Equal application?

A lot happening at the MN State Capitol building of late, eh?

On Tuesday, the sitting DFL governor was critical of his own party for not making him look good.

Then on Wednesday, a group of citizens gathered in the Capitol rotunda to demand a GOP legislator be publicly reprimanded.

Representatives of the Minneapolis and St. Paul NAACP, clergy and other leaders in the African-American community are calling on the DFL-controlled House to censure a Republican lawmaker for tweeting a comment that they consider racist.

The group says Rep. Pat Garofalo, R-Farmington, didn’t apologize directly for a statement he wrote on Twitter that linked NBA basketball players with street crime.

Except he did.

Mel Reeves, an associate minister at Zion Baptist Church, said he wants Garofalo to make a sincere apology. He also said DFL leaders in the House should file an ethics complaint or face a backlash.

“It’s going to get a little bit ugly because we’re not going to let it go,” Reeves said. “We’re going to have community meetings about it. It’s going to behoove them to come and say something because it’s also a teachable moment.”

Mr. Reeves is going to have to explain to us what constitutes a "sincere apology." And who is the moral arbiter that will ultimately determine whether or not an apology is deemed "sincere?"

Say, does anyone recall last June when DFL House member Ryan Winkler referred to Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas as an "Uncle Thomas?" Were there any vehement calls for Winkler to be censured? Good question. As such, I decided to ask Mr. Reeves if he recalled his immediate reaction to Winkler's racially charged comment.

I'll update this post if I happen to receive a response.

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