To MSNBC, black conservatives are "cowards" for not backing up the media's lies about election security laws.
On Ali Velshi's show this weekend, frequent MSNBC guest Roland Martin was allowed to trash black Republicans as "gutless" for not attacking their own party.
As Velshi devoted a segment to fretting over the push by Republicans for voting reforms in Texas, Martin named several prominent black Republicans as he launched into a rant:
And the real thing that really bothers me, Ali, is -- and I got to go here to say it -- I'm greatly disappointed in the actions of black people like Allen West -- like Senator Tim Scott -- like Alveda King -- you run around talking about you're the niece of Dr. King, but you say nothing. What's even more egregious is that you have gutless black Republicans who know what they're doing.
He added:
What they're doing is they're embarrassing the elders -- they're embarrassing the ancestors -- and they know what the Republican party is doing, and they are cowards in that they're not saying anything against this. They're not doing what Colin Powell did in North Carolina when he (audio gap) the Republican governor there. They're not calling them out for what they're doing. It is a direct assault on black and Latino voters...
After Martin accused the GOP of "pure cheating" in Texas, Velshi followed up by suggesting that Republicans are not trying hard enough to appeal to conservative blacks.
Martin admitted that Donald Trump's campaign had competed for the votes of black men, but then returned to trashing black Republicans: "And what angers me when it comes to black Republicans like Senator Tim Scott -- like Congressman Burgess Owens -- if you actually had the guts to stand up, they would stand down."
This episode of MSNBC's Velshi show is sponsored in part by Philadelphia. Their contact information is linked.
Transcript follows:
MSNBC
Velshi
April 11, 2021
8:14 a.m. Eastern
ROLAND MARTIN: And the real thing that really bothers me, Ali, is -- and I got to go here to say it -- I'm greatly disappointed in the actions of black people like Allen West -- like Senator Tim Scott -- like Alveda King -- you run around talking about you're the niece of Dr. King, but you say nothing. What's even more egregious is that you have gutless black Republicans who know what they're doing.
What they're doing is they're embarrassing the elders -- they're embarrassing the ancestors -- and they know what the Republican party is doing, and they are cowards in that they're not saying anything against this. They're not doing what Colon Powell did in North Carolina when he (audio gap) the Republican governor there. They're not calling them out for what they're doing. It is a direct assault on black and Latino voters, and what they're doing is trying to shave the margins. They see this train coming, and, instead of trying to appeal to broader voters with policies, they want to say, "Let's cheat." And this is pure cheating
ALI VELSHI: Okay, so let me just ask you about that -- let me ask you about that, Roland, because you have told me for years -- you've really educated me on the power of black conservatives. There are a lot of conservatives in the black community, and they can, if they wish to, enter the arena and compete in the field of ideas. But that's not where voters are going with black people -- that's not where Republicans are going with Latinos right now. They're going somewhere else. They're saying, "We're just going to hold off on letting you vote -- we're not actually going to tell you why it would be worth it for black people and Latinos to vote for Republicans.
MARTIN: Yeah, they don't want to compete for black votes. They compete more for Latino votes so they're like 70-30. Their attitude is pretty much, "Okay, we've given up on y'all," and the Trump folks -- there was a slim margin -- a sliver of "Hey, we can appeal to black men who are disaffected with both parties." They know black women hate the Republican party more than anybody else, but they don't want to compete. And what angers me when it comes to black Republicans like Senator Tim Scott -- like Congressman Burgess Owens -- if you actually had the guts to stand up, they would stand down.
