Michael Steele Agrees That Obama 'Is The Magic Negro'

Via Think Progress.

Saltsman pins 'Magic Negro' on media

By GottaLaff

Chip must have consulted with Sarah Palin: When in doubt, blame you-know-who:

Republican National Committee chairman candidate Chip Saltsman blamed the media Tuesday for the uproar over a CD he sent out in December that included a song titled “Barack the Magic Negro.”

Saltsman did not apologize for sending out the song, a parody referring to a 2007 Los Angeles Times column of the same title that is written to the tune of “Puff the Magic Dragon.” He said during an interview on MSNBC that the episode exposed media bias. [...]

Questioned by host Contessa Brewer why he was pointing a finger at the press, Saltsman responded: “Contessa, I’m asking you, were you outraged when you read the article in the L.A. Times a year and a half ago?”

“It was a parody Christmas gift, and I sent it out without even thinking about what was on it,” he said.

Stop right there. "I sent it out without even thinking about what was on it"? That's the rationale? Really? Is the media to blame for that, too? Wiki:

The title is a reference to the magical negro, a stock character in fiction who commonly helps the white protagonist to get out of trouble. The song builds upon David Ehrenstein's assertion in the Los Angeles Times that Barack Obama would serve as a "magical negro" to assuage white guilt. ^[4] The song's lyrics explicitly refer to this:

"Yeah, the guy from the L.A. paper

Said he makes guilty whites feel good

They’ll vote for him, and not for me

‘Cause he’s not from the hood.^[5]

In the song, the singer impersonates activist Al Sharpton by using a megaphone while singing the song.

Okay, Chip, read my lips. One is an L.A. Times opinion piece. The other is a racist "Christmas CD" meant to entertain (a la Rush Limbaugh) RNC members, aka the "Grand Old White party".

Oh, and way to perpetuate negative press about yourself.

RNC candidate forum fun!

By GottaLaff

In some ways, the Republicans are becoming Obama wannabes:

They want lower taxes and less government. They want the party to do a better job of reaching out to minorities. They argue the GOP should pay more attention to the grassroots. They believe it needs to catch up to the Democrats when it comes to technology. They're waiting for Obama to overreach. And they responded -- every single one of them -- that Ronald Reagan is their favorite Republican president. (No one said Lincoln).

Want a good laugh? Go here to see who the candidates are and what say they stand for. Here's a sample:

And Chip Saltsman, who was Mike Huckabee's campaign manager, emphasized that politics comes down to conservative principles, policy, and people. "If we put those together, we win."

What a burst of creativity! With alliteration like that, how can he lose? Oh, it gets better.

Some other observations from the forum: In the hour we were there, we didn't hear a single negative -- or any -- mention of John McCain. We also didn't hear a single question or mention about Saltsman's controversial CD containing the song, "Barack the Magic Negro."

They either have no short-term memories, or they finally figured out what we've known for years: Republicans never admit, acknowledge, or recognize their failures. But they're also never above bashing someone when he's down:

There were criticisms directed at President Bush -- but only when moderator Grover Norquist of Americans for Tax Reform, which sponsored the forum, asked each candidate what the Bush administration's biggest mistake was. Blackwell cited the financial bailout; Anuzis said Bush had let government become too big; Saltsman noted the administration's failure to communicate; Duncan cited the prosecution of the Iraq war; and Steele mentioned three things: failure to communicate, Hurricane Katrina and the bailout. "I will stop there," he said.

Steele [...] received the only applause of the candidates while speaking. It happened twice, in fact -- once for his answer to a question on how to bring young voters back into the fold. "You can Facebook and YouTube," he said. "But you need real face time… Put them in the game and let them play." And another time for a call to action on how to appeal to minorities. "We've spent so much time talking about this," he said. "When are we going to start doing it?"

Um, Michael? Maybe when you start showing them something other than complete disdain.

