Saltsman To Bring A Little ‘Magic’ To Neophyte’s Congressional Campaign
Posted on June 24, 2009 at 1:35 pm
While the Chattanoogan reports this morning that he is the campaign manager, Chip Saltsman makes clear to Post Politics that he will only be advising Chuck Fleischmann’s Third District Congressional campaign. His hands-on role, he says, will be limited.
“Of course, my main living these days is not made off of politics but I certainly do like to help out good candidates when I can,” explained Saltsman. “Chuck is a great guy. He gave me call when he was thinking about doing this and I’m gonna give him all the help I can.”
Saltsman describes his role as more of a ‘general consultant’ and not as one who handles the day-to-day.
While Saltsman is involved in races and potential races around the country, including advising South Carolina Lt. Governor Andre Bauer who is weighing a run for the top job, he tells Post Politics that he will not be involved in the governor’s race here.
“I have a lot of friends in this race,” Saltsman says. “But I am not officially engaged in any of the current campaigns for governor.”
Chuck Fleischmann is currently running against both Bradley County Sheriff Tim Gobble and Tommy Crangle, an engineer. Former TNGOP chair Robin Smith is widely believed to be preparing to enter the race but has not yet announced.
The Democratic contenders include former state Commerce and Insurance Commissioner Paula Flowers and perennial candidate Brent Benedict.
A Man’s Got To Have A Code
Posted on June 16, 2009 at 3:35 pmI mean, don’t get it twisted I do some dirt, too, but I ain’t never put my gun on nobody who wasn’t in the game.
~ Omar Devon Little
I’ve been getting many inquiries and much static, from just about all quarters, for my handling of the Sherri Goforth story. I’ve gotten emails. I’ve gotten phone calls. And, clearly, more than a few blog comments asking me just why exactly “The Story” didn’t show up on Post Politics until after business hours yesterday when it had been the buzz of the blogosphere for hours and hours.
Was it because I was in the pocket of the Republicans? Was because I was covering for a “fellow racist”? Was I jealous because the Scene got to it before me? Was the rumor true that I had the email weeks ago and failed to post on it?
First of all, I don’t make a lot of distinction personally between “new” and “old” media, professional and amateur journalism in this area. I try to be very conscientious about noting where I come across the links, news and commentary posted here and I don’t much care who the source is. If it is a blogger, I link. If it is the Tennessean, I link.
This story was broken by Trace Sharp where I saw the story early in the morning. The distinction belongs to her and her alone.
If I were to be “jealous” of anyone it would be her because she was first. She is a serious blogger and a journalist. The Scene or any subsequent outlet who picked up on it would not affect my “editorial” judgment, as it were.
It’s actually a silly accusation because while you will find original journalism on this blog most of what I do here is aggregation. I post stories from the Scene, the Tennessean, just about everywhere. This wasn’t about the source or the competition, this was about the content. It was about the story itself.
I didn’t believe it was one.
I still don’t.
Post Politics received the email in question on June 1, 2009. It was forwarded to me just, as I imagine, it was to Trace Sharp. I made some inquiries into the matter. I ultimately decided not to run with it.
Why? It’s quite simple really. Sherri Goforth is a civilian.
She is not a blogger. She is not a politician. She is not an operative. She is, essentially, a secretary. A secretary in the legislature for 20 years.
Now the email she sent was indefensible. I don’t defend it. I will not defend it. It is authentically racist — and I’m not even one who likes to throw that word around.
In my inquiries I found that Goforth had forwarded an email which was immediately recalled and deleted. Goforth was reprimanded and a letter was placed in her file. The email was, and I did look into this as well, the only email of this nature that Goforth had sent that anyone, my original source as well as others, could produce. There was no pattern of racist behavior in the workplace I could find and sanctions had already been taken against her.
Now, I’m not unfamiliar with how these things work. Had I gone with the story, what has now happened, would have happened. A career state employee would have her name on CNN and the AP wire. Calls for her termination would commence from people with an ax to grind and a political agenda to advance. She would in all likelihood be fired or asked to resign, if not immediately then after session was over.
Now, I have put people’s mess in the street before — Republicans and Democrats. But as far as I can remember, it has always been politicians, operatives and bloggers that I have pulled the trigger on. Have I linked to media reports which mentioned regular citizens by name before? Probably.
But, frankly, after making inquiries and coming to the conclusion that I did, I just didn’t feel like piling on yesterday. Was that a mistake? According to many of you who value this website, it was. I understand that.
