Dems want focus returned to issues

Clyburn, others decry civil rights detour

The recent back-and-forth between the leading Democratic presidential contenders shows how race is never far from the surface in South Carolina politics, but it also proves something else.

With just 11 days to go, the hearts and minds of this state's black voters, who are expected to make up more than half of the electorate in South Carolina's Jan. 26 Democratic primary, still are very much up for grabs.

And a growing number of them are expressing disappointment in the war of words about Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's remarks over Martin Luther King Jr.'s role in securing civil rights laws.

On Tuesday, the candidates, House Majority Whip James Clyburn, D-S.C., and others tried to turn the focus back to the issues.

Charleston County Democratic Chairman and Democratic National Committeeman Waring Howe said the story of Clinton's comments, and the fallout as the candidates and their supporters continued to keep the story alive in recent days, underscores the urgency with which the campaigns are courting black votes.

"It shows that things have gotten very competitive, and there's an all-out battle for trying to get the votes from the African-American community," he said. "I think a large number may still be undecided and maybe even struggling over who to support. Both Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are very popular among those voters; I think the Clinton campaign is a little worried."

Lisa Robinson, who taught gender and race studies at the College of Charleston, said she is among the undecided and was disheartened to hear of Clinton's comments.

"Everybody should stick to the issue. Right now, people are starving. They're losing their jobs. There are homeless vets on the street. People don't have health care," she said, adding that she now is leaning toward Obama. "To bring up these other issues that we don't have to deal with every day is disturbing."

Abraham G. Wright of Charleston agreed. "There should be more focus on the economy, education and the war in Iraq and how we're best going to get those troops to come home. It's really getting away from everything," he said.

Edward Taylor, a retired steelworker who moved to Charleston, also said the uproar about King's and President Johnson's relative contributions to civil rights is about the past, while campaigns should be about the future. "I don't want to see them get into this nitpicking," he said. "It's irrelevant about what Dr. King did or what LBJ did. It's another day."

Clyburn, the most powerful political voice in the state's black community, helped stir the issue when The New York Times reported that he was considering throwing his support behind a candidate because of some comments he had heard. He also issued a statement urging candidates to choose their words carefully.

Clyburn joined the swelling ranks of those who were trying to put the issue behind them Tuesday when he repeated his intention to remain neutral, not just through the Jan. 26 primary but perhaps all the way up to the Democratic National Convention in the summer.

Clyburn said he has been inundated with phone calls and messages from voters concerned that race and gender would trump other issues.

"I have talked with enough people down there in South Carolina to know that they would like very much for us to make sure that this history-making opportunity for us in South Carolina does not get off track," he said.

State Sen. Robert Ford, D-Charleston, who was arrested 73 times during the civil rights movement and who now supports Clinton, said he's had a "heavy heart" for the last few days to see the debate degenerate in this way. "We have got to end this craziness going on between the supporters of these two candidates," he said. "We've got to end it and end it now. It doesn't make sense."

During an interview with PBS' Charlie Rose late Monday, Clyburn said something similar. "I think that people are talking about race versus gender, when we ought to be talking about Democrats versus Republicans, when we ought to be talking about health care, comparing health care programs, when we ought to be talking about a shared vision, contrasting these candidates` visions. We cannot get to that if we keep plowing old ground and dealing with those issues that are divisive."

Reach Robert Behre at 937-5771 or at rbehre@postandcourier.com.

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