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The Tin Ear Republicans Don't Need

By J.P. Freire on 12.27.08 @ 1:44PM

On Wednesday this little gem from RNC chair candidate Chip Saltsman made it into my email account, in addition to being delivered to all kinds of Republican committeepeople.

Attached to it, apparently, was a copy of a 41-track CD including the Paul Shanklin hit "Barack The Magic Negro" and the "Star Spanglish Banner." These songs had originally premiered on Rush Limbaugh's show, the former satirizing an L.A. Times column that more earnestly held the same name.

While Saltsman is defending the CD as just a joke, it doesn't quite stand up to his answer to question number 8 on the Republican committeeman Morton Blackwell's questionnaire:

The fact is that Hispanics, African-Americans, Asian and Jewish voters and many other minorities have ideological bonds with Republicans but have often felt uncomfortable within the confines of our party. Protecting marriage between one man and one woman is but one example. Strong support of Israel by Republican officials is another. Party leaders must effectively communicate with and sincerely listen to these groups. By action and deed, we must convince minority voters to trust the Republican Party again. We must take the members-only sign off the clubhouse door and throw out the welcome mat. The party of Abraham Lincoln can do no less.

This shows a level of tin-eared politicking that is surprising for a man who wants to head the Republican ship. By his own account, he recognizes that this is the year that Republicans need to focus on winning back minority votes. It is part of his candidacy. And he has punctuated that agenda with a racially insensitive anti-political correctness song that's fine for a radio show host who knows how to stir the pot, but probably not fine for the future chairman of the Republican National Committee.

Saltsman, who is the former chair of the Tennessee Republican Party, already has a few enemies in his own state. He recently got an unfriendly mention in a Nashville paper. Concerning a possible governor's race in Tennessee, the Nashville Scene reports that Bill Frist is being tapped only by those who might benefit from it:

"He has a political future. The question is how best to advance that future," says one GOP source. "The people around him who are encouraging him to run are the folks, frankly, who have a lot to gain themselves if he does it."

High on that list are developers and fundraisers Reese and Steve Smith, and Chip Saltsman, onetime minion of disgraced Gov. Don Sundquist. Saltsman would like to run Frist's campaign, become deputy governor, then parlay that job into lucrative PR/lobbying contracts, just like those who came before him. (See Dave Cooley, Peaches Simpkins and Tom Ingram.)

Neither portrait is very flattering. On the one hand, he's got a tin ear, on the other hand, he has a reputation for self-dealing. The latter is not unusual to hear about *any* of the candidates, frankly. The former, however, is a big liability.

UPDATE: Mike Allen wonders why there's been no response from GOP operatives on this. The ones I've spoken to are all pretty upset about it and see nothing funny. Some tell me they've contacted Saltsman and asked him to make a public apology. Mike Huckabee and Bill Frist, who've been campaigning for Saltsman by making calls, haven't made any statements about this.

View all comments (103) | Leave a comment

disruptive skeptic| 12.27.08 @ 3:28PM

Reading this reinforces my belief that the only way to take on the vile democrat party political machine is with a new political force, a truly brainy, brave, and honest collection of good men and women who can transcend the current left/right game that the right is clearly losing , and destined for further defeats,and beat the left with new ideas, new sense and sensibility. This old bunch of conservatives glued to the radio listening to a detached megalomaniac with no feel at all for the common man must be left in their ditch, as we who want to win a better America for all move further along the road.

NotSoros| 12.27.08 @ 4:10PM

There is nothing wrong with Rush, there is something wrong with a party that constantly shoots itself in the foot when not necessary.

skeptic is clearly part of the trigger happy gang within the GOP that should wonder around with McCain and his friends in the media.

It was black colmunist David Ehrenstein who called Obama a "Magic Negro" you leftist kooks in March 2007 (http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oe-ehrenstein19mar19,0,5335087.story?coll=la-opinion-center).

simply2fly| 12.27.08 @ 4:30PM

notsoros: read the article - just b/c he came up with the phrase doesn't mean he put it to music nor did he come up with the racist lyrics...

The real kooks are Republicans who say racist things and then act like 'what?! can't you take a joke!?"

It seems half of the republican party doesn't realize the joke is on them.

Kate| 12.27.08 @ 4:42PM

Here's a smarter take on it then Mr. Freire's-no offense.
http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2008/12/is_barack_the_magic_negro_raci.html

simply2fly| 12.27.08 @ 4:55PM

No offense taken - I don't mind having a discussion about it but the fact is that the Republican party can't have it's cake and eat it too. If you want to court minorities, it would be helpful if you don't make fun of them. Even if you disagree with my assertion that the song was making fun of a minority class at the very least you have to concede this point in the article:

"Having said all this, is it an appropriate Christmas message from a potential RNC chairman?"

I wouldn't think that his choice of Christmas gift would be inappropriate for ANYONE seeking some sort of office. If for no other reason than it shows extremely poor judgment to not foresee how this would have been received. So even if you are right and this was purely meant as satire, and not mean spirited... I think an intelligent person would recognize the potential for confusion and avoid it all together. Perhaps for this group of folks the Bing Crosby White Christmas might have been a better choice. Just a thought - and I think that most agree with me even if they are not on this site.

Robert Stacy McCain| 12.27.08 @ 4:57PM

J.P., how did you get on Saltsman's e-mail list?

Here's my own take on the controversy, FWIW.

KYJurisDoctor| 12.27.08 @ 5:01PM

There is NO reason for ANYONE to be shocked at this. The Republican Party has gradually morphed into the dixiecRATS of old.

Dale Simms| 12.27.08 @ 5:58PM

This is SOP for a White Southern Republican Male. It's time to return to the party of Lincoln.

J. Peter Freire| 12.27.08 @ 6:16PM

Lots of comments for a weekend post!

