Rep. Gwen Moore (D-Wis.) said Monday that Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, a Republican presidential candidate, is “tightening the noose, literally” around African-Americans.
{mosads}Moore, a black lawmaker from Milwaukee, made the comment during a phone call with reporters that coincided with Walker campaigning in the early voting state of South Carolina.
Moore said Walker was “literally campaigning around the state, saying you don’t want to be like Milwaukee, while at the same time really tightening the noose, literally, around African-Americans.”
“He cut his teeth on ‘three strikes and you’re out’ mandatory minimum sentences — really, you know, trail ’em, nail ’em and jail ’em politics … and so we really have a high incarceration rate,” she added.
Moore mentioned Walker’s opposition to raising the minimum wage, support for requiring photo IDs to vote and drug testing in order to receive public aid as hurting blacks, according to The Associated Press.
A campaign spokeswoman for Walker called Moore’s comments “inflammatory and inappropriate.”