Dallas Democratic Mayor Eric Johnson slammed leftist media commentator-turned-Democratic Lt. Governor candidate Matthew Dowd over a statement that Dowd released this week announcing that he was dropping out of the race.
Dowd wrote in a statement announcing that he was ending his campaign:
In September 2018 I wrote an opinion column for ABC News entitled “Us white male Christians need to step back and give others room to lead.” In it I wrote, “Instead of waiting for the diverse populations of America to keep pushing and prodding, I would humbly suggest that we as while male Christians take it upon ourselves to step back and give more people who don’t look like us access to the levers of power.”
The column continues, “We as white male Christians should do what real leadership demands and practice a level of humility which demonstrates strength by stepping back from the center of the room and begin to give up our seats at the table. We should make this move not because we feel threatened, but because we know it is morally right and it is what would help America in this troubling time. The best leaders and change makers make themselves dispensable. And that is what me and my fellow white male Christians must do more often.”
I have always strive to be a person of integrity by living the values I espouse. Sometimes I fall short, but each day I make every attempt to be the person I want to see in the mirror.
To that end, I have decided to step back, not file in the Democratic primary, and end my campaign for Lieutenant Governor of Texas. When I first announced, the only other candidate was a white male Christian. A diverse field is now emerging in the Democratic primary for this office. I do not want to be the one who stands in the way of the greater diversity we need in politics. The GOP Lieutenant Governor of Texas, Dan Patrick, has failed our state and harmed Texans. He seeks to undermine important right of our fellow citizens and must be defeated. I will do whatever I can to accomplish that end now as a Texan not running for office.
I am not dropping out of politics. I will continue to speak out on democracy and help elect servant leaders with common sense and common decency who believe in the common good, up and down the ballot, in Texas and across the nation. I am in the process of converting my campaign candidate committee to a general purpose committee to support those who step forward to serve the public with integrity. I will announce the details of this next step in the new year.
I am incredibly grateful and thankful, from the bottom of my heart, for the thousands of people who volunteered and contributed over the last three months.
We can do this.
Johnson, who has served as Dallas’ mayor since 2019, slammed Dowd’s statement in a series of tweets, saying that the Democratic Party had a serious racism problem that it needed to deal with.
“I’m confused and a little disturbed by the reasoning here. Campaigns are precisely for the purpose of selecting the BEST candidate. It seems my friend is saying that Democratic primary voters are incapable of nominating women and minorities if there is a white man on the ballot?” Johnson tweeted. “If this is in fact the case then shame on the Democratic primary voters who are incapable of voting for women and minority candidates if presented with a white male alternative. But for white male candidates to stop running as Democrats to “give us a chance” feels wrong to me.”
“The problem is NOT white men running for office,” Johnson concluded. “The problem is the 800 lb gorilla in the room, which is the racism within the Democratic Party that many pretend doesn’t exist. So the solution isn’t folks like Dowd ‘yielding’ to candidates of color. It’s addressing the racism.💯”
I’m confused and a little disturbed by the reasoning here. Campaigns are precisely for the purpose of selecting the BEST candidate. It seems my friend is saying that Democratic primary voters are incapable of nominating women and minorities if there is a white man on the ballot? https://t.co/9yiTJLFURw
— Mayor Eric Johnson (@Johnson4Dallas) December 8, 2021
The problem is NOT white men running for office. The problem is the 800 lb gorilla in the room, which is the racism within the Democratic Party that many pretend doesn’t exist. So the solution isn’t folks like Dowd “yielding” to candidates of color. It’s addressing the racism.💯
— Mayor Eric Johnson (@Johnson4Dallas) December 9, 2021