Congressional Black Caucus Chair calls “war on women” rhetoric “wrong”

posted at 3:01 pm on April 8, 2012 by Tina Korbe

Missouri Democratic Rep. Emanuel Cleaver today defended the president’s Christianity and said it makes no sense to accuse him of waging a “war on religion.” His remarks — presumably inadvertently — led him to also denounce Democrats’ repeated refrain that Republicans are waging a “war on women.” The Daily Caller reports:

“If you believe that the president is a Christian, why would you still come to the belief that he’s trying to destroy religion in this country?” Cleaver asked. “I think we’ve got to stop that.  That is not doing this country any good at all. And the truth of the matter is we know better. We know better, those of us who are in the public eye.”

Ralph Reed, chairman of the Faith and Freedom Coalition, then put it to Cleaver to apply the same principle to the Democratic Party’s attacks on Republicans that they are waging a “war on women.”

“Yes, that is wrong,” Cleaver said. “And I’ve never said it, not one time.”

Cleaver has been among a number of voices in Congress to repeatedly call for increased civility — but a number of the members of the caucus he chairs have conspicuously failed to uphold any kind of reasonable standard of politeness. (Think Maxine Waters’ remark, “The Tea Party can go straight to hell” or Andre Carson’s inflammatory comment, “This Tea Party movement would love to see you and me … hanging on a tree.”)

While I agree with Cleaver that we cannot do other than accept the president’s word that he is a Christian (what Christian among us exemplifies the faith perfectly?) and I also agree with him that the phrase “war on [insert whatever you like here]” has become far too widespread, I do wish to point out again that the president, by the HHS contraception mandate, has shown a disturbing lack of regard for religious liberty.

The president greeted the nation this weekend with a refreshing address about Easter in which he wished a reflective and relaxing weekend for all of us. Here’s hoping he’ll also take this day to reflect — and that, through the course of that reflection, he might recognize that he betrayed religious interests when he insisted on a mandate that does not incorporate conscience exemptions. It’s not too late for him to humble himself on this and reverse course.

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Uh….yeah.

Bank wants Missouri Rep. Cleaver to pay $1.5 million on car wash loan
U.S. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver’s car wash headache is raging once again.
The bank that loaned the Kansas City congressman and his wife $1.3 million in 2002 to buy the Grandview Auto Wash at 12204 Blue Ridge Extension is now demanding payment of more than $1.5 million, after the Cleavers repeatedly fell behind on repaying the loan.
The suit, filed last week in Jackson County Circuit Court, said the demand for repayment came after three attempts to delay foreclosure. Bank of America also is seeking attorney’s fees and a receiver to protect collateral.
“The Cleaver Company failed and refused, and continues to fail and refuse, to pay the outstanding obligations due and owing … under the note and other loan documents,” the lawsuit said.
In an email statement, Cleaver said, “This is a business dispute. The business has been run by an outside manager for years.” He said because it was a legal matter, he would have no further comment.
According to court documents, the outstanding principal totals $1.2 million with interest totaling $240,545 as of March 6. Late fees have reached $54,587. Both Cleavers had personally guaranteed the debts, according to the suit.
The loan was originally part of a Small Business Administration program. It was not clear Thursday how much money, if any, taxpayers will have to provide if the loan defaults.
The car wash became a hot topic when Cleaver, a Democrat and former Kansas City mayor, ran for the U.S. House for the first time in 2004.
His opponent, Republican Jeanne Patterson, paid for a TV ad that pointed out that Cleaver owed $36,000 in property taxes on the car wash for 2002 and 2003. At the time, Cleaver said that many business owners become fall behind on taxes, and he paid up shortly after learning of the delinquency.
During the campaign, he said that the business had been a losing proposition for him and his family and that he was looking for a new owner.
In November 2004, Cleaver turned daily management of the car wash over to two couples. But by April 2005, Cleaver had again fallen behind on his car wash property taxes after failing to pay the $13,679 he owed at the end of 2004.
He paid the amount, with interest and a 2 percent penalty, just a few days after a story noting the non-payment appeared in The Star.

Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/2012/04/06/3539396/bank-wants-missouri-rep-cleaver.html#storylink=cpy

sicoit on April 8, 2012 at 6:37 PM

Let me check my tax bills… Probably dozens.

viking01 on April 8, 2012 at 4:51 PM

Bullseye, Viking.

Cleombrotus on April 8, 2012 at 6:38 PM

We believe in gradual improvement.

lester on April 8, 2012 at 6:25 PM

Letting the cat out of the bag, aren’t you, lester?

http://www.forbes.com/2008/11/03/obama-fabian-socialist-oped-cx_jb_1103bowyer.html

Cleombrotus on April 8, 2012 at 6:44 PM

We believe in gradual improvement.

lester on April 8, 2012 at 6:25 PM

Where is the IMPROVEMENT you f&*@#ng reprobate?

tom daschle concerned on April 8, 2012 at 6:58 PM

Liberal4Life where did you go? I want to talk about Planned Parenthood’s (PP) war on black women. How PP wants to kill all black babies.

Conservative4Ever on April 8, 2012 at 7:04 PM

Narrative shift. Looks like the War on Women™ is not polling well. As we saw last week, Barack as winning single winning, but losing married women to Romney by double digits. Guess which women are regular voters?

Rational Thought on April 8, 2012 at 7:28 PM

led him to also denounce Democrats’ repeated refrain that Republicans are waging a “war on women.”

Earth to Murky. Come in Lisa…

Gohawgs on April 8, 2012 at 7:30 PM

Conservative4Ever on April 8, 2012 at 7:04 PM

They’re just following their founders philosophy…

Gohawgs on April 8, 2012 at 7:32 PM

Narrative shift. Looks like the War on Women™ is not polling well. As we saw last week, Barack as winning single winning, but losing married women to Romney by double digits. Guess which women are regular voters?

Rational Thought on April 8, 2012 at 7:28 PM

Make that: Barack is winning single women, but losing married women…

Sheesh. A couple of glasses of wine with Easter dinner and the fingers cannot find the keys. Typical teetotaler lightweight.

Rational Thought on April 8, 2012 at 7:37 PM

Mr. Cleaver is my representative in Congress. He has many foibles and follies. I have many disagreements with his politics. And despite his moderate demeanor, he’s as far left as they come.

But most important, don’t get between Mr. Cleaver and a TV camera.

As for Pres. Obama, he claims to be a Christian, and I’m not one to doubt him – even with the offense of his disturbing lack of regard for religious liberty. But I would contend that Pres. Obama is a shallow and immature Christian given his sad lack of Biblical knowledge, a propensity for theological distortions for political gain, and his timidity in proclaiming the name of Jesus, or even ‘under God’, at numerous public addresses. All of this is magnified against the backdrop of the right Rev. (gaawd damm america) Wright being Obama’s ‘spiritual mentor’ for 20 years.

Now, about that Republican ‘War on Caterpillars…’

locomotivebreath1901 on April 8, 2012 at 8:08 PM

War on women black infants has been going on since Roe vs Wade.
 
It did not start yesterday.
 
liberal4life on April 8, 2012 at 3:14 PM

 
Right?
 
rogerb on April 8, 2012 at 3:39 PM

 
Since you care so much about black infants how many have you adopted?
 
liberal4life on April 8, 2012 at 4:46 PM

 
In which you inadvertently admit they’re babies and not mere clumps of cells.
 
Well done.

rogerb on April 8, 2012 at 8:40 PM

liberal4life on April 8, 2012 at 4:46 PM

In which you inadvertently admit they’re babies and not mere clumps of cells.

Well done.

rogerb on April 8, 2012 at 8:40 PM

Well he/she is a Liberal 4 Life!

Conservative4Ever on April 8, 2012 at 8:56 PM

Gee Dukecitygirl, you take your Christianity pretty seriously.

Kjeil on April 8, 2012 at 5:54 PM

It’s not something one should take lightly.

dukecitygirl on April 8, 2012 at 9:01 PM

Since you care so much about black infants how many have you adopted?

liberal4life on April 8, 2012 at 4:46 PM

So what you’re saying is that unless someone adopts a black infant, they are incapable of caring about their plight? But, hey, let’s kill them in the womb….now THAT’S caring.

Why don’t you just admit that you hate black people. You’d rather slaughter them before they are born and use their deaths as proof that you care about women.

