Thread: Black Lawmakers Plot 'Walkout Strategy' During Holder Contempt Vote

Black Lawmakers Plot 'Walkout Strategy' During Holder Contempt Vote

By Shane Goldmacher
June 27, 2012

The Congressional Black Caucus has called a members-only "emergency" meeting on Thursday to plot a "walkout strategy" ahead of the scheduled contempt vote of Attorney General Eric Holder later in the day.

The plans, detailed in an email from the executive director of the Congressional Black Caucus obtained by the Alley, include circulating a letter disapproving of the vote and having lawmakers walk out of the Capitol to hold a press conference during the roll call.

(RELATED: Holder Contempt Vote Going to the Floor)

The letter, a draft of which is being circulated for signatures, accuses the GOP leadership of "rushing recklessly to a contempt vote." The letter is being circulated among the Black, Hispanic, Asian and Progressive caucuses, among other.

(RELATED: Holder to Attend Congressional Picnic--Awkwaaaard)

"We cannot and will not participate in a vote to hold the Attorney General in contempt," says the letter, in which the signers urge that "all members of Congress to stand with us during a press conference on the Capitol Building steps during this appalling series of votes to discuss our nation's most significant priority--creating jobs."

The House is expected to vote on Thursday hold Holder in contempt of Congress for refusing to release certain documents related to the failed "Fast and Furious" gun-running program.

(RELATED: Dreier Hearts Dick Clark)

At moments, the fight has taken on racial undertones, most notably when Holder, who is African American, told the New York Times in December 2011 that he served as a stand-in for GOP attacks on President Obama. "This is a way to get at the president because of the way I can be identified with him," Holder said, "both due to the nature of our relationship and, you know, the fact that we're both African-American."
A copy of the full draft letter is below:


Dear Colleague:

We write to urge you to stand with us in the pursuit of justice for the Attorney General of the United States of America, Eric H. Holder. In its history, the United States House of Representatives has never held a United States Attorney General, or any other Cabinet official, in contempt.

Instead of focusing on job creation and other critical issues before this Congress, we have been asked to engage in a political stunt on the floor of the United States House of Representatives. Our constituents elected us to do real work, not to engage in meaningless partisan activity.

Over the past 15 months, Attorney General Eric Holder and the Department of Justice have cooperated with the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform's requests for information on "Fast and Furious", an unfortunate operation that began under the Bush Administration and, in fact, was terminated by Attorney General Holder. The Department has made extraordinary efforts to accommodate Congress by turning over almost 8,000 documents--including all the documents that relate to the tactics in this investigation and the other flawed investigations that occurred in Arizona during the Bush Administration. The Attorney General also participated in a bicameral meeting in a good faith effort to satisfy the Committee's information requests. While the Attorney General has advised House Republicans that he is willing to work with them in attempting to reach an agreement, the Republican Leadership is instead rushing recklessly to a contempt vote.

Contempt power should be used sparingly, carefully and only in the most egregious situations. The Republican Leadership has articulated no legislative purpose for pursuing this course of action. For these reasons we cannot and will not participate in a vote to hold the Attorney General in contempt. We adamantly oppose this partisan attack and refuse to participate in any vote that would tarnish the image of Congress or of an Attorney General who has done nothing but work tirelessly to protect the rights of the American people. We must reflect upon why we are elected to this body and choose now to stand up for justice.

We call upon all members of Congress to stand with us during a press conference on the Capitol Building steps during this appalling series of votes to discuss our nation's most significant priority--creating jobs. At this critically important time in our nation, we must work as colleagues rather than political enemies.

source: Black Lawmakers Plot 'Walkout Strategy' During Holder Contempt Vote - Influence Alley
http://www.alipac.us/tags/black%20caucus/

Maybe the Dems from Wisconsin can recommend a nice hotel in Illinois.

Great, they want to abandon the truth and justice over skin color!

Walking out to stir up as much racial animus as possible in America instead of standing on the side of truth and justice.

Please post us the names of each one that walks away from their duty today.

