Higher Heights For America, an organization that works to build the political power and leadership of Black women from the voting booth to elected office, condemned the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) on Thursday for telling two Black U.S. Congresswomen– Lucy McBath (GA-06) and Lauren Underwood (IL-04) that they were “for sale”.
The incident occurred after Tuesday night’s debate in South Carolina, where Presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg made the following statement:
Let’s just go on the record. They talk about 40 Democrats. Twenty one of those are people that I spent a hundred million dollars to help elect. All of the new Democrats that came in and put Nancy Pelosi in charge and gave the Congress the ability to control this president, I bough – I, I got them.
The NRCC took advantage of his slip and sent “for sale” signs to 40 Democrats who received support from Mayor Bloomberg during the 2018 midterms, which included the two Black congresswomen. The NRCC also tweeted about it on social media, as seen
here.
Today Higher Heights for America CEO, Glynda C. Carr issued the following statement:
“Black women are not for sale in our democracy, in fact data points to the lack of investment in the 23 million Black women in this country who remain underrepresented and underserved.
Campaign finance law prevents a donor from giving more than $2,800 in direct donations to a candidate per election, hence any donations Reps. McBath and Underwood received from Michael Bloomberg or any other individual would have been capped at this amount whether the donor was a billionaire or a teacher.
Any independent political spending done by Bloomberg or other individuals in support of their political beliefs is done without a candidate’s or their team’s knowledge or consultation, so these are false claims being spread by the NRCC.
It should go without saying given the history of this country on race and slavery that referring to two of our finest members of Congress as being ‘for sale’ and creating for sale signs with their names on it, is in poor taste and dredges up a past that can be seen as hurtful to many African Americans. It is also an inaccurate characterization.
Black women like McBath and Underwood inspired grassroots supporters from across the country and voters in their district to rally behind their candidacies to help send a nurse and mother of a slain Black boy to Washington where they are fighting to protect healthcare and advance real common sense gun reform.
These are two members of Congress that fought hard to come from behind in extremely competitive races to beat their competition, while running campaigns that were less well financed. They both have overcome barriers and redefined what viability looks like in a process that traditionally is difficult for Black women candidates. They have demonstrated why they are Black women who lead.”
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About Higher Heights:
Higher Heights is the only national organization providing Black women with a political home exclusively dedicated to harnessing their power to expand Black women’s elected representation and voting participation, and advance progressive policies.
Higher Heights for America, a 501(c)(4), and its sister organization Higher Heights Leadership Fund, a national 501(c)(3) organization are building the political power and leadership of Black women from the voting booth to elected office and creating the environment for Black women to run, win and lead.