I focused on the "tin ear" part because, frankly, this is one song on an entire CD premised on political incorrectness. It *should* be no big deal, but let's face it: the GOP will never get a free pass on such humor. It doesn't matter that this is a reference to an L.A. Times column, that the initial writer was the first person to coin the term. Saltsman shot himself in the foot, and he should certainly know better given his political knowledge. He's in the midst of a campaign -- meaning there are other people looking exactly for these kinds of slip-ups. How could he make such an omission?

NotSoros -- that question goes to you. I completely buy that there is no harm intended by the wonderfully spicy lyrics to the song. But the worst way to wage a fight is by providing your enemy with ammunition.

Stacy -- I didn't get on Saltsman's email list, but if you know of a way I can, let me know.

J. Peter Freire| 12.27.08 @ 6:19PM

OHHH. Sorry Stacy, I didn't understand what you meant by the email list, but you were referring to my receiving that card. No, no. I received it from another source. Hence my point about how it's stupid when you give your opponent's ammunition.

Vince P| 12.27.08 @ 6:20PM

I cant stand this mindlessness. There is nothing racist about the song. The song is sung by Al Sharpton who is jealous he is being shown up by newcomer Barack Obama. and the title and chorus and the reason for "Sharpton"'s lament are things like the LA TImes story where the Leftist Black reporter called Obama the Magic Negrro.

The song is making fun of the Left and their idnetity politics and jealouses.

There is nothing to be offended by nor anything to apologize for.

If you want to be stupid and claim the song is racist, then go ahead... nothing has ever stopped the Left from falsely invoking racism before.

Vince P| 12.27.08 @ 6:23PM

When I said "If you want to be stupid and claim the song is racist".. the "you" is directed to no one specifically .. just anyone in general who wants to insist the song is racist even though it's been explained why it isn't.

J. Peter Freire| 12.27.08 @ 6:29PM

Vince P.: I am not saying the song is racist. It isn't. Especially since racism has taken on the same meaning as Fascism, meaning "something undesirable."

However. The conversation that is useful is a conversation about the role of minorities in the Republican party. The conversation that is not useful is that people who are offended are a bunch of oversensitive whiners. This flap has given us the latter, not the former.

How does that strike you?

Mary| 12.27.08 @ 6:48PM

Is Christmas the time to be hawking this?

Won't there be some other time that's less sacred, and more naturally amenable to disunion in which you can hawk the creative wares of The Magic Negro, The Numinous Negro, The Negro, The Negro, The Negro? Please, and all forgive me, but WTF?

The Right would screw up a free lunch, and the left would bitch if it were hung with a new rope.

The party has been Leaderless for how long now?
Karl Rove said recently that Republicans should go out and make republicans of all those people who are not registered to vote. He'll be lucky if the Republicans can keep the people they have.

They're way past the point of being considered dangerous. They're just a comedy of errors.

William 5| 12.27.08 @ 7:19PM

Mr. Freire is all over it and the rest of the conservatives had better pay attention. I'd rather they not. Please, conservatives, keep complaining about the left and be sure to keep your attacks on the level of middle schoolers.

Also, ignore the unbelievable misjudgement of this man who wants to lead your party. Mr. Freire points out, quite correctly, that you never hand your opponent easy ammunition. He not only handed fellow party members a bit of ammo, he handed it to the rival party as well. Brilliant. I like... nae, love him to lead the RNC - it's a great idea.

Vince P| 12.27.08 @ 8:34PM

Mr. Freire: I totally can appreciate how opportunists can use this "incident" and use it to reinforce the false cliche that Republicans are racist. In fact they do this all the time and they don't need a parody song to use as their evidence.... because the accusation is wrong.

If you're going to along with this false framework, then you are conceding that blacks and other minorities are not individuals. You are blending the people in with their group.. you're treating these folks the same way the Left treats them.. as a brainless mob.

It's long time past time we stop playing (suffering) by the Left's political vocabulary. Let them cry Racist. Do you really think you will EVER be seen as not Racist in their racist eyes?

I'm a gay conservative. Conservativism appeals to me not because it panders to me and wipes my tears with its motherly tissues. It appeals to me because I believe in the American Revolution, Liberty, and Freedom.. The last thing I want to be is automatically thought to be a hypersensitive and hysterical humorless brainless drone like gay Lefties.

So in reaction to anyone complaining about the Obama the Magic Negro song, i would say to the accuser.. if you think it's so racist.. then prove that it is.. or shut up.

Mary| 12.27.08 @ 8:48PM

That's music to a lot of people's ears.

So in reaction to anyone complaining about the Obama the Magic Negro song, i would say to the accuser.. if you think it's so racist.. then prove that it is.. or shut up.

It may not be racist but it's in poor taste -like my potty mouth, I apologize, Mr. Freire- as a Christmas pass around.

But a heads up, Blackwell is defending Saltsman, and that's smart and will mean something -like it or not- coming from him. Though his explanation is sort of thick, and underscores how this sort of thing hampers the ability of the party to position itself.

Bob| 12.27.08 @ 9:39PM

You left out a few groups. Why stop at blacks? Let's talk about the cheap Jew boys on Wall Street. What about immigration and those Mexican wetbacks? We can certainly come up with some songs for gays. Atheists? I'm sure you social conservatives can take care of that group. And let's not forget the hicks of Appalachia and the cars in their front yards on blocks. Let's also hit those old guys who can't ..........

The problem is that if you're going to do it for one group, you need to do it for all groups. Why haven't I heard anyone who supports this kind of humor talk about these other groups? What? No sense of humor?

The problem with this discussion, Peter, is that it should have nothing to do with sensitivity to groups you want to be Republicans. Once you put it in that "political correctness" framework, you admit that you are prone to think like that. It is that mindset that is the problem, not the songs.

