Next time, send a fruitcake

Former Tennessee Republican Party Chairman and wannabe National GOP Chairman Chip Saltsman shared his Christmas spirit with fellow Republicans by sending them a music CD, which featured a song called “Barack the Magic Negro.” Set to the tune of “Puff the Magic Dragon,” it’s one of 40 song “parodies” on the album “We Hate the USA,” including tunes aimed at Elliot Spitzer, John Edwards and others.  (At the risk of further promoting this lame-ass “parody,” I include it here so you know what I’m talking about.)

As impossibly stupid as this sounds, it’s true. Stupider (is that a word?) still is the fact that the “song” first aired on Rush Limbaugh’s radio show back in 2007, generating its share of controversy back then. But Saltsman, the former Chairman of the Mike Huckabee presidential campaign, who now wants to lead the national party, didn’t seem to think that others might take offense. He told CNN: “I think most people recognize political satire when they see it.”  (Just like Huckabee’s “Somebody’s shooting at Obama” joke during the campaign? Guffaw!)

The song’s title comes from a Los Angeles Times column about Obama and white guilt. Sure, there’s something to be said for the idea that a vote for Obama was a soothing salve on the age-old itchy race guilt of some white people. It’s an idea that’s ripe for satire, but you would have to be as dumb as a former Tennessee Republican Party Chairman to believe that this was about satire. The “songwriter,” Paul Shanklin, who writes this kinda stuff for the Limbaugh show, said the parody was aimed at the newspaper. (Oh, now I get it.)

Let’s put aside the use of the word “Negro” and the debate over who owns and can use it with impunity. Let’s even put aside the insulting Amos & Andy voice of the singer. (He’s supposed to be Rev. Al Sharpton.) These are just two things that most of us could take offense to, with and at. The real story to me is that this guy wants to be the chairman of the national Republican Party.

Hey, I like white people as much as the next guy. (Some of my best friends are …) But if you’re a Republican, coming off a convention where the only black faces on the convention floor seemed to be the maintenance guys, coming off a campaign where the only black faces were sound guys being threatened by McCain/Palin zealots and coming off an election night where you lost, well, everything, is this really the kind of ideas you want your party chairman to be promoting? (That

Former Tennessee GOP Chairman Chip Saltsman (AP photo)

Obama fella has a 70 percent approval rating, but remember, he’s still a Negro!)

Should you expect your potential new chairman to have gotten the memo about what the party needs to do to regain its good name? Is this the way to broaden your party’s appeal? Is this how you tell America that you got the message in November?

Sadly, I think so. I think this is the way a lot of G.O.People saw this election, and if we thought there was going to be any difference in 2009 and beyond, well we must’ve been smoking whatever Puff the Magic Dragon was toking to make that autumn mist in the land called Honah Lee. – Cruz