Posted on 02/15/2008 3:58:29 PM PST by LdSentinal
A story in Friday's New York Times that said U.S. Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.) was going to back Barack Obama for president is inaccurate, a spokeswoman for the former civil rights leader told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution this morning.
Lewis press secretary Brenda Jones did not elaborate and has not yet responded to a request for clarification.
The Times' story, which was carried in Friday's AJC, said Lewis was planning to drop his long-time support for Hillary Clinton and vote for Obama for the Democratic presidential nomination at the party's convention in August.
Lewis is one of 13 so-called superdelegates from Georgia, who are party leaders and elected officials who may cast a ballot for any candidate at the party's convention in Denver.
Jones, Lewis' spokeswoman, told the Washington Post that "it is plain there is a lot of enthusiasm for Barack Obama." But, she said, "those things are observations," not statements of preference. Jones told the newspaper that Lewis has left the option of changing his superdelegate support for Clinton on the table, but made no decisions.
U.S. Rep. David Scott's office confirmed Friday that he is switching from Clinton to Obama because his constituents overwhelmingly favor Obama.
Meanwhile, Georgia Labor Commissioner Michael Thurmond told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Friday that news of Scott's switch and the confusion surrounding Lewis' position has not affected his own standing. But, he said, his endorsement of Clinton does not necessarily mean he'll cast a superdelegate ballot for her in August.
"I endorsed her in the primary and I stand by that endorsement," Thurmond said.
But there are two issues at work, he said: endorsements and superdelegate ballots. They are not necessarily the same thing, he said.
Being a superdelegate, Thurmond said, "means you have to pick the candidate that will best represent the party in the general election, irrespective of who you may have endorsed or may have supported during the primary and caucus process."
If he had to cast a ballot today as a superdelegate, he said, he'd vote for Clinton.
But, "the decision we have to make in August, we'll have to go through then," he said.
Until the primaries and caucuses are completed, he said, it doesn't make sense to publicly choose one side or the other. The process needs to proceed as planned.
Lewis, in particular, has been a tremendous asset for Clinton and should he depart her campaign it would be an equally devastating blow.
As one of elder leaders of the civil rights movement, he has traveled the country making the case that African Americans should not be swayed by race alone in the potentially historic campaign.
Clinton has also been invoking Lewis in her campaign whenever the question of race has moved to the forefront of the debate. In January, after members of the Kennedy family endorsed Obama, Clinton brought up Lewis as evidence of her own support from a 1960s icon.
"You know, when Congressman John Lewis endorsed me," she said in a nationally televised interview, "I know that was considered difficult for people in Sen. Obama's camp."
Throughout the primary process Lewis has remained loyal to Clinton -- who with her husband, former President Bill Clinton, remain his longtime friends -- but he also always expressed admiration for Obama' progress against Clinton.
Of Georgia's 13 superdelegates, six are the state's Democratic members of Congress. Lewis had been backing Clinton. Scott is now with Obama, as are U.S. Reps. Hank Johnson and Sanford Bishop. The other two, Jim Marshall and John Barrow, have not publicly committed to either Obama or Clinton.
Marshall, who as a super delegate has never endorsed a Democratic presidential nominee, said he didn't feel the need to go through the process of selecting one this year either.
"This is not a decision I may have to make," Marshall said Friday. "It's my view that the votes of the super delegates are likely to be muted long before we get to the convention."
Marshall said he expects Clinton or Obama - "more likely Obama" - to gather the 2,025 delegates they need before the party convention convenes this summer.
Barrow, a Savannah Democrat, has still not decided whom he'll support as a super delegate to the party's national convention, his spokeswoman said.
"He's still uncommitted," spokeswoman Jane Brodsky said.
Both lawmakers live in swing districts and so are wary of siding with a more liberal national Democrat unacceptable to their constituents, fearing it would cause a backlash against the incumbents in their generally conservative home areas.
Of the remaining seven superdelegates, party vice-chair Thurmond has endorsed Clinton; union leader and DNC member Lonnie Plotts told the AJC he has committed to vote for Clinton; Carole Dabbs, former aide to U.S. Sen. Max Cleland, has reportedly agreed to back Clinton; and DNC members Mary Long and Richard Ray, state party chairwoman Jane Kidd and former President Jimmy Carter all say they remain uncommitted.
Or Chelsea visited Lewis for Valentine's Day and gave him some lovin.
Or he found a dead cat in his driveway..
They got to him.
“Oh they’re comin’ for the ole folks. They’re comin’ for the chillrens and they’re comin’ for me! I better shut up.”
John the idiot lewis.
I’m sure Bill was on the phone about this one. lol
Follow the money trail.
Looks like hillary sent her bagman to drop off a wad of untraceable $100 bills.
Honey, we go buy that Cadillac you want. And that Jefferson freezer sure do hold a lot of cold cash.
Throughout the primary process Lewis has remained loyal to Clinton
Translation: Lewis has seen whats inside Hillary’s Testicle LockBox
It’s official - John Lewis has switched to Obama.
Hillary owns him...and a lot more on the DNC. I’m betting that she takes the nomination at the convention. Obama can’t win enough delegates in the primaries to knock her out. Hillary will screw him out of the nomination.
It’ll be interesting to see what happens if she loses Ohio and Texas. Saw on another thread that the Clintons are now trying to move the firewall to Pennsylvania.
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