Mr. Obama, so they’re getting to know him. That’s why it was important for him to show up in Selma and be visible in the heart of the American South. But he ran in a state that is majority white and he got elected. And I think he will continue to pull together a very large crowd, similar to what Bobby Kennedy did in 1968... Obama may be the first candidate for president since Robert Kennedy to energize such an unbelievable make-up of the American quilt.
Well, I have heard some African American elected officials say, I know President Clinton, I know Hillary, they’ve been around a while, they know the song; you know, Bill Clinton is one of the few presidents that can stand up and sing every verse of "Lift Every Voice and Sing." I can remember a few short years ago, candidate Bill Clinton came to Capitol Hill, two young black men said to me, Congressman, Bill Clinton act more like a brother than a lot of brothers. (Laughter.) So it’s a connection there... There is this feeling, I think, that if the president is good, if the husband is good, then the wife is going to be good and Mrs. Clinton would be good as president. I think it has some of that. |
...and he knew he had to make the decision by himself. He told the New York Times in March:
"One day I lean one way, the next day I lean another way," said Mr. Lewis, Democrat of Georgia. "Sometimes, you have to have what I call an executive session with yourself, a come-to-Jesus meeting, and somehow, some way we will all have to make a decision." |
John Lewis thought about it, and thought about it, from March on through the summer and early fall. Finally, on October 12, he announced his endorsement of Hillary.
"I have looked at all the candidates, and I believe that Hillary Clinton is the best prepared to lead this country at a time when we are in desperate need of strong leadership," Rep. Lewis said. "She will restore a greater sense of community in America, and reclaim our standing in the world." |
And now, John Lewis is out stumping for Hillary. Here's what he said in South Carolina earlier this month:
In a booming voice, Mr. Lewis declared that he had known every president since John F. Kennedy and that Mr. Clinton was "the smartest and the best." After a slight pause, he added, "But his wife is smarter." The audience erupted with a big applause. Mr. Clinton laughed.
Mr. Lewis quickly sketched out his civil rights bona fides, including having been jailed 40 times. He then said of Mrs. Clinton: "She is not a Johnny-come-lately to the cause of health care. She believes that health care is a right and it should not be judged on the size of your pocketbook or the size of your bank account or the zip code you live in." |
So, how did people choose to spin this endorsement?
Well, they didn't wait for the endorsement to start spinning. Go back to the March 7 NYT pieceand compare the "interpretation" of John Lewis' preference in candidates with the actual quotes from John Lewis, and watch words magically appear in his mouth. Here is the article's wording:
Representative John Lewis, whose political career grew out of the civil rights movement, had longed for the day he could vote for someone that he believed could become the nation’s first black president. So when Senator Barack Obama entered the race, he was on the cusp of declaring his support.
Until Bill Clinton called. |
Trouble is, John Lewis didn't say that. Here is the quote of John Lewis' actual words from the article again:
"One day I lean one way, the next day I lean another way," said Mr. Lewis, Democrat of Georgia. "Sometimes, you have to have what I call an executive session with yourself, a come-to-Jesus meeting, and somehow, some way we will all have to make a decision." |
Sounds like the NYT writers can read minds, because John Lewis made it clear that he was not decided, and wasn't going to decide anytime soon. He wasn't "on the cusp" of anything- except being misquoted.
And why would that be? Look at the authors of the piece; Jeff Zeleny, Patrick Healy and John M. Broder. Remember Patrick Healy? He's the scumbag who misquoted John Kerry during the 2004 election, saying Kerry had said that he had "met with foreign leaders" who wanted him to beat Bush in the election. Kerry actually said that he had "talked" to foreign leaders, but that's not what Patrick Healy put in the paper. Healy left it uncorrected long enough for Kerry to look like a liar, and then "corrected" it by blaming others who it turned out weren't even there when Kerry said it. Hereis a Media Matters writeup on Healy documenting these shenanigans. Alegre did two diaries on Patrick Healy's hatchet jobs on Hillary here and here, replete with such right-wing drivel as characterizing the Democratic Party as the "Mommy Party", etc. Wonderful guy- making words appear in the mouths of Democrats since 1998.
For post-endorsement spin and slander, let's check with a real sleaze next, Andrew Sullivan. Mr. Sullivan needs no introduction- he's a right wing twit with a pathological hatred of all things Clinton. On October 12th, when the endorsement was announced, Sullivan wonders aloud, "Did Bill get to him?"
Of course, Sullivan's hate-filled readers immediately respond to produce "evidence" that poor John Lewis was muscled into endorsing Hillary. Impeccably sourced, of course (insert eye roll here).
