Race

Yup - some notable voices in the GOP appear to be upset at the front-runners for blowing off black and Latino voices:

"We sound like we don't want immigration; we sound like we don't want black people to vote for us," said former congressman Jack Kemp (N.Y.), who was the GOP vice presidential nominee in 1996. "What are we going to do -- meet in a country club in the suburbs one day? If we're going to be competitive with people of color, we've got to ask them for their vote."

Making matters worse, some Republicans believe, is that the decision to bypass the Morgan State forum comes after all top GOP candidates save McCain declined invitations this month to a debate on Univision, the most-watched Hispanic television network in the United States. The event was eventually postponed.

"For Republicans to consistently refuse to engage in front of an African American or Latino audience is an enormous error," said former House speaker Newt Gingrich (Ga.), who has not yet ruled out a White House run himself. "I hope they will reverse their decision and change their schedules. I see no excuse -- this thing has been planned for months, these candidates have known about it for months. It's just fundamentally wrong. Any of them who give you that scheduling-conflict answer are disingenuous. That's baloney."

Former Republican National Committee chairman Ken Mehlman urged candidates to "reconsider this opportunity to lay out their vision and other opportunities in the future."

Of course these people are just upset because it will hurt them in the polls. They aren't truly concerned of the impact or how these groups feel. To them it is all politics. Considering how colorful our population is becoming, these actions should help keep the GOP in the minority for years to come.

And they don't care. That is obvious considering they won't attend debates held by black or Hispanic moderators. Cornell West (who I am a big fan of) has this to say about the current GOP dilemma:

The GOP debate in Baltimore at Morgan State University, led and moderated by Tavis Smiley, and currently being snubbed by the leading candidates, is a pivotal moment in this election. It is a litmus test for a Republican Party that, in the past, has run away from black voters and only selectively interacted with Hispanic citizens.

At this moment in American history, it is clear that either the Republican Party wisely embraces people of color, or it chooses to be a losing political party in the future. The courage and vision of Tavis Smiley, and his often overlooked but historic Covenant movement, has put the limelight on this dilemma of the Republican Party.

We shall see which choice the Republican Party makes in regard to people of color in particular, but most importantly to their future as a party in the American democratic experiment.

All this flack over the Don Imus controversy has me thinking about something else. There is a darling of the right out there, one they want to be their President, that has been in the same boat very recently. Here is that person last month calling the 9th ward of New Orleans "uneducated". Ironically the 9th ward is predominately black.

And then we had this just a couple of weeks ago, where the same person said associated Spanish and other foreign languages with being languages of the "ghetto".

If Don Imus has to pay, then so does Newt Gingrich. This is one of the most racist men out there and people like Malkin and Coulter flock to him. They defend him at all costs and he has not paid nearly as much a Don Imus. Don Imus is a "shock jock", Newt Gingrich is a potential for the leader of this country. Which one is more dangerous in a position of power?

This is one reason I have not commented much on the Imus controversy. If I can turn on Comedy Central and here a black comedian refer to me as a "cracker" without it being bleeped, then I believe Imus has every right to say what he did. The power between the two is essentially equal. When a person like Newt Gingrich says something like this, then we are on a whole new level. We must set our priorities straight here!

There has been much talk this week about Rep. Virgil Goode's comments regarding Muslim's in Congress:

A congressman said Thursday that he will not retract a letter warning that unless immigration is tightened, "many more Muslims will be elected" and use the Quran to take the oath of office.

Republican Rep. Virgil Goode triggered angry responses from a civil rights group and some colleagues with a letter this month to constituents concerned about a decision by Rep.-elect Keith Ellison of Minnesota, the first Muslim elected to Congress, to use the Quran when he is sworn in.

"I will not be putting my hand on the Quran," Goode said at a news conference Thursday at the Franklin County Courthouse.

While most seem to focus on this as an insult to Muslims (as it is), they seem to overlook the other major insult here. The bigoted Virgil Goode also insulted the people of Minnesota's 5th Congressional district. Ellison did not hide his religion during his campaign, and it actually became a big issue. All the news channels ran segments talking about the fact we could have the first Muslim in Congress. Furthermore, that did not stop 56% of the voters in MN-15 to go out and support Goode.

These citizens of the United States engaged in their Constitutional right of electing their leaders, and for that they get insulted by a member of Congress. That alone should be grounds for Vigil Goode to be kicked out of Congress and this country.

All this has exploded because of Ellison wanting to take his oath of office on a Quran. Goode, along with all his other bigoted supporters are saying that is wrong and that the Constitution says it should be done on the Bible. Where does our Constitution say that? Someone needs to beat these ignorant, backwoods bigots upside the head with a history book. There are only 2 holy documents in this country. They are the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence. Our Constitution specifically says there is no religious litmus test to hold office. Thomas Jefferson made sure of that.

So these idiots that are out there complaining about how Ellison will swear to uphold the Constitution better worry about themselves and their sick attempts to ignore the Constitution. The Republicans out there supporting Goode's statements (like Presidential Hopeful Duncan Hunter) need to realize that they are just proving to America that Howard Dean was right - the Republican party is White Christians.

One final thought on this subject. I wonder how many of the terrorists are using the words of people like Goode for their recruiting propaganda. We always hear from the Republicans that they use our arguments over the Iraq war for this. Well Goode's words (and others) are a perfect tool. "See - the Americans hate the Muslims. They are conducting a holy crusade against us. Come fight for Allah". Yup - that is all it takes and you got Goode effectively helping our enemy. Now our Constitution does address that. It is under the word treason!

Wonkette:

Pro-gun Democrats did better in the midterms than probably any other class of politician, but the National Rifle Association is not in the business of reflecting moderate political reality. The NRA lives off memberships, and the standard card-carrying member has two enemies: Democrats and ... deer, most likely.

But even loyalists go soft, as the GOP learned last month, and you need some Grade A propaganda to get people riled up again. Let no one accuse the NRA of shirking its duty. Freedom In Peril: Guarding the 2nd Amendment in the 21st Century, is a spectacularly beautiful graphic novel. Here, for example, is one of the biggest threats to the white suburban hunter: dirty hippies and their evil sidekicks: the dynamite-carrying owl, sinister pig, angry Wall Street bull, dire wolf, terror chicken and Land Lobster:

Read On....