Saturday, December 27, 2008

Blackwell sings in minor key...

ODDLY ASSEMBLING his  campaign to become the Republican National Committee chairman, Ken Blackwell has inexplicably come to the defense of a rival for the job, Chip Saltsman.   In case the holidays have clouded your memory, please note that the very same Blackwell is the former Ohio Secretary of State whose quirky maneuvers in the 2004 Ohio presidential race still resound with questions about the validity of the balloting that put the state in George Bush's column. He then followed up with a failed campaign for governor in 2006. 

 Now, what about Saltsman?  Well,  he's the former Tennessee Republican Chairman who managed Mike Huckabee's presidential campaign. Lately, he  caused a stir in the party  hierarchy  by sending members of the Republican National Committee a CD bearing  a song spoofing Barack Obama.  It's titled "Barack the Magic Negro."  Sounds like a role that Blackwell, an African-American, wanted to fill during his stay in Ohio politics.  Blackwell says he doesn't see anything wrong with Saltsman's tactics,  opining that press reports were due to "hypersensitivity in the press regarding matters of race."   Blackwell generously added that all of his competitors for the RNC post are "fine people." Right. 

One the other hand, the current RNC chairman, Mike Duncan, seems to be a tad hypersensitive himself.   He said he was "shocked  and appalled" that a  candidate for the party's top job would participate in such a stunt.    

I had a hard time figuring out some of Blackswell's antics when he was the top gun for the state's balloting in 2004 as secretary of state.   I have even a harder time figuring out his strategy to claim the RNC job by shucking off tongue-in-cheek songs about a "Magic Negro".

The logic is so opaque.  Maybe not.  

4 comments:

Matt Naugle said...

The song is mocking a column written in the Los Angeles times: http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oe-ehrenstein19mar19,0,5335087.story

But none of that matters to you, as long as you get your jab in.

Just think! You dedicated your life to writing about politics, and all you can do is regurgitate the most generic nonsense about Ken Blackwell from far left bloggers. What a waste, Mr. Grumpy.

Grumpy Abe said...

Thanks Matt. I'll forward you grumpy comments to shocked and appalled Mike Duncan to calm him down. As the RNC chairman, he's probably a generic Republican. Have a happy new year! GA .

Mencken said...

Matt, I understand David Ehrenstein's next sampled opus will be " Ehud Barak, the Magic .Jew".

Right now you've just inspired me top write a ditty called "Naugle, the Magic Kraut". I assure you it will be all in good humor.

Stay tuned.

Anonymous said...

The song is a racist attempt at parody and is very typical of the mind set of individuals like Naugle. Out of ideas, the wingnuttery resorts to its old tricks of race baiting and fear based rhetoric.

As for Blackwell, he's such low hanging fruit, why bother? Still, I hope he is successful in his quest. If he is, it guarantees an even more diminished role for the GOP in national politics and Democratic Party hegemony for at least a generation.

So much for the permanent Republican majority.