Earlier this week, former Obama Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel was forced to end his brief stint as fundraiser for the President’s super PAC after the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) went on strike. CTU is led by President Karen Lewis. Her official bio on the CTU website describes her as a Dartmouth graduate who sees students, parents, teachers, and community members as natural allies.
Video of a speech she delivered last October at the Northwest Teaching for Social Justice conference paints a very different picture of this lovely person. In the speech, posted by EAGnews.org, the Ivy Leaguer makes fun of individuals with speech impediments
After imitating Arne Duncan and inserting a fake lisp, Lewis said:
Now you know he went to private school, ‘cuz if he had gone to public school, he’d have had that lisp fixed. (Laughter) I know that was ugly, I’m sorry.
Lewis then proclaimed herself too fat to go to jail and that the only reason for her to lose weight was so she could fit on the jail cell toilets. She said:
For my husband, who’s an old-school brotha, you don’t talk about his woman, you don’t attack his woman. And I have to say, Baby, let them do it, 'cuz you can’t go to jail. And I’m too fat to go to jail, is what I tell him. I can’t fit in the cell. So I have to behave a little bit. But I’m losing weight 'cuz I’m preparing to go, 'cuz they going to send me to jail I know it at some point, I’m going to jail. That’s why I’m losing weight, so I can fit in the cell and sit on that little toilet, that’s the only reason.
While at Dartmouth, Lewis was an impressive scholar. She said of her time in college:
I look dang good on paper, ok. I am the only black woman in the class of 1974 from Dartmouth College. Woooo. People are impressed, let me tell you, I spent those years smoking lots of weed, self-medicating. Thank you, sounds like you all did too. Oh, I’m sorry, there are kids here, I wasn’t supposed to say that, too late!
In response to the video, YouTube user mrpeanut911 said, "I didn’t know Jabba could walk!"
Despite his close relationship with the mayor and history of involvement in various local issues, Obama has remained silent on the issue. It is unclear if Obama will choose his friend or stand in solidarity with a fellow pot-smoker.