November 7, 2014

GOP official goes off on NAACP for ignoring Mia Love and Tim Scott

The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People addressed the Nov. 4 midterm elections this week in a statement that failed to make any mention of the historic wins of Congresswoman-elect Mia Love, R-Utah, and Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C.
Love is not only the first Haitian-American elected to Congress, but she is also the first black woman running as a Republican to be elected to Congress. Meanwhile, Sen. Scott’s victory on Tuesday makes him the first African-American senator to win an election in the South since the Reconstruction.

GOP deputy press secretary Raffi Williams responded Thursday to the NAACP'S statment, issuing a series of tweets criticizing the organization for its failure to mark Love’s and Scott’s major wins.

“If the [NAACP] was a truly bipartisan org thay [sic] would support all blacks not just dem Blacks,” he said in a tweet. “I wish an org like the [NAACP] would support black ppl of ideologies. Unfortunately they are proving how out of date they are.”

The NAACP “should support all black ppl who are working to affect positive change in their communities. But they don’t,” he added.

Williams complained in another tweet that the organization "wont celebrate black republicans."

The NAACP statement reads as follows:

The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is committed to leading the effort alongside other civil and human rights organizations and our newly elected Congress to pass a robust Voting Rights Act Amendment.
Equal access to voting remains paramount as numerous reports of voting irregularities emerged during the midterm elections yesterday. Malfunctioning voting machines, voters turned away because of erroneous voter ID laws, missing names of registered voters and long lines were among the major challenges that the NAACP fielded along with our Election Protection partners via the 1-866-Our-Vote hotline. We assert that passage of a robust Voting Rights Act Amendment is essential for the states previously protected under section 5 as well as for all Americans for the sanctity of our republic. We urge the newly elected Congress to join us in ensuring that all registered voters in our great country have unfettered access to the ballot box.
Cornell William Brooks, President and CEO of the NAACP.
“This election was not about who won but the rather the citizens who lost the right to participate. This first election post the Shelby vs. Holder decision resulted in problems in every single state previously protected by the Voting Rights Act. For 49 years, these states were singled out because they had a history of discriminating against American voters. The Election Protection Hotline we manned with other concerned organizations fielded over 18,000 calls yesterday, many in those same states previously protected by the VRA. As we move forward — it is imperative that our newly elected Congress work with the NAACP and our partners to pass Voting Rights Act Amendment legislation that assures that all Americans have the franchise — our very democracy depends on it.”
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