African-Americans have a major disconnect with Republicans over the justice system — because the GOP too often sides with cops involved in controversial shootings, former Rep. J.C. Watts tells
Newsmax TV.
"It's not the social issues that keep black people from voting with conservatives or with Republicans. It's the justice issue," Watts, an Oklahoma Republican, said Monday on "The Steve Malzberg Show."
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"By no means do I mean to throw police officers under the bus because my dad was a police officer, I've got a son-in-law that's a police officer.
"But while I don't believe police officers are always wrong, I don't believe they're always right. We have to take a closer look at those things."
Watts, a former star quarterback for the University of Oklahoma, said a case in point is the death of Walter Scott, shot in the back by North Charleston Police Officer Michael Slager as he tried to flee. Along with Eric Garner in New York and Michael Brown in Missouri — all black men killed by white cops — Scott's case has sparked cries of racism and a need for reform in the justice system.
Without a video of the Scott tragedy, filmed by a bystander, "Republicans would put their stakes on the ground on the side of the police officer and Democrats would put their stakes in the ground on the side of the victim," Watts said.
"There needs to be a deeper discussion … about how we do law enforcement or what needs to be tweaked in terms of the law enforcement community.
"And I don't just say that in terms of the black community. There's obviously white victims and red and yellow and brown victims out there as well."
Watts is one of the earliest supporters of Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, who has announced his candidacy for the 2016 GOP presidential nomination.
"He has an uncanny ability to listen and I've been impressed with that … [he's] challenged us to think beyond the talking points and he's not been afraid of getting voted off the island," Watts said.
"We need to have an honest discussion about foreign policy. We need to have an honest discussion about civil liberties and he's challenged us to do that.
"He wants to do the right thing and he wants to do the right perspective and I felt that doing that, he deserved my support, whatever that may mean."
Whichever candidate wins the GOP nomination will face a tough race against former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the presumed Democratic nominee.
"In my opinion, she's a worthy adversary. When you put any candidate out there that would have the support of the mainstream press, when you put any candidate out there that they're going to have a double standard working in their favor, it's going to be challenging," Watts said.
"But President Obama, my uncle and dad used to say to me that [former Alabama Gov.] George Wallace was one of the best things that ever happened to the black community simply because he made the black community organize and pull together."
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