Black GOP political consultant Shermichael Singleton nailed his party to the wall Monday, condemning Republicans for their pernicious voter suppression tactics in Georgia and other states across the U.S.
“As a conservative, any appearance that there’s some type of restriction for African- Americans or any marginalized group of people from being able to participate in the voting process doesn’t help the Republican party,” Singleton said during an appearance on MSNBC. “We can’t afford as the country becomes more diverse to not be able to compete strategically within those communities.”
Shermichael Singleton said the GOP’s voter suppression tactics have become so nefarious he knew he had to speak out. (MSNBC video screenshot )
Singleton is a former Ben Carson aide who served a mere few weeks in early 2017 as deputy chief of staff in the Department of Housing and Urban Development until being fired by the White House after a background check revealed he had once written an op-ed criticizing then-candidate Trump. The former HUD official told host Ali Velshi that many nonwhite communities might actually be viable for conservative outreach efforts, however, the party’s racism and bigotry has prevented it from growing.
“If you look at African-Americans and Hispanics for example, traditionally, culturally, we are very conservative,” he continued. “But when you ask African-Americans why they don’t vote Republicans, they will point to the rhetoric. They will point to many of the positions of many Republicans running for office, particularly now in the age of President Donald Trump.”
Singleton proceeded to slam the GOP’s repeated claims of widespread voter fraud when their own research has proven that to be untrue. He added that Republicans’ voter suppression tactics have become so nefarious he felt compelled to speak out.
In Georgia for instance, Secretary of State and gubernatorial candidate Brian Kemp is accused of purging 700,000 people, mainly African-Americans, from the voter rolls and blocking over 350,000 pending voter registration applications. He’s now being sued by a coalition of advocacy groups amid pressure from Democratic opponent Stacey Abrams, who stands to become Georgia’s first Black governor, to resign.
“It’s bigger than just being a Republican, it’s ‘Guys, you should be able to compete with a very diverse group of people,’” Singelton said. “Until that changes, as I said, I don’t believe African-Americans will vote Republican, and I understand why.”
Watch more in the clip below.
