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Rep. Lewis: African-Americans frustrated with unemployment rate, not Obama

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ProSense Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Aug-19-11 08:38 AM
Original message
Rep. Lewis: African-Americans frustrated with unemployment rate, not Obama

Rep. Lewis: African-Americans frustrated with unemployment rate, not Obama

By Daniel Strauss

Lewis's comments come after Rep. Maxine Waters said the black community is supportive of Obama but also "getting tired."

African-Americans aren't frustrated with President Obama, they are frustrated with the high unemployment rate, Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.) said.

"I don't think the people that I've been talking to today, and there's several thousand individuals here," Lewis said from a job fair in Atlanta. "They're not frustrated with President Obama, they're frustrated with unemployment. They want all of us to work together, to create jobs and put people back to work."

Lewis's comments to MSNBC come a few days after Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) said the black community was supportive of Obama but are also "getting tired."

"We’re supportive of the president, but we getting tired, y’all. Getting tired," Waters said Tuesday in Detroit at a Congressional Black Caucus town hall. "And so what we want to do is we want to give the president every opportunity to show, to show what he can do and what he’s prepared to lead on. We want to give him every opportunity, but our people are hurting. The unemployment is unconscionable. We don’t know what the strategy is."

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Enrique Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Aug-19-11 08:45 AM
Response to Original message
1. if Lewis said anything that matched the headline
it's not in this news story. Lewis correctly limited his comments to the people he spoke with, and didn't claim to speak for his whole race, at least in the quotes reported in this very short story. I'm sure Lewis knows as well as anyone that African Americans have a wide variety of views.

And regarding Maxine Waters, "The Hill" leaves out the most interesting thing, which was not what Waters said but the reaction from her audience.
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ProSense Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Aug-19-11 08:58 AM
Response to Reply #1
2. Hmmmm?
"Lewis correctly limited his comments to the people he spoke with, and didn't claim to speak for his whole race"

He limited his comments to the people he spoke with, which likely represents an overwhelming majority of the black community.

It's wishful thinking to believe that a few shouts at Maxine Waters represents the majority.



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Supersedeas Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Aug-19-11 01:38 PM
Response to Reply #2
4. Now there a fight over who represents what?
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FrenchieCat Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Aug-19-11 10:55 AM
Response to Original message
3. Thanks ProSense!
Edited on Fri Aug-19-11 10:56 AM by FrenchieCat
I will be writing individual letters to each member of the CBC.

African-Americans will be sticking together for the most part,
and supporting our President. I will predict that! :hi:
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politicasista Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Aug-19-11 04:33 PM
Response to Original message
5. Kick
:kick: :patriot:
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great white snark Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Aug-19-11 04:38 PM
Response to Original message
6. K&R. Thanks for the info ProSense.
Have a good weekend and get some rest dammit, you certainly deserve it.

:kick:
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Number23 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Aug-19-11 08:37 PM
Response to Original message
7. Rec'd. Certain people have been salivating over Maxine's comments
and what they pray are Obama's worsening numbers in the black community.

Maxine is absolutely right. People are tired. But her comment that she wanted to be "unleashed" backs up what Lewis is saying here perfectly. Black people don't want her going after Obama. They are mad at Congress and at these unemployment numbers. Maxine wants to go after the president and wants her constituents to "unleash" her so that she can do that. They don't want her to.
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Supersedeas Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Aug-23-11 10:02 AM
Response to Reply #7
10. She conceded as much when she made those comments about being unleashed
If anything, her comments were an explanation about why Congressional representatives have been hesitant about pushing back against the President's efforts to reach a compromise with Republicans.
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Number23 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Aug-20-11 06:57 PM
Response to Original message
8. Surprising that this is getting so little attention here
Cornel or Belafonte blasts Obama, 300+ recs. Maxine Waters begs to be "unleashed" so that she can criticize the president for not creating a jobs bills that she and the other members of Congress should be creating, 100+ replies.

A black member of Congress and Civil Rights hero says that Obama is not the genuine issue, crickets.
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EffieBlack Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Aug-23-11 09:17 PM
Response to Reply #8
14. +1
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Supersedeas Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Aug-24-11 09:43 AM
Response to Reply #8
16. Numbers don't lie
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BumRushDaShow Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Aug-20-11 07:10 PM
Response to Original message
9. K&R
Too much sh!t-stirring going on.
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CitizenLeft Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Aug-23-11 12:53 PM
Response to Original message
11. I'm African-American, and I work in an office bldg where about half...
...of the personnel is also black. I hear snippets of conversations about politics all the time. I also get emails, all the time, regarding the prez, emails that circulate amongst mostly AAs and some white recipients as well.

I have not seen ONE email blaming pres. Obama for the high unemployment. Most of them encourage us to back him against the intense hatred and ugliness of those who hate him and are determined to bring him down at the peril of the entire country and economy.

I don't claim to speak for all blacks either, but I will say this: people who think that the black community cannot grasp how hostile Republicans are to Obama and to US as people are mistaken. Many blacks - as many whites - may not watch CNN and MSNBC and CSPAN or listen to NPR 24/7, but we/they damn well know who the enemy REALLY IS.
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FrenchieCat Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Aug-23-11 01:48 PM
Response to Reply #11
12. Hey CitizenLeft,
This letter with exactly your POV on the issues is making the rounds! It was read out loud and discussed at length last Friday on Joe Madison's radio show, and is being passed around far and wide.
Read it and make use of it if you can. We have to get actual facts out so folks can ask the CBC about it all, and what is their planned tack, considering.

http://www.democratsforprogress.com/2011/08/18/dear-rep-barbara-lee-chair-of-the-congressional-black-caucus-can-we-talk/

:hi:
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CitizenLeft Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Aug-23-11 07:42 PM
Response to Reply #12
13. excellent, Frenchie - I will indeed! It's perfect!
Sorry I missed that show, I would've loved hearing it (maybe I can find a link somewhere).

...and backatcha! :hi:
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FrenchieCat Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Aug-24-11 02:07 AM
Response to Reply #13
15. I only heard a replay on Friday.....
But folks were saying they were gonna spread that letter far and wide!

:hi:
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Supersedeas Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Aug-26-11 08:03 AM
Response to Reply #11
17. it does put Congresswoman Waters and Dr. West's position into perspective
Edited on Fri Aug-26-11 08:03 AM by Supersedeas
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