The Oklahoma Republican Party released the following statement in response to Democratic National Committee Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz’s planned trip to Oklahoma. Wasserman Schultz will visit Tulsa on Saturday to raise money for the Barack Obama Victory Fund 2012.
“Wasserman Schultz’s visit couldn’t have come at a better time as I could use her help with something,” said Chairman Matt Pinnell. “Given the Chairwoman’s oft-repeated desire for ‘civility’ in politics, I hope she will use her visit to repudiate her own Oklahoma Democratic Party Chairman’s recent comparison of conservatives to Timothy McVeigh.”
Since being appointed to head the DNC by President Obama, Wasserman Schultz has made civility in politics one of her foremost issues. Wasserman Schultz was quoted this past January saying: “We need to make sure that we tone things down… the discourse in America, the discourse in Congress in particular … has really changed, and I’ll tell you. I hesitate to place blame, but I have noticed it take a very precipitous turn towards edginess and a lack of civility with the growth of the Tea Party movement. I’ve never seen a time that was more divisive or where discourse was less civil. What the Tea Party has done is they have taken it to a different level, and so when they come and disagree with you, you’re not just wrong, you’re the enemy.”
Just over a month ago, Oklahoma Democrat Party Chairman Wallace Collins told Fox News, “Is he (OKGOP Chairman Pinnell) forgetting the fact that the bombing was done by somebody of his bent – in other words a right-winger? If Timothy McVeigh were alive today, he most likely would be a Tea Partier.”
The Oklahoma Republican Party called on Chairman Collins to apologize for his offensive remarks, but he refused. When called on to repudiate their party’s leader, the Democrat Leaders in the House and Senate – Scott Inman and Sean Burrage – were silent as they were preoccupied scaring Oklahoma taxpayers about the mass hysteria that would unfold if we cut taxes. To date, Chairman Collins and Oklahoma Democrat leaders still have not apologized for comparing their political opponents to the worst domestic terrorist in American history.
“We have given Oklahoma Democrats ample opportunity to apologize for the offensive remarks, yet they still refuse,” said Pinnell.
“You can’t speak of ‘civility’ and then have representatives of your party comparing political opponents to a deranged terrorist. I call on Chairwoman Wasserman Schultz to repudiate and reject Chairman Collins’ disgusting and inappropriate remarks. If the Chairwoman is truly as devoted to “civility” as her rhetoric suggests, I’ve no doubt she will join me in calling on the Chairman of the Oklahoma Democratic Party to apologize for these comments,” concluded Pinnell.