A top Democratic official in Texas has faced calls to resign after referring to a black Republican U.S. senator as an “Oreo.”
The facts: Lamar County Democratic Party chair Gary O’Connor used the racial slur on Wednesday in a now-deleted Facebook post in response to Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina’s rebuttal of President Joe Biden’s first address to Congress.
- “I had hoped that Scott might show some common sense, but it seems clear he is little more than an oreo with no real principles,” said O’Connor, using a derogatory term for a black person who is “white on the inside.”
In Texas, Gov. Greg Abbott, Rep. Pat Fallon and state GOP chairman Ret. Gen. Allen West were among those who demanded O’Connor’s resignation.
- “This is disgusting, hateful, and completely unacceptable,” Abbott said in a tweet on Saturday. “O’Connor must apologize to [Scott] & step down immediately.”
- O’Connor and the Texas Democratic Party have not responded to requests for comment.
Rebutting the rebuttal: Scott’s speech, and especially his assertion, “America is not a racist country,” triggered an often-racist backlash from the left.