This blog, after all, is an amalgamation of the news, chatter and commentary going on in Tennessee politics. Yesterday, today and likely for the rest of this week, Sherri Goforth is “The Big Thing.”
Everyone was and will be talking about it. Regardless of my personal feelings about pulling the trigger initially, was it my job to ride to the sound of guns once the game was on?
I don’t know. If it was, it was a part of my job that I didn’t like, and like many employees I elected to put it off until it could no longer be put off. As Trace Sharpe herself likes to say, I’ll own that.
Now anyone who knows me knows that pageviews are more dear to me than anything. I have little love for either ideologies or political parties. But if I did, those loves would never trump that which I have for web traffic. It’s what has kept me employed for as long as I have doing something I truly love.
I would never, not for one second, sacrifice pageviews to defend a political party. I sacrificed them because I didn’t believe the story was news.
I sacrificed them because Sherri Goforth is a working woman. She has not put herself up for office, she is not crafting messages or legislation. She is not a political operator.
If some of the folks who received the email had sent it rather than received it, it would have been different. But that wasn’t the case.
The legislature is not Congress. Not everyone who works there is working on bills, legislation and other “Real Important Business.” Some folks who work there are just glorified secretaries. That is what Sherri Goforth is, no offense intended. All this hullabaloo, in the final analysis, is over a secretary who forwarded an email from one of her white trash friends. That’s what this is. That’s all this is.
Yes, her email does fit superficially into an ongoing narrative of the TNGOP as an organization right around the edge (which side of the line is a matter of opinion) of the line of racial propriety. As such, I see how it could be interpreted as news. But that’s not the reality.
Sherri Goforth is not Chip Saltsman. She is not Bill Hobbs. She is not Robin Smith. She ain’t even Scott Gilmer. She’s not a player in game. In my mind, it would be akin to an infantryman shooting a enemy army cook in the back of the head.
I had the ammo, I took aim, but I viewed my potential victim as a civilian and I held my fire. That’s what happened.
Chip Saltsman Withdraws From RNC Chairman’s Race
Posted on January 29, 2009 at 4:29 pmChip Saltsman’s letter to the voting membership of the Republican National Committee:
Since November’s election, I’ve had the remarkable opportunity to travel throughout thirty two states, share my vision for the future of our party, and listen to the advice of the nearly one hundred members who took the time to visit with me in their homes, their offices, their airports, and their coffee shops.
I’ve seen how the Clark County Republicans of Nevada are organizing online to defeat Harry Reid in 2010, as we defeated Tom Daschle in 2002.
I’ve heard how Republicans in the District of Columbia have expanded their membership simply by holding their meetings and spreading their message in communities that have long shared our values, but which have never felt welcome within our ranks.
I’ve witnessed how the hard work of Republican leadership in my home of Tennessee has given our state its first Republican General Assembly since 1869.
And I’ve met with Republicans in New England’s blue states who are ready to plant our party’s flag and prove that our coalition is broad enough, strong enough to compete everywhere and win anywhere.
But, while my travels make me confident in our party’s future, I wanted you to be first to know that I have decided to withdraw my candidacy to become your next chairman.
Thank you for your passion for our party and for the principles that make it great. I hope that you won’t hesitate to call on me as we rebuild our majority.
Chip
Always a darkhorse, Saltsman’s candidacy for RNC chair careened off the tracks when it was publicized that Saltsman gave a CD of political satire composed by Memphian Paul Shanklin to members of the RNC as a Christmas gift.
The lightning rod song, ‘Barack the Magic Negro’, a parody sung to the tune of “Puff the Magic Dragon” and a takeoff on a LA Times article of the same name first aroused controversy when it debuted on the Rush Limbaugh Show last year.
While he was roundly condemned in the media (and by Republican political enemies), Saltsman refused to explicitly apologize for what many saw as a serious faux pas.
Most observers considered his candidacy DOA in the wake of the controversy and there was a question as too whether Saltsman would even qualify for the ballot in tomorrow’s chairman election.
Saltsman is a former chairman of the TNGOP and ran the upstart campaign of Governor Mike Huckabee after his political mentor Bill Frist decided against a run in 2008.
