Dem lawmaker on White House race: ‘Something is wrong with us’

A former Methodist preacher turned lawmaker took to the House floor on Tuesday to lament the state of the presidential campaign.

Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D-Mo.) had harsh words for what he described as a “disgusting” and “embarrassing” political discourse.

“I’m not sure what it is, but something is wrong with us,” Cleaver said in a floor speech. “It makes me sick at the stomach to see a presidential campaign that is an embarrassment to most thinking Americans.”

{mosads}Without singling out any White House candidates by name, Cleaver said the intensely negative campaign is setting a bad example for future elections.

“I can’t imagine any parent with good sense who would say to his or her child, ‘Why don’t you look at the presidential election, look and learn how to debate. Learn how to disagree with someone and remain on a high level.’”

“The whole world is watching us. And we’re watching TV looking at the worst kinds of things that could be said by human beings from the United States of America,” he said. 

Cleaver has long advocated for more civility in politics. In addition to publishing a semi-weekly “Civility Message,” he co-founded a bipartisan caucus known as the Working Group for a Working Congress to pursue bipartisan comity. 

He even devotes an entire page on his congressional website to the issue of civility.

Moments after Cleaver’s remarks lamenting the state of American politics, other House Democrats delivered a series of speeches attacking presumptive GOP nominee Donald Trump for remarks about the late-2000s housing crisis. A 2007 Globe and Mail article quoted Trump as appearing to try to take advantage of the housing bubble, saying, “I’ve always made more money in bad markets than in good markets.”

Rep. Dina Titus (D-Nev.) received a scolding from the presiding officer after she taunted Trump over the size of his hands, which remains a touchy topic for the real estate mogul.

“Keep your short fingers out of the Nevada housing market,” Titus said.