Jim Clyburn

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Jim Clyburn
26th Majority Whip of the United States House of Representatives
Incumbent
Assumed office  January 4, 2007
Preceded by	Roy Blunt
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from South Carolina's 6th District
Incumbent
Assumed office  January 3, 1993
Preceded by	Robin Tallon
Born	July 21, 1940 (1940-07-21) (age 67) Sumter, South Carolina
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Emily England
Religion	African Methodist Episcopal

James Enos "Jim" Clyburn (born July 21, 1940) is an American politician and a member of the United States House of Representatives for the 6th congressional district of South Carolina (map). A Democrat, he represents South Carolina's only majority-black district, which includes Florence, Sumter and large portions of Columbia and Charleston.

He is the House Majority Whip in the 110th Congress, and is the third-ranking Democrat in the House behind House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Majority Leader Steny Hoyer. He is the second African American (behind Bill Gray of Pennsylvania) and the first South Carolinian to hold the position. In the 2008 Presidential Election, he has endorsed Barack Obama.

[edit] Early life

Clyburn was born in Sumter, the son of Enos Lloyd Clyburn, a fundamentalist minister, and his wife Almeta, a cosmetologist. Republican South Carolina Congressman George W. Murray was a distant relative of his. He attended South Carolina State College (now South Carolina State University) in Orangeburg where he was initiated into Omega Psi Phi Fraternity and graduated with a bachelor's degree in history. He worked as a teacher at C.A. Brown High School in Charleston. After an unsuccessful run for the South Carolina General Assembly, he moved to Columbia to join the staff of Governor John C. West in 1971. In this position he became the first minority advisor to a South Carolina Governor. He was appointed the state's human affairs commissioner by Governor West in 1974, a position in which he held until 1992, when he stepped down to run for Congress.

[edit] 1992 election

Following a Supreme Court mandate, the Florence-based 6th district was redrawn as a black-majority district. Five-term incumbent Robin Tallon opted to retire, and five black candidates ran for the Democratic nomination for the seat--the real contest in this overwhelmingly Democratic district. Clyburn secured 55% of the vote in the primary, eliminating the need for an expected run-off. As expected, he breezed to victory in November. He has been reelected seven times, never facing a serious or well-funded challenger. Since 1998, his opponent has been Gary McLeod, a strongly conservative Republican from Clarendon County.

[edit] Congressional career

During the 2004 Democratic presidential primaries, Clyburn supported Dick Gephardt until he dropped out of the race and afterwards supported John Kerry. Clyburn is generally considered to be the most important African-American political leader in his home state.

Clyburn was elected as vice-chairman of the House Democratic Caucus in 2003, the third-ranking post in the caucus. He became chairman in early 2006 after caucus chairman Bob Menendez was appointed to the Senate.

After the Democrats won control of the House of Representatives in the 2006 election, Clyburn was unanimously elected as Majority Whip in the 110th Congress.

Clyburn was interviewed by National Public Radio's Morning Edition on January 12, 2007, and acknowledged the difficulty of counting votes and rallying the fractious Democratic caucus, now that his party holds the majority in the House. Clyburn has traveled all throughout the state of South Carolina honoring people who have made significant contributions to various causes.

He was one of the 31 who voted in the House to not count the electoral votes from Ohio in the United States presidential election, 2004. [1]

[edit] Comments on the Iraq War

On July 31, 2007, Clyburn said in a broadcast interview that it would be a "real big problem" for the Democratic party if General Petraeus issued a positive report in September, as it would split the Democratic caucus on whether to continue to fund the Iraq War. While this soundbite caused some controversy, the full quote was, in reference to 47 member Blue Dog caucus, "I think there would be enough support in that group to want to stay the course and if the Republicans were to stay united as they have been, then it would be a problem for us."[2]

[edit] Comments on the Presidential Election

April 25th (from CNN - http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/ ) "There are African Americans who have reached the decision that the Clintons know that she can't win this," he told Reuters. "But they're hell-bound to make it impossible for Obama to win."

Speaking with the New York Times, Clyburn said such actions could lead to a longtime division between the former president and his once most reliable constituency.

"When he was going through his impeachment problems, it was the black community that bellied up to the bar," Clyburn said. "I think black folks feel strongly that this is a strange way for President Clinton to show his appreciation."

On June 3rd Jim Clyburn endorsed Barack Obama for the Nomination of the Democratic Party.

[edit] External links

• U.S. Congressman James E. Clyburn official House site
• House Majority Whip James E. Clyburn official leadership site
• Jim Clyburn at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Federal Election Commission - Jim Clyburn campaign finance reports and data
• On the Issues - James Clyburn issue positions and quotes
• OpenSecrets.org - Jim Clyburn campaign contributions
• Project Vote Smart - Representative James E. 'Jim' Clyburn (SC) profile
• SourceWatch Congresspedia - Jim Clyburn profile
• Washington Post - Congress Votes Database: Jim Clyburn voting record
• Jim Clyburn for U.S. Congress official campaign site
• Hidden Power on the Hill Silla Brush, U.S. News & World Report, February 25, 2007

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v • d • e Chairs of the Congressional Black Caucus Diggs • Stokes • Rangel • Burke • Mitchell • Collins • Fauntroy • Dixon • Leland • Dymally • Dellums • Towns • Mfume • Payne • Waters • Clyburn • Johnson • Cummings • Watt • Kilpatrick