WASHINGTON — Rep. James Clyburn, D-S.C., criticized the nationwide redistricting fight in an interview with NBC News’ “Meet the Press,” arguing that the country is going through “a repeat of a history that led to some catastrophic consequences in our previous history.”
Clyburn was asked at the start of the interview whether he agreed with Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, D-Mo., who opposed his state’s redistricting and argued that “if you fight fire with fire long enough, all you’re going to have left is ashes.”
“I agree with him entirely,” Clyburn said.
Clyburn pointed to the emergence of Jim Crow after the post-Civil War Reconstruction period ended, saying these racist laws and Supreme Court decisions like Plessy v. Ferguson “made a mockery of democracy.”
“That is what we are approaching today,” he added, asking: “Are we going to continue our pursuit of a more perfect union, or are we going to make a mockery out of this democracy?”
His comments come after the Supreme Court allowed Texas to use a new congressional district map, which could help Republicans gain five House seats in next year’s midterm elections. Texas’ move set off redistricting battles across the country, with state legislators on both sides of the aisle pushing to redraw maps to favor their party.
Separately, Clyburn responded to former first lady Michelle Obama’s comments last month saying that the U.S. is not ready for a female president.
Asked whether he agreed with Obama, Clyburn said that she “is absolutely correct,” but argued that it did not mean we should stop trying.
“If you look at the history, we demonstrated that we were not ready,” Clyburn said. “These are incredible women who have run: Hillary Clinton, Kamala Harris, and I think that we are getting there. That’s why we can’t afford to turn the clock back.”
He added that “just because it doesn’t seem that we are ready, doesn’t mean we should stop the pursuit.”
“My dad used to tell me all the time, ‘Son, the darkest part of the night is that moment just before dawn.’ And so we may be in a dark moment as it relates to women serving as president, but we may be in that moment just before dawn, where the woman will serve,” he continued. “And in order for that to happen, they have got to run.”
