Tavis Smiley: Peter Denied Jesus Fewer Times Than Grimes Denied Obama

PBS talk show host Tavis Smiley says minorities need to re-evaluate the Democratic Party before blindly supporting it especially since so many of its candidates are quick to run away from President Barack Obama, the titular head of the party.

Appearing Sunday on "Face the Nation," Smiley said Democrats are quick to call out an SOS to black and Hispanic voters as soon as their candidates are in danger and need minority votes, but he said the party has done little to inspire African-Americans and Hispanics to turn out to vote in Tuesday's midterms.

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"You have double the national unemployment average, you have doubled that inside the African-American community, tripled in some sectors," Smiley said. "There's a highway in to poverty but barely a sidewalk out."

Smiley called the appeals to minorities disrespectful and demeaning. He noted what some have called race-baiting flyers being sent out in North Carolina and Georgia that imply more incidents of violence against blacks would occur if Republicans are elected. The flyers point to the Trayvon Martin and Ferguson, Missouri killings.

Smiley also criticized Democrat Alison Lundergan Grimes, running against Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell in Kentucky, who late in her campaign repeatedly deflected questions on whether she voted for Obama in 2008 and 2012.

"I mean, Peter only denied Jesus three times," Smiley said. "I'm not saying that blacks and browns ought to abandon the Democratic party; what I'm saying is you've got to hold them accountable and maybe the lessons of what happens this year ought to start being reviewed now in advance of 2016."

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