Democratic Rival Accuses Sen. John Cornyn of Using Racist 'Dog Whistle' Nickname
After taking heat for blaming the coronavirus pandemic on "Chinese culture," Sen. John Cornyn of Texas is facing new allegations of racism.
This time, they're coming from State Sen. Royce West, who's in a Democratic runoff to challenge Cornyn in November. West, who's African American, accused the GOP incumbent's campaign of engaging in dog whistle racism by mocking him as Restful Royce.
"Cornyns and his teams choice of words
plays into longtime racial stereotypes of African Americans being lazy," West spokesman Vince Leibowitz told the Dallas Morning News.
Cornyn spokeswoman Krista Piferrer, who used the nickname in recent media interviews, later defended it to the Morning News, saying the dig mocked the West campaign for lacking "any sort of policy depth, financial backing or inkling of grass-roots support."
Read more: https://www.sacurrent.com/the-daily/archives/2020/05/20/democratic-rival-accuses-sen-john-cornyn-of-using-racist-dog-whistle-nickname