SEE ALSO:
The Other McCain
Ben Smith
NY Times
Ameripundit
Jim Antle
CNN
Drop The Negro And Get With The Hero
Posted on January 27, 2009 at 11:12 amThe Rev. T.J. Graham, best known in Nashville political circles as the black voice of nativism, is firing back today at those responsible for the creation and dissemination of ‘Barack the Magic Negro‘, a parody sung to the tune of ‘Puff the Magic Dragon’ by parodying the parody.
It’s called ‘Barack the Magic Hero’ and its got its share of controversial lines:
“Obama said come join us. Republicans can ride, too. Just look way in the back of the bus we’ve saved a seat for you.”
Read all about it here and listen to the whole song below:
Robin Smith Gives Chip Saltsman The High Hat
Posted on January 26, 2009 at 11:34 amTwo Tennessee national executive committee members endorse Katon Dawson for RNC chairman, not hometown boy, Chip Saltsman:
Two Republican National Committee members from Tennessee endorse South Carolina GOP Chair Katon Dawson in his bid to be the next RNC Chair: State GOP Chair Robin Smith and National Committeeman John Ryder. The bid of Chip Saltsman had been facing an uphill climb in recent weeks, and two endorsements of a rival from his home state suggests one more bump in the road.
The third RNC member from Tennessee, Peggy Lambert, has endorsed Ken Blackwell.
SEE ALSO: Whitehouse
Like Getting People To Stop Throwing Around The Term ‘Magic Negro’
Posted on January 19, 2009 at 11:18 amRNC Chairman candidate Chip Saltsman says there is still work to be done before Martin Luther King’s dream is realized:
Although born in Nashville just days before Martin Luther King, Jr.’s tragic death in Memphis, my life and the life of my country have been shaped by Dr. King’s vision of an America that was united by brotherhood and justice and that refused to be divided by race, color or creed.
Since those dark days of 1968, our nation has made tremendous progress towards his noble hope. While more work remains, his life and his service provide an ideal to which we should always aspire and which we should never forget.
One Is The Loneliest Number
Posted on January 11, 2009 at 8:21 pmTennessean Chip Saltsman has only one public commitment for an RNC member in his quest to become chair of the Republican National Committee.
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No Discussion Of Magic Negro Contro At RNC Chairman Candidate Debate
Posted on January 5, 2009 at 5:23 pmFrom National Review:
No mention was made of the racially-tinged controversies that encircled two of the candidates: Dawson’s past membership in a whites-only country club and Chip Saltsman’s distribution of a Paul Shanklin CD that included the song “Barack the Magic Negro.” Asked by a reporter if he felt the story had blown over, Saltsman said, “I think so.” Asked if he felt the story had been hyped during a traditionally slow news period around the holidays, he said, “I agree with that.” (One observer noted that the Saltsman controversy may hurt Dawson as well, as the two reinforced a theme of racial insensitivity that GOP critics love to emphasize.)
Perhaps Saltsman’s best moment came when he pointed out that the country was facing a new economic model in which government in the form of President Obama, Speaker Pelosi, and Senate Majority Leader Reid determine the winners and losers, not the market. He also had a cute point about throwing out leaders who tell young people, ‘you’re the future’; he preferred leaders who recognize that young Republicans are the backbone of the party right now.
SEE ALSO:
Jeff Woods
techPresident
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Naifeh’s “Negro” Rebuke Politically Convenient?
Posted on December 30, 2008 at 8:00 amWhat comments aren’t these days. Rep. Campfield reacts to the outgoing Speaker’s impressions of CHip Saltsman’s actions:
I laugh at the thought that Naifeh is coming out against harsh words in a political campaign. OK so he has had a change of heart, I am sure Naifeh is now going to speak out against Obamas sexest “Lipstick on a pig” comment or Kerrys ageism “McCain wears depends” comments too now, Maybe Naifeh just didnt like the word “Negro” being used. He can start with condemnation of the “United Negro College fund” and anyone who uses the name. I mean “These things need to be brought to the forefront no matter who’s saying them.” Right?
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Mumpower And Ramsey Weigh In On Saltsman Controversy
Posted on at 7:43 amFrom Andy Sher:
“Last month, the voters of this state put Republicans in charge of both houses of the legislature for the first time since Reconstruction and they expect us to work on issues important to Tennesseans,” Rep. Mumpower said. “I am not going to let the politics of Washington, D.C., distract us from that goal, and I would ask Speaker Naifeh to join me in that effort.”
Mr. Saltsman’s use of the Shanklin song has drawn mixed reactions from Republicans. Current RNC Chairman Mike Duncan, whom Mr. Saltsman and other candidates hope to oust, said in a statement he was “shocked and appalled that anyone would think this is appropriate.”
