Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Let Steve Cohen Join The CBC

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • Let Steve Cohen Join The CBC

    LET STEVE COHEN JOIN THE CBC

    Tapped
    http://www.prospect.org/csnc/blogs/tap ped_archive?month=08&year=2008&base_name=l et_steve_cohen_join_the_cbc
    Aug 8 2008
    DC

    I'm going to cosign what Ta-Nehisi Coates said about Stephen Cohen
    being able to join the CBC. Rep. William Lacy Clay's explanation is
    patently ridiculous.

    "Quite simply, Rep. Cohen will have to accept what the rest of
    the country will have to accept -- there has been an unofficial
    Congressional White Caucus for over 200 years, and now it's our turn
    to say who can join 'the club.' He does not, and cannot, meet the
    membership criteria, unless he can change his skin color. Primarily,
    we are concerned with the needs and concerns of the black population,
    and we will not allow white America to infringe on those objectives."

    Cohen's district is mostly black. If the priority is to address
    the needs and concerns of black Americans, then I assume that
    means the black folks in TN-09, who voted for Cohen as their
    representative. Unlike in 2006, where his mandate was questionable
    because he won with a small percentage of the vote in a crowded field,
    Cohen's victory this year represents a conclusive rejection of the
    presumption that he needs to be black to best represent them. (See
    my new web article for more on the race and challenger Nikki Tinker's
    attempt to use Cohen's race against him).

    This isn't about giving Cohen honorary black status, it's about making
    sure the needs of his constituents are better served. As it stands,
    Clay has essentially said addressing the needs of the black community
    in Memphis is less important than making Cohen understand that he
    isn't black. I'm pretty sure he's figured that out by now.

    On a somewhat unrelated note, someone needs to have a talk with
    Cohen about his views on Armenians. This was a comment he made
    to a local Memphis television station after physically ejecting
    Armenian-American filmmaker Peter Musurlian from his home. Musurlian
    is angry at Cohen for voting against the U.S. recognizing the Armenian
    genocide in Turkey:

    There have been Armenians who have assassinated and killed many
    people, including people in this country, in Los Angeles, in the
    70s and 80s. And so I don't rest very comfortable with one of these
    fellows coming into my home."

    Seriously?
Working...
X