Here’s footage of Sen. Kevin Parker’s lengthy speech on the Senate floor this afternoon, during which he sort of, kind of, apologized for the his outburst last week during the Finance Committee meeting and subsequent claim that his GOP colleagues are “white supremacists.”

At about the 3-minute mark, Parker offers “my sincerest apology for my zealous advocacy” to the extent that it “brought commotion and emotion to this house in ways that may distract or divide us, or divert us from the important work the people of New York sent us here to accomplish.”

“But to the extent my words bring debate and discussion to this house on the issue of race, exclusion, and conversely, new opportunity, I offer my sincerest commitment to continuing that debate and discussion,” the Brooklyn Democrat continued.

“It is also exceedingly important for me to explain to this house – through you, Mr. President, that my criticisms are not, in fact, at bottom personal.”

“I cannot see into anyone’s soul, and I should not have personalized my comments because the issues I spoke about are larger than any one individual or group. The problems of race, lack of access to opportunity and economic disparity in New York existed long before anyone was elected to this chamber, and to the extent they persist in many ways we are all complicit.”

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