Much of the bigotry that we've seen throughout the election, and still from the Chipper, distributing racist songs to his fellow republicans, has come from the Tennessee republican party. But take a look at the comments at the end of the story and you'll see, Tennessee still has a long way to go, or at least the readers of the newspaper do.
Leaf Chronicle: Tennessee may be a red state for politics, but some select members of the GOP have left the state red-faced this year.
During the presidential campaign, the state Republican party released a press statement called "Anti-Semites for Obama." It used Barack Obama's middle name of Hussein and described a photo of him wearing traditional Kenyan clothing as "Muslim attire." The party also produced a video criticizing remarks made by Michelle Obama that brought Barack Obama to a spirited defense of his wife.
Both incidents received negative publicity nationwide and made Tennessee look like a haven for backwoods bigots.
Now, former Tennessee GOP chairman Chip Saltsman, who aspires to the post of Republican National Committee chairman, has sent a Christmas message to top Republicans. Included was a CD with the song, "Barack the Magic Negro."
The paper's editorial team's conclusion is definitely not heeded by many of its readers:
We agree with Gingrich. Chip Saltsman should not hold a position of prominence in the GOP. If the Republicans have any hopes of expanding their base and remaining a true national party, they must be inclusive and not resemble an all-white men's club that engages in bathroom humor.
Moreover, the Tennessee branch of the Republican Party would do well to undergo introspection of its own. Why, for example, did it give official blessing to attacks on Obama that were of the variety usually found in anonymous e-mail spam?
Tomorrow, we turn the page on a new year — 2009. When it comes to race and politics, some in Tennessee need to stop acting as if it's still 1959.
