The Challenge for Congressional Districts

Well, well, well, what do we have here. It now seems as if long time Congressional Representatives that support(ed) Hilary are facing formidable opponents in November. Last week Congressman John Lewis' endorsement reversal from Hilary to Senator Obama may have been because of competition from a vibrant young 30 year old Reverend Markel Hutchins. Hutchins entered the Georgia Congressional race to challenge Civil Rights legend John Lewis the week before Lewis's final decision to endorse Senator Obama. Congressman Lewis said that making the decision to change his vote from his friend Hilary to Senator Barack Obama was tougher than crossing the Edmund Pettus bridge over 40 years ago. Rev. Hutchins wasted no time attacking Lewis for 'waffling' for two weeks on casting Lewis' super delegate vote for Senator Obama.

Hutchins pictured above left, Lewis pictured above right

Hutchins sent out a press release and in it he stated "It is time to send somebody to Washington who is actually willing to represent the district". We were lead to believe that John Lewis changed his super-delegate vote from Hilary to Senator Obama solely based on the will of his District voters overwhelming support for Obama during the Georgia primary on Super Tuesday February 5th, 2008.




I predicted that African-American Congressional Representatives that support Hilary may have problems winning their district in the November election on the February 2nd blog. http://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=33772760&postID=6027352291910946624
The list of several African-American Congressional Representatives and Elected Officials that endorse Hilary is on the earlier blog. The political challenge for them is to either change their super delegate vote to Obama or not, if their voting district majority vote favored Obama. After reading my February 2nd blog noted author Earl Ofari Hutchinson from Los Angeles emailed me saying that the "Congressional Representatives have the freedom to cast their 'super delegate' to whomever they wish." Technically and legally Ofari (Hilary supporter) is right, but I disagree. Elected officials have the freedom to vote their own personal vote at their designated polling place in private, but these elected Representatives were voted in by the voters in their district and they should cast the DNC "super delegate" vote in accordance to the will of their constituents. District Representatives going off on their own accord and not backing the will of their voters could be viewed by voters as they are not properly representing them. Trust is very important to voters and if the Representatives cast their super delegate publically at the Democratic Convention then trust is no longer valid. What if "quality of life" issues arise and need to be addressed, will the Congressional Representative then take a vacation?


Another formidable challenge is in New York. New York Congressman Edolphus Towns will face off against popular author and community organizer Kevin Powell. Towns faced Powell in 2006 but Powell pulled out of the 2006 race because of his commitment to the victims of Katrina -- according to Powell. The resume' for Kevin Powell is impressive and includes high-level recommendations http://aalbc.com/authors/kevin.htm.

Congressional New York Representative Edolphus Towns pictured above.


Kevin Powell also chimed in on the sudden denegration of District Representative incumbents whom support Hilary -- Towns supports Hilary, if the majority of the voters in their Congressional district cast their ballots for Senator Obama. In Kevin Powell's own words:

"Good day everyone. If you are like me, you've been deeply inspired by the message and the movement that is Barack Obama's presidential campaign. I was at the 2004 Democratic National Convention in Boston when Senator Barack Obama gave his now historic keynote address. His inspiring message is, for sure, one of the reasons why I am running for a seat in the United States Congress here in Brooklyn, New York in 2008. We need a new kind of leadership in America, at every level of government."

(Kevin Powell pictured left)

Powell continues: "And I take that challenge and that responsibility very seriously.My opponent, 26-year incumbent Congressman Edolphus Towns, represents the old brand of leadership, the old way of thinking. He is a superdelegate who refuses to change his vote, which he pledged to Senator Hillary Clinton months ago. Barack Obama won the majority of Super Tuesday primary votes in our Congressional district, so clearly the people of Brooklyn, including the multicultural waves of younger people who are engaging in politics for the first time, want something different, something fresh, bold, and exciting. But unlike, say, Congressman John Lewis of Georgia, who came to understand he had to follow the will of the people and change his superdelegate vote to Mr. Obama, Congressman Towns refuses to budge."

Judging from these two well publicized Congressional races in Georgia and New York seems as if the challenger does not shy away from bringing up the fact that the incumbent failed to cast their super delegate vote with the will of the people.