Discrimination as Practiced and Approved by the Congressional Black Caucus
Tuesday, January 23rd, 2007I can’t really say that I’m surprised by this:
As a white liberal running in a majority African American district, Tennessee Democrat Stephen I. Cohen made a novel pledge on the campaign trail last year: If elected, he would seek to become the first white member of the Congressional Black Caucus.
Now that he’s a freshman in Congress, Cohen has changed his plans. He said he has dropped his bid after several current and former caucus members made it clear to him that whites need not apply.
“I think they’re real happy I’m not going to join,” said Cohen, who succeeded Rep. Harold Ford, D-Tenn., in the Memphis district. “It’s their caucus and they do things their way. You don’t force your way in. You need to be invited.”
Cohen said he became convinced that joining the caucus would be “a social faux pas” after seeing news reports that former Rep. William Lacy Clay Sr., D-Mo., a co-founder of the caucus, had circulated a memo telling members it was “critical” that the group remain “exclusively African-American.”
Other members, including the new chairwoman, Rep. Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick, D-Mich., and Clay’s son, Rep. William Lacy Clay, D-Mo., agreed.
“Mr. Cohen asked for admission, and he got his answer. … It’s time to move on,” the younger Clay said. “It’s an unwritten rule. It’s understood. It’s clear.”
The bylaws of the caucus do not make race a prerequisite for membership, a House aide said, but no non-black member has ever joined.
Of course, you won’t hear the ACLU protest and threaten to file lawsuits over this like they would if it was whites preventing blacks from joining some group. The reason you won’t see the ACLU sticking its nose into this is because the CBC membership is 100% Democrat. Seeing as how the Democrats and the ACLU work together on almost everything, there’s absolutely no danger of any ACLU legal actions here, despite the clear case of discrimination by the members of the group.
What’s that you say? It’s the Congressional Black Caucus, so naturally it would only contain black members? Well, what about the Boy Scouts? Isn’t that obviously a group for young males? The ACLU didn’t think so when it filed lawsuits of all sorts against the Scouts for not allowing girls in. What’s difference between the two groups? The fact is, the CBC is a liberal organization consisting of black lawmakers who, due to political correctness gone awry, are allowed to do as they wish. The Scouts, on the other hand, are a quasi-Christian organization which teaches conservative values and therefore is regarded as evil by the ACLU.
Now, you’ll notice that the anti-white sentiment shared by all of the CBC membership is not codified in the bylaws; rather it is adhered to as an “unwritten rule.” This is, no doubt, so that the CBC membership can claim to be for diversity and multi-culturalism, while all the time practicing discrimination and maintaining a membership which is anything but diverse.
Also, it should be no surprise that some of the most outspoken players of the race card are members in good standing of the CBC. People like Charles Rangel, Alcee Hastings, Jessie Jackson, Jr., Sheila Jackson Lee, and Cynthia McKinney never miss a chance to stand in front of a television camera and scream about discrimination.
Just remember: Democrats believe that their recently acquired majority in the Congress is a sign of a “New Direction for America.” If judged by their actions and not by their words, it seems that the Democrats are taking the country back to the early 1700′s.
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January 25th, 2007 at 4:10 am
This radical group even denied membership to a Republican congressman who was black. Apparently his politics weren’t black enough.