The president of the North Carolina NAACP chapter blasted black Republican Sen. Tim Scott in a fiery sermon on Sunday, comparing the GOP to a ventriloquist with the Republican as its “dummy.”
“We must not give up the so-called high moral ground to the right-wing extremists,” said Rev. William Barber II at Zion Baptist Church in downtown Columbia, S.C., The State reported. “Unless we stand for justice, we cannot claim allegiance to Jesus, and we cannot pay homage to Dr. King unless we’re in the fight for treating people right.”
The State reported that the reverend singled out Mr. Scott, who was appointed by Gov. Nikki Haley, by name.
“A ventriloquist can always find a good dummy,” Mr. Barber said. “The extreme right wing down here [in South Carolina] finds a black guy to be senator and claims he’s the first black senator since Reconstruction and then he goes to Washington, D.C., and articulates the agenda of the tea party.”
Mr. Scott responded by saying Mr. Barber is a perfect example of how people should not be honoring Martin Luther King, Jr.
“To reflect seriously on the comments a person, a pastor, that is filled with baseless and meaningless rhetoric would be to do a disservice to the very people who have sacrificed so much and paved a way,” he told The Daily Caller.
• Jessica Chasmar can be reached at jchasmar@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.