Will Repugs who see their world ending ever be able to overcome their deep-rooted racism?

Music lover and would-be RNC chairman Chip Saltsman

by Noah

If ever there was a doubt about just how deep racism runs in Republican veins, the Repug reaction to both Barack Obama's campaign and his election present us with a reeking pile of proof. In his post about Coultergeist's latest fetid verbiage, an attack on Kwanzaa, Ken almost rhetorically asked yesterday, "But what would lead an individual, no matter how inappropriately self-important and flat-out deluded, to invest herself in something as harmless as Kwanzaa?" I agree with his hypothesis that she is becoming increasingly more desperate for attention. I also suspect that it goes back to various high school experiences or perhaps something even earlier in her childhood, a childhood that seems to be still in progress.

But I'm not here to psychoanalyze Annie's inner screaming child. It's irrelevant to the bottom line. That bottom line is that Repugs across the country are in shock about Obama's victory over them. They can't stand it. They are incredulous, even if they don't know what the word means. For them, the world is over, under, sideways, down, and they are lashing out -- in Coulter's case, by attacking a harmless holiday because, in her twisted mind it's a symbol for something she doesn't like.

They can't accept that "someone who looks like he does" is about to enter the White House and live there with his family and, worst of all, be president of the country. They bizarrely blame the media, yes, but they are also expressing themselves in some very sad ways, ways that reflect just what it is to be a repug, what's at the very core of being a Republican. Some examples from the list:

* Michelle Malkin's "baby mama" aspersion. Well, to Malkin it was an aspersion, a description of our about-to-be First Lady meant to convey severe negativity. Note to MM: Millions of us who live in the 21st century see nothing wrong with the Obamas and their heritage.

* Alaska state government e-mails have been recently discovered which make racist jokes about how yet another black family will be living "in Washington on government subsidized housing."

* The nonstop use of code words for "he's B-L-A-C-K," words like Muslim and terrorist, and pointing extra attention to his "unusual" name. If any of you listen to righty radio, you know this hasn't stopped one bit with the election.

* Continued attempts to make it more difficult for African-Americans to even vote during the election, by making fewer machines available in certain parts of town or even by sending threatening mail to households in those certain parts of town, mail that threatened arrest if proper ID wasn't shown (may we see your papers, please!) or maybe if you had some outstanding minor traffic-ticket problem.

* The chairman of the South Carolina Republican Party, Katon Dawson, felt he was perfectly qualified to be national chairman of his party, and certainly there was nothing in his resume that would preclude his getting the job. Not only that, many in the party agreed. Until some little irritating so-what of a technicality became public, that technicality being that he belonged to a whites-only club. Let me point out that this wasn't in the distant past, but this year! Repugs apparently see nothing wrong with that and rushed to his defense. Sadly for him, some of us see something wrong in it. Of course, to them it was just one more thing to blame the media for, rather than their own "shortcomings."

* And, now, we've come to the "Barack the Magic Negro" song (sung to the tune of "Puff the Magic Dragon," a former Top 40 hit that is a classroom staple with young children). It's "welfare queens" and Willie Horton all over again. The term "Magic Negro" was coined by an L.A. Times op-ed writer who defined a magic Negro candidate as one who enough white folks would feel comfortable with to vote into office. A certain resentful open racist and Oxycontin freak has been playing "Barack the Magic Negro" on his radio show.

This little slice of bigotry was recently sent out as part of a holiday CD by Chip Saltsman, who "served" as Mike Huckabee's campaign manager and is an RNC official in Tennessee. Saltsman feels like Katon Dawson -- that he too is a perfect fit for the national RNC-chairman slot. The irony is, of course, that being a bigot DOES boost your credentials for the RNC Chair job. Also, think about the fact that this CD was sent out as a holiday greeting, peace and goodwill towards men and all that. Peace and goodwill haven't been Repug attributes in almost 100 years, so maybe this guy is very qualified.

Man, you just can't make this stuff up. If you did, no one would believe it possible -- unless they know some Republicans, that is. I can even see them thinking that this song could be a way to capture minds at an early age. To them it's probably more of that "catapult the propaganda" stuff. It's worthwhile to note that Saltsman's candidacy has been endorsed not only by Huckabee but by former Senate Majority Leader Bill "Let's Play Doctor" Frist, while former House Speaker Newt Gingrich takes a rare reasonable position, saying, "This is so inappropriate that it should disqualify any Republican National Committee candidate who would use it." No wonder Gingrich is on the outs with his party.

Current RNC Chairbozo Mike Duncan says he's "shocked and appalled." Reminds me of the famous moment in the movie Casablanca when Claude Raines says he is "shocked, shocked to find that gambling is going on" at Rick's, when he's bribed to allow it. Imagine that! The head of the RNC is "shocked and appalled" to find racism in the Repug Party! Who knew?

