Institutionalized bias

Asian Pacific Americans Outraged at Kathy Groob’s Racist Tweets

6 August 2014

CONTACT

Kenneth Lee | Acting Chief Executive Officer

202 223 5500 | klee@ocanational.org

WASHINGTON, D.C. – OCA – Asian Pacific American Advocates, a national membership-driven organization of community advocates dedicated to advancing the social, political, and economic well-being of Asian Pacific Americans (APAs), is outraged by the racist tweets from Kathy Groob, a prominent Democrat and founder of the Political Action Committee (PAC) Elect Women, regarding former Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao.

On Sunday, Kathy Groob tweeted "Hey Mitch, nothing against your wife and spouses should be off limits; since you mentioned, she isn't from KY, she is Asian.” When Groob was questioned by other Twitter users on why race had anything to do with the political race, she responded through a tweet saying, “”Either way, she’s not from KY, she is Asian and Bush openly touted that.” Groob’s last tweet on the subject was “Google Elaine Chao, #MitchMcConnell’s wife. No mention of Kentucky, she is Asian.”

“Racism has no place in American politics. Political operators cannot continue to use racist remarks, provide a simple apology, and then expect to be forgiven,” said Sharon Wong, OCA National President. “Kathy Groob’s tweets were offensive and perpetuate the idea that Asian Pacific Americans will always be foreigners. Our communities have lived in the United States for over 100 years and share a common history with all Americans. Comments like Kathy Groob’s are part of the reason why APAs continue to be viewed as non-American, and an eight-word apology does not alleviate the consequences of her insensitive and inappropriate words.” 

The Kentucky Democratic Party responded to Kathy Groob’s tweets, saying “These comments are abhorrent and have no place in Kentucky politics. We strongly denounce them.” Groob apologized through Twitter saying “My sincere apologies for poor choice of words.”
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