Illinois Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin dismissed South Carolina Republican Sen. Tim Scott’s police reform bill as a “token” approach.
“What we say on the Democratic side is we cannot waste this historic moment, this singular opportunity, let’s not do something that is a token, half-hearted approach,” Durbin said on the Senate floor Wednesday in response to Scott’s efforts to pass legislation to combat racism and police brutality following the death of George Floyd.
Sen. Dick Durbin describes Sen. @TimScottSC‘s police reform bill as a “token, half-hearted approach” pic.twitter.com/dAVeU8NRvb
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) June 17, 2020
“Dick Durbin — the second ranking Senate Democrat — just referred to @SenatorTimScott’s bill as a ‘token’ approach, in a floor speech,” Townhall editor Guy Benson tweeted. “Subtle!”
Dick Durbin — the second ranking Senate Democrat — just referred to @SenatorTimScott’s bill as a “token” approach, in a floor speech.
Subtle!
— Guy Benson (@guypbenson) June 17, 2020
Scott responded to Durbin’s comment by bringing up the kente cloths that Democratic members of Congress were photographed wearing in tribute to Floyd, who died while in police custody on Memorial Day.
“Y’all still wearing those kente cloths over there @SenatorDurbin?” Scott tweeted.
Y’all still wearing those kente cloths over there @SenatorDurbin? https://t.co/h3WETXn3We
— Tim Scott (@SenatorTimScott) June 17, 2020
Durbin’s comment comes after Scott, the first black senator from South Carolina, has been called a “token” member of the mostly white GOP Senate by social media users as well as an NBC reporter.
“You have faced a fair amount of criticism, especially over the past few days, because you are the only black Republican senator,” NBC News Anchor Craig Melvin asked Scott last week. “Some have said that your party is using you, they’ve even thrown around the word ‘token,’ as well. Your response to that criticism?”
Scott laughed off the question by arguing, “If there’s someone in the conference who understands discrimination and profiling, it’s me,” and adding that’s the “reason why” he was asked to “lead this charge.”
Scott also took to Twitter to address the “token” accusations.
“Not surprising the last 24 hours have seen a lot of ‘token’ ‘boy’ or ‘you’re being used’ in my mentions,” he tweeted on June 10. “Let me get this straight…you DON’T want the person who has faced racial profiling by police, been pulled over dozens of times, or been speaking out for YEARS drafting this?”
Not surprising the last 24 hours have seen a lot of “token” “boy” or “you’re being used” in my mentions. Let me get this straight…you DON’T want the person who has faced racial profiling by police, been pulled over dozens of times, or been speaking out for YEARS drafting this?
— Tim Scott (@SenatorTimScott) June 10, 2020
Scott held a press conference Wednesday unveiling the Senate GOP’s police reform proposal, titled the Justice Act, that among other things calls for incentives for police departments to ban chokeholds, cracks down on no-knock warrants, provides body camera grants, and establishes lynching as a federal hate crime.