In March of this year when Obama and Clinton were in Selma, Ala. to commemmorate (sic) the march, John Lewis was on Obama's side. He was with him at Brown Chapel AME Church and not with Clinton at the First Baptist Church. As I understand it, he (John Lewis) wanted to come out for Obama then, but Bill stepped in to ask him to wait.
I won't go on any further, but I see your question as a good and valid one. To which I'll answer with not Yeah ... but HELL YEAH!!!! |
So there you have it, folks. One innuendo-laden anonymous e-mail that won't actually say what it implies, and the matter is as good as settled, according to Andrew Sullivan. John Lewis endorsed Hillary because he capitulated to political pressure, and betrayed the interests of the people who look to him with respect for guidance. You heard it from Andrew Sullivan first.
Understandably, a reader jumped on Sullivan for this:
Why do you see it as some sort of hostility if an African-American decides not to endorse Obama? This is actually the subtle form of racism we still have to go through daily- all Blacks in their right mind have to go for the Black in the race. Do you have the same standards for any other group or any other race? Moreover, your little question if Bill got to him is as insulting as it gets. You mean an adult Black man cannot make a decision on his own? At least Bill O'Reilly 'recognized' a couple of days ago that "Blacks are starting to think for themselves". But I see we still have a long way to go.
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Sullivan, of course, can't let this rebuke go unanswered, because he's an expert on all matters political. He's especially good at pulling "racial loyalty" memes out of his ass:
And an endorsement at this stage from a man of Lewis's stature is more than an endorsement of Clinton. It's a racial body-blow to Obama. And it's not racist to recognize that. One of the more fascinating aspects of this race is the reluctance of so many African-Americans to support the most plausible black candidate for president in history.
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Yeah, we get it. Andrew Sullivan is fascinated. Riiiight. And any black person who doesn't support Obama is some kind of traitor to... something. According to some white guy.
So, where did this poison originally produced by Andrew Sullivan show up? On Daily Kos, that's where. All good right-wing talking points go to Daily Kos when they die, to be used in the service of the campaigns opposing Hillary Clinton.
On October 12 when the announcement was made, there were the predictable idiots slagging John Lewis and questioning his courage (without knowing exactly who he was, of course, being too young and ignorant). To the community's credit, the ones who did that pretty much got pounded. Some people actually showed a little class.
But check this out- Andrew Sullivan's words in dKos mouths not two weeks ago:
We do need a fighter. And we need CHANGE.
Hillary Clinton is not that. Period. And if you know politics, you do know that John Lewis was ready to endorse Obama, BEFORE the Salem event. Bill Clinton got on the phone and told him to hold off. He called his chit in. He raised monies for Lewis. The endorsement was tepid, at best. The story out of Iowa is how an upstart defeats an establishment candidate. And then you will see a shift of all the others in congress on the fence. She need to get her MO back, and don't know how to do it.
And a fighter. All three top candidates are fighters. She does not own that one, as she does not own the trust/honesty issue.
This Week With Barack Obama, I want my voice to be read
by icebergslim on Sun Dec 09, 2007 at 09:42:19 PM EST |
Ugly, ugly, ugly. Of course, requests for documentation of this claim by IBS were ignored, as usual, because the accusation is false. There IS no evidence to support Andrew Sullivan's and IBS' claim that John Lewis knuckled under and endorsed a candidate he didn't believe in. And IBS isn't some ignorant kid like greenboy. IBS knew exactly what s/he was saying, and ten Obama supporters recommended that comment. Now we know where this malicious slander of John Lewis comes from- Andrew Sullivan or someone like him.
So I diary today in defense of one of my role models, John Lewis. He's been through enough in his life, and shouldn't have to deal with statements questioning his courage and integrity from the current infestation of ankle-biters here on dKos.
Here is a picture of him in 1965- he's the one in the light colored trench coat. In the lead.
He marched right into a certain beating. He still bears the scars of that beating- you can see them in his official photograph. And after they beat him down, he got bandaged up and bailed out and was right back in the next march. In the lead.
Not three months ago. John Lewis was awarded the Robert J. Dole Leadership Prize from the Dole Institute of Politics at the University of Kansas. According to Jonathan Earle, interim director of the Dole Institute;
"The list of politicians who are also heroes and great men isn’t particularly long... through his decades-long fight for racial equality and justice, and as a true leader in our federal government, Congressman Lewis represents exactly the type of person Sen. Dole had in mind when he began the Institute’s leadership prize." |
John Lewis is not a coward. He's not a sell-out. He endorsed Hillary because he thought that she'd be the best candidate for this upcoming election. John Lewis doesn't have any "chits" out there for anyone to call in- he doesn't owe anyone a goddamn thing. I don't agree with everything he does (for example, his support for Joe Lieberman in 2006), but I sure as hell have to respect his opinion.
And I'm disgusted that I have to defend him against such slanders in a so-called progressive community.