Perhaps its because I'm a Jew who grew up in a black neighborhood and married an Hispanic. Perhaps its because I experienced anti-Semitism as a young man. I see people as people and not as their race. I see people who are successful, knowledgeable, and educated before I see their race.

So it's not sensitivity that must be addressed, but how most Republicans see other people. Until they are able to look past race, it will never be a party that can appeal to minorities.

sweetwater| 12.27.08 @ 9:56PM

Bob, you put it so perfectly, no other words need be said. Thank you from an irish girl married to a Jewish boy with a black grandma.

simply2fly| 12.27.08 @ 10:26PM

Vince P - you do realize that Sharpton didn't actually sing the song - right? It's a white person's thought about what THEY think Sharpton feels about Obama. The song states that no one will accept Sharpton because he is from the ghetto and that Obama is more acceptable because he is not. Well since Sharpton didn't really sing the song it must be the feelings of the person who wrote it and those that think it's funny. So what you are really telling us is that those from the Ghetto are unfit and if you are black and not from the Ghetto you are more acceptable and only marginally so. Does that prove your racism for you? Let's make a song about how Bush is a cokehead alcoholic nazi and see if you think that is funny. How about one with McCain as the crappy pilot who got his ass shot down in a War that few supported and then wrecked his car making himself a cripple? Not funny? I don't think so either, but then again, there are not any songs about that.

Dave| 12.27.08 @ 10:28PM

A simple question. Why even include it at all. Seriously, why should it even come up?
To use the term "Magic Negro" as one of the key points on the CD is beyond comprehension. Is this what the Republican Party is about? Aren't there more important things to be aware of, and talk about? Do I vote for someone on that level with all the problems facing the country? I think it shows a total lack of awareness of anything on reality level.

VinceP1974| 12.27.08 @ 10:45PM

Mary: this is the CD that the guy was passing around:

http://www.paulshanklin.com/wehatetheusa.html

There are FORTY-ONE tracks to it. 41!

I reject totally this notion that a song parody that is critical of the LA Times for sincerely using "Magic Negro" is itself offensive.

If this guy is going to be atttacked for giving a CD that has "Magic Negro" in it.. then wouldn't it make sense that since the song is itself a criticism of the original source of the term that the song is actually in agreement with the notion that the phrase was inappropiate?

Why is the disapproval of the song ok but the song's disapproval of the original use of term is a bad thing?

Viriatus| 12.27.08 @ 11:01PM

Saltsman? That sounds like a Magic Hebrew.....

VinceP1974| 12.27.08 @ 11:43PM

simply2fly said: Vince P - you do realize that Sharpton didn't actually sing the song - right?

Yes.. that's why i put quotes around Sharpton's name the 2nd time. Paul Shaklin sang the song. in the character of Sharpton.

It's a white person's thought about what THEY think Sharpton feels about Obama. The song states that no one will accept Sharpton because he is from the ghetto and that Obama is more acceptable because he is not.

So? So what.. these are public figures and someone like Sharpton is certainly an open-target for mockery and ridicule.

Sharpton is on-record criticizing Obama. No one had to invent anything for him.

From the Chicago Sun-Times:
"Al Sharpton is on a jealousy trip, power trip, ego trip and is tripping over his own two right feet. Last week, the New York preacher declared that presidential candidate Barack Obama should not take the black vote for granted. He also bad-mouthed Obama for supporting Sen. Joe Lieberman. Sharpton's Obama-drama took center stage last week when the New York Post reported a pro-Hillary activist charged that a jealous Rev. Al was out to do deadly damage to Obama's presidential bid. ''He's saying that Obama never did anything for the community, never worked with anybody from the community, that nobody knows the people around him, that he's a candidate driven by white leadership,'' the Post quoted the activist."

As for the rest of your comments, not worth my time responding to your paranoid bigotry.

VinceP1974| 12.27.08 @ 11:59PM

Dave said A simple question. Why even include it at all. Seriously, why should it even come up?

This is the CD , Dave. How do you propose excluding the track?

http://www.paulshanklin.com/wehatetheusa.html

pete| 12.28.08 @ 12:00AM

Wasn't it based on the following LA Times story?

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oe-ehrenstein19mar19,0,5335087.story?coll=la-opinion-center

VinceP1974| 12.28.08 @ 12:02AM

Pete: The idea of the song was the LA story... and then the feud Sharpton was having with Obama at the time was the basis for using Sharpton as the singer.

Kate| 12.28.08 @ 12:07AM

V inceP1974,

You make more sense than anyone! I totally agree with everything you've written. I think you'd be a great hire for the Spectator.

VinceP1974 | 12.28.08 @ 12:13AM

Kate: Thanks ! I'm a computer programmer with a south side Chicago dialect.. my writing is probably horrible :)

simply2fly| 12.28.08 @ 12:17AM

Vince - I find it very funny that you call me a paranoid bigot... more evidence that you really don't understand that the joke is on people like you.

Obviously you find it difficult, but try to think outside your own very narrow experience.

Mary| 12.28.08 @ 12:18AM

Vince,

I admire your heart and defense of Saltsman. I admire, and share your apparent loathing of pandering. Republicans will never win by doing that. It's contrary to their creed, and I think to their nature as well.

I think a few more points can be made here that are in line with your point of view.

First of all, I don’t believe anyone sees people without their own prejudice(s) coloring things. Whether that prejudice is based on skin color, religion, caste, education, etc. those prejudices are still there.

We see ourselves in terms of groups, this thread easily illustrates that.

Secondly, the balkanization of the Country that Pat Buchanan warned about a long time ago did not originate in the mind or heart of the right. Not a bit. Look at the poll-group chasing done in any election, and the balkanization and inability to address the electorate as one becomes clear. It's repugnant to me.

Vince, I'm an immigrant and when I was in high school there were two young men who were in the habit of calling me guinea or ginzo very regularly. The thing is, they were sweet on me and I knew it. So, I smiled walking towards them and I smiled walking away.

