You would think the Congressional Black Caucus would at least have some minor quibbles with Charles Barron, the David Duke-endorsed congressional candidate who’s been denounced as “an anti-Israel, racist anti-Semite” by the National Jewish Democratic Council and criticized by legions of other Democrats. But while CBC is staying neutral on the race between Barron and Hakeem Jeffries, its chairman Rep. Emanuel Cleaver told Capital New York that he sees at least one bright side no matter which candidate wins:
“The good news is there is hardly any chance we won’t have a CBC member elected from that seat,” said Emmanuel Cleaver, a longtime congressman from Missouri who has chaired the caucus since 2010.
I asked him if he thought one of the candidates in the race might be better suited to be a new member of the CBC and serve in Congress. …
“We’re trying to stay out of it. None of us really know any of the candidates,” he said. “All we know is what we’ve been reading. Some of it is, you know, a little acidic. I was briefed yesterday, again, on this race, since I was coming up here. And we just made a decision that we were going to stay out of it.”
Cleaver says some of what he’s been reading about the race has been “a little acidic.” Is he referring to Barron’s comparison of Gaza to a “death camp” and his rants about the “Jewish lobby”? If so, it’s unfortunate that Cleaver, a former civil rights leader, wouldn’t specify Barron by name. The CBC’s neutrality in the race is notable among national Democrats, who have been coming out against Barron in droves during the last week or so:
Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chairman Steve Israel; both of the state’s senators, Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand; and Gov. Andrew Cuomo are just the latest Democratic heavyweights to throw their support behind Jeffries. It’s hard to tell if there’s a reason for them to be worried: There’s been no independent polling in the district, and Jeffries, a New York assemblyman, has raised $770,445 to Barron’s $113,640 — two-fifths of Barron’s total is from himself.
“It’s really become a race to watch, because it’s impossible to know what’s going to happen,” said Doug Muzzio, a political analyst and professor of public affairs at Baruch College, although he still thinks Jeffries will win. “Barron has been a prominent voice for the African-American community and has a lot of support, but the key question is do people think he’ll be effective in Washington?”
Tomorrow’s primary race will be watched closely around the country, and not just by Democratic politicians. The Emergency Committee for Israel has released a new ad educating voters about Barron’s history of hatemongering. There have been no independent polls showing Barron with a lead, and the Jeffries campaign maintains there’s no reason to believe Barron is surging. But Democrats have been growing exceedingly nervous the past week, which indicates that the race is very tight in internal polling.
Black Democrats finally letting the mask fall. Been saying this for years.
I love that Left-wing real anti-Semites/racists like Barron /Jim Moran get passes because they vote the "right" way, while people like Sarah Palin get slandered as anti-Semites.
Look for the silver lining. It's a boost for Romney. I'd rather Barron go to hell before the election, but his candidacy might wake up some Jewish voters who thought and think that the racist Wright was a GOP ploy. Now don't tell me that there is no connection. The Democrats ignored the racist Wright in 2008 and look at what happened. At least they are not ignoring this trash – so far. If the trash is nominated, will the Democrat Party condemn him at that point? Let's hope it does not come to that.
bunch of rather parochial popinjays commenting as if they think that the fools supporting Barron put the weight on issues as the Commentary folks. n nperhaps it doesn't occur to my friends here that there are people in the district in question whose entire universe doesn't revolve around Israel….. Some folks recognize that the Middle East is a pimple on the tush of the planet and the chief concern for them is live in the USA and their own city. n nthey could care less about whether some settlers are unhappy with not getting to squat on land that not only doesn't belong to israel but also isn't owned by them. they don't care if Jerusalem isn't governed with the goal of insuring it to be more than 2/3 Jews. n nthey want to elect a congressman who will represent THEIR concerns not Hamas' or the Haredim's. n nyou, however are the same set of self-absorbed pimples who decry a pile of puke such as Barron's being on the ballot but bemoan that a fascist ,torturing octogenarian gets pushing out of power after 30 years. n n npull your heads out every once and again.
I hope I'm wrong-but I think Barron will win .Sharpton's ascendency-foolishly abetted by Koch – has created a vacuum in B'klyn for the Farrakhan style anti-Semitism that far too many blacks respond to,admire,and sympathize with. I hope I'm wrong. Will it wake some Jews up if this vile trash talking charlatan is elected?If they haven't woken up by now…..Maybe it will wake up a few young OWS – type Jews, though……The Black Caucus neutrality is shameful-but not as shameful as the UFT's endorsement of him….Let's hope Barron loses-This is one bet I want to lose.
“The good news is there is hardly any chance we won’t have a CBC member elected from that seat,” n nIt's a Voting Act Mandated Gerrymandered district that is GUARANTEED to be one where only a Black can win. That is why I almost hope that Barron wins — much as an alcoholic must hit bottom before seeking help, much as a battered woman has to be beaten up enough times to realize that she really doesn't want to be in the relationship anymore, it's going to take something like a rabid AntiSemite to wake people up to just how bad an idea it is to have these "Minority Majority" setaside districts. n nAnd should Barron win, it would put the Democrats in a terrible position — it would create a schism between the party and the CBC and that could be interesting….