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Curt Clawson becomes latest Flori-duh rep over India gaffe

[ http://blogs.miaminewtimes.com/riptide/2014/07/floridas_newest_congressman_confused_two_non-white_us_officials_for_indian_officials.php ]

[ http://gawker.com/idiot-gop-rep-mistakes-senior-u-s-officials-for-india-1611076105 , http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2014/07/25/curt_clawson_video_indians_at_congressional_hearing.html ]

[ http://kgou.org/post/i-love-your-country-new-house-member-tells-us-officials ]

[ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D10Y-syrWkU ( http://www.mediaite.com/tv/gop-congressman-awkwardly-confuses-u-s-officials-for-foreigners/ ), also at e.g. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AHFhSO_e4Do and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0f29BaQeeXE ; original on Vimeo at http://vimeo.com/101737613 , embedded at http://thecable.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2014/07/25/exclusive_freshman_congressman_mistakes_senior_government_officials_for_foreigners ]
07.25.14
They don't call us Flori-duh for nothing. The latest inductee to the Sunshine State's face-palming club: U.S. Rep. Curt Clawson, the Bonita Springs Republican who replaced Trey Radel, the cocaine congressman busted for buying blow in Washington last year.
[...]
http://www.miamiherald.com/2014/07/25/4255428/curt-clawson-becomes-latest-flori.html [with comments]


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Clawson to serve on Foreign Affairs, Homeland panels

19th District Rep. Curt Clawson appointed to Foreign Affairs, Homeland Security committees
July 9, 2014
http://www.news-press.com/story/news/politics/2014/07/09/rep-clawson-assigned-to-foreign-affairs-and-homeland-security-committee/12414337/ [with comments]


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'Your Country': Freshman Rep Mangles Quizzing of U.S. Officials


Curt Clawson addresses the crowd at his election party at the Hyatt Regency Coconut Point in Bonita Springs after officially winning the special election for Congressional District 19 Republican congressman on Tuesday April 22, 2014
Picture By Scott McIntyre
[ http://www.naplesnews.com/news/national/clawson-makes-first-national-gaffe_08577846 ]

First published July 25th 2014, 3:26 pm

Next time, maybe reading the witness list beforehand might be a wise idea.

A new member of Congress is the butt of Twitter jokes galore today after he appeared to repeatedly treat two senior State and Commerce Department officials with Indian surnames as members of the Indian government.

“I'm familiar with your country; I love your country," Florida Republican Curt Clawson told Nisha Biswal and Arun Kumar, witnesses at a hearing at a subcommittee hearing of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs [ http://foreignaffairs.house.gov/hearing/subcommittee-hearing-us-india-relations-under-modi-government (complete hearing video, with the hearing actually beginning at the 1:16:00 mark; ol' Curt gets after it from the 1:36:00 mark through the 1:40:00 mark, and ever, ever so blithely continuing from the 2:13:30 mark through the 2:19:45 mark)].

The cringe-worthy moment(s) were flagged by The Cable [ http://thecable.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2014/07/25/exclusive_freshman_congressman_mistakes_senior_government_officials_for_foreigners ].

Clawson continued to refer to “your country” and “your government” in his statements to both U.S. officials, at one point asking for “ask cooperation and commitment and priority from your government” in investment rules.

"I think your question is to the Indian government," replied Biswal, who serves as the Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs in the United States Department of State. "We certainly share your sentiment, and we certainly will advocate that on behalf of the U.S."

Here’s some more, from The Cable: “During the hearing, [Clawson] repeatedly touted his deep knowledge of the Indian subcontinent and his favorite Bollywood movies. None of his fellow colleagues publicly called him out on the oversight -- perhaps going easy on him because he's the new guy.”

Clawson is brand new to Congress; he won a special election in June to replace Rep. Trey Radel, who resigned after pleading guilty to cocaine possession.

©2014 NBCNews.com

http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/your-country-freshman-rep-mangles-quizzing-u-s-officials-n165231 [with comments]


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Meet The Congressman Who Assumed Two Senior U.S. Officials Were Foreigners


CREDIT: AP

by Judd Legum Posted on July 25, 2014 at 8:25 pm

During a congressional hearing Thursday, Foreign Policy reports [ http://thecable.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2014/07/25/exclusive_freshman_congressman_mistakes_senior_government_officials_for_foreigners ], a member of Congress mistakeningly assumed that two senior U.S. government officials were actually representing India.

The Congressman, Rep. Curt Clawson, told the officials “I love your country” and offered to do “anything… to make the relationship with India better.” The officials, Nisha Biswal and Arun Kumar, are both U.S. citizens who work for the Obama administration. Here’s the super awkward exchange:

[the Vimeo original, http://vimeo.com/101737613 , of the YouTube video above embedded]

Clawson, a Republican from Florida, is not well known, having just been sworn in [ http://www.tallahassee.com/story/news/local/state/2014/06/25/curt-clawson-sworn-newest-member-congress/11389495/ ] as a member of Congress on June 25. (He replaced Trey Redel who was busted for cocaine possession.)

Clawson had no political or government experience. He ran primarily on his 11-year tenure as CEO of an auto supply company [ http://www.naplesnews.com/business/exclusive-curt-clawson-business-record-congress-19 ], Hayes Lemmerz. His record became a source of controversy during the campaign, when opponents noted the company had multiple safety violations, including a massive explosion that killed one employee. He also closed seven plants, filed for bankruptcy and defaulted on the company’s pension obligations. (The federal government picked up the $93.7 million tab.)

He ran as an outsider and spent his own money freely, financing $2 million in ads. In one ad, Clawson, a former college basketball player, challenged Obama to a 3-point shooting contest [ http://www.tampabay.com/news/politics/national/tea-party-candidate-curt-clawson-wins-republican-primary-to-replace-former/2176397 ]. All this was enough for Rand Paul and the Tea Party Express, who both endorsed Clawson.

Late Friday, Clawson apologized for assuming the officials were from India. “I shot an air ball [ http://onpolitics.usatoday.com/2014/07/25/curt-clawson-foreign-affairs-hearing-indian-government/ ],” he said.

© 2014 Center for American Progress Action Fund

http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2014/07/25/3464563/meet-the-congressman-who-assumed-two-senior-us-officials-were-foreigners/ [with comments]


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