Florida Republican Rep. Allen West will not be receiving a response anytime soon to his letter challenging Emanuel Cleaver, the chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC), to condemn recent attacks from its members on the tea party.
CBC spokesperson Stephanie Young told The Daily Caller Thursday morning that the CBC is likely not to respond to West in the coming weeks due to its hectic schedule and the CBC’s current focus on jobs.
Young issued a statement Wednesday in response to inquiries about West’s letter and his threat to leave the CBC.
“Members of the CBC are in the midst of the final event of the Congressional Black Caucus’s ‘For the People’ Jobs Initiative in Los Angeles,” Young said. “Throughout the month of August, over 20,000 people have attended a CBC Jobs Initiative event in Cleveland, Detroit, Atlanta, Miami, and now Los Angeles. Real people are hurting, and the members of the CBC remain focused on getting Americans back to work.”
West made news Wednesday when he sent Cleaver a letter requesting that the CBC condemn recent comments from Indiana Democratic Rep. Andre Carson and California Democratic Rep. Maxine Waters. West further threatened to leave the CBC.
While a response from the CBC will not be forthcoming, Rep. Carson has spoken about his comments charging the tea party with wanting to see African Americans “hanging by a tree.” He is unapologetic.
“I stand on the truth of what I spoke,” Carson told CNN. “My intentions weren’t to hurt anyone or any group. I wanted to speak to the issues that concern me and the philosophical issues that concern me as it relates to certain leadership within the tea party organization, not the entire tea party, but certain elements that have concerned me deeply and for quite some time that I think should really re-evaluate what it means to be an American and we shouldn’t go along the path of taking America back to the ‘good old days’ because those days were not good for everyone.”
Waters was the other CBC member mentioned in West’s letter. Her office did not immediately respond to TheDC’s request for comment.
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