Shermichael Singleton, a Republican political consultant and Vox host, said on MSNBC Live on Saturday that he could not defend his party against accusations it attempts to restrict voting access for black voters.
Host Alex Witt mentioned "accusations of voter suppression" in Georgia. She shared news that Governor candidate Brian Kemp is being sued by a civil rights group over more than 50,000 voter registration applications which have been on hold under a 2017 law. Witt wondered if Singleton, who is black, considered the hold discriminatory.
"Time and time again, I think we are seeing — unfortunately — with my party is that because they cannot compete with people of color, they're finding other areas, to essential displace those individuals from being able to participate in our — honestly our biggest part of being an American, the ability to vote," Singleton shared. "And I think that is extremely unfortunate."
Singleton commented on the Georgia controversy via his Twitter account Thursday. His tweet responded to a claim that the Georgia Senator of State canceled 670,000 voter registrations in 2017. "This is not acceptable because it will disproportionately impact African-Americans and the poor. Georgia should move fast to reconcile this. I've seen no data suggesting that 670K registrations are illegal," Singleton tweeted. Remove duplications if they exist, but this seems like government overreach."
On the show, Singleton claimed he doesn't blame African-Americans who have a difficult time finding a reason to vote with the Republican party. "There are a lot of African-Americans who will say 'Yes, I am conservative on a lot of things,'" he said. "But with the current Republican Party, they will never vote Republican. And Alex, I got to tell you, I don't blame them — and many times I am beginning to ask myself."
On his Twitter account, Singleton often speaks calmly about both sides of America's politics. "To be a liberal or conservative means what? Both were once notable ideas in the classical sense," he tweeted Friday.
"It would be nice if we lived in a world filled with more grace and humility and less ego and selfishness," he said on Twitter Friday, "particularly among those who lead. Humility goes a long way, trust me, I'm still working on it, but make an effort because that's all it takes."
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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