Chuck Schumer: “So the overwhelming voice is no. The elected Black officials of Mississippi--I don't know the percentage, but I think it…”

“So the overwhelming voice is no. The elected Black officials of Mississippi--I don't know the percentage, but I think it is against him. The only Black Member of Congress speaks strongly against him. He doesn't just say, well, I wouldn't vote for him, but it is an either/or situation, and that has to influence us. It is not dispositive. People can say ``these groups.'' Well, the NAACP is not just a group. It has been the leading organization. It is a mainstream African-American organization. There are groups on the other side lobbying for Judge Pickering. There are groups on this side against. I don't know why my colleagues, some on the other side, say the groups that lobby against what they want are evil, and the groups that lobby for are doing American justice. That is what groups do, and we listen to them sometimes. I, from New York, don't know that much about this. I try to study history, but I haven't lived there. I haven't gone through the history that my colleagues from Mississippi or Tennessee have. But I have to rely on other voices as well.…”