‘Barack the Magic Negro’

Note to Republicans who lament the dearth of African-American support for their party, even in non-Obama years: This kind of stuff doesn’t help:

Republicans who are vying to lead the national party offered a mix of reactions yesterday to the decision by one candidate for the job to mail out a music CD including the song “Barack the Magic Negro.”

That’s right: The guy who wants to lead the GOP is sending out the CD. And what’s more, there’s a debate (read the article) within the Republican party about whether it’s appropriate. Hey guys — until Republicans can get some unanimity on the idea that it’s wrong to make fun of black people in racial terms, you’ll probably never win black support. It’s not as though there aren’t some issues that you could connect on. You’ve been awfully harsh about Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter for decades, but I’ve never heard your humor about them framed in racial terms. So it seems … kinda racist when you use it for Obama.

Of course, the song originally appeared on the Rush Limbaugh show. So it’s hard not to conclude that the willingness to appear kinda racist is a mainstream attitude for Republicans. And it’s hard to fault the GOP candidate for thinking that’d be the case.