I had a man who knew my dad introduce me to one of his friends as "the stonecutter's kid," and he patted me on the head and called me a "little dago." He meant me absolutely no harm. In fact what he said, he said with affection. And I knew that too, because I understood the inflection in his voice. And I knew that he admired my dad and his tremendous work ethic.

I had bosses who called me sweetheart who meant me a lot more harm.

If you were born in '74, I graduated from HS that same year, so you'll have an idea of how long ago what I've related occurred.

I don't think you could air a stereotypical program like the Sopranos in which you substituted Jewish, Black, Hispanic, Gay stereotypes, and not get a backlash that would force the show to be pulled.

Italians are pretty secure about their heritage, and contributions. And along with a reputation for excellence in many areas, they also know that the stereotype that Italians are Mafiosi is earned, even though most of us couldn't raise a connection if we wanted to.

Ann Coulter was asked who she thought the best immigrant group was, and she said she'd like to say Italians but that we weren't good enough haters, so she chose the Cubans. I just smiled and thought she must be acquainted with a different type of Italian. But I knew exactly what she meant.

In Obama's autobio he recounts a scene in which he and some of his white friends go to an all Black party. On the way home, one of these white friends remarks that he now has a sense of what it must have felt like for a black man in an all white environment, and Obama said he felt like punching him in the throat. There's little that white guy could have said or done to placate such obtuseness.

Thicker skin all around would prove a big boon to the Country.

But I'm glad to count you as a brother in arms. And, as I said, I admire your sense of fairness and your energetic defense of Saltsman.

VinceP1974 | 12.28.08 @ 12:22AM

I'm explaining to you what the facts are regarding the creation of the song and the CD on which the track is found. From those facts a person could then judge for themselves if the cry-babies have a true reason to view the song as "offensive."

The facts show that the song was mocking the people who were questioning Obama's black authenticity.

So you see.. I am not required to "think outside of the box".,. I'm just required to think. The people who are crying should try to think as well instead of reacting like robots because of the juxtaposition of the words Barack, negro and magic.

George Campbell| 12.28.08 @ 12:35AM

Chip Saltsman made a rookie political blunder that no state GOP chairman would ever make, much less a national chairman. When Ken Blackwell issued the statement about how poor Chip was being treated in the media, you could just see him smiling and crossing Chip off the list of potential rivals. Saltsman's political career on the national stage is over before it began, and it is always amusing to see an arrogant politician go down in flames of their own making.

VinceP1974 | 12.28.08 @ 12:37AM

That comment was to simply2fly.

Mary: Yeah I'm italian and totally unfazed by Italian jokes. It's very rare that I encounter anyone who uses the words like wop or dago , and when I did.. I remember laughing .. laughing that this person would think that his silly little throw-back words would be a provocation for me.

I've been called a lot worse things in my life than that!

When it comes to talking about Black people or whatnot.. I'm in Chicago.. so you know everything is racially charged here.

I find it very insulting against Black people when white liberals get their panties all tied up if a white person mentions that a black person is black in a conversation.

What is the message being sent.. that we're supposed to all pretend we don't know someone is black? Or are we all suppoed to share this secret understanding that even to mutter the word 'black' is a mortal sin.. why? is being black wrong?

That's essentially what the big crime here is. The word "megro" in in a title of a song making fun of people... leftists .. who are still talking in those terms today.

It's such a stupid issue. That's what provokes me.. stupidity. Someone call me any name they want.. it wouldn't effect me... but this stupidity.. I can't stand it.

And then see Republicans just turn to Jello because they dont know how to respond to this stupid invented scandal.
This is what I cant stand about the GOP... they're so useless when it comes to rejecting out of hand these silly controversies.

People have to grow up .. we're facing life-threatening dangers all over the world and we better get our act together because our enemies do.

J. Peter Freire| 12.28.08 @ 1:14AM

VinceP1974, the only thing I took issue with earlier was with political efficacy. You're speaking in terms of ideals I sympathize with (everyone having thicker skin, etc.), but you're not really addressing the means by which this problem is alleviated. Simply demanding that people "get over it" doesn't get people over it.

There are pastors and community leaders throughout the country that radicalize the youths that they come in contact with, poisoning their minds. (Imagine if Obama had been more impressionable and let Wright's sermons seep in.) How do you fight that? Do you fight it by continuing a liberal's joke about "magic negros"? Do you think that a white person speaking to black people gets credibility by insisting there's nothing to see here?

You're saying, "Don't bow down to the politically correct framework." Okay. But isn't that like ignoring the culture we're in rather than properly confronting it in effective ways?

VinceP1974| 12.28.08 @ 2:13AM

Hi Peter.

but you're not really addressing the means by which this problem is alleviated.

Well in this specific case there haven't been any specific complaints other than from within the GOP . As far I know.

You had brought up this point:

By his own account, he recognizes that this is the year that Republicans need to focus on winning back minority votes. It is part of his candidacy. And he has punctuated that agenda with a racially insensitive anti-political correctness song that's fine for a radio show host who knows how to stir the pot, but probably not fine for the future chairman of the Republican National Committee.

I have to sort of object to this. Aren't you stereotyping minorities by claiming that
1) They will automatically react to any reference to their own ethnicity
2) That they are incapable of understanding the true context.

I disagree with that. Voters who are compatible with the Conservative principles of the GOP should hopefully be able to understand the intent of a parody of Left Wing Identity-Politics Mongers. Choosing Conservativism takes a bit of brain power and will.. so I dont believe they would view this as an assault on them.

Take for instance Rush's newest Parody.. it's of Barney Frank and goes to the song Dancing Queen by Abba... it's called "Banking Queen"

I'm gay and think the song is hysterical. especially when you consider a brothel was operating in Franks's apartment and that he had a "friend" working for his Fannie.