UPDATE:
Apparently, Steele was willing to diss Chip and his racist little CD on camera, just not face to face:

Fox News claims ‘magic negro’ text was "inadvertently cleared for air"

By GottaLaff

Just like some of the so-called "polite" trolls, Fox News [sic] is defending itself against the "magic negro" crawl message it displayed on New Years Eve. From my Troll post:

Disruptive people, who keep themselves just at the edge of acceptable behavior. [...]

These are the posters all too often cry innocence and hide behind the very worthy excuse of open discussion, but are frequently just trying to stir up trouble.

Those are usually the ones accusing trusted and long time users of promoting censorship and trollish behavior.

Sound familiar? It should:

Instead of offering an apology, Scott took the opportunity to attack Fox’s rivals:

Fox News VP of programming Suzanne Scott explains, “We received tens of thousands of text message submissions during our New Years Eve special, and this particular viewer submission was inadvertently cleared for air. At FOX we recognize our error as opposed to networks who allow their hosts to utter crude vulgarities to the public.”

Fox New has a history of allowing racially-charged language aimed at Obama and his family to make it on air and then claiming it was simply a mistake. In June, after a Fox chyron referred to Michelle Obama as “Obama’s Baby Mama,” Fox’s Senior Vice President of Programming Bill Shine explained it by saying that “A producer on the program exercised poor judgment in using this chyron during the segment.”

Amazing, isn't it, how Faux News and trolls offer identical "innocent" excuses while pointing the finger at anyone but themselves. It won't wash on the Tee Vee Machine, and it doesn't wash here in the Blogosphere.

VIDEO: Fox News allows racist "Magic Negro" viewer message on its news crawl

By GottaLaff

Leave it to Fixed Noise to push racism. They were using the news crawl that scrolls across the bottom of the Tee Vee screen for personal New Years messages sent in by viewers. They displayed their usual flawless judgment and good taste for the entire world to see:

While most messages were cordial, Fox allowed at least one racist message directed toward President-elect Obama to be broadcast. The message referenced Rush Limbaugh’s “Barack the Magic Negro” song:

HAPPY NEW YEAR AND LET’S HOPE THE MAGIC NEGRO DOES A GOOD JOB. LOVE JEN AND JOHN C.

Here are eight seconds of video that will forever preserve one of Fox's countless lower-than-low moments. Witness the latest Ugly Fox Stain:

GOPlease, by all means, re-introduce yourselves to America

By GottaLaff

May I quote you?

I think I have this right. The Republican party has decided on the racial joke issue as the vehicle to reintroduce themselves to the American people after the 2008 blow out.

Am I missing something?

--Josh Marshall

And there's this:

Mike Huckabee, in a written statement, gently chided his former campaign manager, Chip Saltsman, having for distributing a CD including the song, "Barack the Magic Negro."

Chip should have been more careful in his selection of Christmas gifts, but no one who knows him would ever suggest that he in any way would purposely disparage other people. Chip knows how sensitive such issues are. It shouldn’t be the main factor in the RNC race.

"Chip should have been more careful..."? This was what, just an inadvertent little slip-up? Damn. Had he just been a tad "more careful", he could have downplayed his racism rather than, ohIdunno, putting it out there to be played and replayed endlessly on every available media outlet.

I mean, come on, it's so obvious that there is absolutely no way ol' Chip "would purposely disparage other people", like, say, distributing a racist CD about the president-elect or anything. Because that would be, you know, wrong, since he "knows how sensitive such issues are".

Gosharootie, HuckaCandidate, you always say just the right thing. We should all start seeking you out for counsel.

Another WTF moment brought to you by the Empathetic Republican Party, aka ERP.

Peter Yarrow, co-author of "Puff the Magic Dragon", responds to "Barack the Magic Negro"

By GottaLaff

Peter Yarrow, of Peter, Paul, and Mary, responds to the disgusting "parody" that you've all heard about (excerpt):

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 the 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 vulgar, mean-spirited way, is a slur to our entire country and our common agreement to move beyond racism.

It is almost unimaginable to me that Chip Saltzman who sent the CD, would seriously be considered for the top post of the Republican National Committee. Puff, himself, if asked, would certainly agree.

Peter Yarrow also just said as much on the Thom Hartmann show. Were the Repugs listening? Not likely.