W

So typical of the times

ADDED TO ALIPAC HOMEPAGE News with amended title ..

http://www.alipac.us/content/black-l...empt-vote-703/

RELATED

http://www.alipac.us/f12/house-votes...ngress-260253/

Here is the complete list of the 112 session Members, I don't know which ones actually did yet:

The Honorable Andre Carson Indiana, 7th District U.S. House of Representative 425 Cannon House Office BuildingWashington, DC 20515 Ph: 202-225-4011	The Honorable Donna M. Christensen Delegate, Virgin Islands U.S. House of Representatives 1510 Longworth House Office Building Washington, D.C. 20515 Ph: 202-225-1790
The Honorable Hansen Clark Michigan, 13th District U.S. House of Representative 1319 Longworth Rayburn House Office Building Washington, DC 20515 Ph: 202-225-2261	The Honorable Yvette D. Clarke New York, 11th District U.S. House of Representatives 1029 Longworth House Office Building Washington, DC 20515 Ph: 202-225-6231
The Honorable William Lacy Clay, Jr. Missouri, 1st District U.S. House of Representative 2418 Rayburn House Office Building Washington, DC 20515 Ph: 202-225-2406	The Honorable Emanuel Cleaver II Missouri, 5th District U. S. House of Representative 1027 Longworth House Office Building Washington, D.C. 20515 Ph: 202-225-4535
The Honorable James E. Clyburn South Carolina, 6th District U.S. House of Representatives 2135 Rayburn House Office Building Washington, D.C. 20515 Ph: 202-225-3315	The Honorable John Conyers, Jr. Michigan, 14th District U.S. House of Representatives 2426 Rayburn House Office Building Washington, D.C. 20515 Ph: 202-225-5126
The Honorable Elijah E. Cummings Maryland, 7th District U.S. House of Representatives 2235 Rayburn House Office Building Washington, D.C. 20515 Ph: 202-225-4741	The Honorable Danny K. Davis Illinois, 7th District U.S. House of Representatives 2159 Rayburn House Office Building Washington, D.C. 20515 Ph: 202-225-5006
The Honorable Donna F. Edwards Maryland, 4th District U.S. House of Representatives 318 Cannon House Office Building Washington, D.C. 20515 Ph: 202-225-8699	The Honorable Keith Ellison Minnesota , 5th District U.S. House of Representatives 1027 Longworth House Office Building Washington, DC 20515 Ph. 202-225-4755
The Honorable Chaka Fattah Pennsylvania, 2nd District U.S. House of Representatives 2301 Rayburn House Office Building Washington, D.C. 20515 Ph: 202-225-4001	The Honorable Marcia L. Fudge Ohio, 11th District U.S. House of Representatives 1019 Longworth House Office Building Washington, D.C. 20515 Ph: 202-225-7032
The Honorable Al Green Texas, 9th District U.S. House of Representatives 236 Canon House Office Building Washington, D.C. 20515 Ph: 202-225-7508	The Honorable Alcee L. Hastings Florida, 23rd District U.S. House of Representatives 2353 Rayburn House Office Building Washington, D.C. 20515 Ph: 202-225-1313
The Honorable Jesse L. Jackson, Jr. Illinois, 2nd District U.S. House of Representatives 2419 Rayburn House Office Building Washington, D. C. 20515 Ph: 202-225-0773	The Honorable Eddie Bernice Johnson Texas, 30th District U.S. House of Representatives 2468 Rayburn House Office Building Washington, D.C. 20515 Ph: 202-225-8885
The Honorable Hank Johnson Georgia , 4th District U.S. House of Representatives 1427 Longworth House Office Building Washington, DC 20515 Ph. 202-225-1605	The Honorable Barbara Lee California, 9th District U.S. House of Representatives 2267 Rayburn House Office Building Washington, D.C. 20515 Ph: 202-225-2661
The Honorable Sheila Jackson Lee Texas, 18th District U.S. House of Representatives 2160 Rayburn House Office Building Washington, D.C. 20515 Ph: 202-225-3816	The Honorable John Lewis Georgia, 5th District U. S. House of Representatives 343 Cannon House Office Building Washington, D.C. 20515 Ph: 202-225-3801
