| No 'Sharp Elbows' for Whip Clyburn
Monday, December 11, 2006
By Jennifer Yachin - Roll Call
When incoming House Majority Whip James Clyburn (D) contemplates his approach to leadership, the admittedly soft-spoken South Carolinian compares himself, at least stylistically, to the classic Kenny Rogers tune “The Gambler.”
“I think it gets like that. ... ‘You got to know when to hold ’em, know when to fold ’em,” explained Clyburn, who will hold the No. 3 House leadership post when the 110th Congress convenes in January. “There are times when you do use sharp elbows, and there are times when you keep your hands in your pockets.”
In a Thursday interview in which Clyburn discussed his vision for the Democratic whip organization, he acknowledged those critics who have questioned how he will manage his leadership role within the first Democratic majority in 12 years.
“I know that every now and again I read things, about whether or not I’ve got sharp enough elbows,” Clyburn said. “I’ve been referred to in a number of articles lately as a ‘courtly Southern gentleman,’” he said with a laugh. “Well, my wife disagrees with that.”
“I’m not too sure how complimentary those comments are meant to be,” he continued, “because for some reason people up here feel if you’re going to get ahead in this environment you’ve got to learn how to elbow people aside and you got to learn how to run over other people. I don’t think so, that’s not my style.”
Instead, Clyburn said, he intends to continue working in the manner that has won him ever-greater responsibility within the Caucus during his tenure, even as he admits he may need to adapt to new situations when it is necessary.
“I think it all depends on what time it is as to how I will do things,” Clyburn said. “I think I’ve heard myself referred to as being soft-spoken, and I am, and here today I’m soft-spoken. On Sunday morning at ... church I’m not soft-spoken. I try to adjust to whatever my environment is and that’s [what] I would bring to this Whip job.”
In preparation for the 110th Congress, Clyburn said he intends to largely maintain the Whip organization employed by his predecessor, incoming House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), and in consultation with incoming Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), he announced last week that he would retain all but one of the current Chief Deputy Whips while adding Reps. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.) and G.K. Butterfield (D-N.C.).
“I said to the whip group [Thursday] morning ... that ‘if it ain’t broke don’t fix it,’ and I don’t see that the whip operation is broken,” Clyburn said. “I think I like the way Steny has set it up. I plan to utilize that same organizational structure and I told them, my style will be different from Steny’s, in that I delegate a lot.”
The Democratic lawmaker, first elected to the House in 1992, said his approach draws significantly from his experiences in his home state of South Carolina, where he spent more than 20 years working in the governor’s office, much of that as the state’s Human Affairs commissioner.
“I have spent almost my entire life, since I’ve been 24, 25 years old, as either director or commissioner or something. My long-suit has been management,” Clyburn asserted.
During his first term in the House, the last time Democrats controlled the chamber during his tenure, Clyburn served as co-president of his freshman class along with then-Rep. Eva Clayton (D-N.C.) — the duo each served one session as president — and later went on to manage the Congressional Black Caucus’ annual legislative conference before winning unanimous election to chair the CBC itself.
The Palmetto State lawmaker rose to become the vice chairman of the Democratic Caucus, and subsequently won election earlier this year to lead the Caucus as chairman.
“I’ve enjoyed all those experiences,” said Clyburn, who won the Majority Whip’s office in an uncontested election in November. “In the 14 years I’ve been here, I’ve tried to interact with the Members in such a way that they get a good feel for who and what I am, and ... that they would feel obliged to work with me on whatever it is that I’m trying to pursue.”
In considering how his whip organization must operate to ensure the Democratic agenda is successful, Clyburn suggested he will draw on his experience in working on his own legislation, with both Democrats and Republicans, in recent years.
“When it comes to working with the Democratic Caucus I have to fish in a lot of ponds,” Clyburn said, seated in his Capitol hideaway. “I go fishing with the Blue Dogs. I go fishing with the New Dems. I go fishing with the Hispanics and I go fishing with the Asian Pacific Islanders, trying to cobble together the 218 votes I need.
