{"id":123753,"date":"2021-05-04T21:29:03","date_gmt":"2021-05-04T21:29:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/precoinnews.com\/?p=123753"},"modified":"2021-05-04T21:29:03","modified_gmt":"2021-05-04T21:29:03","slug":"why-did-lamar-county-democratic-chair-gary-oconnor-resign","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/precoinnews.com\/world-news\/why-did-lamar-county-democratic-chair-gary-oconnor-resign\/","title":{"rendered":"Why did Lamar County Democratic chair Gary O'Connor resign?"},"content":{"rendered":"
GARY O'Connor, the chair of the Democratic Party in Lamar County, Texas, came under fire after calling Senator Tim Scott an "oreo" on social media.<\/p>\n
O'Connor is the chair of the Democratic Party in Lamar County, which is about 115 miles northeast of Dallas.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
After facing stiff criticism for his poor choice of words against Senator Scott, O'Connor has officially resigned from his post.<\/p>\n
O\u2019Connor announced his resignation\u00a0on May 4 in a statement, days after\u00a0sparking a firestorm\u00a0online by calling Scott an "oreo" in a since-deleted Facebook post.<\/p>\n
O\u2019Connor apologized for targeting Scott with the racial slur,\u00a0which refers to a Black person who is perceived as acting White.<\/p>\n
"I am deeply and sincerely sorry for my inappropriate and hurtful use of racist term I used to describe Sen. Tim Scott on my personal Facebook page," O\u2019Connor said\u00a0in a statement to the\u00a0Washington Examiner.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
"It was insensitive, and I have embarrassed myself and my party by its use.<\/p>\n
"As a result, I feel compelled to offer my resignation as chair of the Lamar County Democratic Party for consideration by the County Executive Committee," he added.<\/p>\n
On April 28, O\u2019Connor wrote a controversial post on Facebook in response to Scott\u2019s speech after President Joe Biden\u2019s first address to a joint session of Congress.<\/p>\n
Scott, the only black Republican in the United States Senate, was chosen by the GOP to give a response to the president\u2019s address.<\/p>\n
The South Carolina senator said the United States was "not a racist country".<\/p>\n
O\u2019Connor wrote on Facebook: "I had hoped that Scott might show some common sense, but it seems clear he is little more than an Oreo with no real principles."<\/p>\n
The post has since been deleted.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Before his resignation, Texas Governor Greg Abbott called on O'Connor to step down from office following his "disgusting" racial slur regarding Senator Scott.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is disgusting, hateful, and completely unacceptable. O\u2019Connor must apologize to @SenatorTimScott & step down immediately. @texasdemocrats censure him,' Abbott tweeted on May 1.<\/p>\n
House Rep. Pat Fallon, a Republican from Texas, had also put out a statement demanding that O\u2019Connor resign.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Fallon\u2019s home district includes Lamar County.<\/p>\n
He said: "Gary O\u2019Connor's comment against Senator Tim Scott is abhorrent, insulting, and unforgivable.<\/p>\n
"Both he and the entire Lamar County Democratic Party should be ashamed of this racist behavior. O'Connor must apologize and step down immediately.<\/p>\n
"Additionally, I call on both the Democratic Party of Texas and the NAACP to condemn these words, and the state party should take swift action to censure him."<\/p>\n
President Biden reacted to Scott's remarks by saying African Americans have been left "so far behind the eight ball in terms of education and health, in terms of opportunity".<\/p>\n