Oakland Mayor Backs Clinton

[William769]

Oakland Mayor Backs Clinton
By SCOTT LINDLAW – 16 hours ago

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton won the endorsement Monday of Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums, a widely admired black leader who had anguished over whether to back Sen. Barack Obama, her leading Democratic presidential rival.

The endorsement came as Clinton and Dellums toured a vocational classroom at Laney College in Oakland, where Clinton announced that Dellums will head her campaign's Urban Policy Committee.

The Clinton campaign spent months assiduously courting Dellums, a former U.S. Marine who served 27 years in Congress and once headed the powerful House Armed Services Committee. Dellums told associates he was excited by the energy of Obama's campaign, but he withheld his endorsement longer than many other black leaders.

But Clinton's willingness to embrace his recommendations on how to improve urban America, and her credentials on foreign and military affairs, won Dellums over.

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5jDSHa8Z_qzt50WfSguXy-ATuS7vAD8S0NRJ00

[FrenchieCat]

1. In my neck of the woods.......considering that this is a majority African-American city......

this is pretty big news.....which doesn't bode well for Obama, considering.

[musiclawyer]

2. Oakland is not black majority city

http://www.epodunk.com/cgi-bin/popInfo.php?locIndex=10615

If it ever was, that was a long time ago. White alone is the plurality, with asian and latino combined surpassing that of white and african american.

But that's an aside. Ron Dellums is a do nothing and his endorsement just makes people want to vote for whoever else he did not endorese. He was in Congress for the longest time, and I dare someone to tell me what tangible, lasting thing he did for us folks here in the East Bay other than push fior a federal building. Ever since Dellums was elected mayor the old time crime that was under control by Jerry Brown has returned to the flatlands. And even the hillside dwellars in the expensive neighborhoods, usually untouched relatively by crime, have been affected.

[FrenchieCat]

8. Ron Dellums, Do nothing???

What Dellums did in congress.......

Jerry had nothing under control in the flatland of Oakland......Allthough he may have "protected" the Hillside dwellers more than Dellums!

Dellums was the first African American elected to Congress from Northern California and the first openly socialist American Congressman since World War II.<1>
<>
He was elected to the United States House of Representatives in 1970 after being recruited by anti-Vietnam War activists to run against the incumbent, Jeffery Cohelan, a white liberal close to organized labor who had not opposed the war early enough to win reelection in the district. Dellums defeated Cohelan in the Democratic Primary and won the general election, serving without interruption for 27 years.<8>

His politics earned him a place on the so-called Nixon's Enemies List, where his notation stated Dellums "had extensive EMK-Tunney support in his election bid."<9> <10>

In January, 1971, just weeks into his first term, Dellums set up an exhibit of Vietnam war crimes in an annex to his Congressional office. The exhibit featured four large posters depicting atrocities allegedly committed by American soldiers, embellished with red paint. This was followed shortly thereafter by a series of hearings on alleged war crimes in Vietnam, which began April 25, 1971. Dellums had called for formal investigations into the allegations, but Congress chose not to endorse the proceedings. As such, the hearings were ad hoc and only informational in nature. As a condition of room use, press and camera presence were not permitted; however, the proceedings were transcribed.<11> A small number of other anti-Vietnam War congressional representatives also took part in the hearings.

In 1972, Dellums began his campaign to end the racist, apartheid policies of South Africa. Fourteen years later, the U.S. House of Representatives passed Dellums's anti-apartheid legislation, calling for a trade embargo against South Africa and immediate divestment by American corporations. The bill, the Comprehensive Anti-Apartheid Act of 1986, had broad bipartisan support. It called for sanctions against South Africa and stated preconditions for lifting the sanctions, including the release of all political prisoners. Ronald Reagan called for a policy of "constructive engagement" and vetoed the bill; however, his veto was overridden. It was the first override in the 20th century of a presidential foreign policy veto.<12>

Dellums' fight against apartheid in South Africa was the subject of a Disney Channel made-for-TV movie, The Color of Friendship, released in 2000. The role of Congressman Dellums was played by actor Carl Lumbly in the movie.<13>
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ron_Dellums

[FrenchieCat]

9. My bad! I'm counting the "2 or more races, i.e., Biracial" with Blacks......

Maybe Oakland isn't Black Majority, but it is damn near! Add the other minorities and Oakland certainly isn't a "white" city.....that's for sure!

