Obama to CBC: 'Can't stop marching'

Against a backdrop of slipping support among African Americans and widely acknowledged tension with black members of Congress, President Barack Obama delivered a fiery defense of his record at a Congressional Black Caucus gala Saturday night.

Judging by the audience’s reaction — the president’s words often brought the crowd to their feet — Obama went a long way toward silencing his critics.


Like a minister preaching to a restive choir, Obama used familiar cultural touchstones to remind the audience of his roots, including Biblical references, a rhythmic cadence and his own humble beginnings as the son of a single mother who sometimes relied on food stamps. He then challenged his naysayers with a list of legislative accomplishments that he said will uplift African American communities: middle-class tax breaks, money for college education and summer jobs programs.

“Ask the family struggling to make ends meet if that extra few hundred dollars in their mother’s paycheck from the payroll tax cut we passed made a difference. They’ll tell you,” he said. “Ask them how much that Earned Income Tax Credit or that Child Tax Credit makes a difference in paying the bills at the end of the month.”

But he also framed the growing complaints that he hasn’t done enough for poor and working-class blacks — brought into sharp relief in a CBC-sponsored “jobs tour” that drew tens of thousands of unemployed workers in cities like Atlanta, Cleveland and Detroit this summer — with images of the civil rights movement, where marchers “pressed on” for years despite setbacks, frustration and sometimes violent opposition.

“Progress often takes time. We take a step forward, sometimes we take two steps back. Sometimes we get two steps forward and one step back,” he said. “But it’s never a straight line. It’s never easy. And I never promised easy. Easy has never been promised to us.

“You can’t stop marching. Even when they’re turning the hoses on you, you can’t stop,” Obama said. “Through the mud and the muck and the driving rain, we don’t stop. Because we know the rightness of our cause — widening the circle of opportunity, standing up for everybody’s opportunities, increasing each other’s prosperity.”

Over the past few months, the relationship between the nation’s first black president and African American members of Congress has fractured as statistics show the unemployment rate among blacks is nearly double the national average — and more black families are slipping below the poverty line. The scenario is a far cry from 2008, when African Americans nationwide viewed Obama’s inauguration as heralding a new era. Many now blame the president for not pushing hard enough to ease their struggles, yet being overly willing to compromise with Republicans and court centrist, middle-class voters.

Obama’s first term has been dogged by concerns, and lingering resentment, of some black leaders who say he’s afraid to embrace their agenda for fear of turning off moderate white voters.

Those concerns were laid bare in polls last week that showed Obama’s approval rating among African Americans slipping below 60 percent in the last few months, when it had plateaued at 80 percent or higher for years. Critics said it was a sign that the president, who has touted the need to repair the nation’s crumbling roads and bridges, should pay attention to his own eroding political infrastructure.

After a months-long public airing of grievances with the black electorate — including a high-profile “poverty tour” by TV host Tavis Smiley, an unflinching Obama critic — the president used the speech to remind his constituency that they’re all in it together.

“I never promised easy. Easy’s never been promised to us,” Obama declared, drawing applause from an audience that included celebrities and professional athletes. “I don’t have time to feel sorry for myself. I don’t have time to complain. I have to press on. You have to stop complaining, stop grumbling stop crying. We are going to press on. We have work to do.”

The president also challenged House Republicans to pass his jobs bill, which he said will repair the nation’s infrastructure, put more people to work and provide tax cuts for black-owned businesses.

The plan has proposals that “in the past have been supported by both parties. Suddenly Obama is proposing it — what happened?” the president said. “What happened? [Republicans] used to like to build roads. What happened? I don’t know.”

“This is a no-brainer,” he said. “Let’s put America back to work doing the jobs America needs done,” he said. “Let’s pass this jobs bill.”

Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.), who has been among Obama’s biggest African American critics, said he was happy to hear the president has set aside the “tea and crumpets business and is getting down to work.”

“He realizes the people who oppose him are beyond compromise or negotiation,” the congressman said. “We’re gonna have to take the case to the people and not just debate it between the Republican House” and the White House.

“He hasn’t lost support but he has to stimulate his base. That’s how you do it,” he said. “You don’t stimulate the base by talking inside the beltway politics.”

Rep. James Clyburn (D-S.C.) agreed, saying he was pleasantly surprised to hear Obama confront the dissent among African Americans and talk frankly about how difficult the road ahead to a second term will be.

“I think there is a lot of discouragement out there. We all know it,” he said. “We’re going to have a tough job trying to get people to stay focused. I think one of the big things is after the president’s election a lot of people lost their vigilance and the other side doubled down while we were coasting. So we are going to have to clean up our act between now and November.”

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story gave an incorrect first name for Rep. James Clyburn.



CORRECTION: Corrected by: David Cohen @ 09/25/2011 02:59 PM CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story gave an incorrect first name for Rep. James Clyburn.