A Minnesota state senator came under fire after a speech in which he claimed the state’s Republican Party was not bigoted — and included a slur against Poles in the process.
During a hearing on potential legislation that would allow undocumented immigrants to obtain ID cards and Class D driver’s licenses, Sen. Mark Johnson (R), the Senate Minority Leader, said GOP lawmakers had good arguments for the bill, according to the legislation. Independent.
“There are holes in this bill,” Johnson said, while stressing that he was not attacking any particular demographic group. “We don’t name any group. What we are saying is that we need to protect Minnesotans.
However, he may be hurt by what he says next.
“It doesn’t matter what your race, your color, your creed, Norwegian, Polack, Somali, your name. But folks, we have concerns about this — but when we bring those concerns to this floor, tonight we’re being called white national racists,” he said.
For those who don’t know, “Polack” has been considered a derogatory term for Poles for decades, and was most famously uttered by Archie Bunker, the bigoted character on the 1970s sitcom “All in the Family”.
In addition, some media have reported that Johnson may have used the word “Somalia” in the speech, although this is not certain. The term “Somalia,” although not necessarily a slur, is incorrect, as the term “Somali” is preferred.
Of course, many Twitter users find it ironic that GOP politicians use slurs in speeches claiming their party is not bigoted.
Minnesota state Sen. Andy Smith (D) said Johnson’s remarks were “telling.”
HuffPost reached out to Johnson for comment, but no one immediately responded.