Congressman's mom tells him to go join Democrat's sit in

Here is a clear example of no matter how important you may be that Ma still gets the last word. Congressman Keith Ellison was in a meeting when the John Lewis led sit in started in congress. He received this note ( a note which I believe was edited by the staffer to get the phrase "your ass" out of it) from his mom through a staffer.

Minutes latter Congressman Ellison posted the following tweet:

Sitting in on House Floor against Gun violence & Majority's unwillingness to protect Americans from slaughter. pic.twitter.com/SvZ5cV45nn

— Rep. Keith Ellison (@keithellison) June 22, 2016

Freddie Gray case: Officer Caesar Goodson Jr. not guilty on all charges

The Baltimore Police van driver accused of giving a "rough ride" that killed Freddie Gray was acquitted of all charges Thursday by Circuit Judge Barry Williams.

Officer Caesar Goodson Jr., 46, had faced the most serious charges of any of the six officers indicted in Gray's arrest and death last April, including second-degree depraved heart murder. Goodson was also acquitted of three counts of manslaughter, second-degree assault, reckless endangerment and misconduct in office.

His acquittal, which comes after Williams considered the charges for three days, throws the rest of the cases into jeopardy. The other officers charged face similar, but lesser accusations.

Read more: Freddie Gray case: Officer Caesar Goodson Jr. not guilty on all charges

Rep. John Lewis Leads Democrat Sit In On Guns

Rep. John Lewis took the floor of the US House of Representatives and lead his fellow democrats in a sit in to hold the floor until the Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, allows a vote the "no fly, no buy" bill legislation. Watch Lewis give his speech before the sit in below.

Republican congressman trying to block Harriet Tubman on the $20 bill

A Republican congressman is trying to block the Treasury from redesigning U.S. currency, a move that could prevent the government from replacing Andrew Jackson on the front of the $20 bill with abolitionist Harriet Tubman.

Rep. Steve King of Iowa has offered an amendment to a spending bill barring the use of funds to redesign any Federal Reserve note or coin.

Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew announced the changes in April. Tubman would become the first African-American on U.S. paper currency and the first woman on paper currency in a century.

Alexander Hamilton's portrait will remain on the front of the $10 bill. The back is to be redesigned to feature Susan B. Anthony.

It wasn't immediately clear why King opposed the redesign. His office did not immediately respond to messages.

SOURCE]

Congressional Black Caucus and Bernie Sanders at odds over open primaries

In a letter sent to both the Sanders and Hillary Clinton campaigns, the Congressional Black Caucus expressed e opposition to two key reforms demanded by Sanders. Those reforms being abolishing the party’s superdelegate system and especially opening Democratic primaries up to independents and Republicans. The CBC feels that would dilute minority voting strength.  Read that letter below.



June 18, 2016 

An Open Letter to our Democratic Colleagues and Party Leaders 

To: Secretary Hillary Clinton 
Senator Bernie Sanders 
Hon. Debbie Wasserman-Shultz, Chair, 
DNC Hon. Nancy Pelosi, House Democratic Leader 
Senator Harry Reid, Senate Democratic Leader 

To Whom It May Concern: The Democratic Members of the Congressional Black Caucus recently voted unanimously to oppose any suggestion or idea to eliminate the category of Unpledged Delegate to the Democratic National Convention (aka Super Delegates) and the creation of uniform open primaries in all states. 

The Democratic Party benefits from the current system of unpledged delegates to the National Convention by virtue of rules that allow members of the House and Senate to be seated as a delegate without the burdensome necessity of competing against constituents for the honor of representing the state during the nominating process. 

The origin of the unpledged delegate selection process authored by Congressman James E. Clyburn, DSC is attached to this letter. It accurately chronicles the use of the unpledged delegate system and sets out with particularity the reasons why this system was enacted many years ago. The system of allowing members of Congress to serve as unpledged delegates has worked quite well. There is no need to succumb to the pressure of a few individuals to make this change. We oppose any change to the current delegate selection process for members of Congress. 

The CBC is opposed to any state nominating system that would allow independent or Republican voters to participate in a Democratic Primary. The Democratic Party primary is the process used by the party to allow political aspirants to compete for their party’s nomination. Allowing independent or Republican voters to participate in the Democratic primary would dilute minority voting strength in many districts across the country. 

Finally, the members of the Congressional Black Caucus respectfully request that we be included in any discussion that will change the system of unpledged delegates. In addition, we should be included in any discussion that would seek to change the nominating rules to open primaries. These are significant issues that directly affects our ability to effectively participate in the political process. 

Thank you. 
Sincerely, G.K. Butterfield 
G. K. Butterfield, Chairman 
Democratic Caucus of the Congressional Black Caucus