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Article published Oct 8, 2003
Presidential candidates covet endorsement from Clyburn

Henry Eichel
Charlotte Observer

COLUMBIA -- After more than 30 years in public life, the last 10 as a U.S. House member from South Carolina, Jim Clyburn reckons he has learned a thing or two.Lesson No. 1 is about perception."I have found that in politics, what's real doesn't matter a whole lot," he said. "It is what people perceive to be real that matters."Clyburn said that in a way of explaining why South Carolina, which has voted Republican in every presidential election since 1976, is a major battleground in the 2004 Democratic nomination sweepstakes -- and why Democratic presidential candidates are all jockeying to be his friend.Clyburn has been in the national news quite a bit lately. He's not only vice chairman of the House Democratic Caucus, which makes him an influential figure in Washington, but he also is the person whom national political writers have called the "kingmaker" in the South Carolina primary.Within the state, he has been a driving force behind two controversial projects in his district: a proposed $83 million bridge and road across the Santee Swamp, and a proposed high-stakes bingo hall off I-95 to be operated by the Catawba Indian nation.While environmental groups complain that the bridge will harm a pristine natural area, and gambling foes warn that the bingo hall could open the door to Las Vegas-style casinos, Clyburn is pushing the two projects as ways to bring economic growth to one of the state's poorest regions.About South Carolina's Feb. 3 Democratic presidential primary, Clyburn said, "It's going to be big because it's the first in the South."Democratic strategists know that in order to win the presidency, the party's nominee must win at least one or two Southern states, something Al Gore was unable to do in 2000.The presidential campaign's opening contests are Iowa on Jan. 19 and New Hampshire on Jan. 27. A large majority of votes in both those states will be cast by liberal white people. According to conventional wisdom, the candidate who wins South Carolina can demonstrate his appeal to black voters and white moderates who make up the party's base in the South.But Clyburn isn't so sure."It could mean that, or it could mean nothing," he said, because the vote could be splintered among the nine candidates who are in the race so far.In any case, Clyburn said, "The headlines are going to come out the next morning before there's any chance to analyze who got what vote. And those are what people in the next primary states are going to react to."Observers expect black voters to make up at least 40 percent of the South Carolina primary turnout, and that a disproportionate chunk will come from Clyburn's 6th Congressional District, which has a 57 percent black population.Because he is the state's top-ranking black elected official, highly popular, with a statewide network of friends and allies, Clyburn's endorsement has been much sought after."All the candidates have been pretty interested in talking to me about their efforts in South Carolina," Clyburn said. " I don't talk to them on a daily basis, but I do talk to them often."Most political observers expect Clyburn to endorse former House Democratic leader Dick Gephardt, whom he has credited with helping him rise within the Democratic ranks in Congress.Clyburn says he hasn't decided on whom to endorse, nor has he decided how active he wants to be."I might let it be known who I intend to vote for, but will I go out and stump for a candidate? I have not made up my mind about that," he said.Former South Carolina Gov. John West, who gave Clyburn his start in state politics in 1971 by appointing him to his executive staff, said Clyburn indicated to him last month that he won't get involved."Jim is a very shrewd politician," West said. "I think he realizes that the black community isn't going to go overwhelmingly for anybody, and that an endorsement by him wouldn't have a major effect."Clyburn, a Sumter native and former schoolteacher who served 17 years as state Human Affairs Commissioner, mediating racial discrimination cases, is the first black South Carolina member of Congress since 1897. He was elected in 1992, when the 6th District was created specifically as a black-majority district.Sprawling amoeba-like across parts of 15 counties between Columbia and Charleston, the 6th District encompasses much of South Carolina's former plantation belt, which is rural, isolated and poor. Most of his efforts in Congress have been aimed at bringing economic development to his district.Among the federal projects Clyburn has brought into the state are $30 million to replace the aging Cooper River bridge across Charleston's harbor and $150 million in commitments for a six-county rural water project.But he is facing strong opposition from environmentalists on the proposed Clyburn Connector, which would link two sparsely populated rural communities: Lone Star in Calhoun County and Rimini in Sumter County, now separated by an arm of Lake Marion.Environmentalists say the connector would go "from nowhere to nowhere."But Clyburn says the connector is badly needed to open a corridor from Sumter to Orangeburg"I am convinced that if this connector is built, we will see this part of South Carolina being able to take advantage of all the tourism that is now the No. 1 industry in our state," he said.Clyburn, who was endorsed for re-election in 2000 by the Sierra Club in recognition of his work in bringing millions of federal dollars to the state for environmental and historic preservation projects, said environmentalists are guilty of using a double standard.Environmentalists didn't object to a bridge and expressway around Charleston, he said, but "they're raising all this hell about this connector 100 miles from their homes."He said, "They're taking care of their needs and what's convenient for them, and that is what incenses me so much."As for the proposed Catawba bingo parlor near the town of Santee, Clyburn said the prospects are slim now that Sen. Lindsey Graham has withdrawn his support.The Catawbas won the right to operate two high-stakes bingo halls as part of a 1993 land claim settlement with the state and federal governments. They currently operate a bingo hall in Rock Hill, but in order to build a second hall at Santee, they need federal legislation designating the site as part of the Catawba reservation.Graham withdrew his support for the legislation when Gov. Mark Sanford warned that it could create a loophole to allow casino gambling."Those guys put a hold on it, and that's where it is," Clyburn said. "It's probably dead."An attorney for the Catawbas said last month that if the tribe isn't allowed to set up a federally approved bingo operation at Santee, it might sue the state and introduce video poker machines on its reservation in York County.Clyburn blamed the state government for reneging on the spirit of the 1993 settlement."We got the Catawbas to agree to this settlement on the grounds that the state of South Carolina did not allow gambling. They were given an economic engine unlike any other in the state. But after that, the state changed its constitution, and we do allow gambling; that's what the lottery is."The Catawbas say that lottery competition has cut bingo profits in half, from $1.9 million in 2001 to $911,000 in 2002."The moment we changed the constitution, we changed the ball game," Clyburn said.He brushed aside Sanford's stated fear that a Catawba bingo hall in Santee could lead to casino gambling, saying it was groundless.Under federal law, Indian tribes can't engage in forms of gambling that are otherwise prohibited by the state, without the state government's permission."Even if the Catawbas wanted to go to other forms of gaming," Clyburn said, "the South Carolina General Assembly would have to approve it before they could do it."