On Friday’s broadcast of Laura Ingraham’s radio show, Missouri Republican Party chairman Ed Martin explained his decision to take an outspoken role in criticizing the alleged tactics of some Republicans in Mississippi behind an effort to get Sen. Thad Cochran (R-MS) his party’s nomination over State Sen. Chris McDaniel last month.
Martin pointed to the racial components of Cochran’s tactics and argued the GOP could not be the “party of Lincoln” having implemented such tactics.
“[I] actually didn’t follow as closely as others – the McDaniel-Cochran, all the details,” Martin said. “But when I saw the coverage and listened to the audio of the robocalls and the ads that were run and paid for by Republicans and prominent Republicans, I was outraged. I mean, we can’t be the party of Lincoln if we think it’s OK to do this kind of racial divisive stuff. So my point is – I’m on the RNC. I’m one of 168 members. We’re charged with being the national body of the Republican Party and my objection to my fellow members was we can’t stand for this. If it was one of our people that did it – Republican, prominent or not, they should be held accountable and that’s what I’ve called for.”
“And the circling the wagons is embarrassing to Republicans,” he added. “[I]n our party, we’ve always said we’re going to be honorable to our principles and this is the fight for the future of the party. That’s why I care and that’s why the RNC needs to look into it. I don’t want to get involved in the election. I want to get involved in whether Republicans did this and stop it.”
Follow Jeff Poor on Twitter @jeff_poor
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