Freaking racist, misogynist, progressive hippocrite.

Zooid on April 8, 2012 at 9:03 PM

I heard there were nearly 88 million Americans out of work…can anyone confirm?
d1carter on April 8, 2012 at 5:19 PM

I can’t CONFIRM it, but I can give you a link:
http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2012/04/07/record-87897000-americans-not-in-the-labor-force

LegendHasIt on April 8, 2012 at 9:07 PM

Liberal4Life where did you go? I want to talk about Planned Parenthood’s (PP) war on black women. How PP wants to kill all black babies.

Conservative4Ever on April 8, 2012 at 7:04 PM

It’s not a big secret where the war on black women started, it’s kind of their founder’s mission statement.

Dr Evil on April 8, 2012 at 9:13 PM

War on women has been going on since Roe vs Wade.

It did not start yesterday.

liberal4life on April 8, 2012 at 3:14 PM

wow…I don’t have to say anything…everybody else is changing it’s diaper!

KOOLAID2 on April 8, 2012 at 9:20 PM

I saw this interview and I wish Reed would have asked him, as chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, what he felt about all the anti-tea party rhetoric coming from t he CBC and Democrats. Cleaver was one of those who claimed he was called the “N” word before going in to vote on Obamacare yet there was no video to confirm it. Since then, we’ve heard all this rhetoric on the tea party being racist. I would love to seem him pressed on that.

bflat879 on April 8, 2012 at 10:44 PM

locomotivebreath1901 on April 8, 2012 at 8:08 PM

Then you are close enough to come to our April 15 tea party at Theis Park, across from the Nelson Atkins museum in Kansas City, 2-6pm. Google “Conservatives in Action Rally” for more details. Hope to see you there!

alwaysfiredup on April 8, 2012 at 11:38 PM

For the record:

America’s Most Biblically-Hostile U. S. President
http://www.wallbuilders.com/LIBissuesArticles.asp?id=106938

CanofSand on April 9, 2012 at 12:19 AM

While I agree with Cleaver that we cannot do other than accept the president’s word that he is a Christian

-Tina Korbe

We cannot? Let’s play a little game here:

While I agree with Cleaver that we cannot do other than accept the president’s word…

…that if you like your doctor you can keep him.
…that Obamacare will reduce costs.
…that he actually wrote his own books.
…that Paul Ryan intends to push Granny of the cliff.

Ad Obamanitum.

How can we do other than accept the President’s word?

sartana on April 9, 2012 at 2:25 AM

‘War on Women’ = Liberal attempt to divert attention away from the fact Obama violated the US Constitution…AGAIN…by issuing a health care mandate to religious institutions.

easyt65 on April 9, 2012 at 10:35 AM

Anyway…

Rep. Cleaver also said during the same segment that “We have got to quit exaggerating our political differences.”

Which, coming from the chairman of the inherently separatist Congressional Black Caucus, is quite a rib-tickler…

neocon stormtrooper on April 9, 2012 at 11:18 AM

The answer to the article is very easy. The Cleavers are deadbeats, with a sense of entitlement. You see, only regular people have to repay their loans, and pay their taxes. That does not apply to us special people, and certainly not to Congressmen, and black, democratic congressmen, to boot.

uncle_fweddy on April 9, 2012 at 12:59 PM

“If you believe that the president is a Christian, why would you still come to the belief that he’s trying to destroy religion in this country?” Cleaver asked. “I think we’ve got to stop that. That is not doing this country any good at all. And the truth of the matter is we know better. We know better, those of us who are in the public eye.”

This is simple, also. Obama, his claims notwithstanding, is not a Christian; he is a muslim adherent of islam. And he is something of a journeyman liar. But that is OK, in his view; according to his beloved koran, lying, cheating, even murder are all OK, as long as it is done in furtherance of islam. He regularly quotes from the koran, or as he calls it, the holy koran.

uncle_fweddy on April 9, 2012 at 1:11 PM

Murky is a Turkey.

Ok that was lame. I just despise Murky.

SparkPlug on April 9, 2012 at 5:23 PM

Andre Carson’s inflammatory comment….

I’d forgotten about him, not recognizing the name. Let’s just call him Mr. Arson.

Olo_Burrows on April 11, 2012 at 2:47 AM

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