One Last BOW Award in 2008
Well, I have to admit that I thought I was done with BOW (Buffoon Of the Week) Awards for 2008. But thanks to the idiocy of one particular Tennessee Republican, it seems that I have one last BOW post to do. You might have read about this one already, but in case holiday festivities have gotten in the way of the news....
A bit of background first. As some of you may recall, the Tennessee Republican Party was second to none in its use of offensive imagery and rhetoric during the recent political campaign. My home state's GOP operatives were at the forefront of those attacking Obama as a Muslim and a terrorist sympathizer. Even state Democratics got in on the fun at one point. It makes me very proud....
This week though, one prominent GOP operative from Tennessee, Chip Saltsman, who helped to run Mike Huckabee's Presidential campaign, and who hopes to become the new chairman of the Republican National Committee, reached a new low. Saltsman sent out a holiday CD to GOP supporters that contained a bunch of satirical songs attacking liberals. The CD is called "We Hate the USA," which is offensive enough to those of us on the left who happen to love this country despite our contempt for right-wing hate-mongers like Rush Limbaugh. (I bring up Limbaugh because the CD was put together by Paul Shanklin, who is part of Limbaugh's show.) More to the point, though, the CD included a song, set to the tune of the old classic "Puff the Magic Dragon," which is titled . . . wait for it . . . "Barack the Magic Negro."
Saltsman claims that the song is nothing more than "political satire." Mike Duncan, the current RNC chair, who Saltsman hopes to replace, said he was "shocked and appalled" by the song. Good for him. All Republicans -- all Americans -- should be. This is racism. It may be cloaked in humor, in "satire", but the fact remains that it is humor based on race. It's offensive and Saltsman should be ashamed of himself.
So this week's BOW Award, the last of 2008, goes to Chip Saltsman for his insensitivity and sheer idiocy. Take a BOW there, Chip. You've earned it. And good luck with that campaign for the chairmanship of the RNC. I hear a new song coming on. We can call it "Chip the Stupid Wing-Nut."
A bit of background first. As some of you may recall, the Tennessee Republican Party was second to none in its use of offensive imagery and rhetoric during the recent political campaign. My home state's GOP operatives were at the forefront of those attacking Obama as a Muslim and a terrorist sympathizer. Even state Democratics got in on the fun at one point. It makes me very proud....
This week though, one prominent GOP operative from Tennessee, Chip Saltsman, who helped to run Mike Huckabee's Presidential campaign, and who hopes to become the new chairman of the Republican National Committee, reached a new low. Saltsman sent out a holiday CD to GOP supporters that contained a bunch of satirical songs attacking liberals. The CD is called "We Hate the USA," which is offensive enough to those of us on the left who happen to love this country despite our contempt for right-wing hate-mongers like Rush Limbaugh. (I bring up Limbaugh because the CD was put together by Paul Shanklin, who is part of Limbaugh's show.) More to the point, though, the CD included a song, set to the tune of the old classic "Puff the Magic Dragon," which is titled . . . wait for it . . . "Barack the Magic Negro."
Saltsman claims that the song is nothing more than "political satire." Mike Duncan, the current RNC chair, who Saltsman hopes to replace, said he was "shocked and appalled" by the song. Good for him. All Republicans -- all Americans -- should be. This is racism. It may be cloaked in humor, in "satire", but the fact remains that it is humor based on race. It's offensive and Saltsman should be ashamed of himself.
So this week's BOW Award, the last of 2008, goes to Chip Saltsman for his insensitivity and sheer idiocy. Take a BOW there, Chip. You've earned it. And good luck with that campaign for the chairmanship of the RNC. I hear a new song coming on. We can call it "Chip the Stupid Wing-Nut."