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WASHINGTON--The distribution of a controversial song by a candidate for chairman of the national Republican Party has created an unnecessary distraction as the party rebuilds, Virginia GOP chairman Jeff Frederick said Friday.
“There’s a lot of things we need to be fighting about and this isn’t one of them,” Frederick said in an interview.
The candidate, Tennessee political operative Chip Saltsman, mailed a CD late last month to members of the Republican National Committee that included a track called “Barack the Magic Negro.”
Frederick is one of 168 committee members who will vote in the chairmanship race Jan. 30 in Washington. He has not endorsed any of the six candidates.
He said Saltsman didn’t “mean any harm” in distributing the song, which argued that “guilty whites” felt comfortable voting for president-elect Barack Obama because he was “black, but not authentically” and “not from the hood.”
But other Republicans have blasted Saltsman, who chaired Republican Mike Huckabee’s presidential campaign.
RNC Chairman Robert “Mike” Duncan, who is seeking re-election said he was “shocked and appalled that anyone would think this is appropriate.”
Saltsman did not return repeated phone calls seeking comment. In a posting on his blog, Saltsman complained that his critics “didn’t utter a word” about a 2007 column in the Los Angeles Times on which the song was based.
“I know that our party leaders should stand up against the media's double standards and refuse to pander to their desire for scandal,” he wrote.
The two black candidates in the race, former Maryland Lieutenant Governor Michael Steele and former Ohio Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell, both appeared supportive of Saltsman after the CD scandal broke.
Blackwell said the issue should not force Saltsman from the race.
Steele said in a statement that Saltmsan’s “attempt at humor was clearly misplaced,” but it does not make him “indifferent to the important work of building the coalitions necessary to make our party stronger.”
South Carolina Republican Party chair Katon Dawson, also in the race, said Saltsman made a “mistake” in mailing the CD. “That doesn’t have any place in the public discourse,” he said.
Frederick plans to watch the six candidates square off Monday in a debate hosted by the conservative group Americans for Tax Reform in Washington. Michigan Republican Party chairman Saul Anuzis is also seeking the post.
Some Republicans fear the CD mailing will hurt the party’s outreach to minority voters, a group it has struggled for years to attract.
But Frederick complained the party critics use a double-standard when judging outreach to minorities.
When Democrats put black officials in prominent positions they are applauded for being diverse, he said.
“When we do the same thing, it’s, ‘Oh, they got their token black guy. They got their Uncle Tom.’ There’s a double standard there,” he said.
“We have to work extra hard to appear as we’re not doing it just for the camera,” he said.
“There’s a lot of things we need to be fighting about and this isn’t one of them,” Frederick said in an interview.
The candidate, Tennessee political operative Chip Saltsman, mailed a CD late last month to members of the Republican National Committee that included a track called “Barack the Magic Negro.”
Frederick is one of 168 committee members who will vote in the chairmanship race Jan. 30 in Washington. He has not endorsed any of the six candidates.
He said Saltsman didn’t “mean any harm” in distributing the song, which argued that “guilty whites” felt comfortable voting for president-elect Barack Obama because he was “black, but not authentically” and “not from the hood.”
But other Republicans have blasted Saltsman, who chaired Republican Mike Huckabee’s presidential campaign.
RNC Chairman Robert “Mike” Duncan, who is seeking re-election said he was “shocked and appalled that anyone would think this is appropriate.”
Saltsman did not return repeated phone calls seeking comment. In a posting on his blog, Saltsman complained that his critics “didn’t utter a word” about a 2007 column in the Los Angeles Times on which the song was based.
“I know that our party leaders should stand up against the media's double standards and refuse to pander to their desire for scandal,” he wrote.
The two black candidates in the race, former Maryland Lieutenant Governor Michael Steele and former Ohio Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell, both appeared supportive of Saltsman after the CD scandal broke.
Blackwell said the issue should not force Saltsman from the race.
Steele said in a statement that Saltmsan’s “attempt at humor was clearly misplaced,” but it does not make him “indifferent to the important work of building the coalitions necessary to make our party stronger.”
South Carolina Republican Party chair Katon Dawson, also in the race, said Saltsman made a “mistake” in mailing the CD. “That doesn’t have any place in the public discourse,” he said.
Frederick plans to watch the six candidates square off Monday in a debate hosted by the conservative group Americans for Tax Reform in Washington. Michigan Republican Party chairman Saul Anuzis is also seeking the post.
Some Republicans fear the CD mailing will hurt the party’s outreach to minority voters, a group it has struggled for years to attract.
But Frederick complained the party critics use a double-standard when judging outreach to minorities.
When Democrats put black officials in prominent positions they are applauded for being diverse, he said.
“When we do the same thing, it’s, ‘Oh, they got their token black guy. They got their Uncle Tom.’ There’s a double standard there,” he said.
“We have to work extra hard to appear as we’re not doing it just for the camera,” he said.