On Thursday, Ed Gillespie appeared on the CPAC panel title “Reaching Out: The Rest of the Story.” The panelists were supposed to focus on how the GOP can better appeal to minority voters. However, the largely empty room heard the same divisive, tone-deaf rhetoric that Virginians heard during the 2013 election.
Gillespie has said that he is “listening to women,” but when Elroy Sailor, a Republican operative and CEO of JC Watts Companies, stated “abortion has been worse on the African-American community than the slave trade, than Jim Crow ever,” Ed Gillespie stayed silent.
In response, the Democratic Party of Virginia released on Friday a new web video, “Nothing’s Changed,” highlighting how, despite making claims to the contrary, Gillespie and Republicans in Virginia continue to hold the same backwards views that guide their policy agenda. These views are out of step with the people of Virginia.
“Elroy Sailor’s comment was deeply offensive on many levels to African-Americans, women and others. While Ed Gillespie had the perfect opportunity to speak-up and call-out these inappropriate comments, Ed sat silently, waiting for the moderator to just change the topic,” said DPVA Spokesperson Ashley Bauman. “Perhaps after having a night to sleep on it, Mr. Gillespie will step-up and denounce hurtful and inappropriate remarks like these.”
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