>>> WE’RE DANCING WITH THE ANGELS.
ANGELS. THE QUESTION WILL BE ASKED, IN
2019, WHAT DID WE DO?
TO MAKE SURE WE KEPT OUR
DEMOCRACY INTACT.
DEMOCRACY INTACT. >> THAT IS THE QUESTION OF OUR
TIME.
TIME. ONE OF DIRE IMPORTANCE FROM
CONGRESSMAN ELIJAH CUMMINGS, WHO
PASS
PASS PASSED A WAY THIS MORNING AT THE
TENDER AGE OF 68.
ELIJAH SERVED MARYLAND’S 7th
CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT.
CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT. HE WAS A MUCH BELOVED STATESMAN.
HE ALSO SERVED AT THE CHAIRMAN
OF THE HOUSE OVER SIGHT
COMMITTEE.
COMMITTEE. WE’RE GOING TO TALK ABOUT HIS
LEGACY WITH CONGRESS WOMAN
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA ELEANOR.
CONGRESS WOMAN, GREAT TO SEE YOU
HERE.
HERE. I KNOW YOU KNEW HIM WELL, KNEW
HIM LONG AND WELL.
TALK A LITTLE ABOUT WHAT HE WAS
LIKE AS A COLLEAGUE AND WHAT
KIND OF IMPRESSION HE LEFT, WHAT
KIND OF -- THE KIND OF MARK THAT
HE LEFT IN HIS YEARS IN THAT
BODY WHERE YOU NOW SERVE.
>> WELL, CONDOLENCES TO HIS WIFE
AND HIS FAMILY.
BUT I SHOULD SAY THAT OUR LOSS
IS DEEP BECAUSE AT THE HEIGHT OF
HIS POWER AND WHEN HE WAS
PERHAPS MOST NEEDED, WE HAVE
LOST A GIANT IN THE HOUSE OF
REPRESENTATIVES.
REPRESENTATIVES. THE CHAIRMAN WAS IN THE MIDST OF
THE IMPEACHMENT INQUIRY FROM
WHICH I HAVE JUST COME.
AND IT’S INTERESTING TO KNOW
THAT TODAY I JUST RECEIVED A
COPY OF THE SUMMARY THAT HE AND
OTHER -- THE TWO OTHER
CHAIRMEN -- WROTE OF THEIR
CRITIQUE OF TRUMP’S RESPONSE TO
THAT INQUIRY.
THAT INQUIRY. NOW, WE HAVE PERHAPS EVEN MORE
IMPEACHABLE OFFENSES.
IMPEACHABLE OFFENSES. WE NEEDED ELIJAH AS MUCH AS WE
HAVE EVER NEEDED HIM.
AND WHILE WE WOULD HAVE FELT
THIS LOSS NO MATTER WHEN, WE
WERE DEPENDENT UPON HIS
LEADERSHIP AND NONE OF US CAN
FILL THE VACUUM THAT’S BEEN LEFT
HERE IN THE HOUSE OF
REPRESENTATIVES.
REPRESENTATIVES. >> CONGRESS WOMAN, I’LL SAY I
KNEW HIM PRETTY WELL AND ONE OF
THE THINGS I CAN SAY FOR HIM WAS
THAT HE IS IRREPRESSIBLE.
HE WAS A FIERCE PARTISAN AND A
FIERCE FIGHTER AND YET SOMEONE
WHO WAS FILLED WITH A WILTING
SENSE OF JOY ALMOST AT ALL
TIMES.
TIMES. THERE WAS NOTHING HE LOVED MORE
THAN WORK.
THAN WORK. TOOK GREAT JOY AND PASSION IN
IT.
IT. HE WORKED I THINK ALL THE WAY
UNTIL THE VERY END.
I BELIEVE HE WAS STILL CHAIRING
COMMITTEE MEETINGS FROM HOSPICE
AS RECENTLY AS LAST WEEK, IS
THAT RIGHT?
THAT RIGHT? >> WELL, HE WAS HAVING -- WE
DIDN’T EVEN KNOW HE WAS IN
HOSPICE BUT WE HAD A MEETING
LAST WEEK WITH HIM.
THOSE OF US ON THE COMMITTEE AND
YOUR CHARACTERIZATION OF ELIJAH
IS CORRECT.
IS CORRECT. WHAT HE GAVE FORTH ON TELEVISION
AND IN COMMITTEE HEARINGS WAS,
OF COURSE, A VERY COMMANDING
PRESENCE.
PRESENCE. BUT I HAVE TO TELL YOU THAT HE
WAS SEEN BY ALL OF US WHO KNEW
HIM, INCLUDING MY REPUBLICAN
COLLEAGUES, AS A VERY GENTLE
SPIRIT.
SPIRIT. THERE ARE VERY FEW MEMBERS OF
THIS CONGRESS WHO COMBINE THAT
KIND OF FEELING AND RESPECT FROM
COLLEAGUES AT THE SAME TIME THAT
REMEMBER WHAT OUR COMMITTEE
DOES.
DOES. THAT YOU MUST HAMMER THE OTHER
SIDE.
SIDE. >> ONLY BECAUSE WE HAVE A BREAK
WE HAVE TO GET OUT TO IN A
MINUTE, I WANT TO SAY A COUPLE
THINGS ABOUT THE MAN FROM YOU.
YOU KNOW, AS I SAID A SECOND
AGO, A FIERCE FOUGHT AS HARD AS
I’VE EVER SEEN.
A CIVIL RIGHTS FIGURE.
YOU KNOW, HE INTEGRATED A
SWIMMING POOL WHEN HE WAS BEING
ATTACKED WITH ROCKS AND BOTTLES
AT THE AGE OF 11.
SO HE WAS IN THE FIGHT FOR A
LONG TIME.
LONG TIME. HE EMBODIED THE OBAMA NOTION TO
DISAGREE.
DISAGREE. >> DISAGREEMENT TO THE -- TO THE
CHARACTER OF HIS INTERLOCKEN.
RIGHT?
RIGHT? HE BROUGHT THE FACT THAT HE WAS
THE SON OF A SHARE CROPPER.
WHEN HE TOOK THE OATH OF OFFICE,
HE -- HE BROUGHT THE FACT --
BROUGHT UP THE FACT THAT HIS
FATHER SAID IF ONLY HE HAD BEEN
GIVEN AN OPPORTUNITY, WHAT HE
COULD HAVE DONE.
SO WITH THE DEATH OF
REPRESENTATIVE ELIJAH CUMMINGS,
I’VE SAID WE ARE IN A MOMENT
WHERE WE HAVE A DEFICIT OF