Pasher| 12.28.08 @ 2:47AM

Personally, I'd like to see the candidate for RNC Chair send out a similar CD making fun of Jews or Hispanics in a similar manner. Afterall, with Madoff, Rubin, Greenspan, Bernanke, Richardson, what the hell's stopping you? Something tells me many conservatives wouldn't be so sanguine about that, especially if it was about Jews.

The best thing about this, come January 20th, NO ONE WILL CARE OR LISTEN TO WHAT CONSERVATIVES HAVE TO SAY OR THINK. This may last for 2-4, 6-8 years maybe even a decade.

So keep yucking it up in the mean time. Afterall, the party's not really over until Rush Limbaugh dies of a heart attack, overdoses on prescription drugs, or walks into traffic because he couldn't hear the horns.

Vince1974| 12.28.08 @ 4:04AM

Pasher: You're pathetic. You have no clue that Bush's handling of the economic crisis , from the standpoint of ideology, is setting the groundwork for Obama. Obama is Bush's third term. Fool.

Perplexed| 12.28.08 @ 6:56AM

Jesus, Bob, you think the Democrats "look past race"? What are you smoking?

Granted this GOP candidate is a boob.

Eric Dondero| 12.28.08 @ 7:32AM

What about Anti-Political Correctness voters? It is a valid constituency. If the GOP caves in too much to "sensitivity" the disgusted Anti-Political Correctness may either stay home of vote Libertarian.

I note this morning Black Republican Ken Blackwell is blasting all this political correctness about this song, at Politico.com. Thank you Ken. You've now got my enthusiastic support.

Bob| 12.28.08 @ 8:33AM

Perplexed -- I suggest you spend some time on liberal blogs. There is both positive and negative bias. On the left there is a multi-cultural attitude that is embraced. And you are right, they pay attention to race but the bias is positive.

The issue here is a political one. The Republicans need to start appealing to minorities in order to not be a permanent minority. It is the minority populations that are growing. The anti-Hispanic bias caused Republicans to lose 2/3rds of their vote.

As I said before, the problem is the mindset of current Republicans. You only get a kick out of parodies like this if you see the "inferiority" of minorities. You will not see one like this for Jews, or even many for Hispanics. Republicans have given up on blacks so it is all right to make fun of them?

Here is where my anger spews.... I am a libertarian leaning non-social conservative Republican. I believe in limited government, fairness in taxation with little government social intervention, a strong military, and individual responsibility. With acts like these, the chances of these philosophies succeeding are minimal as Republicans will continue to lose elections in the most populous states. That's the problem.

Vince1974 | 12.28.08 @ 9:47AM

Yawn. Why is it that political bigots like Bob can sit there and basically invent these straw men.. and we just accept this as normal.

Everything he is saying is so removed from reality. This entire discussion is off in the ozone ... It's asinine to make any conclusion from the existence of a song parody that mocks the obsolete stuck-in-the-past public discussion Identity Politics Leftists had regarding Obama's Black Authenticity.

The Left are the racists ones. We're not racists for mocking them for it.

Now what is the problem with people that want to ignore this part ?

WendyG| 12.28.08 @ 9:52AM

I swear half the so-called comedians on the planet make a living Bush bashing. Endless hateful diatribes against Bush and the GOP for 8 long years. Bill Maher, the hags on the View, Saturday Night Live, on and on and on.

But pen one little satirical piece about Obama and the left goes ballistic. HOW DARE YOU!!!!!

Get used to it lefties. Sauce for the goose and all that. :)

williambanzai7| 12.28.08 @ 9:54AM

BUSH THE FECKLESS CONMAN BROUGHT TO YOU BY THE GOP
(to the melody of Barack the Magic Negro or Puff the Magic Dragon)
WilliamBanzai7

Bush, the feckless conman brought to you by the GOP
Frolicked with the hypocrites of the grand old party of dishonesty,
Little Dicky Cheney loved that rascal Bush,
And brought him water boards, illegal wire taps and other fancy stuff. oh

Bush, the feckless conman brought to you by the GOP
Frolicked with the hypocrites of the grand old party of dishonesty
Bush, the feckless conman brought to you by the GOP
Frolicked with the hypocrites of the grand old party of dishonesty

Together they would travel on a Presidential yacht filled with felons, child molesters, liars and corrupt political appointees.
Dickie kept a lookout while Dubya huffed and puffed and failed his own country,
Hastert, Delay, Foley, Craig, Vitter, Gonzalez, Libby, Stevens, Brownie, Rummy the list's too long to explain,
Somali pirate ships should all lower their flags to honor the Republican ship of shame. oh!

A legacy lives forever but not so for the two faced, lying and corrupt
West wings and campaign finance rings make way for boy toys behind bars.
One grey night it happened, Barack came knocking on the White House door
And Bush that cagey conman, ceased his feckless roar.

His head was bent in sorrow, the neocons cried in pain,
Dickie could no longer play along the Camp David lane.
Outside the oval office, Dubya could not be brave,
So Bush that feckless conman sadly slipped into his Crawford cave. oh!

WendyG| 12.28.08 @ 10:03AM

>>>To J. Peter Freire re: "But the worst way to wage a fight is by providing your enemy with ammunition."

What do suggest we do? Adopt Bush's infamous "new tone?" Wherein we play dead while the libs throw barbs? Feh.

There is clearly a culture war about to be fought against Rush (as a surrogate for the GOP.) From the Fairness Doctrine to trying to brand Rush as a racist, the war is on. But Rush has dealt with this sort of thing for all his career and he is well equipped to fight the smears.

It's amazing. Corrupt Dems like Rangel and Blago won't go, Franken is stealing an election, Obama is flashing his pecs in Hawaii while Rome burns, but a harmless spoof is getting the libs and wimpy GOPers all upset. Ridiculous!!

