Archive for the ‘Jesse Jackson’ Category

Sen. John McCain of Arizona and former secretary of state Condoleezza Rice top a brief list of speakers released today for the Republican National Convention, the Tampa Bay Tribune reports.

Other featured speakers also include Govs. Rick Scott of Florida, Nikki Haley of South Carolina, John Kasich of Ohio; Susana Martinez of New Mexico, and former Gov. Mike Huckabee of Arkansas.

No mention of Sarah Palin so far.

***
Politico this morning notes a dog that didn’t bark — the Democratic decision to include support for same-sex marriage in its national platform resulted in near silence from official national GOP outlets:

There were no statements blasted out from Mitt Romney’s campaign. The same was true for the Republican National Committee. Romney has yet to address the fact.

The pushback came largely from social conservatives and evangelicals, who pledged to make same-sex unions an issue going forward and insisted the stand will hurt Democrats….

And it marks a dramatic change …

Continue reading Your morning jolt: John McCain, Condoleezza Rice top RNC speakers »

No buckle-shoed Pilgrims were in sight, and to ask Native Americans to raise their hands would have been rude, but a small group of candidates and voters gathered this week for a Thanksgiving-style session on racial tensions bubbling up in Atlanta’s contest for mayor.

The verdict: We’re better than that, but let’s not examine ourselves too closely.

The topic of race has hung in the background since simple math and the city’s changing demographics both made it clear that, on Tuesday, Councilwoman Mary Norwood stands an even chance of becoming the first white mayor of Atlanta since “The Partridge Family” and bell-bottom jeans.

Even the candidates have been on edge. In a pair of televised debates over the weekend, Norwood and Kasim Reed, the former state senator, tiptoed to the edge of the abyss, peered over — then stepped back.

On Saturday, Norwood said her black supporters had been harassed and threatened. The next day, she said the election wouldn’t turn on such things. Reed, …

Continue reading Stepping back from the divide in the Atlanta race for mayor »

This from The Hill, a D.C. newspaper and Web site:

The Rev. Jesse Jackson on Wednesday night criticized Rep. Artur Davis (D-Ala.) for voting against the Democrats’ signature health care bill.

“We even have blacks voting against the health care bill,” Jackson said at a reception Wednesday night. “You can’t vote against health care and call yourself a black man.”

the remark stirred a murmur at the reception, held by the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) Foundation as part of a series of events revolving around the 25th anniversary of Jackson’s run for president. Several CBC members were in attendance, including Chairwoman Barbara Lee (D-Calif.), who’d introduced Jackson.

Davis, who is running for governor, is the only black member of Congress from Alabama.

He is also the only member of the CBC to have voted against the health care bill earlier this month.

For instant updates, follow me on Twitter.

Continue reading Jesse Jackson: ‘You can’t vote against health care and call yourself a black man’ »