“But a lot of times, I have to be a hunter, and they tell me, even though I never hunt, they tell me that a good hunter knows how to work both sides of the ditch,” Clyburn said. “I fish among my Caucus, Democratic Members, and I go hunting sometimes, among my Republican Members.”
In particular, Clyburn cited legislation passed in 2000 as part of the Aviation Authorization Act that established whistle-blower protections for airline employees. The measure, first introduced in 1996, had stalled when Clyburn approached now retiring Rep. Sherwood Boehlert (R-N.Y.) in 1997 to co-sponsor the bill, helping to ultimately win its passage.
“I learned very early in my career that there is very little limit to what one can get accomplished if you don’t get hung up on who gets the credit,” Clyburn asserted. “I have never been one to worry about who gets the credit. And I think that kind of attitude and that kind of practice works well in a whip organization because ... if we’re ever going to [pass] the agenda I don’t care who gets credit for it. We need to get the agenda done.”
Even as Clyburn intends to leave the whip organization largely intact, he explained that he intends to organize Chief Deputy Whips along political philosophies — citing internal factions such as the fiscally conservative Blue Dog Coalition, centrist New Democrat Coalition, Progressive Democrats and CBC — as well as geographical regions.
“I’ll be saying Chief Deputy Whip so-and-so, you will hopefully be working with these two regions, and these four regional Whips, these x-number of assistant Whips, and these x-number of senior Whips, and maybe one or two Whips-at-large,” he explained.
“I’ve been running something all my life, I am a manager,” Clyburn added. “I will operate the whip organization that way. You won’t see me standing before the Whip organizing, lecturing people, I don’t do that.”
“I might open a whip meeting and then turn it over to one or two Chief Deputies based on what the issue is,” he continued. “If we’re working on something and there’s a Chief Deputy Whip that’s much more knowledgeable about that than I am, I’ll be delegating the meetings to that person to structure. We’ll look at what the issue is of the day, what the deals are coming before the floor, and I will be using the Chief Deputy Whips and senior Whips to help, not just to gather votes, but to explain to people, explain to the whip organization as to what is that we are trying to do and what it is we need them to help us get done.”
Although Clyburn will enter his new role alongside the most recent Democratic Whips, he suggested that his style will not emulate those predecessors, much less that of the Republican counterparts that have served during his tenure.
“No. I think there’s something a little bit unique about me. I don’t see in any of them anything I would want to copy,” Clyburn said. “I think Steny is very studied and well-read. He studies the issues, probably more so than I would and once again, I delegate. I think Nancy is very passionate and compassionate about things, probably more so than I am.”
But the Democratic lawmaker added there are a number of Members he admires, including Reps. James Oberstar (D-Minn.), David Price (D-N.C.), John Spratt (D-S.C.) and Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), as well as longtime allies Reps. Alcee Hastings (D-Fla.) and John Lewis (D-Ga.), who will continue to serve as senior Chief Deputy Whip in the 110th Congress.
“John Lewis will probably be my alter ego when it comes to the passion that you need in the Caucus,” Clyburn said of the Georgia lawmaker, whom he has known since 1960, when both lawmakers were active in the Student Non-violent Coordinating Committee.
“He is consistent, he is persistent. He is not someone who shoots from the hip. He is deliberate. He is thoughtful,” Lewis said of Clyburn Friday. “Whatever he would like for me to do, role for me to play, I will play it.”
Incoming Democratic Caucus Chairman Rahm Emanuel (Ill.) — who had been expected to challenge Clyburn for the Whip’s office, but opted to seek the chairmanship when the incoming Speaker brokered an agreement that would expand the Caucus position’s responsibilities — asserted that while his Democratic colleague may display a sometimes tranquil demeanor, it belies his abilities to sway fellow lawmakers.
“He does have an easygoing style and a likable style,” Emanuel said. “My gut tells me there is assuasion and persuasion, and Jim’s going to lean on persuasion first.”
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