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Race surfaces again as issue in campaign, Clyburn says

After "simmering just beneath the surface" for months, "the question of race" has "surfaced once again" in the Democratic presidential race and "I suspect it's going to stay there for a while," 6th District U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn said Monday.

Clyburn spent the weekend campaigning for U.S. Rep. Dick Gephardt. Clyburn said Gephardt and former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean are "in a dead heat in Iowa," the state with the first caucus.

On Saturday in Charleston, Clyburn had breakfast with Gephardt's son, Matt, 33, who was diagnosed with terminal cancer at the age of 18 months and is now the inspiration for Gephardt's medical plan, which makes health care plans portable as well as affordable.

Next Clyburn met with two fraternity groups and a coalition of labor leaders in Detroit.

Sunday, he flew to Iowa, where he spoke at a Baptist church, went on a radio talk show and attended a labor union rally.

"From there we went to the brown and black debate," Clyburn said. It was there that the "fireworks erupted" over Dean and race.

Dean, who made a remark about seeking support from owners of pickup trucks with Confederate battle flags and later apologized, "bothered some people" by claiming "he was the only candidate in the campaign that was speaking about race," Clyburn said.

During Sunday night's debate, rival candidate the Rev. Al Sharpton attacked Dean for naming few minorities to high positions in Vermont's state government while he was governor.

"He thought it was fair game to raise the issue," Clyburn said. "If you talk the talk, you should walk the walk."

A reporter for Long Island Newsday asked Clyburn if Gephardt has many top African-American or Hispanic aides.

"He's got as many black people on his staff as I have on mine!" replied Clyburn, adding, "My political director is running Dick's campaign in South Carolina."

Gephardt successfully fought for a requirement that 10 percent of the $216 billion federal highway bill be set aside for minority contractors, Clyburn said.

"That is the kind of record Dick Gephardt's got on affirmative action," Clyburn said. "There's nobody in this race that's got the solid record in affirmative action that Dick Gephardt has."

In response to another question, Clyburn said "black people are not monolithic in any way" and support a variety of candidates.

"That's good," Clyburn said. "That's as it should be. We should not put all of our eggs in one basket, so to speak. It bodes well to have a field of candidates where so many black people can feel comfortable with various candidates."

Sharpton, who is black, "has an uncanny ability to crystallize things in short statements and sentences," Clyburn said. "He has a tremendous following in South Carolina and a great deal of admiration among African-American voters and activists."

"When people are not afraid to take on unpopular causes, and when they speak up and challenge powerful interests in the country, they have almost a built-in following, especially in the black community. So many of us have been locked out of politics and the mainstream of economic life," Clyburn said.

The other African-American candidate, Carol Moseley Braun, is "a tremendous gentle spirit, but she doesn't have the following. She is not the household name that Sharpton is. Sharpton has been a national figure for a long time," Clyburn said.

Gephardt's "showing in Iowa is going to be very critical," Clyburn said "Many people are waiting to see what the headlines will be coming out of Iowa" on Jan. 19.

"I fully believe Dick Gephardt is going to win Iowa, South Carolina and Michigan," Clyburn said. He did not mention New Hampshire, which will have the nation's first primary.

Gephardt's basic message focuses on jobs and health care. "Those are the issues that will get the swing voters, that will resonate with them when they go to the polls," Clyburn said.

"People are upset about manufacturing and high tech jobs leaving this country. That is a big, big, big issue -- a sleeping giant in the general election," Clyburn said, noting that Gephardt opposed NAFTA.

Summing up, Clyburn said, "Dick Gephardt is the embodiment of old traditional values and bold new ideas."

T&D Staff Writer Lee Hendren can be reached by e-mail at lhendren@timesanddemocrat.com or by phone at 803-533-5552.