NRSC Condemns Hickenlooper for 'Racially Insensitive' Comment About Black Pastors

Cortney O'Brien | September 11, 2019 11:00 AM

Didn't he learn from Harry Reid's gaffe? In 2010, the former Senate Majority Leader was quoted in a book for having commended Barack Obama as a "light-skinned" African-American "with no Negro dialect, unless he wanted to have one." What exactly did he mean?

Former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper is facing a similar controversy. Backstage at an event a few months ago, he was on camera saying that a group of black pastors were "so articulate." And now that he's bowed out of the 2020 presidential race and joined the race for Colorado Senate, the video is resurfacing.

John Hickenlooper, while at an event earlier this year with a group of black pastors, said they were “so articulate”

The video, which has not been previously reported on, comes as Hickenlooper is seeking the Democratic nomination for a U.S. Senate seat in Colorado pic.twitter.com/RlxmvKpJC5
— Ryan Saavedra (@RealSaavedra) September 10, 2019

The NRSC pounced on the footage, accusing Hickenlooper of racism.

"Once again, Hickenlooper proves all on his own he is 'not cut out to be a Senator,'" NRSC spokesperson Joanna Rodriguez said in a statement. "Hickenlooper's continuous gaffes, including this latest racially insensitive comment, would be a distraction and an embarrassment to the people of Colorado on the national stage."

Gaffes aside, there are plenty of Colorado Democrats who did not want to see Hickenlooper in the race in the first place. He himself admitted he wasn't "cut out" for the Senate and that he'd be better equipped to serve in the Oval Office. When he finally did drop out of the 2020 race and enter the Senate campaign, six of the seven Democratic women running to unseat Republican Sen. Cory Gardner penned a letter telling him to step aside because it was their turn. They lashed out at the DSCC for endorsing Hickenlooper because of his name recognition and supposed electability.