RNC Chair Candidate Chip Saltsman Unapologetic For Sending Around "Barack The Magic Negro" Song (VIDEO)

Chip Saltsman went on MSNBC Tuesday morning with the intention to promote his candidacy for the Republican National Committee chairmanship. Instead, he got a tongue-lashing from MSNBC Contessa Brewer for trying to blame the media for the outrage over a Christmas tape he sent out that included the song "Barack The Magic Negro."

Watch the interview:

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Comments

[CheneysACoward]

Saltsman ..heads up. It's not The Media...they report WE DECIDE. They tell us what fool like you are doing, that is their job. Don't go crying when you get busted. BTW this is not your first time in the dirty trick business is it ricky?

[boomachine]

contessa is so hot

[dollphingurl]

I'm a black woman. Listened to the entire song. Calm down, folks.

Much as my inner Black Panther wanted to be outraged, unfortunately, the most offensive thing about the song is its title.

Coming from Dave Chappelle? Hilarious. Irreverent. Chip Saltsman? Idiotic for not realizing the inside/outside nuance of cultural jibs and jabs.

Glad there was uproar in the press, but with due respect, I've experienced and witnessed both latent and patent racism and bigotry. Being Black in this world means laughing off gaffes that white people occasionally make. This Chip Saltsman thing is just another extension of that.

It's ridiculous to take the Sarah Palin route and blame the media, but hey you can only work with what you've got, and these days, the Repubs have gotten sooooooooooooo far off course there's nothing left to do but spit on our cupcakes and tell us it's frosting.

The best signal that the GOP membership can send is not allowing this dimwit Saltsman or the desperate Steele to represent them on the national stage.

I don't mind partisanship so much, because Dems & Repubs will have legitimate disagreements about how to tackle the issues we face, but the Idiots have got to stand down. Not to pour it on, but Bush the Younger demonstrated loud and clear that you don't make the mascot the 1st string quarterback and expect to win the game.

[kshawNCvoter]

u fail......

[JayZed]

I totally agree.

[Ethics101]

Very good post. Love your last sentence.

[stepper]

I'm a white male, and am amazed that I have to explain the issue to a black woman. Chris Rock summed it up well in his last TV special (ironically titled 'Shoot the Messenger!") People ask him all the time, how come black people can use the N word but whites can't? Rock says "Last time I checked, that's the only advantage to being black."

African Americans have taken back that word from slave owners and lynch mobs. They own it now and can do as they please with it. If they decide they can use it in comedy routines and rap songs but whites can't, them's the breaks. To offer the correlary to Rock's joke, that's about the only disadvantage I can think of to being white.

On the one hand, I applaud that Dollphngurl chooses the higher enlightened ground and laughs off such idiocy. On the other hand, refusal to be outraged constitutes a "Gentleman's Agreement" (see 1947 film of the same name) to remain silent when witnessing racism and thus condone it.

Saltsman's comparison to is ludicrous. Political satire from outside of politics serves an important and often educational purpose. But politicans themselves are held to a higher standard. They are elected to represent everyone, not just some. We elected a black American president to represent us all, not just black Americans. With rapidly changing demographics in this country, Republicans put themselves out as the party for whites only at their own peril.

[shanefish]

I have always felt that having pride in your heritage is not a bad thing. And even having fun with another race or nation is okay with me as long as it isn't offensive. I always loved the Olympics and a little self-pride in your home nation never caused anyone pain. I actually think this form of dialogue could even prove to be helpful in that it gives us an avenue to express ourselves in a fun way, rather than a nasty, secretive way most bigots practice. I do, however, find a politician sending out Christmas CDs with this song highly offensive. One must look at his reasons for doing such things, and I would say his innocense is definatelty in question. what message was he trying to send to his constituents? Other than I am a white racist and will fight for your rights to be a racist, I don't see any other meaningful reasons to send this CD.

[ZimboChick]

oh yeah good job Contessa!

