Hopeful Texas Senator Comes Under Fire

Ron Kirk, who is campaigning to be the first African-American Senator from the state of Texas, has come under fire from the state’s Attorney General and the state’s largest law enforcement group. Attorney General General John Cornyn has criticized Kirk for attending the Hip-Hop Summit in Dallas with D.O.C. and Russell Simmons. Both Kirk and […]

Ron Kirk, who is campaigning to be the first

African-American Senator from the state of Texas, has come under fire from the

state’s Attorney General and the state’s largest law enforcement group.

Attorney General General John Cornyn has criticized

Kirk for attending the Hip-Hop Summit in Dallas with D.O.C. and Russell Simmons.

Both Kirk and the Combined Law Enforcement Associations Of Texas circulated

a press release calling for Kirk to renounce his affiliation with the D.O.C.,

due to the D.O.C.’s past affiliation with N.W.A.

Coryn also criticized Russell Simmons in an email

with a photograph attached of Kirk shaking handing with Simmons. Above the photo

was an explicative filled caption of Simmons defending "Gangsta Rap."

Speaking to a conference of hundreds of mayors

and town leaders at a conference, Kirk said "The question you have to ask

them is why they’re doing this. I think they are doing everything they can to

very subtly try to frighten people away from looking at my background and my

credentials and trying to interject racial politics in a negative way into this

campaign."

Kirk defended his appearance, noting that the

event was nothing more than a way to entice younger people to register to vote.

"The only thing they were encouraging young

people to do is go vote," Kirk said. "And I would hope that, whether

in an overt or non-subtle way, that John Cornyn isn’t suggesting that these

young people don’t have a right to be interested in the political life of our

communities."