Pat Dollard | Young Americans

Do y’all know the background story behind the “Barack The Magic Negro” parody song by writer Paul Shanklin, and played on radio by Rush Limbaugh?

The fact that the “Magic Negro” tag was coined by the black writer for the LA Times has been completely overlooked, and the slam of ‘racist’ put on Limbaugh and Shanklin, just goes to prove, once again, our MSM can’t think its way out of a paper bag … recycled paper, of course.

Politico:

GOP chair ‘appalled’ by ‘Magic Negro’ CD

By MIKE ALLEN

Republican National Committee Chairman Mike Duncan issued a statement Saturday distancing the party’s leadership from one of the GOP’s best-known operatives, Chip Saltsman, who distributed a CD containing “Barack the Magic Negro” as part of his campaign to be elected chairman of the Republican National Committee next month.

Duncan, who has served the campaigns of five presidents dating back to Richard Nixon, is seeking reelection as the party’s 60th chairman in a hotly contested race that includes Saltsman and several other viable candidates.

Saltsman, 40, was former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee’s campaign manager during the Republican presidential primaries.

Saltsman sent Republican National Committee members, who will choose the next chairman, a CD by conservative political satirist Paul Shanklin, “We HATE the USA.” It contains the controversial track, which was popular on conservative radio. Shanklin’s Web site promises “absolutely the best parodies in talk radio.”

Duncan’s statement, in full: “The 2008 election was a wake-up call for Republicans to reach out and bring more people into our party. I am shocked and appalled that anyone would think this is appropriate as it clearly does not move us in the right direction.”

Saltsman’s candidacy for national party chair is endorsed by Huckabee and fellow Tennessean Bill Frist, the former Senate majority leader.

Saltsman defended his song selection to The Hill’s Reid Wilson, who first reported the gift.

“Paul Shanklin is a longtime friend, and I think that RNC members have the good humor and good sense to recognize that his songs for the Rush Limbaugh show are light-hearted political parodies,” Saltsman told The Hill.

Saltsman said in a statement later Saturday that the title was a reference to an opinion article in the Los Angeles Times in March 2007 with the headline, “Obama the ‘Magic Negro,” which argued that “The Illinois senator lends himself to white America’s idealized, less-than-real black man.”

Saltsman’s statement said: “Liberal Democrats and their allies in the media didn’t utter a word about David Ehrenstein’s irresponsible column in the Los Angeles Times. … But now, of course, they’re shocked and appalled by its parody on the Rush Limbaugh Show. 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’s marketing campaign comes as Republicans grapple with ways to offer a counterpoint to President-elect Obama at a time when the country is largely supportive of his appointments and policies.

The national GOP ticket lost badly in November among many growing voter groups – including young people, Hispanics and suburbanites. Party officials says that a voter base consisting of the South plus social conservatives is not a dependable way to win elections.

In the “Republican Plan for Victory” that is Saltsman’s platform in the chairman’s race, he writes: “I believe that countering an emboldened Democratic Party, led by the Obama-Reid-Pelosi troika, requires an aggressive national strategy. This campaign’s message cannot depend upon traditional media outlets or communication methods. It will require building upon new media and developing and mastering new tactics.”

The disclosure by The Hill was met with an odd silence from Republican leaders. The story was posted at 12:10 p.m. on Friday, was quickly picked up by Talking Points Memo, and for a time was the banner headline on The Huffington Post, later replaced by Israeli’s strikes on Gaza.

Duncan issued his statement after Politico noted the party’s 22-hour silence.

Politico has exchanged e-mails with an aide to Saltsman, and will post a response when it arrives.

Saltsman is a former development director of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, and was elected chairman of the Tennessee Republican Party in 1998.

Politico:

Blackwell defends Saltsman

by Ben Smith

Ken Blackwell, the former Ohio secretary of state who appears to be leading in the race to become the next chairman of the Republican National Committee, is defending a rival who distributed a CD containing a song called “Barack the Magic Negro,” and dismissing criticism as a sign of media “hypersensitivity” to race.

The rival, former Huckabee aide Chip Saltsman, came under fire today from the sitting Republican Party chairman, Mike Duncan, who said he was “shocked and appalled” by the move, Mike Allen reported.

“Unfortunately, there is hypersensitivity in the press regarding matters of race. This is in large measure due to President-Elect Obama being the first African-American elected president,” said Blackwell, who would be the first black RNC chairman, in a statement forwarded to Politico by an aide. “I don’t think any of the concerns that have been expressed in the media about any of the other candidates for RNC chairman should disqualify them. When looked at in the proper context, these concerns are minimal. All of my competitors for this leadership post are fine people.”

The Republican Party is struggling to find support from non-white voters, and some of its leaders have called for a new sensitivity to race and racism, allegations of which have surfaced before in the insider-dominated contest to chair the GOP. Saltsman has defended the song as a “light-hearted” parody.

Another candidate for the job, Michigan Republican Party Chairman Saul Anuzis, condemned Saltsman’s remarks, which he said in an email are “not my idea of appropriate humor.”

“In my opinion, this isn’t funny and its in bad taste,” he said. “Just as important, anything that paints the GOP as being motivated in our criticism of President-elect Obama by anything other than a difference in philosophy does a disservice to our party.”