Editor, the Tribune:�Sen. Mitch McConnell silenced Sen. Elizabeth Warren as she read Coretta Scott King�s denouncement of Jeff Sessions� racist actions and words. McConnell�s attempt to make the Senate �safe� for the likes of Sessions is bizarre at best and disturbing at worst.

First, a brief look at Sessions� record of racism. ABC reports accusations of racial intolerant language, including �jokes� about the KKK dating back to the 1980s. He opposes the Voting Rights Act, which includes key measures to protect black voters and stop racially based gerrymandering, which is rampant in the Southern states, according to numerous federal suits. Sessions was involved in an ultimately failed attempt to prosecute activists working on a voting drive. The list continues.

McConnell�s choice to silence Warren identifies racism as a malicious insult rather than a pattern of behavior. �Racist� is a description of Sessions� record. To disregard all the evidence backing up that claim is willfully ignorant. Even if McConnell fails to see racial bias, his choice to silence those who call it to attention amounts to nothing less than removing discussion of racial justice from the Senate floor. If senators cannot entertain even the notion that others� actions might be racially motivated, the Senate is entirely incapable of addressing the problems of a citizenry it increasingly fails to represent.

At some point, Sen. McConnell will either have to accept the racism of his Republican colleagues or find a party with fewer racists. I doubt they would take him.

Dylan Hosmer-Quint, Columbia