Rep. Bennie Thompson Doubles Down on Calling Clarence Thomas an ‘Uncle Tom’

Rep. Bennie Thompson stands by remarks about race (Miami Herald)

WASHINGTON -- Facing an icy silence from the conservative targets of his racism charges, veteran Democratic Rep. Bennie Thompson of Mississippi on Wednesday refused to back down from highly charged remarks in a weekend radio interview.

Thompson, a senior member of the Congressional Black Caucus, first let fly with the comments in an interview this past weekend on a New Nation of Islam radio show. In a matter of minutes during his call-in chat, he accused Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky of making a “racist statement” and said that conservative opposition to Obamacare is rooted in racism.

He labeled Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas an “Uncle Tom.” And he alleged that Republican Gov. Phil Bryant of Mississippi turned down $426 million in Medicaid funding as part of Obamacare “just because a black man created it.”