CBC Chair Emanuel Cleaver denies he called Obama budget 'nervous breakdown on paper'
theGRIO REPORT - Congressional Black Caucus Chair Emanuel Cleaver said Tuesday he was not referring to President Obama's budget proposal in a controversial comment that was wildly circulated a day earlier...
Congressional Black Caucus Chair Emanuel Cleaver (Missouri) said Tuesday he was not referring to President Obama’s budget proposal in a controversial comment that was wildly circulated a day earlier.
In an interview on CNN on Monday, Cleaver sounded as he were bemoaning the president’s attempts at deficit reduction, saying “this budget is a nervous breakdown on paper” and warning it was too early for the government to take austerity measures while unemployment remains high.
But in an interview Tuesday on “NOW with Alex Wagner,” Cleaver said he was referring to the budget document written last year by Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wisc.) which proposes much deeper spending cuts and is opposed by most Democrats. He added, “I think the President’s budget is frankly a budget the American people can get behind.”
His spokeswoman said the congressman misheard the question in the CNN interview.
The attempt to clarify his remark is not surprising. Most Democrats, and nearly all black ones, had praised Obama’s budget, which included billions in spending designed to create jobs as well as tax hikes on the wealthy, both of which liberals have long called for.
In the first three years of the president’s tenure, CBC members have at times voiced frustration with his administration, arguing it should have done more to reduce the high black jobless rate. But the two sides appear to have reached a detente as the election nears and Obama has shifted towards a more populist direction in his policies.
WATCH: REP. EMANUEL CLEAVER ON “NOW, WITH ALEX WAGNER
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His spokeswoman said the congressman misheard the question in the CNN interview.
The attempt to clarify his remark is not surprising. Most Democrats, and nearly all black ones, had praised Obama’s budget, which included billions in spending designed to create jobs as well as tax hikes on the wealthy, both of which liberals have long called for.
In the first three years of the president’s tenure, CBC members have at times voiced frustration with his administration, arguing it should have done more to reduce the high black jobless rate. But the two sides appear to have reached a detente as the election nears and Obama has shifted towards a more populist direction in his policies.
Follow Perry Bacon Jr. on Twitter at @perrybaconjr
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