CNN "CNN Newsroom" - Transcript: Interview with Rep. Clyburn
Interview
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And joining me now is the House majority whip, Congressman Jim Clyburn of South Carolina.
Congressman, thanks so much for joining us.
It's a mouthful going through all of those state laws passed that are being passed across the country.
[17:30:00]
ACOSTA: And I have to ask you, as someone that lived through the civil rights movement, what do you make of all of these bills seemingly aimed at cracking down on people protesting?
REP. JAMES CLYBURN (D-SC): Thank you very much for having me, Jim.
I am instructed by history in all that I do. And I tell people, please, just look back at our history and see what happened after Reconstruction.
The things that we talk about that we attribute to Reconstruction, those things came after Reconstruction. The Jim Crow laws were post- Reconstruction.
And when you look at what transpired in this country, going down through that period, it culminated in a Supreme Court case called Plessy v. Ferguson. And it locked in "separate but equal" and has stayed that way until 1954.
So what I'm saying to people today, we have got to stand up now. And if I might use this word that my colleague, Maxine Waters, was chastised for, we have to confront injustice. That's what we've got to do.
These unfair laws --
(CROSSTALK)
ACOSTA: You're saying be confrontational?
CLYBURN: Yes. We have to. We can't sit idly by while you have a governor down there in Florida saying he's going to allow what happened to the young lady, Heir, up at Charlottesville, give immunity to the guy that ran over and killed her.
Come on. This stuff is crazy.
(CROSSTALK)
CLYBURN: So we can't sit by and think it will go away. It is not going to go away. We have to push it away. We've got to confront it. We cannot sit by.
This is not about whether you riot. This is about whether or not you are in favor of maintaining this democracy. A democracy that started off as a protest that was called the Boston Tea Party.
That was the protest. That's what led to what this country is today.
So when people protest and you're going to decriminalize the First Amendment -- that's what you are doing, to petition for redress of grievances, a First Amendment guarantee.
And a state to criminalize pursuit of the First Amendment? This is crazy stuff.
ACOSTA: I spoke to Congresswoman Waters about this earlier today and she had this to say about the role far-right Republicans play in black communities. Here's what she said.
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REP. MAXINE WATERS (D-CA): The black communities are under siege by these right-wing Republicans. The KKK. The QAnon. The Oath Keepers. The Proud Boys.
These are domestic terrorists. And they are targeting us in so many ways. Unfortunately, our young people are dying. And we just have to keep talking. We have to keep acting.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: Is the black community under siege by the far right in this country, Congressman?
CLYBURN: Absolutely. No question about it.
QAnon, all you got to do is listen to them and hear what they are saying. This stuff is a siege.
I would say that all freedom-loving people in this country, people who believe that the Constitution of the United States means something, people who believe in fair play, join the efforts to confront this injustice.
ACOSTA: President Biden, Congressman, is going to give his first joint address to Congress next week.
How's he going to get Republican cooperation with that thin majority that he has when you have members like Senator Hawley who can't even bring himself to vote for an anti-Asian hate bill?
How do you get cooperation or even compromise from the other side of the aisle?
CLYBURN: I would hope that that gentleman, if I might call him that, is not speaking for all Republicans or all people who are not in the Congress.
I would hope that we will isolate him just as they did on that one vote. And we will continue to seek common ground.
This is not about partisan politics. I'm the son of two Republicans. So I don't have anything against Republicans.
I do have something against people who disregard constitutional principles. People who feel that it's their way or the highway. People who think that they are superior to all others.
[17:35:04]
People who raise clinched fists against the United States of America, as Senator Hawley did. This, to me, is what we need to guard against in this country.
ACOSTA: All right. The House majority whip, Congressman Jim Clyburn, thank you so much for joining us. We'll look for you next week when President Biden gives that joint address.
Thanks so much for having --
CLYBURN: Thank you for having me.
ACOSTA: -- time to be with us today. Great talking to you, sir.
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