Wonder how Dellums got elected as mayor if he's as bad as you opine? :shrug:\

FROM YOUR LINKED DATA:

White alone 121,075

Black or African American alone 115,952

American Indian and Alaska Native alone 2,072

Asian alone 61,358

Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone 3,426

Some other race alone 52,243

Two or more races: 17,784

Hispanic or Latino 93,582

[musiclawyer]

10. Ok Dellums is not a do nothing

But he wasted precious time during his congressional tenure ot helping his consituents enough. He was put in place largely by the afro american vote. But Oakland is slowly becoming a non-black town. It's becoming a multi-racial, beautiful patchwork of colors, but less and less black without a doubt. Housing prices are out of reach, the working class jobs are disappearing. The black middle class has fled to Contra Costa and San Joaquin County. Much of the lack of affordable housing, poor investment in education and lack of jobs problem came to fruition on dellums watch. I recall saying way back when that he was fighting for the rights of people in far away places, yet ignoring his own. I stand by that.

[FrenchieCat]

11. What Dellums did in terms of his effect on Apartheid makes him

a great man that chose to fight for what was right......not something I can say about many others. Certainly, like most politicians, he isn't perfect....but his Bio is more impressive than many who are running for President these days.

He made a difference, and that counterbalances any fault you might point out......and then some.

[zulchzulu]

3. Zennie Abraham responds...

He's a cool dude...here is his take on Dellums

Mayor Ron Dellums made the massive error of backing Senator Hillary Clinton in the Presidential race, a sure sign that Barack Obama will win the nomination.

Of course, this didn't come as just a simple endorsement -- it came as yet another Clinton deal. In this case, Hillary placed Mayor Ron Dellums in some role in her campaign.

How many times she's done this in some form makes one dizzy. But what's really wild is that Dellums would back someone who's flipped-flopped on so many issues and supported the Iraq War that it's not funny.

Plus, Dellums apparently can't bring himself to back a young Black Senator named Barack Obama. It's funny with some older African Americans in Oakland. They're so afraid of anyone Black who can be in charge that they'd back someone White. I'm serious about this, and would not write it if it were not true.

The real mental slaves are those who say to me -- who are Black -- that Barack can't win because he's Black. I tell each person that they're afraid of Black success. They're not comfortable. They're also some of the same people who gave me problems when I worked to bring the Super Bowl to Oakland.

Former Oakland City Manager Robert Bobb said it best to me in 1999: "Oakland is a crab-barrel city. You (speaking to me). You're young. Black. Smart. You're a threat."

I guess the same could be said for Barack Obama, which makes me fight harder all the more for him. Dellums will wind up on the wrong end of this race, because we're going to win.

But the message Dellums is sending is one I find terrible. It says the endorsement Oakland's African American leaders can be bought and that's a terrible sign. I say to anyone young and Black, pay this no mind, and continue to back Barack Obama.

http://oaklandfocus.blogspot.com/2007/10/dellums-endorses-clinton-after-mayor.html#_

http://www.blogger.com/profile/05815765335808809176

[Froward69]

4. one hand washes the other.

[rinsd]

7. Yes because Obama endorsers never get a position in the campaign.

*cough* Paul Hodes *cough*

[William769]

5. Some of you here really crack me up!

:rofl:

[shireen]

6. oh great, someone else telling us how we should think.

It's so subtle, but so effective. I guess the Democratic Party machine is making the rounds drumming up support for the anointed one.

BTW, I have nothing against Hillary. I just wish prominent Dem leaders would shut their mouths and let people sort this out for themselves.