Outrage as Texas Democrat party REFUSES the resignation of chairman who called Republican Tim Scott an 'Oreo'Gary O'Connor heads the Democratic Party in Lamar County, northeast of Dallas
He said he was 'deeply sorry' for using the 'racist term' to describe Scott
O'Connor announced plans to step down, but his colleagues refused
They said his letter of apology to Scott was enough after 'reflection'
'America is not a racist country,' Scott said in his remarks last Wednesday
'It seems clear he is little more than an Oreo,' O'Connor wrote of Scott
'Oreo' is a racial slur used to describe a black person who acts white
Republicans were outraged and demanded that O'Connor resign from his post
By ARIEL ZILBER FOR DAILYMAIL.COM
PUBLISHED: 5 May 2021
A Texas county's Democratic Party has sparked outrage by refusing the resignation of the chairman who called Republican Tim Scott an 'Oreo'.
Gary O’Connor, the Lamar County Democratic Party chairman, said he was 'deeply sorry' for using the 'racist term' and announced his plans to step down.
But his colleagues then issued their own statement to MyParisTexas.com saying: 'Our local Democrats have taken the last few days to reflect upon this incident.
'After much discussion — especially among our local [ b]lack Democrats — we chose not to accept Mr. O’Connor’s resignation'.
'Mr. O’Connor has written a public letter of apology to Sen. Tim Scott, and Lamar County Democrats join him in this apology,' the statement added.
The party said O'Connor had been with the organization for seven years and his 'life of service, collaboration, and activism for racial justice is well known throughout this community.
'His recent remark is incompatible with his core values,' they insisted.
O'Connor wrote the Facebook post in response to Scott’s rebuttal to President Joe Biden’s first address to a joint session of Congress last Wednesday.
Gary O'Connor (left), the head of the Democratic Party in Lamar County, Texas used a racial slur to describe Senator Tim Scott, a Republican from South Carolina
Senator Tim Scott, a Republican from South Carolina, was referred to as an 'Oreo'
Gary O’Connor, the Lamar County Democratic Party chairman in Texas, said he was 'deeply sorry' for using the 'racist' term and announced his plans to step down. But his colleagues have refused his resignation
O’Connor wrote on Facebook: ‘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'
Scott, the only black Republican in the United States Senate, was chosen by the GOP to give a response to the president’s address. The senator from South Carolina said that the United States ‘is not a racist country.’
O’Connor wrote on Facebook: ‘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.’
‘Oreo’ is a reference to the famous sandwich cookie made by Nabisco. It consists of two dark-colored wafers separated by a white, creme filling.
In a racial context, ‘Oreo’ refers to a black person who is perceived as 'acting white.'
House Rep. Pat Fallon, a Republican from Texas, put out a statement last week demanding that O’Connor resign.
'Gary O’Connor's comment against Senator Tim Scott is abhorrent, insulting, and unforgivable,' Fallon said.
'Both he and the entire Lamar County Democratic Party should be ashamed of this racist behavior.
He has yet to comment on the decision to let O'Connor keep his position.
'This kind of behavior is not tolerable in Texas, the United States, or any political party,' he added.
Scott’s rebuttal speech and the response to his remarks from Democratic-leaning Twitter users have sparked controversy, particularly after the term ‘Uncle Tim’ was trending for about 12 hours.
The three-term South Carolinian angered Democrats and their supporters when he denied that America was a racist country.
Biden reacted to Scott's remarks by saying that while he doesn't think the American people are racist, African Americans have been left 'so far behind the eight ball in terms of education and health, in terms of opportunity.'
Vice President Kamala Harris also agreed with Scott, saying that while America is not a 'racist country,' the nation needed to 'speak the truth' about its history.
Another prominent black politician from South Carolina, Democratic House Majority Whip James Clyburn, told The Washington Post on Friday that he agreed with Scott's assessment that the US is not a racist country.
'I agree with him on that,' said Clyburn, the third most powerful Democrat in the House whose endorsement of Biden during the party primaries last year is thought to have helped turn the tide in favor of the former vice president.
'I don’t think a racist country would have elected Barack Obama as president, or Kamala Harris as vice president.
'That’s not the issue, that’s a red herring. The issue is they allow the jurisdictions in this country that have institutionalized the history and legacy of race.
Another prominent black politician from South Carolina, Democratic House Majority Whip James Clyburn (seen left on February 25, 2019), told The Washington Post on Friday that he agreed with Scott's assessment that the US is not a racist country. Vice President Kamala Harris (right) also agreed with Scott, saying that while America is not a 'racist country,' the nation needed to 'speak the truth' about its history
'That’s what is happening.'
In an interview with Fox News on Saturday, Clyburn defended his comments in support of Scott.
He told the network that America is 'not about being perfect, but when you see a fault repair it.'
'We got a fault today in our law enforcement. Let’s repair it. There’s a fault today with 47 states now coming out with these voter suppression laws.