The assclown who sent out the CD to 40 of his dearest fellow Repugs just can't understand why we don't appreciate the "humor" and the "satire." Well, guess what, bozo. We get the humor and the satire. Too bad you don't get that it's still racist. The source of humor in your sick, puny mind is someone's skin color.

Saltsman even tries to explain his actions by bringing up the Repug-talking-point explanation, spewed nonstop on righty radio, that Obama only got elected because of "white guilt," that the senator was considered "safe enough" to enough whites, blah-blah-blah. To Republicans, Obama couldn't possibly have gotten elected on his own qualifications and merits. I guess sometimes it takes a racist to not see that something is racist.

Today some Repugs are saying that the reaction against this incident is overblown and that some people are just being oversensitive. There they go again, blaming the victim. But what should we expect from a party that runs a guy for President who tells jokes about a woman enjoying being raped on the sidewalk by a gorilla?

What does Peter Yarrow (of Peter, Paul and Mary), one of the writers of "Puff the Magic Dragon," think about all of this?

"I and my co-writer of 'Puff,' Lenny Lipton, have been eagerly awaiting an end to the mean-spiritedness, outright disrespect and bigotry that was commonplace prior to this last presidential election. What might have been wearily accepted as 'the way it was' in the campaign is now unacceptable. Obama is not a candidate. He is president-elect, and this song insults the office of the presidency, the people who voted for him, as well as those who did not -- and taking a children's song and twisting it in such a vulgar, mean-spirited way is a slur to our entire country and our common agreement to move beyond racism."

Well said, Peter. Too bad, though, that Republicans obviously do not agree about that moving-beyond-racism stuff. This sort of thing has a proud history in the party of Trent Lott, a man who still wishes Strom Thurmond and his segregationist party had won the Presidency back in 1948 when things were more like they should be and everyone knew their place. The Republicans welcomed racist "Dixiecrats" to their ranks after LBJ signed various civil rights bills into law back in the 1960s and racist Democrats fled to a place where they could be more comfortable.

Current Louisiana Repug and KKK Grand Whizz David Duke has boasted that Senator Obama's election is boosting enrollment in the KKK as we get ready for the January 20th inauguration. Then there's the infamous anti-Harold Ford "call me" ad that actually helped elect Bob Corker to the U.S. Senate in Tennessee. This sort of thing goes on and on and on. Repugs even do it to each other, as evidenced by the Bush "McCain fathered a black child" phone calls during the 2000 South Carolina primary.

I'd like to point out at this point that while there are no Republican African-Americans in Congress, there are actually two Republican African-American candidates for the party chairman position. One is Ken Blackwell of Ohio 2004 fame. The other is former Maryland Lt. Gov. Michael Steele. Watch the Repugs trip all over themselves to choose one of the two and get all smug and tell us, "See, nasty racism all gone -- it's a brand new day."

So, my questions to Coultergeist and all these others who are bashing at various things African-American start with: What are you afraid of?

Is this fear of a black planet? Fear of the unknown? Just plain fear? Well, look around you. Why do you fume about Kwanzaa? Why do you still fume about Martin Luther King Day? Does it hurt so much that your presidential candidate, who voted against MLK Day, not only lost but lost to "one of them" (aka "that one")?

Why not join the great American experiment where all are created equal? You were the party of Lincoln once. Wake up! It's not a Dobie Gillis world anymore. In fact, Zelda Gilroy might have another surprise for you that you can't handle. You are acting just like your forebears did when Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in major league baseball back in 1947, when things were more like you would apparently like them to be now. Many major leaguers threatened to refuse to play on the same field with Jackie. Some, even among his own Brooklyn Dodger teammates, would not even shake his hand.

It was damn ugly then, and it's damn ugly now. How'd that all work out for you? You can slow social progress down, but you haven't been able to stop it. You'll keep trying, though. But you just might chose to look at this "magic negro" thing the way I'm about to suggest. Warning: This might cause you to convulse at the horror of the truth.

Yes, racism is still very much a problem in our society, but Senator Obama's election is a sign of progress to many of us. Some, apparently, even overcame lingering misgivings about voting for a, er, a "you know." Maybe you should look at it this way. (Remember, I warned you.) Maybe you think your feelings are the norm. Sadly, that may be true, at least for too many people in our country, but -- are you sitting down? -- maybe your guy Bush was so bad that America did the unthinkable (to you) and voted for a black man.

If you do think, in your warped little minds, that it was unthinkable, then enjoy your own personal hell that you set up for yourself.

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