"What compulsion? We don't intimidate," Crawford said. "We don't buy votes.
Stop, darn it. Yer killin me!
Posted on 04/17/2007 5:21:40 AM PDT by Ellesu
South Bend council president accepts apology, calls words 'wrong.'
INDIANAPOLIS -- Indiana's secretary of state asked forgiveness Monday for evoking images of slavery in describing black voting trends during a Republican event in southern Indiana last week.
During a Thursday speech at the Daviess County annual Lincoln Day Dinner, Republican Secretary of State Todd Rokita said 90 percent of blacks vote Democrat and questioned why.
"How can that be?" Rokita was quoted as saying by the Washington Times-Herald. "90 to 10. Who's the master and who's the slave in that relationship? How can that be healthy?"
Several black lawmakers expressed anger over the remarks.
State Rep. William Crawford, D-Indianapolis, said Rokita's statement likened blacks to being ignorant, uninformed and compelled to vote Democratic.
"What compulsion? We don't intimidate," Crawford said. "We don't buy votes. He needs to apologize to the people he offended, the people that he called ignorant and uninformed, and that is 90 percent of those African-Americans who choose to vote their level of interest as they define it for Democrats."
Rokita said Monday that his overall message about the black vote was meant to encourage the Republican Party to continue its efforts to diversify, in part by continuing to reach out to blacks.
But, he said, "The word choice that I used in one part of those remarks was poor, and if I offended anyone then I ask their forgiveness for what was an insensitive metaphor."
South Bend Common Council President Tim Rouse, D-at large, said he would be willing to accept the secretary of state's apology but believes Rokita's comments were "very inappropriate and very wrong."
Rouse also said he believes black voters are well-informed and that if Rokita's comments were intended to make the Republican Party more inclusive, "they will have just the opposite effect on the group he was trying to reach."
Harry Belafonte called Colin Powell and Condi Rice “house slaves”
Any comment yet from him?
It's a good question why they sell themselves out to the Dems ~ smart people would never do that.
"What compulsion? We don't intimidate," Crawford said. "We don't buy votes.
Stop, darn it. Yer killin me!
Has the “jewel of Indianapolis” Julia Carson weighed in on this topic yet?
Mr. Rokita is absolutely correct. Telling the truth is bound to offend someone. We’re on our way to censorship.
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