Irish and African American leaders to launch 'McBLACKPAC' at Democratic National Convention

First ever Irish and Black joint Political Action Committee formed by leading Democrats

By

LAURA BRYN SISSON,

IrishCentral Staff Writer

Larger Text

Print

E-mail

45 Comments

Supporters welcome President Obama to Ireland.

Tweet

The Irish American Democrats Political Action Committee has announced it will join together with African Americans in a new super PAC called McBLACKPAC, to lobby for the shared interests of both Irish Americans and African Americans and re-elect President Obama.

The PAC will officially debut at the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, NC, next month but has already created a stir—it's been profiled by CBS and The Hill website, and even Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert have expressed future interest in covering it.

"The reaction has been amazing," irish Democrats founder Stella O'Leary told IrishCentral. "There is tremendous media interest in this story."

“Together we will work to elect Democratic candidates to Federal and State office who share our values on civil rights, immigration reform, education, workers' rights, justice, the environment and economic progress,” O'Leary stated in an email.

Speaking to IrishCentral, O'Leary stated: "President Obama's trip to Ireland was one of the highlights of his presidency and it also brought together many black and Irish legislators. We intend to follow up on that and create a new PAC that will help candidates of both backgrounds."

“McBlackPac works to elect candidates to federal and state office who uphold the American values that made it possible for our two groups to succeed,” O'Leary wrote in a statement to CBS Charlotte local news.

McBLACKPAC’s mission differs from that of the Irish American Democrats, who seek to "provide support to Democratic candidates for national and state office who promote peace, justice, and prosperity in Ireland.”

The idea for the committee came from US President Barack Obama’s shared Kenyan and Irish ancestry, and from a visit with the Irish and Kenyan ambassadors at the 2008 DNC, O’Leary told CBS Charlotte.

O’Leary said she’d change the name of the PAC if she received negative feedback about it; her other idea is the “Black and Green PAC.”

But polls so far have evidenced  "a very good reaction," she told IrishCentral.

“I think McBLACKPAC is sexier,” O’Leary told CBS Charlotte.

Print

E-mail

Tweet