Tim Scott: A 'token' black senator for the GOP?

Many liberals are unimpressed with Scott's historic appointment

Come January, Republican Tim Scott will be the only African-American in the Senate.
(Image credit: Alex Wong/Getty Images)

This week, South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, a Republican, tapped Rep. Tim Scott to fill the Senate seat being vacated by conservative firebrand Jim DeMint. The appointment of Scott, a Tea Party favorite, was hailed within the GOP as an inspired choice. Scott will notch a lot of "firsts": The first black senator from South Carolina; the first black senator from the South since Reconstruction; and the first black Republican senator since Edward Brooke of Massachusetts retired in 1979. Come January, he will be the only African-American in the entire Senate.

Despite the historic nature of his appointment, some liberals are unimpressed. "It obscures the fact that modern black Republicans have been more tokens than signs of progress," says Adolph L. Reed Jr. at The New York Times:

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Ryu Spaeth

Ryu Spaeth is deputy editor at TheWeek.com. Follow him on Twitter.