CNN
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At a town hall in South Carolina, veteran congressman Jim Clyburn emphasized that Democrats are limited in what they can do in the minority in Congress, urging attendees to speak out and vote to help tip the scales and the balance of power.
The friendly crowd peppered long-serving Democratic lawmaker with questions about taxes, Social Security, tariffs and the Constitution – with concerns about how the Trump administration is handling all of those issues and more.
“It’s obvious the Trump administration has no use for the Constitution whatsoever,” one attendee said, asking Clyburn about the Trump administration’s immigration efforts and suggesting he feared US-born citizens could be next. “What can Congress do to put a stop to this nonsense coming out of the White House?”
Clyburn gave a lengthy response, including reading out the 14th Amendment and emphasizing the importance of hosting congressional town halls and speaking to voters across the country.
The congressman then asked the crowd to pray that the US “will not allow itself to go the way of Germany in the 1930s.”
“All we can do is share with you what we’re doing and ask for your prayers that this country will not allow itself to go the way of Germany in the 1930s when people stood by,” he said.
After reading out the famous “First They Came” quote from German Lutheran pastor Martin Niemöller, the congressman said, “we remember what happened to the Jews,” referencing the six million Jewish people who were murdered in the Holocaust by Hitler’s Nazi regime during World War II.
“So, we’re going to have to speak out. We’ve got to break our silence. And this is not about Democrats and Republicans. My parents were Republicans. My mother and father were Republicans. I love them. I don’t hate Republicans. I do hate liars,” he said prompting cheers from the crowd.
Asked by CNN after the town hall if he is truly afraid the country is sliding into autocracy, Clyburn said, “I absolutely am. There’s no question about that.”
The congressman reflected on his history of civil rights activism and his fears over the current political climate.
“I told the members of the Congressional Black Caucus, I think it was three weeks ago, I said to them, ‘when I was sitting in the Orangeburg County jail, the Richland County jail back in the sixties, I never feared.”
“I knew that I would be found guilty, I knew that I would get a sentence. But I also knew that if this gets to the US Supreme Court, I would be exonerated. Not today, not today. This Supreme Court, I don’t think would exonerate me for wanting to get out off the back of the bus. For wanting to be able to walk into a Five and Dime store and spend my money at a lunch counter.”
“These kinds of things, those indignities we suffered back in the Sixties I think we would be found guilty today for standing up against them. And I think the Supreme Court, this Supreme Court would sustain that.”
A number of Democratic lawmakers have faced contentious exchanges and criticism that their party and its leaders are not doing enough to stand up to President Trump at recent town halls. But the town hall with Clyburn did not feature disruptions or an unruly crowd.
The congressman said at the outset of the event that he would not talk over anyone or yell and hoped that everyone would display good manners.
CNN’s Sylvie Kirsch contributed.
