Sunday, December 28, 2008

The GOP's real magic negro

Ken Blackwell: ruining the good name of all Uncle Toms.

"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," Blackwell, who is black, said in a statement.

"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," he said. "When looked at in the proper context, these concerns are minimal. All of my competitors for this leadership post are fine people."
Blackwell's statement doesn't even make any sense - someone should have him explain his correlation between the election of Obama and the press' "hypersensitivity" regarding matters of race. If he can.

But his response was predictable. Pathetic, even. Often, I wonder how that guys like Blackwell, Michael Steele, Armstrong Williams and J.C. Watts make peace with themselves. I mean, Watts even went so far once upon a time on Chris Rock's HBO show to say he hadn't heard of George Clinton.

I guess that's just the deal you have to make to hang out with Sean Hannity.

7 comments:

Dick Stone said...

Often, I wonder how that guys like Blackwell, Michael Steele, Armstrong Williams and J.C. Watts make peace with themselves. I mean, Watts even went so far once upon a time on Chris Rock's HBO show to say he hadn't heard of George Clinton.

Does this mean you believe that if a black man is a conservative or a Republican, that it somehow diminishes their "blackness?"

blackink said...

No, I never mentioned blackness.

But I do think that a black man - or any man, to be honest - who attempts to rationalize that sort of offensive (racist) behavior should look deep within themselves. What is in the heart of such people? How do they go to sleep at night? What do they tell their children?

My experience is only mine, but I don't think my parents and grandparents and great-grandparents marched and protested and fought and endured to have me associate with someone who would make a joke of referring to someone as a "magic negro."

Mostly, I wonder if that sort of thought ever occurs to someone like Blackwell or Steele. Myself, I couldn't bear to be associated with someone of that ilk.

Dick Stone said...

The "Magic Negro" thing is beyond stupid. However, there are stupid people on both sides of the aisle. If your core values are conservative in nature, then I don't think you abandon those principals because there is a dumbass in your group. In reading the Post article, I thought that Steele's comments were appropriate, though perhaps mild. Blackwell's on the other hand, I can understand your reaction.

blackink said...

You know, Dickster, I agree with you in principle.

The rock-ribbed conservatives really should make efforts to remake their party and rid themselves of guys like Chip and, hell, I might go so far as to include Limbaugh on that list. As I've said before, I actually think conservatives have a message that would resonate with many black and brown people - especially on some social issues. Even the GOP might be surprised at how conservative many black people are. Problem is, those "Magic Negro" sort of incidents keep them from pulling the lever in the voting booth.

And were I someone like Blackwell or Williams or Watts, I'd wonder how a guy like Saltsman is in the running to head up the national party. And what that might mean for the party I was a member of.

In the end, I think you can be a conservative and not a Republican, you know?

But hey, I'm more than willing to admit to the existence of dumbasses on both sides of the aisle. I submit to you William Jefferson, or Blagojevich, or Murtha. Hell, even Ed Rendell.

Dick Stone said...

well the last eight years the Republicans have abandoned their conservative mantle, so you definitely do not have to be a Republican to be a conservative. Even though I am still registered Republican, I actually identify myself as a Libertarian.

heidianne jackson said...

please forgive my confusion. the magic negro comment was made by a black man writing for the new york times. al sharpton, another black man siezed on the piece (which was the third piece in a series by writers at the l.a. times saying that obama was essentially not black enough) and began saying that obama was not an authentic black man. then a white man, uses their words to parody sharpton (it is not a parody of obama) and it's a racist thing. huh?

blackink said...

No strawmen here, Heidianne. Who said, exactly, that Barack wasn't an authentic black man?

Not to mention, I find that sort of talk repugnant as well. No matter whose mouth it comes from.

But in the end, if the GOP doesn't think that sort of "parody" isn't inappropriate, then they deserve the wilderness that awaits them in this rapidly changing country. The demographics aren't going to be kind to that sort of Klan-ish style politics.