A Texas Democratic Party official is facing calls to step down after referring to Sen. Tim Scott, South Carolina Republican, as an “oreo.”
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott demanded Saturday the resignation of Gary O’Connor, chair of the Lamar County Democratic Party, after he said in a since-deleted Facebook post criticizing Mr. Scott as “little more than an oreo with no real principles.”
“This is disgusting, hateful, and completely unacceptable,” the Republican governor tweeted. “O’Connor must apologize to @SenatorTimScott & step down immediately.”
Mr. Abbott also said that the Texas Democratic Party should “censure him” for the racial slur against Mr. Scott, who is Black.
Rep. Pat Fallon, Texas Republican, who flagged the post on Friday, blasted the comment as “abhorrent, insulting, and unforgivable.”
“Both he and the entire Lamar County Democratic Party should be ashamed of this racist behavior,” Mr. Fallon said in a press release that included a screen grab of Mr. O’Connor’s post.
Mr. Fallon said that “O’Connor must apologize and step down immediately. Additionally, I call on both the Democratic Party of Texas and the NAACP to condemn these words, and the state party should take swift action to censure him.”
The comment came after Mr. Scott delivered the GOP rebuttal Wednesday to President Biden’s speech before a joint session of Congress, which also prompted the phrase “Uncle Tim” to trend on Twitter.
Said Mr. O’Connor: “I had hoped Scott might show some common sense, but it seems clear he is little more than an oreo with no real principles.”
He also shared a Washington Post article by Philip Bump headlined, “What the back-and-forth over America being a ‘racist country’ is actually about.”
This is disgusting, hateful, and completely unacceptable.
— Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) May 1, 2021
O’Connor must apologize to @SenatorTimScott & step down immediately. @texasdemocrats censure him.https://t.co/wJLTqaHlLb
So far there has been no public comment by Mr. O’Connor or the state or county party.
The “oreo” smear refers to a Black person who is seen as “Black on the outside, White on the inside,” according to the Urban Dictionary, a reference to the popular Nabisco cookie.
“This kind of behavior is not tolerable in Texas, the United States, or any political party,” Mr. Fallon said.
• Valerie Richardson can be reached at vrichardson@washingtontimes.com.
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