The Honorable Gregory W. Meeks New York, 6th District U.S. House of Representatives 2334 Rayburn House Office Building Washington, DC 20515 Ph: 202-225-3461	The Honorable Gwen Moore Wisconsin, 4th District U.S. House of Representatives 2245 Rayburn House Office Building Washington, D.C. 20515 Ph: 202-225-4572
The Honorable Eleanor Holmes Norton Delegate, District of Columbia U.S. House of Representatives 2136 Rayburn House Office Building Washington, D.C. 20515 Ph: 202-225-8050	The Honorable Donald M. Payne New Jersey, 10th District U.S. House of Representatives 2310 Rayburn House Office Building Washington, D.C. 20515 Ph: 202-225-3436
The Honorable Charles B. Rangel New York, 15th District U.S. House of Representatives 2354 Rayburn House Office Building Washington, D.C. 20515 Ph: 202-225-4365	The Honorable Laura Richardson California, 37th District U.S. House of Representatives 1330 Longworth House Office Buiding Washington, DC 20515 Ph: 202-225-7924
The Honorable Cedric Richmond Louisiana, 2nd District U.S. House of Representatives 415 Canon House Office Building Washignton, D.C. 20515 Ph: (504) 288-3777	The Honorable Bobby L. Rush Illinois, 1st District U.S. House of Representatives 2268 Rayburn House Office Building Washington, D.C. 20515 Ph: 202-225-4372
The Honorable David Scott Georgia, 13th District U. S. House of Representatives 225 Cannon House Office Building Washington, D.C. 20515 Ph: 202-225-2939	The Honorable Robert C. Scott Virginia, 3rd District U. S. House of Representatives 1201 Rayburn House Office Building Washington, D.C. 20515 Ph: 202-225-8351
The Honorable Terri A. Sewell Alabama, 7th District U. S. House of Representatives 113 Longworth House Office Building Washington, D.C. 20515 Ph: 202-225-2665	The Honorable Bennie Thompson Mississippi, 2nd District U. S. House of Representatives 2466 Rayburn House Office Building Washington, D.C. 20515 Ph: 202-225-5876
The Honorable Edolphus Towns New York, 10th District U. S. House of Representatives 2232 Rayburn House Office Building Washington, D. C. 20515 Ph: 202-225-5936	The Honorable Maxine Waters California, 35th District U.S. House of Representatives 2344 Rayburn House Office Building Washington, D.C. 20515 Ph: 202-225-2201
The Honorable Melvin L. Watt North Carolina, 12th District U. S. House of Representatives 2304 Rayburn House Office Building Washington, D.C. 20515 Ph: 202-225-1510	The Honorable Allen West Florida, 22nd District U.S. House of Representatives 1708 Longworth House Office Building Washington, D.C. 20515 Ph: 202-225-3026
The Honorable Frederica Wilson Florida, 17th District U.S. House of Representatives 2430 Rayburn House Office Building Washington, D.C. 20515 Ph: 202-225-4506

RELATED RACIST BLACK CAUCUS News ..

Congressional Black Caucus Plays The Race Card

We’ve known this was coming–just not this bluntly, perhaps.

From The Washington Examiner: “Angela Rye, Executive Director of the Congressional Black Caucus, argued that President Obama has struggled during his first term due to racially-motivated opposition from conservatives who dislike having a black president.

“‘This is probably the toughest presidential term in my lifetime,’ Rye said during C-SPAN’s Q & A yesterday. ”I think that a lot of what the president has experienced is because he’s black.”

No ambiguity there.

The Will Anderson Show » Congressional Black Caucus Plays The Race Card

Would they have walked out had Holder been white? Of course not! I don't see how this can be considered anything but racially motivated.

Originally Posted by MW

Would they have walked out had Holder been white? Of course not! I don't see how this can be considered anything but racially motivated.

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No, they would not have walked out if Holder had been White. Yes, it is 100% racially motivated. Long hot summer ..