Clyburn shytted on these nikkas
Democrats upset with SC’s top primary spot are ‘sour grapes,’ Jim Clyburn says
December 10, 2022 5:00 AM
After being declared the winner of the South Carolina democratic primary, former vice president Joe Biden speaks to supporters in Columbia, S.C. By
Tracy Glantz
COLUMBIA, S.C.
House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn says critics over Democrats’ decision to put South Carolina first on the party’s presidential primary calendar are “sour grapes.”
The Democrat made the remarks Friday by phone with The State newspaper after the campaign manager for Sen. Bernie Sanders’ 2020 presidential campaign, Faiz Shakir, called South Carolina’s lead spot a “tragic decision” in a Dec. 5
New York Times op-ed.
This story is a subscriber exclusive
Shakir wrote he would not support the Democratic National Committee’s vote next year to move South Carolina’s date, arguing the state is not competitive in the general election because it’s more ideologically and culturally conservative than the Democratic Party.
Shakir added he agreed with including Nevada, New Hampshire, Georgia and Michigan in the early primary window.
“A lot of it is sour grapes coming from folks who feel they want to punish South Carolina for not voting for Bernie Sanders,” Clyburn said of criticism over South Carolina’s placement. “That’s what it sounds like to me.”
Clyburn went further.
“He seems to have some disdain for the South,” Clyburn said of Shakir. “That’s the way I interpreted it. I’m not the only one who interpreted it that way, and that bothers me a great deal, especially since the South and rural America are very critical to the success, the future success of this party.”
South Carolina is currently fourth on the primary calendar for both the Democratic and Republican presidential primaries. But after drama over the 2020 Iowa caucuses, and President Joe Biden’s subsequent win in South Carolina despite losing other early primary states, national Democrats have sought to shake up the calendar.
Clyburn, the highest-ranking Democrat in South Carolina and the state’s only Democratic congressman, endorsed Biden after he lost in Iowa, New Hampshire and Nevada. Biden went on to win South Carolina’s primary and went on to be the party’s nominee.
Clyburn said the diversity of the state’s economy — agriculture in the Pee Dee, tourism in the Lowcountry, manufacturing in the Upstate and a military presence statewide — is a microcosm of the country.
“You look at the makeup of the country, the kind of groups that people need to do well with in order to win the presidency of this country, it’s all contained in little old South Carolina,” Clyburn said.
Biden, Barack Obama, Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton each won the South Carolina primary, and then went on to win the popular vote in their presidential elections.
The Democratic National Committee’s
Rules and Bylaws Committee adopted the primary calendar swap Dec. 2 after Biden recommended the change. Jaime Harrison, the former chairman of the state’s Democratic Party, is chairman of the DNC.
Under the DNC proposal, which will be voted on in early 2023,
Nevada and New Hampshire would follow South Carolina and vote the following Tuesday. Georgia and Michigan would then round out the early primary window.
Biden’s recommendation to have South Carolina go first is seen as nod to the state for catapulting his struggling campaign, Shakir wrote.
But it’s also a move to have more diversity within the early states, Democrats say, because Black voters make up the majority of the Democratic primary voting bloc.
“I’ll say this to Bernie campaign manager, if you’re interested in the party being successful, you ought to try to do what you can to get the strongest Democrat as your nominee,” Clyburn said. “You do that, not by declaring it so, but by that potential nominee being able to relate to the voting public. There is no state in the union that can produce that better than South Carolina.”
In his recommendation, Biden said the DNC should look at the primary order every four years.
Ultimately, Clyburn said, the Democratic presidential primary order may not be significant if Biden runs for reelection. In 2020, with former President Donald Trump on the ballot running for reelection, South Carolina Republicans nixed their GOP primary. Republicans also are sticking with their early primary order, keeping Iowa first.
“If he (Biden) were to announce for reelection, there’s not going to be a contest in South Carolina or no place else,” Clyburn said. “Technically there will be a contest, but as a practical matter, there will be no contest.”
Clyburn said he doesn’t know if Biden, 80, will run in 2024.
“He hasn’t told me and I haven’t asked him,” Clyburn said.
Joe Biden, on stage with Jim Clyburn and his daughter, Ashley Biden, and his wife, Jill Biden, thanks South Carolinians for after support at the University of South Carolina volleyball center. Biden won the South Carolina in the State Primary. 2/29/20 Tracy Glantz
tglantz@thestate.com
Will Clyburn run again?
In the next Congress, with a Republican-controlled House, Clyburn will step down as the third-ranking House Democrat but stay in leadership as the assistant Democratic leader.
Like Biden, Clyburn, 82, also has been questioned whether he’ll run for reelection.
Clyburn has not yet revealed his plans, instead saying he will discuss his political future with his daughters.
On Friday, Clyburn said a discussion about a 2024 campaign hasn’t taken place yet and will happen when his daughters bring it up. They all plan to spend the holidays in Hilton Head as part of an annual family trip.
“That’s where we’ll have our family meetings and family discussions and that will take place this year, as it always has since 1972,” Clyburn said.
@Shoryuken
@Reflected @skylove4 @Kyle C. Barker @Neo The Resurrected ONE @ColdSlither @wire28 @ezrathegreat @Jello Biafra @Dameon Farrow @Piff Perkins @Pressure [
@Armchair Militant @Tres Leches @ADevilYouKhow @dtownreppin214 @Red Shield @987654321
Biden isn't perfect, but what he's managed to do in actually passing laws and winning bipartisan battles is something bernie can't do. Plus, people underestimate the black caucus of democrats who aren't these mega communists. Black democrats wanna ball out too but with strong civil rights protections. These bernie bros dont' know how to thread that needle.
