Former Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice said that some of the appeals made by Democrats during the midterms specifically to black voters, notably in southern states, were “appalling” and “insulting.”
Ms. Rice acknowledged that “we’re not race blind” and that “of course we still have racial tensions” in the country, but said the United States has made “enormous progress in race relations” and is the best place on earth to be a minority.
“The idea that you would play such a card and try fear-mongering among minorities just because you disagree with Republicans, that they’re somehow all racist, I find it appalling. I find it insulting,” she said on Fox News. “As a Republican black woman from the south, I would say to them: Really? Is that really the argument you’re going to make in 2014?”
Some campaign fliers used the images of lynchings, references to Jim Crow-era laws and allusions to the racial tensions associated with the shooting of a black man by a white police officer in Ferguson, Missouri, over the summer, for example.
“To my mind, the great thing about the United States of America is that you can be of any color, any ethnic group, any nationality, any religion, and you can have dreams and aspirations that are your own, and then you can pursue them — that’s what this country is about,” she said.
• David Sherfinski can be reached at dsherfinski@washingtontimes.com.
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