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.
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Jeff Woods
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Silver Linings For Saltsman
Posted on December 29, 2008 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
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.
Early Word: FDT On MTP
Posted on October 30, 2008 at 7:26 pmPost Politics has been told that former Senator and Presidential candidate Fred Thompson will appear on Meet the Press with Tom Brokaw this Sunday.
Thompson has been talked up recently, mostly on conservative blogs, as a potential candidate for chairman of the Republican National Committee.
UPDATE: Mark Halperin
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