By Pamela J. Gentry, Senior Political Producer

Posted Jan. 15, 2008 – What is going on with the Democrats?  Last week was a disaster.  It all started when Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) went on Fox News and implied that the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s contribution to the Civil Rights Movement wasn’t as important as the role that President Lyndon B. Johnson played.

And things don’t appear to be off to a good start this week. 

Last night, Clinton tried to end the King controversy by praising the contributions of King to the Civil Rights Movement in her speech and issuing a statement proposing a truce on the topic between campaigns.

But before the ink could dry on the statement, one of her staunch supporters, Rep. Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.), said in an interview on a local New York television station  Obama was “absolutely stupid” for calling Mrs. Clinton’s original remark ill-advised.
Rangel blamed Obama for bringing “race” into the campaign.  “I would challenge anybody to belittle the contribution that Dr. King has made to the world, to our country, to civil rights, and the Voting Rights Act. But for him to suggest that Dr. King could have signed that act is absolutely stupid,” Rangel fumed.

This appears to be another case where someone attempting to help the New York senator clearly did not.  Her campaign quickly issued a statement saying that Rangel was speaking for himself.

Heading into the South Carolina primary, where Black folks make up 50 percent of the voters, the MLK comments even sparked criticism from House Majority Whip and South Carolina native James Clyburn.  He went so far as to issue a statement from his travels expressing his discontent with Clinton’s comments.
 
Clyburn returned from his  trip to New Zeland, Singapore and Australia to examine port security Monday and was greeted with a barrage of phone calls about the happenings during his absence. Clinton and her husband called Clyburn, the highest-ranking elected official in South Carolina, to discuss “the situation.”
 
He also spoke with Sen. Barack Obama.  “Sen. Obama would love for this to go away,” Clyburn said.

Clyburn has not endorsed any Democratic candidate, and he said he has no plans to do so.  He said Democrats need to be talking about issues.  “We’re talking about race vs. gender, and we should be talking about Democrats vs. Republicans,” he said. 
 
All of this comes on the heels of an endorsement this weekend for the former First Lady by billionaire Bob Johnson, founder of BET and owner of the Charlotte Bobcats.   While remarking about the years of service helping African-Americans, Johnson went on to say, “I am frankly insulted the Obama campaign would imply that we are so stupid that we would think Hillary and Bill Clinton, who have been deeply and emotionally involved in Black issues — when Barack Obama was doing something in the neighborhood; I won’t say what he was doing, but he said it in his book.” 

In Obama’s memoir, “Dreams from My Father,” he wrote about his drug use as a teen.  The Clinton campaign released a statement saying Johnson’s comments referred to Obama’s work as a community organizer.
An Obama spokesman said, “It is troubling that neither the campaign nor Senator Clinton is willing to condemn it.”

 Last night, the TV news shows were filled with pundits who speculated over which campaign would suffer from the war of words. To many observers, Clinton has the most to lose, especially going into the South Carolina primary on Jan. 26. And, even if she were to win the Democratic nomination, she might anger so many Black voters that they decide to skip the general election, depriving the Democratic Party of their much-needed votes.

But, of course, Obama can’t possibly believe that an all-out focus on race could benefit him in the long run. The last thing he needs is for White Americans to blame him for playing the proverbial “race card” and unite against him in a White vs. Black contest.

We’re sure to hear more about all of this during the South Carolina Debate taking place in Myrtle Beach, Jan. 21. 

Stay tuned.