Lance Frizzell, a spokesman for Lt. Gov. Ramsey, the Senate speaker, said “obviously Tennesseans don’t believe Republicans are extremists or divisive. They wouldn’t have given us control of both chambers in November for the first time in 140 years.”
As for Lt. Gov. Ramsey’s thoughts about the song, Mr. Frizzell cited public statements he said were made last year by Sen. Obama during a radio interview.
“If the president-elect is not offended and sees it as political satire, then I think that’s on the mark,” Mr. Frizzell said.
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Naifeh Rebukes Saltsman
Posted on December 29, 2008 at 3:43 pmVia Andy Sher:
State House Speaker Jimmy Naifeh, D-Covington, today called on Tennessee Republican leaders to “renounce” former state GOP chairman Chip Saltsman for having sent out a musical parody entitled “Barack the Magic Negro” as a Christmas gift in his quest to become Republican National Committee chairman.
“Once again a Tennessee Republican is practicing the art of racial divisiveness in an apparent effort to appeal to what he believes is the base of the Republican Party,” Speaker Naifeh said in a statement issued by his office.
The song, which author Paul Shanklin describes as political satire, is sung to the tune of “Puff the Magic Dragon.” Mr. Saltsman, a former Tennessee Republican Party chairman, has been criticized by a number of people, including some Republican rivals, for sending out a CD that includes the tune as a Christmas present.
MORE: The AP
“Magic Negro” Creator Weighs In On Saltsman Contro
Posted on at 1:22 pmPaul Shanklin, the creative mind behind the song RNC chairman candidate has been chastised for distributing, comes to the defense of his friend and former business partner:
“They are trying to paint Chip as some kind of racist — which he’s not,” Shanklin said Sunday afternoon.
“Whether he should have sent it out, I’ll let history decide. Is it provocative? Well, most political satire is. What I do for a living is major league provocative….”
…Saltsman is a former partner in Shanklin’s record venture. In talking with The Hill newspaper, Saltsman was quoted as calling it a “light-hearted” gift that would be received in “good humor.”
Current RNC Chairman Robert M. “Mike” Duncan, said in a statement carried by the Associated Press: “I am shocked and appalled that anyone would think this is appropriate as it clearly does not move us in the right direction.” Duncan is seeking a second two-year term as GOP national chairman against Saltsman and four others.
“Apparently, Chairman Duncan doesn’t listen to Rush Limbaugh or conservative Republicans out here in the hinterlands,” Shanklin said as he listed Duncan’s recent accomplishments: “Let’s see, he’s lost the presidency, the House and the Senate. I’m kinda shocked and appalled he’s still there.”
Shanklin credited Saltsman with laying the framework for how far the GOP has come in Tennessee. Saltsman, he said, “set a tone of leadership that got us” the state House and the state Senate. Under Saltsman as state GOP chairman, Shanklin said the Nashvillian made sure Republicans were running for state House and state Senate seats.
“Chip makes things happen regardless of what people think of my parody work,” Shanklin said.
Keep The Grownups On Speed Dial
Posted on at 12:47 pmKen Whitehouse has a few words for Tennessee politicos in the wake of Chip Saltsman’s recent racial gaffe:
Here’s a simple request to our elected leaders - call it a New Year’s resolution. Shut the hell up. If you are a Republican then concentrate on running the state legislature, finding solutions for the budget shortfall and improving education. There are other Republicans in Washington that can and will attack Obama. Let them do it. That will be their job. If you feel the need to attack a Democrat, go after people like Gov. Phil Bredesen or Speaker Jimmy Naifeh. You have been pretty effective at that and you have shown that typically you don’t screw it up.
Democrats, you aren’t off the hook here either. You got shellacked in November and haven’t done anything lately to take pride in. Find your footing and let Democrats in D.C. defend and praise Obama. They have done it better than you have and maybe you can learn something by listening instead of talking.
If any of you can’t sit on your hands or hold your tongues, call Alexander or Corker if you are a Republican or Jim Cooper if you are a Democrat. They will be in charge of talking you down or helping you refine your message in a way so that you don’t look like a descendent of Bull Connor.
