A top Democratic National Committee official repeatedly refused to answer whether state Democrats’ use of incendiary racial appeals were appropriate tools to help drive voter turnout.
MSNBC host Craig Melvin asked Mo Elleithee, the DNC’s communications director, about the fliers — one of which, in Georgia, warns voters there will be “another Ferguson” if they fail to vote next Tuesday. “Is using the issue of race like that, to drive turnout — is that appropriate?” Melvin asked.
When Elleithee refused to respond, instead making vague references to “outreach in the African-American community,” Melvin pressed him. “No no, no, no,” he said. “Are those specific efforts appropriate?”
The DNC communications director again demurred, saying his main goal is “to remind people how important it is to remain engaged.”
“But can you not do that without trotting out the images of dead black teenagers?” Melvin asked.
Fliers invoking Ferguson have also been deployed by state Democratic officials in Arkansas and North Carolina, while a super PAC tied to Senate majority leader Harry Reid has run a radio ad claiming North Carolina Republican Senate candidate Thom Tillis is pushing a gun law like the one that “caused the death of Trayvon Martin.”
Comments