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About The skanner. (Portland, Or.) 1975-2014 | View Entire Issue (Aug. 23, 2017)
August 23, 2017 The Skanner Page 9 News Steve Bannon’s Brief, Controverial Run at the White House Ends By Lauren Victoria Burke (NNPA Newswire Contributor) C ivil rights leaders and members of Congress praised the dismissal of Chief Strategist Steve Bannon from the White House; Bannon’s exit is just the latest departure from the chaotic Trump Administration, that has yet to win a major legis- lative victory. Bannon seemed to be in good spirits after the White House announced that he would be leaving the coveted post. In an interview with The Weekly Standard, Bannon said that he felt “jacked up.” “Now I’m free. I’ve got my hands back on my weapons,” Bannon told The Weekly Standard. “Someone said, ‘it’s Ban- non the Barbarian.’ I am definitely going to crush the opposition. There’s no doubt. I built a f ***ing machine at Breitbart. And now I’m about to go back, knowing what I know, and we’re about to rev that machine up. And rev it up we will do.” He also told the mag- azine that he could be more effective without the constraints of the White House. “I can fight better on the outside,” Bannon said. “I can’t fight too many Dem- ocrats on the inside like I can on the outside.” In a statement about Bannon’s dismissal, Con- gressional Black Caucus Chairman Cedric Rich- mond (D-La.) said that Bannon needed to go, but so do other White supremacists working in the Trump Administra- tion. “Firing Steve Bannon is not enough, because the issue of him working in the White House has nev- er only been about him,” said Richmond. “It’s also been about the racist and discriminatory policies he’s helped draft and im- plement which hurt Afri- can Americans.” The CBC released “A Top Ten List of the Trump Administration’s Racist and Discriminato- ry Policies.” The list in- cluded: 1. Voter Suppression Commission 2. Supporting Texas’ Discriminatory Voter ID Law 3. Reinstating the War on Drugs 4. Attacking Affirma- tive Action at Colleges and Universities 5. Rolling Back Consent Decrees that Keep Po- lice Accountable 6. Muslim Ban 7. Mass Deportation 8. Rolling Back Civil Rights Enforcement Across Federal Agen- cies 9. Reinstating the Use of Private Prisons 10. Refusing to Protect Americans and the Nation from White Supremacists In a separate statement on Bannon’s removal, House Judiciary Com- mittee Ranking Mem- ber John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.) called the oust- ed Breitbart chief the standard-bearer for the worst instincts in Amer- ican society. “Whether Bannon personally trades in vio- lence, racism, and bigot- ry, he allowed Brietbart, his media organization, to become a platform for White nationalism, mi- sogyny, anti-Semitism, and anti-immigrant sen- timent of the worst kind,” said Conyers. Although Conyers said that he was pleased that Bannon was no longer serving in the White House, he added that Bannon’s removal will not undo the damage that has already been done and it will not reconcile the hate-filled agenda of the Trump Administra- tion. “President Donald Trump has shown us his true colors,” said Co- nyers. “He sided with un-American White supremacists, neo-Na- zis, and all those who give racism and hatred a voice. Trump’s failure to reflect on his dangerous rhetoric continues to em- bolden these groups and ideals.” Civil rights leaders also voiced their support of Bannon’s exit. Kristen Clarke, the president and executive director of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law said that Bannon was the driving force behind the racial turmoil that threatens to tear this country apart. “Such a divisive figure has no place in the White House,” Clarke said in the statement. Vanita Gupta, the pres- ident and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, said that Ban- non’s departure was the right result, but not for the right reason. “The president, who continues to sow hate and division, clearly did not fire Bannon because of his White suprema- cist views and ties to the so-called ‘alt-right,’” said Gupta. “Someone like Bannon should have nev- er worked in the White House to begin with.” Gupta continued: “President Trump must address the deep wounds he has created by ridding his administration of Se- GAGE SKIDMORE/WIKIMEDIA COMMONS In latest departure amid White House personnel chaos, former Breitbart editor vows to ‘crush’ opposition Chief of Staff Steve Bannon was recently dismissed from his post. This photo was taken during the 2017 Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in National Harbor, Maryland. bastian Gorka, Stephen Miller, and any other staffers who stoke big- otry, hate, and division. Unless and until the pres- ident calls out evil; dis- avows neo-Nazis, White nationalists, and White supremacists; fires these staffers; and abandons his administration’s an- ti-civil rights agenda, he will continue to have no moral credibility.” White House insid- ers have claimed that Bannon submitted his resignation letter ear- lier this month, but the announcement was de- layed, because of the vio- lent White supremacists’ rally in Charlottesville, Va., that left one dead and 19 injured. Since July 21, four se- nior staffers have de- parted the White House; Press Secretary Sean Spicer, Chief of Staff Re- ince Preibus, and Com- munications Director Anthony Scaramucci. Derrick Johnson, the interim president and CEO of the NAACP, said that the group was glad to see Bannon out of the White House. “Ousting one key staff- er, however, can’t erase the words used by Pres- ident Trump this week in defense of domestic terrorists, neo-Nazis and White suprema- cists,” said Johnson, in the statement about Ban- non’s dismissal. “Pres- ident Trump provided permission for these hate groups to exist. Fol- lowing the tragedy in Charlottesville, Virginia, numerous other rallies and White supremacist groups are being mobi- lized across the country. Johnson continued:” These groups are not ral- lying for peace, or for the preservation of Confed- erate memorabilia. They exist purely to foment hatred and violence. And they march with the president’s blessing.” Lauren Victoria Burke is the White House Corre- spondent for NNPA and a writer and political analyst. She appears on NewsOneNow with Ro- land Martin every Mon- day. She can be contacted at LBurke007@gmail. com and on twitter at @ LVBurke Freddie Allen contrib- uted additional reporting for this story.