Showing posts with label Barbara Lee announces bid for Democratic Caucus chair. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Barbara Lee announces bid for Democratic Caucus chair. Show all posts

Wednesday, November 21, 2018

Rep. Hakeem Jefferies to challenge Rep. Barbara Lee for a democratic leadership position

Two members of the Congressional Black Caucus are in direct competition for a Democratic leadership position, including a young upstart who is bypassing the unwritten rule to wait his turn.

Rep. Hakeem Jeffries’ (D-N.Y.) late entrance into the race for House Democratic Caucus chair pits him against Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.), a former CBC chairwoman who announced her candidacy in June.

The competition is a sign of the CBC’s growing power and the challenges it faces as it expands. But it’s also a symptom of the leadership bottleneck threatening to shake up the entire Democratic Caucus in January.

While relatively obscure, especially compared to the high-profile speaker role, the caucus chair is an important position. In addition to being a launchpad for the future, the job puts the chairperson in the room where decisions are made, giving that member a say in the strategy the Democrats will use as they figure out how to take on President Donald Trump and Senate Republicans in 2019.

Lee and Jeffries represent opposite sides of the country and different generations of the party. Lee, 72, has paid her dues, playing the waiting game before seeking a jump into leadership. But Jeffries, 48, a rising star in the Democratic Party, is already ready to soar. A number of Democrats point to him as a potential future speaker.

That two African-American colleagues are going head to head may be unusual, members say, but it shouldn’t be unexpected within an increasingly diverse Democratic Caucus.

“There’s never a problem when two whites run against each other or two Hispanics run against each other or two Asians run against each other,” Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) said. “So don’t ask me about that.”

Read more: Dem chairman fight pits old guard vs. new generation of black leaders

Tuesday, July 24, 2018

Barbara Lee announces bid for Democratic Caucus chair

The California congresswoman could become the first African-American woman to hold a leadership spot in either major political party.

Rep. Barbara Lee, one of the most outspoken progressive voices in Congress, formally launched her campaign Monday to chair the House Democratic Caucus — a post that would make her the first African-American woman to hold a leadership spot in either major political party.

“When you look at the history of the Democratic Party and the Democratic leadership, African-American women ... we’ve been the backbone of the Democratic Party — we should be in the face of leadership also,’’ Lee told POLITICO in an interview Sunday. Whether it comes to grass-roots issues, or voter mobilization and political activism, she said, black women have long proved they can “lead not only our communities, but lead our country, on the very tough issues facing us.”

Lee, first elected to Congress in 1998 in one of the nation’s most liberal bastions, Oakland and the East Bay’s 13th District, argues she has a long record as a coalition-builder who has dedicated her career to issues of concern to both poor urban and rural voters. As the party prepares for the 2020 election cycle, the California congresswoman said, “these are issues that we can all unify around, like jobs and economic growth,’’ poverty, education and health care.

“The strength of our caucus lies in our diversity of experiences and ideas,’’ Lee said in a letter released Monday to her congressional colleagues announcing her bid. “Whether it’s working across the aisle to enact HIV/AIDS laws, or bringing the Sanders and Clinton campaigns together behind a cohesive and progressive Democratic platform, my career has been dedicated to finding common ground and delivering results.”

Read more: Barbara Lee announces bid for Democratic Caucus chair