SEE ALSO:
Dan Lehr
Tim Chavez
Mediaverse
Jackson Baker
Silver Linings For Saltsman
Posted on at 8:02 amDespite a recent PR disaster, Chip Saltsman’s run for RNC chair could get new life at a special meeting of the RNC called in advance of the vote for chair at the end of January:
Several RNC watchers who did not sign on to the meeting but who support it nonetheless say the meeting is a victory for those running to unseat incumbent chairman Mike Duncan. The meeting will give the other five prominent candidates an opportunity to campaign amongst the 168 voting national committee members in advance of the election, which takes place during the last weekend in January.
A candidate forum is the sole agenda item aside from procedural matters to call the meeting to order.
When voting begins, Duncan is expected to start the first round of voting with the highest total, though the incumbent is not expected to reach the 85 votes necessary to win outright.
RNC Chair Piles On Saltsman
Posted on December 27, 2008 at 3:17 pmThe man Chip Saltsman is trying to dethrone as chairman of the Republican National committee has added his voice to those denouncing the former RNC chair for including a racially inflammatory piece of political satire in his Christmas present to executive committee members:
“The 2008 election was a wake-up call for Republicans to reach out and bring more people into our party. I am shocked and appalled that anyone would think this is appropriate as it clearly does not move us in the right direction.”
However, Ken Blackwell, another candidate for chair and an African American, defends Saltsman:
“Unfortunately, there is hypersensitivity in the press regarding matters of race. This is in large measure due to President-Elect Obama being the first African-American elected president. I don’t think any of the concerns that have been expressed in the media about any of the other candidates for RNC chairman should disqualify them. When looked at in the proper context, these concerns are minimal. All of my competitors for this leadership post are fine people.”
UPDATE 3:53PM: Saltsman responds:
“Liberal Democrats and their allies in the media didn’t utter a word about David Ehrenstein’s irresponsible column in the Los Angeles Times last March. But now, of course, they’re shocked and appalled by its parody on the Rush Limbaugh Show.
“I firmly believe that we must welcome all Americans into our party and that the road to Republican resurgence begins with unity, not division. But I know that our party leaders should stand up against the media’s double standards and refuse to pander to their desire for scandal.”
MORE ON THE SALTSMAN CONTRO:
The Other McCain
NY Times
Washington Post
J.P. Freire
Moderate Voice
Tim Chavez
Knoxviews
Pensito Review
James Richardson
Saltsman Drops A Charcoal Briquette In RNC Member Stockings
Posted on December 26, 2008 at 12:20 pmTennessee’s homegrown candidate for RNC seems to have made a bit of a faux pas over the holidays distributing a political parody some have called racist to Republican National Committee members:
“Paul Shanklin is a long-time friend, and I think that RNC members have the good humor and good sense to recognize that his songs for the Rush Limbaugh show are light-hearted political parodies,” Saltsman said.
More Ballots, More Saltsman
Posted on December 18, 2008 at 6:43 amAlexander Burns, in breaking down the race for RNC chairman, suggests the road to victory for Tennessee’s Chip Saltsman may be the one paved with the most blood:
A former chairman of the Tennessee Republican Party and campaign manager to Mike Huckabee, Saltsman has more to gain than any other candidate from a protracted, multi-ballot knife fight for the chairmanship. The 40-year-old has been running a vigorous race against more established candidates, though he’s had to distance himself from the Huckabee campaign in a race where no one wants to support a stalking horse for 2012.
Saltsman knows he’s an underdog, but as a student of GOP politics he also knows that once an RNC race gets past the first or second ballot, all bets are off. If Saltsman can become a second- or third-choice candidate for a significant number of RNC members, and survive the first ballot, he could try and follow the Jim Nicholson path to victory. Yet even if he is unsuccessful, he’s established himself as a name to be taken very seriously in years to come.
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Saltsman: Always At The Right Place At The Right Time?
Posted on December 15, 2008 at 7:57 pmJim Geraghty breaks down the race for RNC Chair:
Ask some who watched Chip Saltsman manage the presidential campaign of Mike Huckabee, and they’ll say he demonstrated the ability to make the most of his opportunities: Huckabee was one of the few candidates in a crowded GOP field who walked into the contest an unknown and came out a star. But others look at the same experience and argue that the Huckabee campaign was an organizational disaster. Their successes, according to this view, were more attributable to the candidate’s unparalleled rapport with evangelical conservatives.
Similarly, when the Tennessee Republican party knocked Al Gore out of the Senate and made gains in the state legislature under Saltsman’s leadership in 2006, contrarians argue that the wind was at the GOP’s back in the Volunteer State.
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