[FreeRange]

Lets hope they pick him.... another nail so to speak....

[shamanbart]

I enjoy seeing a righteous smackdown! Thanks Contessa! I wonder when Chip will realize that he's radioactive...

[JenniferEccles]

He will never realize it. His narcississm will prevent it.

Guys like Saltsman are tired, old news.

Good job Contessa.

[baddadd47]

This is what happens when white people try to reach to the black caucus

Anh ("Joseph") Cao, the Vietnamese-American Republican from Louisiana who defeated the re-election bid of New Orleans Democrat William Jefferson, expressed an interest in joining because the district he represents is predominantly black.

Also, in 2007, Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Tenn., who is white, pledged to apply for membership during his election campaign to represent his constituents, who were 60 percent black. It was reported that although the bylaws of the caucus do not make race a prerequisite for membership, former and current members of the caucus agreed that the group should remain "exclusively black."


Kinsolving reported Clay said, "Mr. Cohen asked for admission, and he got his answer. He's white and the caucus is black. It's time to move on. We have racial policies to pursue and we are pursuing them, as Mr. Cohen has learned. It's an unwritten rule. It's understood."

[peter777]

Chip Saltsman is from Tennessee. I live here and know the GOP and its gutter stuff that has come to characterize the party lately. They ran a campaign with racist overtones against Harold Ford, Jr., and Corker won the Senate seat. Saltsman is as responsible as anyone for the philosophy and tone of the GOP in Tennessee, and it is rotten. I am not surprised he send out such material to a list of his friends. Let the GOP choose him as national leader, and see the GOP get even less minority votes, and a whole lot less number of anglo-saxons like me. Saltsman should have shown some humility and apologized.

[JonG345]

the question i would have asked -- "what do your black friends think about this song?"

i would have loved to have seen him squirm on that one.

[weatherwaxx]

You're assuming they have black friends.

[decolonizeme]

You're assuming he would squirm.

[indy girl]

He would have likely said, "what's a 'black friend'?"

[hgovernick]

I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm getting sick of the catch-phrase-excuse-for-bad-behavior "yeah, yeah, yeah... maybe it was wrong, but it's time to move on now."

I suggest those using this "escape-goat" follow their own advice, and move on ... and out!

[tantrictim]

if chip was really a political strategist, he should have pointed out that robert downey jr. received many accolades from liberal hollywood for his portrayal of a character in blackface in "tropic thunder", but he is a southern republican so that probably did not occur to him....btw imho i found that offensive as well

[mckinley]

Downey is an actor who was playing an imaginary CHARACTER doing that to get attention in a MAKE-BELIEVE movie.

Saltsman is himself, being himself, doing what he did in the real world. With no nuance of the creative ambiguity of an artistic act.

[1liberalconspirator]

Downey was playing a white actor undergoing extreme measures to look black and play a black part...It wasn't meant to be racist at all. This was.

[fumes]

bravo

contessa brewer!!!!

give her a raise and a prime time slot

she's better than most

[Skeptiqone]

The modern art of the apology is so ...hmm...artful? People never say what they did was awful. They say that the thing that "happened" may have been offensive to some. If it was, they are sorry that people were offended. Like,,,,I am so sorry that some people may have been offended that my words were taken our of context by the media, when I said that people from a certain group are idiots.

I am so tired of this. This man is a racist. Clear and simple. When you are not a racist you don't send out records like this, because you don't even think that way! If the Republicans pick them they are truly hopeless.

[fougasseu]

What a clown. He blames the cop for catching him speeding. Do Republicans ever accept the blame for anything they do? The Clintons have the same problem - get caught, and they attack the people who catch them.
Can someone please call a fumigator to clean out the GOP? And then stop by the Clintons' home. They need attention as well.

[baddadd47]

is blago accepting blame?

[patnb]

He sends out a hateful CHRISTmas CD, and blames the media for his actions? This guy is totally out of touch- I hope the republicans keep this guy, he'll help democrats win all over the country.