Rev. Jesse Jackson injects race into healthcare debate with Davis comments

Davis, who turned 42 last month, has always been somewhat of an outsider in the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC). And his vote against the House healthcare reform bill earlier this month did not win him any additional friends in the caucus.


He came to Congress soon after winning a primary against a CBC-backed member, Rep. Earl Hilliard (D-Ala.), whose surrogates had questioned whether the Harvard-educated former prosecutor was “black enough.”


The CBC’s political action committee gave $10,000 to Hilliard to fight off Davis. Then-Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) gave even more. But when Davis faced his own primary in 2004, no such help was forthcoming.


“I’m sure I asked,” he said with a laugh on Thursday.


One CBC staffer quipped that Davis is part of the 42-member caucus “by default.” In an interview, Davis noted he bucked the party on legislation on terrorist surveillance and hate crimes, adding, “I was the only [CBC] member who didn’t sign the letter demanding that [now-Sen. Roland] Burris get seated. I didn’t think that was a racial issue.”


Davis has amassed a more conservative voting record than most Democrats in the lower chamber. He is one of only 23 House Democrats who opposed healthcare reform and climate change.


In announcing his opposition, Davis went so far as to say the health bill risks creating a “disaster.”

Apparently, it did surprise Jackson, who came to the Capitol Wednesday to mark the 25th anniversary of his first presidential run. At a CBC Foundation reception on Wednesday night, Jackson denounced Davis’s vote, saying, “We even have blacks voting against the healthcare bill from Alabama. You can’t vote against healthcare and call yourself a black man.”