WendyG| 12.28.08 @ 10:07AM

Hey there williambanzai7.

Don't give up your day job. :)

JD Nashville| 12.28.08 @ 10:28AM

The Nashville Scene? Surely you can do better than that. I have no dog in this hunt but the Scene is borderline lunatic fringe leftist.

simply2fly| 12.28.08 @ 11:11AM

Vince - we will obviously agree to disagree but a few comments about what you have reacted to here.

1) what does 41.FORTY ONE tracks on the cd have to do with it? I hate to tell you but it has nothing to do with it. And in a typical GOP red herring, you didn't bother to note that only 11 or so of the tracks are songs. So your argument here breaks down to volume? Hmnmm... ok that makes sense.
2) I never said think outside the box - I said think outside your experience. Those of us that went to schools or had experiences that encouraged/forced us to do that will understand the difference.
3) the volume/length of your arguments do not make you correct and Peter is right - you telling people they should be upset in 5 different ways isn't going to work, but keep trying, it's become fairly entertaining
4) anyone who is a Republican and gay, is too stupid to know what is for their own good so I can't possibly respect your opinion. Unless of course, you are a self-loather and think you deserve to be treated as a second class citizen based on social considerations.

Thomas| 12.28.08 @ 12:04PM

Let's get real here, folks. Everyone out there who firmly believes that both parties are not run by elitist snobs who care not a whit for the people who elect them to office, raise your hands. Now send me money and I will let you in on a fantastic deal on a bridge in Brroklyn. You want respect, stay away from politics.

The leadership of both parties is in business for one thing. It is not to represent the interests of the electorate, but simply to acquire and hold power. To realize this, all you have to do is look at the track record of elected officials as opposed to their campaign promises.

Now, if this is about winning national elections, the Dems have it right. Exhibit total contempt for the intelligence of the electorate. Promise everything to everybody, even though there is no way to deliver even a fraction of it. Then do whatever you want in office, because these same people will vote for you again. And you know something, it appears that the Dems are correct. just look at who we have in office, today.

Now the Republican party could try something truly novel and tell the electorate the truth while campaigning. They might not get elected, but it would be refreshing to actually know who you were voting for.

As 2009 dawns, we can all sit back and watch just how much honesty and honor creeps into politics. Just don't be disappointed if it is business as usual.

Mary| 12.28.08 @ 12:13PM

Vince -

I’ve been thinking’…

Even though we may disagree on this issue somewhat, it’s really important to have voices like yours that point to a deference dialogue that’s rooted -along with consideration for what a polite society permits- in intellectual weakness, and what our accusers are always saying about us: anti-intellectualism.

This is a good thread because it provides the opportunity for citizens to hash it out. That’s the great thing about the internet, even though I do agree with Ralph Peters assessment that it represents a false sense of community.

For decades the Left has been assaulting language. It’s the best tool of repression they have. The problem is that no matter how much you outlaw language you can’t kill thought and sending it underground is like burying landmines. It’s nasty business. See this for an egregious illustration: http://tinyurl.com/9mm3tb.

Rasmussen released a poll a couple of days ago that showed that 61% of people thought that the Country would be in much better shape if citizens lived out the precepts of Christianity. I don’t cite the poll to sell religion, I cite it to show that 1) this is an eternal coalition that people like Reagan and some future leader can arouse to great purpose. 2) this substantial portion of the Country believes that right and wrong do matter over and against any idea of the greatest good for the greatest number of people. I think you’re arguing for what is right, for a single standard, and however unachievable that may be, it’s imperative someone argue for it.

I’ve had a lot of jobs. I’m single and moved around quite a bit.. I’ve learned an awful lot, and no college education could have every taught me the things I’ve learned. That isn’t to minimize the good of education, it’s only to underscore how important, We The Living, actually are. Social science is like an elusive Siren; its lovers go down in flames one after another. There is an element of the definition of insanity in the holistic pursuit of her.

Before and next to my own exertions, my parents provided me with an invaluable asset: the inability to lie to myself. My parents are true originals, and I appreciate that I am their daughter more and more each year that passes.

My first boss at my current place of employment was a black woman who had gone to a very good college. She had decent math skills, probably better than mine, but her language skills were inferior and obviously so. I used to have to write all of her letters, which is not something I minded. She was a good boss, a nice lady and I liked her. Her defect was that she refused to admit her inferiority here, and the reason I know that, is that she came to me once after the head of HR approached her on the issue and she asked me what I thought. I couldn’t say what I thought because she wouldn’t have been able to accept it, and it would have ruined our working relationship.

No one cared that she held a high position as a black woman, if anyone did care it was because she landed the position by an advantage that was stolen from someone else, and her writing deficiency (it is the era of email, after all) was a steady reminder of the theft.

And the worst part of it was that no progressive good seemed to come of it. And as some sort of social bond it failed even among blacks themselves. One of the building janitors who couldn’t read came to me for aid with various papers. He could have gone to anyone else. He could have especially gone to someone in his black family of man, but he felt more comfortable coming to me because he knew it made absolutely no difference to me. It was my privilege to help him. I had to interpret for an elderly Italian woman too, and she was thrilled to find aid in her family of man.

My maternal grandmother couldn’t read because she was poor, she contracted Spanish Fever, and that kept her out of school for a long time, but she was sagacious, honorable and raised my Mother to be the same way. My Mother can read and write very well, but her education was cut short by WWII. She has the equivalent of a US 8th grade education, but when she dies and I hope that’s many years from now, the line at her wake will wrap around the corner.

The point to all of this is to reiterate how damaging the balkanization of the US really is, and that this balkanization has an interior logic that provides more a symbolic solidarity than a true solidarity that yearns for liberty and the individual capacity of every man.

