After weeks of remaining silent in the face of calls to condemn the racist social media of one of the candidates she recruited, Amy Volk finally authored a lengthy social media post over the weekend...but only to defend herself.
Rather than condemning the posts of her candidate in SD-23, Rich Donaldson, Volk instead doubled-down in defending herself for calling a leading civil rights organization, the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), a “hate group.”
“Amy Volk has refused to speak out against racist social media posts from a candidate she recruited, and that should bother her constituents,” said Maine Democratic Party Chairman Phil Bartlett. “Instead of defending her comment calling a leading civil rights organization a ‘hate group,’ Senator Volk should be making it clear to Mainers that the racist and hateful stereotypes being pushed by her candidate are wrong. Sadly, Senator Volk can’t bring herself to do it.”
Let’s recap:
- 7/26/2018 - Rich Donaldson’s history of making racist, misogynist and homophobic social media posts was made public. The posts featured images and jokes that mocked Mexicans, gay people, and prominent Democrats.
Amy Volk’s response? Silence.
- 8/21/2018 - On a social media thread started by ex-White House and LePage Administration staffer David Sorensen, who was fired from the White House after reports emerged of allegations of domestic abuse, Volk called the Southern Poverty Law Center a “hate group.”
Instead of apologizing for her comment, Volk doubled-down.
- 9/7/2018 - In an interview with the Times Record, Rich Donaldson defended his social media posts and said they were never meant to be public, only “private jokes.” In addition to attributing his homophobic jokes to his said that he had “great friends who are Mexican” and “was directing those posts at them.” He also said that because he had “half-asian” children as an example of why calling him a racist “might not be an accurate representation.”
- 9/8/2018 - A day after Rich Donaldson’s interview defending his racist social media posts, Amy Volk authored a lengthy social media post—which included a photo of Volk with a person of color—defending her attack on the SPLC. It’s clear indication that she’s been feeling heat from her constituents in the wake of her comments.