CNN political commentator Bakari Sellers said that tributes to the late Georgia Democratic Rep. John Lewis from “individuals like” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp “ring hollow.”
“For those individuals like the governor of Georgia, Brian Kemp, for Mitch McConnell, those words you’re saying about John Lewis, they ring hollow and they are empty,” Sellers said on “Reliable Sources” while remarking on the ongoing funeral procession for Lewis. “You cannot praise John Lewis in one hand and then be the leading cause of voter suppression and gutting the Voting Rights Act on the other hand.”
WATCH:
Tributes to the late Civil Rights icon, who passed away July 17 at the age of 80, rolled in from people on all sides of the political spectrum last week, including from Republicans like McConnell and Kemp.
My statement on the passing of Congressman John Lewis: pic.twitter.com/sFuU8cqPc8
— Leader McConnell (@senatemajldr) July 18, 2020
A civil rights icon, freedom fighter, and beloved Georgian, @repjohnlewis lost his battle with cancer today. Our nation will never be the same without him. There are no words to adequately express the sadness that countless Americans are feeling upon learning this news. (1/2)
— Governor Brian P. Kemp (@GovKemp) July 18, 2020
“You know, John Lewis would always say that we got to get in good trouble,” Sellers continued. “And for those people right now that are patting him on the back as he’s making his way to heaven, but who do not believe in the fundamental right for us to pass a safe and secure ballot, every time we go to the ballot box, no matter where you’re from or what you look like, I think John Lewis would simply look at you and say that your words do not mean a thing.”
The CNN commentator then issued a message for “my friends who are more conservative than I.”
“Sometimes you just need to keep John Lewis’ name out of your mouth, because he’s someone who stood on the shoulders of words like democracy, liberty, and freedom. Things that right now people who are attempting to push back on those things do not completely understand and John Lewis nearly gave his life so that we can be free.”