I had my own blog for about 3 months, and I wrote something called the Hebrew Mirror. Here’s the link if you’re interested: http://tinyurl.com/7he7c7. It will fill in a lot between the lines of what I‘ve written here. But the most salient portion of the Hebrew Mirror is a quote from Norman Mailer that has universal applicability, and which I think an appropriate close.

"I think when you're born a Jew, given our history, and given our special placement, plus and minus, in the world, it's almost impossible to take anything large for granted.

The great evil that Hitler did us, apart from the Holocaust itself, is that he deadened the Jewish mind. Because all too many Jews now can think of nothing but, "is this good for the Jews?" They have a built-in reflex. The moment anything bad happens that is slightly unfavorable to the Jews, they panic.

And we're not here for that. We're here to do all sorts of outrageous thinking, if you will, but certainly incisive, fine thinking. If the Jews brought anything to human nature, it's that they developed the mind more than other people did. It was tremendously important to them to develop the mind, and to deaden it, to stultify it, to flood it with cheap religious patriotism, I consider part of the disaster that Hitler visited upon us. [The Devil and Der Führer Interview, Nermeen Shaikh]

Jeremiah| 12.28.08 @ 12:29PM

Since one of you mention Obama's first memoir, I'd like to point out that as the first black president of the Harvard Law Review Obama was offered a large sum to write his autobiography.

At the time, the fashion would have been to pen a story of racial resentment and victimhood -- a story of a black man alienated within and trapped inside a racist establishment, etc.

Instead, he wrote a sober, extremely well crafted book in which he studies his own shortcomings (and those of some in his family, including his black father) and takes responsibility for his own life.

Since this is precisely what conservatives often claim they believe in (they are all for accountability when it's somebody else's turn to do the counting...), I think he should at least be given credit for it.

VinceP1974| 12.28.08 @ 1:42PM

The impression out there is that this specific song was the focus of attention by the sender. And because of the Title of that Song, that means the Sender is racist/insensitive/etc.... but if didnt do that.. he sent out a CD of 41 tracks of political satire. So that gives people even less justification in trying to make a racist thing about what happened.

2) I never said think outside the box - I said think outside your experience. Those of us that went to schools or had experiences that encouraged/forced us to do that will understand the difference.

Thank you for telling me how to think. LOL.
Maybe you should follow your own advice and not make presumptions about my experiences.

3) the volume/length of your arguments do not make you correct and Peter is right - you telling people they should be upset in 5 different ways isn't going to work, but keep trying, it's become fairly entertaining

Of course you do. What kind of Leftist would you be without vindictiveness.

4) anyone who is a Republican and gay, is too stupid to know what is for their own good so I can't possibly respect your opinion. Unless of course, you are a self-loather and think you deserve to be treated as a second class citizen based on social considerations.

Well thank you singling me out for being gay and guilty of thoughtcrime. Tell me why do you think you are justified in trying to politically intimidate a gay person? Would you say what you just did to a straight person? Sorry, but I dont agree with your point of view , I dont have much use for bigoted prejudicial drones on the Left.

William 5| 12.28.08 @ 1:46PM

And the winner is... THOMAS!

I love how passionate supporters on either side get. And what happens? The partys get richer (anyone paying attention to all the headlines about how this last election was the billion dollar election?), and we common folk, regardless of party, or color, or heritage, get left footing the bill.

VinceP1974| 12.28.08 @ 1:58PM

Hi Mary.

First let me say that if anything has contributed to my method of trying to speak to the fundamental of things and to be clear and simple about it its been my years of arguing on behalf of Israel and the Jewish people against Anti-Zionists, Anti-Semites ,etc.

Nothing develops a person's determination to fight past political disinformation, false cliches, fantasy history, etc.. like fighting against sycophants for the Palestinians.

The lie of Israel = NAZI Germany is where allowing disinfommational cliches to become accepted truth leads to.

What else is having to feel a pro-active need to NOT share a CD with a song called Barack the Magic Negro other than to give power to that disinfomational cliche that Republicans are racist.

There is too much political deception and political psychological warfare going on and the Republicans have to stop falling for it.

Mr Freire: I hope you read this... this is why I object so much that we have a special obligation to ensure that nothing can be perceived as racist. We're not racist !

Interloper| 12.28.08 @ 2:10PM

Both Vince and Mary, in their long-winded comments, further demonstrate how hopeless it is to expect conservatives to have any insight into their own ignorance and bigotry.

Vince, who is obviously of limited ability, is unable to distinguish between opinion and fact, or, to understand that a 'parody' is a work of fiction from the point of view of its author, not the point of view of persons being mocked. Yet, again and again, he demonstrates his presumption that he is superior to blacks or anyone who does understand that white supremacist racism is an ongoing blight or our society. It would be difficult to find a more deluded person.

Mary, who altered her initial opinion to agree with Clint's bigotry, matches his by claiming a black person who earns a professional position stole it and should admit her 'inferiority.'

Both affirm what one observes with Chip Saltsman. For all his efforts to shift blame to the media for reporting the story, Saltsman distributed a CD containing several examples of ethnic bias because, to him, mocking the historically dispossessed is what one is supposed to do.

Vince1974| 12.28.08 @ 2:28PM

Interloper says it best... if someone says 2 + 2 = 5 who am I to say it's 4. I will say it. Those who say 2 + 2 = 5 are wrong... stupid at worst, miseducated at best.

So tell me, what University did you go to... and what is your degree if you have one? It's obvious with your irrational and incoherent thinking must be a product of our fine institutions of mass brainwashing.

Interloper| 12.28.08 @ 2:36PM

Vince, I am indeed a well-educated person. I am also humane and thoughtful. Therefore, I am not going to engage someone with the demonstrated inability to understand issues and concepts you have demonstrated. Have a pleasant holiday season.

Mary| 12.28.08 @ 2:50PM

Since one of you mention Obama's first memoir..

