I have a feeling I know how most of the regulars feel about this, but as I haven't seen any other posts on the topic, I'd like to see what people do think. (I expect that, for the most part, it will go like this: Me and people like me are too politically-correct, which is why we can't appreciate most of Rush Limbaugh's humor. We need to grow a sense of humor and get over ourselves, et cetera.) Visit the link if you don't have any idea what I'm talking about, but the gist of it is this: as a Christmas present, Chris Saltsman, candidate for the chairmanship of the Republican National Committee, sent out copies of Paul Shanklin's latest CD compilation, We Hate the USA, to current RNC members. Among the 41 tracks on the CD is a "Puff the Magic Dragon" parody called "Barack the Magic Negro," which is apparently a reference to a 2007 Los Angeles Times column that suggested whites may choose to vote for Obama as a means of assuaging guilt over the oppression of blacks in America's past. The song was featured on Limbaugh's show during the 2008 presidential campaign.

I don't know whether Saltsman or Shanklin (who seems to simply enjoy skewering liberals and moderates of all colors and backgrounds), for that matter, are racists (Limbaugh, on the other hand, literally speaks for himself and his record leaves no doubt on that topic), but the facts that Shanklin felt compelled to use a word that many blacks find patently offensive today in his lyrics and that Saltsman felt that it was okay to distribute this to a wide audience, strongly suggest that there exists a certain (seemingly substantial) segment of the GOP that just isn't willing to let its legacy of hate die. Or maybe it just suggests that Saltsman is a complete jackass who doesn't understand his party at all.

Either way, it seems to me that if the Republican Party is to live up to the inclusive rhetoric presented during this year's election season, it needs to have a public face that shows a lot less fear- and hate-mongering and a lot more ideas for making this country a better place to live for all of its citizens.