Hillary delegate: Obama mentor called me an Uncle Tom

Delmarie Cobb, a Chicago Hillary Clinton delegate, says that Illinois State Senate President Emil Jones, Jr., called her an Uncle Tome yesterday in Denver. Jones, an mentor to Barack Obama, is a Democratic National Convention superdelegate.

From the Chicago Sun-Times:

Cobb said the confrontation started when she and Jones, who is also African-American, were talking about an earlier conversation they had at the Bud Billiken Parade in Chicago. "One day, you'll be on the right side," Cobb said Jones told her. She told him she was on the right side. She said Jones pointed at his Obama hat and said, "No, this is the right side," she said.

"Then he came up behind me. He said 'Thirty-five thousand people went to Springfield [to support Obama on Saturday],'" she said. "I said, 'Then 35,000 people drank the Kool-Aid.,' He said, 'Barack is a clean-cut guy. He never liked gutter politics, that's why the Clintons did so-and-so. ...' I said, 'I don't want to get into this. So I went over to the elevator, and he said, 'Uncle Tom!' Then he grabbed me and hugged me and started laughing. I said, 'What did you say?' I turned to Freddrenna Lyle, and I said, 'What did he say?' She wouldn't say anything, That's when I said some bad things to him."

Taking a final shot at Jones, Cobb said, "Calling me an 'Uncle Tom' is beyond the pale, especially considering where he is [close] with Mayor Daley and with [Gov.] Blagojevich, I am hardly the Uncle Tom here."

It will be interesting to see if this finally breaks the silence Barack Obama has had on Jones, who announced his retirement last week. Jones just pulled a heist on the voters of his district--anointing his son as his successor. The only people who voted on his were Democratic ward bosses.

Audacity!

Several Illinois Democrats with questionable backgrounds, although not Jones, will be speaking on Obama's behalf at the DNC.

Related posts:

A taste of Chicago in Denver will leave voters with a stomache ache

Emil Jones on Obama

Anger growing in Chicago over Emil Jones' nepotism scheme

The con is on in Obama-land: Emil Jones' son takes dad's place on the ballot

Obama's state legislative record--he got a lot of help

Technorati tags: politics Illinois Election Democrats Chicago Obama Barack Obama Emil Jones cronyism nepotism DNC Denver Colorado Hillary Clinton Hillary