Re: Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson says 'racism within the Democratic Party' is '800 lb gorilla in the room'

[No Intelligence Czar Kamala Harris]

In article <ui9iq3$74gu$6...@dont-email.me>

Democratic Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson claimed Wednesday that racism
exists in the Democratic Party and likened it to an "800 lb gorilla
in the room" that everyone pretends doesn't exist.

"I’m confused and a little disturbed by the reasoning here," Johnson
tweeted in a response to a statement from Matthew Dowd, who dropped
out of the race for Texas lieutenant governor earlier this week to
allow for a more "diverse" field.

"Campaigns are precisely for the purpose of selecting the BEST
candidate," Johnson continued. "It seems my friend is saying that
Democratic primary voters are incapable of nominating women and
minorities if there is a white man on the ballot?"

"If this is in fact the case then shame on the Democratic primary
voters who are incapable of voting for women and minority candidates
if presented with a white male alternative. But for white male
candidates to stop running as Democrats to 'give us a chance' feels
wrong to me," Johnson added.

"The problem is NOT white men running for office. The problem is the
800 lb gorilla in the room, which is the racism within the
Democratic Party that many pretend doesn’t exist. So the solution
isn’t folks like Dowd 'yielding' to candidates of color. It’s
addressing the racism," he added.

Matthew Dowd ended his campaign for lieutenant governor of Texas on
Tuesday after the Democratic primary field he was running in became
more diverse.

MATTHEW DOWD ENDS CAMPAIGN FOR TEXAS LT. GOV, SAYING HE DOESN'T WANT
TO HINDER ‘DIVERSITY’ IN POLITICS

"A diverse field is now emerging in the Democratic primary for this
office," Dowd said in a statement. "I do not want to be the one who
stands in the way of the greater diversity we need in politics."

When he decided to run for lieutenant governor in September, his
only opponent "was a white male Christian," he explained in his
statement.

Dowd made the decision to run two years after penning an op-ed for
ABC News arguing that "white male Christians" should step aside to
make way for more diverse candidates.

"Instead of waiting for the diverse population of America to keep
pushing and prodding, I would humbly suggest that we as white male
Christians take it upon ourselves to step back and give more people
who don’t look like us access to the levers of power," Dowd wrote at
the time.

"We as white male Christians should do what real leadership demands
and practice a level of humility which demonstrates strength by
stepping back from the center of the room and begin to give up our
seats at the table," he added.

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/dallas-mayor-johnson-says-racism-
within-the-democratic-party-is-800-lb-gorilla-in-the-room