NEWS

Tweets concerning Chao's nationality spark controversy

The Courier-Journal

As partisans prepared for the much anticipated Fancy Farm speeches Saturday afternoon, the Kentucky Democratic Party has delivered a sharp rebuke to a series of comments on Twitter from a Democratic operative who referenced the ethnicity of Elaine Chao, the wife of Republican U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell.

A series of tweets sent by political consultant Kathy Groob about Elaine Chow concerning her nationality stirred a small controversy Saturday during Fancy Farm.

"She's not from Ky," Groob said in a reply to a tweet questioning her attack. "She is Asian and [President George] Bush openly touted that."

As the controversy grew on social media, a statement was released on the Kentucky Democratic Party's Twitter account, denouncing the comments.

"These comments are abhorrent and have no place in Kentucky politics. We strongly denounce them," the statement read.

The tweets caused an uproar almost immediately, bringing mostly vitriol toward Groob. The tweets from various sources mainly defended Chao.

Groob eventually apologized for what she called a " poor choice of words."

Though Groob has deleted the tweets which mentioned Chao's ethnicity, several others about Chao remain.

"If Mitch McConnell is going to bring his wife in the race, then her lack of KY status is fair game," Groob tweeted.