COLUMBIA, S.C. — South Carolina Rep. Jim Clyburn, the third most powerful House Democrat, declined to endorse or even encourage a Hillary Clinton presidential campaign in 2016 and said that Jeb Bush or Chris Christie would be potential nominees who could win back the White House for Republicans.
Clyburn made the comments Wednesday afternoon in his Columbia congressional office during a wide-ranging 45-minute interview with The RUN in which he signaled he would likely stay out of the 2016 race until the field is completely set.
“I’ve never endorsed an unannounced candidate for anything and I’m not going to start now,” the highest ranking African-American in Congress told me when I asked if he was ready to endorse Clinton. ”I’m not going to encourage anybody to run. Now if somebody goes out there and announces that they are going to be running, I’ll make my decision on what my position is going to be on it.”
Clyburn, who stayed neutral during the epic 2008 primary fight, also assured me that there was no lingering animosity between him and the Clintons, despite his annoyance with Hillary’s suggestion during that campaign that President Lyndon Johnson had a more significant role in winning passage of the Civil Rights Act than Martin Luther King Jr.
Although he was careful to steer clear of any candidate preference, the 11th-term congressman said he did not believe Vice President Joe Biden would mount a campaign if Hillary did.
At the same time, he alluded to the strength of two Republicans who could be competitive with — and even defeat whoever carries the flag for Democrats.
“Jeb Bush could win if he could get out of the primary. Don’t think he will. Christie could win if he could get out of the primary. Don’t think he will,” Clyburn deadpanned.
Below is a lightly edited transcript of the portion of the interview that focused on 2016 politics, featuring Clyburn’s fully developed thoughts on Clinton, Biden, Bush, Christie and even Canadian-born Ted Cruz:
Catanese: I know its very early, but some of your colleagues have come out and said they’re endorsing Hillary Clinton, get on the Hillary Clinton bandwagon. Do you think you’re ready to endorse her for president? Would you like to see her run?
Clyburn: I’ve never endorsed an unannounced candidate for anything and I’m not going to start now.
Catanese: So you’ll wait until there’s a field.
Clyburn: Absolutely. Who knows? My grandson might announce, my daughter might announce.
His aide, who is sitting in on the interview, Hope Derrick: If we’re an early primary state again, you won’t endorse.
Catanese: You won’t endorse if there’s a contested primary?
Clyburn: No, no, no, there’s circumstances I would endorse in a contested primary.
Catanese: Oh you would?
Clyburn: Just because there’s a primary doesn’t mean I won’t endorse. It would be an unusual circumstance for me to. But if somebody got into a Democratic primary, if there are two people in a Democratic primary and one of them has got some positions that are insulting to me, and my children and grandchildren, I damn sure would and I’ve seen that happen in a lot of races.
Catanese: I know last time you clashed with Sen. Clinton when she seemed to suggest that LBJ had a more important role in the Civil Rights Act than Martin Luther King. Did you ever address that afterwards? Is that patched up?
Clyburn: I’ve had conversations with her since then. She’s never raised that issue with me. I’ve never found it necessary to raise it with her. In fact, when she became Secretary of State, I was invited to quite a few events of hers, breakfasts at the Department of State.
Catanese: So that’s water under the bridge?
Clyburn: Well, as far as I’m concerned, sure. The fact of that matter is I don’t have less regard for her than what I tell other people. I tell my children all the time, ‘You have to be careful how you assign credit for anything.’ Nobody has a way of measuring who is the most important. We all have roles to play. Lyndon Johnson was important, played a very important role. And Martin Luther King Jr. played a very important role. How do you measure which one was the most important? That’s a problem for me. I came up in an era when people would say, you have to have a white person to do anything, to get anything done. People would say that. And there were only white people in positions. I came up when there wasn’t a single black person in the state House of Representatives or the State Senate or any other office for that matter. Or the city council. Or the county council. We were nowhere. When I went up to college, there wasn’t a black person in any office anywhere. So all that’s changed. I don’t give anybody any more credit than the other.
Catanese: Last time, some complained of racial overtones in the campaign by the Clintons here. Half of the Democratic primary electorate is African American here. Do you think there’s any lingering tensions? If [Hillary] were to run, she wouldn’t face any sort of animosity because of President Clinton’s comments last time?
Clyburn: No lingering effects of that at all that I can determine.
Catanese: Would you even encourage her to run, as some are doing? Would you say she should run?
Clyburn: Well, my mentor in South Carolina politics was Gov. John West, who brought me onto his staff back in 1971. By the way, read that little thing, right there.
He smacks the table twice and points to the inscription at the front of his desk, which reads “Presented to Gov. John West, Jan. 14, 1975. With Gratitude and Admiration From Your Staff”
Clyburn: When I got elected House Majority Whip, his wife and son sent me this desk. They said, John would want you to have this desk. So John West once said to me — I went to him asking him to help us encourage somebody to run for office — I told him, ‘Governor, I think we can win with this person. If he was given a call, I think he would run.’ John looks at me and says, ‘Jim, I’m going to offer you a piece of advice I want you to keep as long as you stay in politics. I would never encourage anybody to run for any office and don’t you do that. Because here’s what you’re going to find: If the person loses . . . they’re going to blame you because you were the S.O.B. that subjected them to this. If they were to win, it’s because of their great intellect and good looks.
Catanese: You don’t get any credit.
Clyburn: You don’t get any credit. And you get all the blame when they lose. I think about that every time somebody asks me for an endorsement. So I’m not going to encourage anybody to run. Now if somebody goes out there and announces that they are going to be running, I’ll make my decision on what my position is going to be on it.
Catanese: Do you think she’ll have a challenge — a formidable challenge — for the nomination?
Clyburn: Oh, I don’t know. It depends on a lot of things. I know there are people out there making soundings — the governor of Maryland is out there, surely Joe Biden is keeping himself positioned.
Catanese: Can he run if she does?
Clyburn: He could but I don’t think he would.
Catanese: What do you make of Ted Cruz and the renouncing of his Canadian citizenship?
Clyburn: I just have one question to ask about that. He said he’s always an American by birth, only because he was born to an American mother. Last time I checked, he even said in one of his explanations, his mother’s from Delaware, I believe. Where’s Barack Obama’s mother from? Last time I checked Kansas was a state. In the United States of America. So how is he different than Barack Obama? By his own explanation . . . he’s got problems.
Catanese: You think he’ll have a problem with Republican primary voters?
Clyburn: Those birthers are in his party. He might have a problem with some of them, some of those guys are pure . . . they’re crazy.
Catanese: Do you think they have a strong field of contenders?
Clyburn: Who?
Catanese: The Republicans thinking of running, is it a strong field?
Clyburn: So far I don’t think they have a strong field for the general.
Catanese: They don’t have anybody who can win it back?
Clyburn: Oh yeah, but to get out of the primary’s going to be a problem. Sure they’ve got people over there who can win if they could get out of the primary. Jeb Bush could win if he could get out of the primary. Don’t think he will. Christie could win if he could get out of the primary. Don’t think he will.
Follow Dave’s blog at TheRun2016.com
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