Scott and Republicans were outraged on Wednesday after the senator from South Carolina was referred to as 'Uncle Tim' by Democratic-leaning supporters on Twitter. The term was trending on Twitter for some 12 hours before it was taken down on Thursday morning. A spokesperson for Twitter told Fox News that an algorithm allowed the term to trend
Author Yvette Nicole Brown said: 'Uncle Tim lost me when he said Biden was dividing us after he had sat quietly while Tang destroyed this country for four years. #BoyBye'
'Come on, United States of America, let's repair that.'
Clyburn is urging Congress to pass legislation that would reform policing in America as well as secure voting rights.
Scott appeared on CBS' Face the Nation on Sunday during which he said 'thank goodness' that Biden, Harris, and Clyburn agree with him.
'America is not a racist country,' Scott said on Sunday.
'The question is, is there a lingering effect after a couple of centuries of racism and discrimination in this nation? The answer is absolutely.
'The question we should be debating and fighting over is how do we resolve those issues going forward.
'One side says "I'm going to take from some to give to others." Fighting bigotry with bigotry is hypocrisy. It just doesn't work.
'The second - our side, what I've suggested is let's expand opportunity and make sure that we are fully equipped for the challenges of the future.'
Scott has accused the left of 'hypocrisy' following their attacks on his Wednesday night rebuttal of Biden's speech to Congress, saying the slurs left him saddened, but more convinced than ever that he was right to be a Republican.
He was mocked on Twitter as 'Uncle Tim', a play on the 'Uncle Tom' racial slur, used to describe black people who were too deferential to whites.
Twitter took 12 hours to remove the term from its trending list, and on on Thursday night Scott asked where the left-wing outrage was at the racial slur.
Policy analyst Javon Price Flagsaid: 'The fact that 'Uncle Tim' is trending on Twitter tells you all you need to know about the left'
Conservative writer Carmine Sabia: 'Not stunned that Uncle Tim is trending because how dare even one black person not follow the Democrats like the Pied Piper. How dare Sen. Tim Scott have his own opinions and principles?'
Yale professor Phillip Atiba Goff said: 'White people. Please do not use terms like Aunt Jemima, coon, and Uncle Tom. It's gross and racist and not the thing you seem to think it is. Even if you live in Brooklyn. Especially if you live in Brooklyn'
'It is really saddening to see that what the left is doing is fighting bigotry with bigotry,' Scott told Sean Hannity on Fox News.
'They have expose their hypocrisy and their true motivation,' he said.
'It has nothing to do with ending prejudice. It has everything to do with claiming or getting more power.
'Uncle Tom' is derived from an 1852 novel: It's become an offensive racial caricature
The term Uncle Tom is derived from the lead character of white abolitionist author Harriet Beecher Stowe's 1852 novel Uncle Tom's Cabin.
Uncle Tom is a gentle character, a smiling, wide-eyed servant who offered no resistance to the horrors of slavery.
Described as the most enduring fictional slave, he later became 'synonymous with servility and self-hatred', according to a 2008 NPR documentary Why African-Americans Loathe 'Uncle Tom'.
According to the Jim Crow Museum of Racist Memorabilia, the Tom caricature 'is often old, physically weak, psychologically dependent on whites for approval'.
Uncle Tom's Cabin sold over two million copies within two years of its publication.
'I have never seen such power grab and using people in such a despicable way.'
Speaking directly after Biden's maiden address to Congress, Scott gave his party and its former leader, ex-President Donald Trump, credit for the COVID response - saying Biden had 'inherited a tide that had already turned' - while blasting Democrats for prolonged closures of schools and churches.
Scott also defended the GOP-backed Georgia voting bill, blasting Democrats for lying about the controversial legislation and labeling it 'mainstream.'
The South Carolina Republican started out his remarks, delivered elsewhere in the U.S. Capitol, by saying Biden 'seems like a good man,' and adding that his 'speech was full of good words.'
'But President Biden promised you a specific kind of leadership. He promised to unite a nation.
'To lower the temperature. To govern for all Americans, no matter how we voted. That was the pitch. You just heard it again,' Scott said. 'But our nation is starving for more than empty platitudes.'
Scott blasted Biden and the Democrats for 'pulling us further apart.'
Scott, who is facing re-election in 2022, said that it was a depressing spectacle.
'It is really disheartening to see the left response, and frankly even Twitter's response to racism and racial slurs.
'If it comes from the left, and must be okay according to Twitter's response 12 hours later.'
Scott said he was confident there would soon be a 'backlash' to the 'paternalism' of the left.
'What we are seeing happen is this response from good intentioned people who happen to be black, who happen to be Hispanic, who happened to be white, who happen to be Asian, rising up and saying you won't tell me what to think.
'I'm going to decide that for myself.
'There is a coming backlash to this liberal oppression that is becoming front and center.'
Scott, 55, also said that he was frequently attacked by liberals for his skin color.
'Intolerance so often comes from the left with words like “Uncle Tim” and the “n-word” being used against me,' Scott said.
'And last night what was trending in social media was “Uncle Tim,” and they doubled down on this concept of liberal oppression.
'It is stunning in 2021 that those who speak about ending discrimination want to end it by more discrimination.
'The left has doubled down that they are going to, not attack my policies, but they're literally attacking the color of my skin.'
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9546955/Texas-Democrat-party-REFUSES-resignation-chairman-called-Republican-Tim-Scott-Oreo.html
