Rep. Jim Clyburn: Barnes refusing to be seen with Obama is “crazy”

RGA to Clyburn: ‘Lay off’

 The Post & Courier reported today that House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn, the highest ranking African-American in the United States House of Representatives, told the paper that efforts by Roy Barnes to avoid being seen with President Barack Obama were “just crazy.”

“Jim Clyburn should lay off. No one in Georgia has a deeper commitment to national Democrats than Roy Barnes, who has worked tirelessly for their agenda. Barnes contributed to Obama’s Illinois Senate campaign in 2004, donated thousands to John Edwards’ presidential campaign, and then gave thousands of dollars to Obama’s presidential bid,” said Nick Ayers, executive director of the Republican Governors Association. “Roy Barnes has earned the benefit of the doubt, and I am sure it was just a scheduling conflict. We expect Obama, Edwards, and Barnes to be back on the campaign trail again soon.”

The full quote from Rep. Clyburn is below:

“The president went to Georgia Monday, and [Democratic gubernatorial candidate Roy Barnes] went to another part of the state. I think one of the mistakes we continue to make, especially as Democrats, is we buy in, too often, to the conventional wisdom. This stuff of ‘not being seen with the president’ is just crazy. The technology we have today, anybody can make you be seen with the president anytime they want to, and they do.”

Barnes has donated many thousands of dollars to Democratic candidates nationally, including:

• Barack Obama
• John Edwards
• Harry Reid
• Cynthia McKinney
• Democratic National Committee
• Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee
• Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee