Jena politics
Posted: Wednesday, September 19, 2007 1:37 PM by Mark Murray
Filed Under:
Democrats
From Mark Murray, Aswini Anburajan, and Athena Jones
Tomorrow, thousands of protestors will travel to Jena, LA in support of six African-American students accused of beating a white classmate. That protest -- and the original incident -- today spilled over in the Democratic presidential contest.
That began this morning, when the
Columbia State -- and then
Drudge -- had Jesse Jackson criticizing
Barack Obama for "acting like he's white" for not responding forcefully enough to the Jena case. “If I were a candidate, I’d be all over Jena,” the paper quoted Jackson saying; Jackson has endorsed Obama for president.
"Later," the paper added, "Jackson said he did not recall making the 'acting like he’s white' comment about Obama, stressing he only wanted to point out the candidates had not seized on an opportunity to highlight the disproportionate criminal punishments black youths too often face."
Well, not long after that article made the rounds, Edwards released a statement, saying: “As someone who grew up in the segregated South, I feel a special responsibility to speak out on racial intolerance. To measure our progress in the fight against racism, today our nation looks to Jena, Louisiana. Americans of all races are traveling to Jena because they believe that how we respond to the racial tensions in Jena says everything about who we are as a nation."
And Clinton, it turns out, will be appearing on Al Sharpton's radio show at 1:30 pm ET to discuss the Jena case.
Speaking of Sharpton, who has helped to organize tomorrow's march, his spokeswoman said that he spoke to Obama, and Obama "assured him that he is supporting him with his rally and march in Jena tomorrow." The spokeswoman continued, "Neither of them understand the basis of Rev. Jackson's remark."
Indeed, Obama released a statement on Friday saying he was pleased when an appeals court ruled that the aggravated battery charge of one of the Jena Six, who was 16 at the time, should not have been charged as an adult.
Also, Democratic strategist Donna Brazile, who is black, said the Jena incident "should not become an opportunity to denounce any of the presidential candidates. I think by far, any Democrat in the White House would do a far better job of ensuring equal justice under the law than the current administration."
Brazile later called back with a heads up that Jackson is saying he was misquoted on the "acting like he's white" part of his statement about Obama and Jena.
