John "Chip" Saltsman
From the very first sentence of this CNN article:
A candidate for the Republican National Committee chairmanship said Friday the CD he sent committee members for Christmas — which included a song titled “Barack the Magic Negro” — was clearly intended as a joke.
The sad thing about these Repub jokes is that you really have to be both non-minority and racist to laugh at them. I can’t imagine a non-minority finding this funny, nor can I imagine a non-racist laughing.
And yes, Saltsman is racist for sending this out. How could he not be? We’ve got the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression, an illegal and immoral war that was waged and justified through deception, a declining moral authority on the world stage, and all these people can think about is the fact that we’ve elected our first African American president?
One thing that most minorities hate is when people of the majority culture pigeonhole them by mentioning their race over and over and over again. I’ve been through it myself. I’ll say something, and the white person says, “Oh my god, you’re Asian!” I’ll say something else and try to change the subject, and the white person once again says, “Oh my god, I had Chinese food last night!”
In the cases I’ve faced, it’s probably ignorance. At Saltsman’s level of power, it’s racism. There is simply no excuse. I’m sure he’s heard from African American people in both his party and his hometown, and the fact that he would send this stuff out clearly demonstrates that he shouldn’t be in any position of power.
Here is the Washington Post article on this story. The lyrics are also repugnant:
“A guy from the LA paper said it made guilty whites feel good, they’ll vote for him and not for me cuz he’s not from the hood,” the song goes. “Oh, Barack the magic negro lives in DC, the LA Times they called him that because he’s black but not authentically.”
(Photo from here.)
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What the hell does “not authentically” black mean? Is that like saying my mixed-race daughter is not authentically Asian?
I’ve always found that racist republicans aren’t funny. Their jokes are crude, insensitive, and racist. There is NO ignorance in their comments. It’s pretty much straight prejudice to anyone who is not like them (rich and white).
This guy is even defending his actions in today’s Washington Post. It never ceases to amaze me how much hubris these people display with their racism:
Saltsman adopted a similar line yesterday, calling out the media for reporting on his holiday gift.
“Liberal Democrats and their allies in the media didn’t utter a word about David Ehrenstein’s irresponsible column in the Los Angeles Times last March. But now, of course, they’re shocked and appalled by its parody on ‘The Rush Limbaugh Show,’ ” Saltsman said in a statement, referring to the op-ed article that reportedly inspired the song lyrics.
“I firmly believe that we must welcome all Americans into our party and that the road to Republican resurgence begins with unity, not division. But I know that our party leaders should stand up against the media’s double standards and refuse to pander to their desire for scandal,” Saltsman added.