Political Political Correctness.

[Veldan Rath]

Conyers wants Haiti relief official demoted over diversity deficit
By Molly K. Hooper - 02/04/10 02:45 PM ET

Rep. John Conyers Jr. (D-Mich.) has called on Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton to demote the official coordinating Haiti relief efforts for not having enough minority staffers.

The House Judiciary Committee Chairman sent a letter to Clinton on Thursday after Rajiv Shah, administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development, showed up at a meeting with the 42-member Congressional Black Caucus without any African American staffers in tow.

“I was alarmed and chagrined to learn that none of the approximately dozen staff he brought with him were African American,” Conyers wrote in the letter. “This is so serious an error in judgment that it warrants his immediate demotion to a subordinate position at AID.”

Conyers is set to lead a congressional delegation to Haiti on Friday, his first visit to the island country since a massive earthquake destroyed much of the impoverished nation.

The State Department did not comment on the letter when contacted for reaction.

In an interview with The Hill, Conyers explained that he didn't ask for Shah's ousting because he "doesn't want him to lose his job working on Haiti, I just want him to get some diversity in there, that's all."

The lack of minority US AID staffers would "suggest there are no black people qualified to deal with Haiti," Conyers explained.

In the letter, Conyers expressed alarm that none of the "approximately dozen" staff members with Shah were African Americans.

He also said that minorities have long been under-represented in key State positions

Here is the text of the letter in full:

Dear Secretary Clinton:

As you know, the 42 member Congressional Black Caucus met with Rajiv Shah, the Administrator of the U.S. AID yesterday to discuss the crisis in Haiti. I was alarmed and chagrined to learn that none of the approximately dozen staff he brought with him were African American. This is so serious an error in judgement that it warrants his immediate demotion to a subordinate position at AID. It is well known that there has long been an under-representation of minorities in key positions within the State Department. I am confident this Administration will immediately begin addressing this problem.

I look forward to meeting with you on this matter.

Sincerely,
John Conyers, Jr.
Member of Congress

This guy does not have anything better to do? There are people in Haiti is serious need and he want to play this type of political hackery?

[littlelolligagged]

Shouldn't we be up to choosing the best person to do the job, regardless of race or gender?

No, wait, because then we'd have a female president instead of a black one.

Seriously, though, I agree with you. Conyers is playing political games, and I find it cheap and tacky.

[Loki]

The Congressional Black Caucus is one of the last bastions of explicit racism in our politician system. It regularly plays the race card and gets involved in these kind of "representation" games.

[EyeKhan]

This is fucking ridiculous. I'm embarrassed for Michigan.

[LittleFuzzy]

I like the "State had no comment" remark. That's because State is just going to ignore that Conyer sent a letter. Though I'll bet Shah won't make that faux-pas again.

[Veldan Rath]

Call me silly, but I'm thinking that the name Shah, is the name of a possible minority. Or does it just have to some one black to qualify for this douche?

Also, just be cause the people with him were not black, that means there are no black people that report to Shah?

[EyeKhan]

Call me silly, but I'm thinking that the name Shah, is the name of a possible minority. Or does it just have to some one black to qualify for this douche?

Also, just be cause the people with him were not black, that means there are no black people that report to Shah?

The minority's got to be black and he's got to be visible. So if Shah doesn't have black employees, does that mean one of his paler staffers gets fired or does he add extra staff that he doesn't need, increasing waste in the Federal government???

[Hazir]

What's rich is that he's complaining to a woman with a black boss that one of her minority underlings hasn't got enough black staffers. It doesn't get much richer.

[Veldan Rath]

That is an excellent summation!

[Being]

That is an excellent summation!

More like a psychological sublimation.