Mitch McConnell: African Americans vote as much as Americans
By: Krista Johnson (USA TODAY)
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
Krista JohnsonLouisville Courier Journal
U.S. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell is trending on Twitter after making a comment related to voting rights in which he implied African Americans are not Americans.
Prior to a vote to move the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act to the Senate floor failed Wednesday, McConnell was asked by a reporter about concerns among voters of color.
"Well the concern is misplaced, because if you look at the statistics, African American voters are voting in just as high a percentage as Americans," McConnell responded.
A 19-second clip of the exchange was posted to Twitter late Wednesday and has been viewed nearly 1 million times.
"Being Black doesn't make you less of an American, no matter what this craven man thinks," former Kentucky Rep. Charles Booker tweeted.
"In one quote, he summarized the entire GOP worldview. They think it's a White nation and anyone who isn't White isn't a true American," tweeted another person.
When asked to comment on the clip Thursday afternoon, McConnell said in a statement, "I have consistently pointed to the record-high turnout for all voters in the 2020 election, including African-Americans."
The John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, named for the late Georgia Democratic representative and civil rights icon, would restore Justice Department review of changes in election laws in states with a history of discrimination.
According to the Brennan Center for Justice, a nonpartisan policy group affiliated with the New York University School of Law, in 2021 at least 19 states passed 34 laws restricting access to voting.
In a statement shortly after the legislation failed to advance, President Joe Biden said: "I am profoundly disappointed that the United States Senate has failed to stand up for our democracy. I am disappointed — but I am not deterred.
"My Administration will never stop fighting to ensure that the heart and soul of our democracy — the right to vote — is protected at all costs. We will continue to work with allies to advance necessary legislation to protect the right to vote. And to push for Senate procedural changes that will protect the fundamental right to vote."
In an opinion piece submitted to The Courier Journal, McConnell categorized the new legislation as a power grab by Democrats.
"Washington Democrats have desperately wanted to take over our elections for years, even though their justification seems to change every election cycle," he wrote. "After losing the White House in 2016, they said the takeover was necessary because our democracy was fundamentally broken.
"Now that they've won the White House, their story has flipped: Our democracy is in perfect shape, except when Republican-controlled states dare to pass mainstream voting laws."
In that piece, when differentiating between voters, McConnell wrote about Black and white voter turnout, not African American and American.
USA Today reporters Savannah Behrmann and Ledyard King contributed to this story. Contact reporter Krista Johnson at kjohnson3@gannett.com.
Correction: An earlier version of this story misstated when McConnell made his comment. He was speaking prior to Wednesday night's action on the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act.
Trolling, taunting, spamming, and off topic comments may be removed at the discretion of group mods. NT members that vote up their own comments, repeat comments, or continue to disrupt the conversation risk having all of their comments deleted. Please remember to quote the person(s) to whom you are replying to preserve continuity of this seed. NT members that have previously plagiarized any part of this disclaimer without permission will have their comments deleted upon discovery.
... and don't forget to vote this seed up...
I'm gonna give McConnell a pass on this one. I think he just got a little tongue tied. He probably meant to put the word "other" in front of the word "Americans".
Of course he never should have brought the subject up at all.
Not me. I think he meant to say what he did
he did, he's still fighting the civil war, and losing...
Either other or all..................
Well we know conservatives would never be so forgiving. If this was another Biden gaffe we'd already have a dozen conservative memes and political cartoons about it.
damn straight.
Of course we would. But we're the bad guys because we point out a gaffe made by McConnell
he's obviously in the final stages of dementia...
John, I agree with you here, but I think he, like many others, is beyond his time.
Yes, he is. You know who else is beyond her prime? Nancy Pelosi. I can't believe that at 81 she plans to run for re-election. I hope her constituents have a better idea
Yeah, I know there is something to be said about Pelosi's ability as Speaker. I don't think anyone could really argue that. I'm just not sold on the idea that we are best served by lifers in the legislature.
there's a minimum age to hold elected office, we need a maximum age too.
Maybe off [topic]
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[Sorry 'bout the off-topic.]
tell him to keep that thing in its shell, cause it is always a slip of the tongue, and i taint buying it from one so prostituted as Putins Bitch, Moscow and howl Mitch !
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Maybe so, but being married to an Asian he should have been a little more sensitive about how minorities might interpret his language.
Can't have ''those'' people in a white Christian nation.
lily white teabag jesus would freak out.
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get lost.
what's going on? I didn't even get to read his comments. Was he playing School Yard Nanny and trying to tell me I shouldn't have seeded this?
posting nonsense, then meta. went back channel and now the TDS's are flagging me...
I'm so goddamned sick of their fucking nonsense horsheshit!
meh, what do you expect from racist dipshits?
Nothing anymore
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get a clue.
It's all they have, Trout.
Yup, projection, deflection, denial, trolling.
Look.
If I want to post about Mitch McConnell or Tina F...I mean Sarah Palin, I will. I have just as much right to post silly shit as any of you do. Granted, you have the right to comment that my seeds are silly but you're the one that looks silly when you have nothing but criticism instead of discussing the topic. Nobody forced you to read (if you even bothered) the seed and then comment.
NOBODY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
the carolina plagiarist already had his comment reinstated.
They're such whiny little bitches.
they'll be back after they're done jerking each other off in their private klan group.