Jewish Incumbent Profile: Rep. Steve Cohen

Linda Berg — April 30, 2010 – 10:17 am | Congress | Democrats | Election 2010 Comments (0) Add a comment

Since his 2006 election in Tennessee’s 9th District (Memphis), Representative Steve Cohen has championed Democratic issues such as raising the minimum wage, guaranteeing greater access to medical care for children, and lowering Medicare drug prices. Cohen has introduced groundbreaking legislation including a bill calling upon the House of Representatives to apologize for its role in allowing slavery and segregation. He also introduced legislation calling for an examination of racial disparity in the criminal justice system, as well as a bill to prohibit the use of credit checks in pre-employment screening.

Cohen’s work has been recognized by numerous organization including the NAACP, the League of Conservation Voters, and NARAL. Because of his style, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi referred to Cohen as “the conscience of the freshman class” in 2008.

Cohen’s Memphis district is one of the most solid Democratic districts in the country. He won his last election with 88% of the vote. So, why would such a popular member of congress be concerned about his reelection?

Cohen is being challenged in the August 5, 2010 primary by former Memphis Mayor Willie Herenton, and race has played an interesting and frequently unfortunate role in the campaign. Although he says he is running on his mayoral record, Herenton repeatedly returns to the theme that the district should be represented by an African American. In a political rally on March 28, 2010, Herenton concluded his remarks saying “We got nothing we need to apologize for…. We didn’t put people in chains and bring them over here against their will.” Last year, in a speech commemorating the 14th anniversary of the Million Man March, Herenton joined Louis Farrakhan on stage and reminisced about his memories of presenting the keys to Memphis to Farrakhan: “It was easy for me as a mayor to present a key ... to a man who is worthy, to a man who speaks truth, to a man who possesses wisdom, to a man who is courageous in thought and in action… an anointed man,” said Herenton, who was the first elected black mayor of Memphis.  

According to Herenton, the issue is simple. Because the majority of the district’s population is African American, Herenton says it should be represented by an African American. Herenton has shown pictures of all the senators and congressmen from Tennessee and says, “The problem with this picture is, none of these folks look like me, or most of you.”

Cohen rebuts this argument by saying, “Barrack Obama doesn’t look like the majority of people in the United States… but he’s done a great job in bringing change to America. I’ve worked with him and other Democrats and together we’re working to make this a better country and a better district.”   

Health care reform has also been a key issue in the campaign. Throughout the country, members of Congress are dealing with threats and violence resulting from their votes on the health insurance reform bill. In Cohen’s case, the threats seem particularly ominous.  The FBI and U.S. Capitol Police are investigating emailed threats to Cohen’s campaign committee. One of the emails stated, “If our tea parties had hoods, we would burn your ass on a cross on the White House front lawn.”  

Police consider this reference to hoods to be the result of an interview Cohen gave after he witnessed a Tea Party rally on Capitol Hill. At the rally, African American members of Congress were subjected to racial verbal attacks – or as Cohen described the scene in the interview, “tea party activists using racial epithets ‘without robes and hoods’ of the Ku Klux Klan.”

Because Cohen’s 2006 race included anti-Semitic attacks, we continue to monitor this race closely. At this point, due to statements by his opponent which unfortunately interject the issue of race into the contest, as well as threats invoking KKK references, there’s good reason to be concerned.

Comments

There are no comments for this entry