Washington, D.C.—Today, North Carolina native and Correct The Record President Brad Woodhouse released the following statement on U.S. Representative Robert Pittenger’s comment that protesters in Charlotte “hate white people because white people are successful and they’re not” during a BBC interview:
“As a native North Carolinian, I’m humiliated, shocked and outraged by Rep. Pittenger’s racist comments. This is exactly the type of reprehensible language you expect to hear at a Ku Klux Klan meeting—not from a Member of Congress. There are no excuses for this blatant bigotry, and scripted apologies are not enough. Rep. Pittenger has embarrassed our state in front of the entire world and disrespected North Carolinians of all races. This is not who we are. Every Republican official, starting with Donald Trump who endorsed this sorry excuse for humanity for reelection just a few months ago, must come forward and immediately repudiate Rep. Pittenger’s race-baiting. This is not about politics—it’s about having the courage and compassion to stand up for basic human dignity.
“However, I won’t hold my breath waiting on Donald Trump to denounce these comments. In fact, this type of open racism is the predictable result of Donald Trump’s campaign of fear and division that has inspired the Klan, white nationalists, the Alt-Right, anti-Semites and open racists like David Duke to crawl out from under their rocks and declare that Donald Trump speaks for them. Donald Trump has set back the political discourse in this country 50 years, and he is as much the problem as is Rep. Pittenger. They are two peas in a pod, and all North Carolinians and Americans of all walks of life should condemn their disgraceful attitudes and their vile rhetoric.”