That was me, and I've already expressed on more than one thread, that I think Obama sets a great example as President. And I'm not sorry he won, though I didn't vote for him, and don't agree with his political philosophy as I came to understand it during the campaign. I think he has a chance to become a very good president, and I won't be on sites or threads talking against him.

But that doesn't blind me from a part of the book that struck me as unevolved, and generally speaking, what he wrote that you cite as sober I thought obvious and long overdue.

simply2fly| 12.28.08 @ 2:52PM

Interloper - well said.

William 5| 12.28.08 @ 2:58PM

Oh Vince... you had some interesting thoughts prior - perhaps not those I believe in, but you presented them well, and, as is the case in this great country, everyone's entitled to their own opinion.

Your last comment tho, "institutions of mass brainwashing"... you're heading toward conservative cliche... don't do it.

Mary| 12.28.08 @ 3:05PM

What I meant when I said my boss refused to admit her inferiority, is that she refused to admit her writing skills were poor.

The reason I felt I couldn't be honest with her is that she was balking against the idea and the HR head, and insisting that there was nothing wrong with how she wrote while asking for my opinion.

I would have made that clearer, if I thought my first post would have been interpreted as claiming her inferiority outside of that particular issue.

J. Peter Freire| 12.28.08 @ 4:04PM

I won't name names, but I have no reason not to suppress comments that employ namecalling as a winning strategy. Please be civil and don't strawman others' arguments -- winning the argument isn't the point, it's convincing.

simply2fly| 12.28.08 @ 4:55PM

Strawman is just one of the MANY logical fallacies being committed by the unnamed person.

WendyG| 12.28.08 @ 4:55PM

Interestingly, Peter Yarrow of Peter Paul and Mary - he who was convicted of, and served three months in prison for, taking "improper liberties" with a 14-year-old fan - has chimed in (at Huff Post of course) on this controversy.

You see, diddling a 14-year old fan is somehow defensible (a "groupie thing" he calls it - as if it was the fan's fault) and in fact if you do it you are deserving of your own column, yet the spoof of Obama is AN OUTRAGE.

Those are the rules of the left/libs.

Simply2fly| 12.28.08 @ 5:15PM

Wendy, the two things are not related and I don't believe that anyone here said what Peter did is ok. But do you think that by mentioning them in the same post we would equate them? Yet another logical fallacy - look it up.

Real American| 12.28.08 @ 6:25PM

that's what the GOP needs - more liberal white guilt!

Perplexed| 12.28.08 @ 9:02PM

Liberals are obsessed with race. White liberals are filled with racial guilt. Racial "minorities" are encouraged to feel anger and resentment against whites. Look past race, indeed! Bob is high.

Bob| 12.29.08 @ 6:44AM

Perplexed -- I'm not at all obsessed with race. Indeed, it is you and the radical parts of our party that is obsessed with blacks. I don't see you or your ilk going after Jews, Hispanics, Polish, or any other group in the same way. Perhaps that is because YOU are obsessed with race?

Mary| 12.29.08 @ 11:58AM

Vince-

Don’t know if you’ll be reading this or not, but hope you will.

My first post to this piece was a knee-jerk reaction. What made me get that was some of the points you raised. Subsequent to that, I knee jerked again concentrating on personal experience to the detriment of thoughtfulness.

What you want to fight needs to be fought, but it’s really important to remember that battles can be won while the war lost.

That eternal coalition that I wrote of is composed of all kinds of people. Making things welcoming for all is important.

Liberals have been bean counting by race and ethnicity –though I’ve not seen the Polish numbers :) yet- for a long time now, and that very much perpetuates race consciousness, in my view.

But here’s the thing, the bean counting extends to the disabled as well. Now a deaf girl or boy can be your cashier, and you get to witness a profile in courage, free of charge.

The thing that I often return to when conversations like this occur is Democracy In America.

When de Tocqueville writes about the Races, he notes that the issue of race will always plague America because we enslaved another race particularly.

IIRC, the example he uses to make his point is Rome. He wrote that as Rome had enslaved irrespective of race, once a slave had been freed and within a couple of generations, nobody would be able to tell if the freed man's ancestor had been a slave. But, in America the mark and memory couldn't be blotted out in the same way.

Wright’s church is an example of the working out of that. I wouldn’t get anywhere near the guy or the church. And while Obama may have avoided the “radicalization,” he exposed his kids to it. I suppose –if he’s a good dad- he walked back the preacher’s talk a bit. But that church, and depending on how many others like it exist, point to racial division that is very real, and not just in the minds of conservatives. So I think it’s prudent to stay as far away as possible from anything that gives people like Wright the ability to say “see.”

It’s an easy thing to do, I think, so why not? As you said, we’ve got a lot more important things to worry about.

Interloper| 12.29.08 @ 11:23PM

I haven't yet checked to see if the allegation that Peter Yarrow was involved in sexual misconduct is true, but even if it is, I see no reason treat it differently than the crimes and misconduct of Rush Limbaugh. Seems that there are few saints among us.

David Ehrenstein, who penned the 'Magic Negro' essay that the far Right is using as a fig leaf in this incident, is a friend of mine, so I will explain what he meant, rather than have him misinterpreted. David is referring to the use of a black person (*some other outgroup can also be used) as a prop in a plot in which the character does not exist as a full-fledged individual. For example, in the original Star Trek, black actors were usually killed within minutes of appearing. Southern television stations had threatened not to carry the show if there were black cast members, so the producers and directors went against Gene Roddenberry's intentions, and made the occassional black character 'magic' by having him give his life for white characters. Roddenberry eventually triumphed when his girlfriend, Nichelle Nichols , was cast as Lt. Uhuru. He refused to make her a 'magic' Negro.

David writes mainly about film and considered the campaign as if it were a script. He would certainly not consider President-elect Barack Obama a 'magic' Negro because the man has exceeded the narrow confines of that role. At the time David wrote his piece, it was not clear that would happen.

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