"There is a difference between an African-American writer using the word 'Negro' in an ironic way and the Limbaughs and Saltsmans of the world thinking it is acceptable in common usage. There is a difference between an African-American writer discussing the tensions between different generations of black political leaders and a white Tennessee Republican thinking it is funny to sing about who is or is not 'from the 'hood.'"Mr. Saltsman doesn't seem to get that. 'I think that RNC members have the good humor and good sense to recognize that [Mr. Shanklin's] songs for the Rush Limbaugh show are light-hearted political parodies,' he said in a statement. We think — we hope, anyway — that RNC members have the good sense to find a chairman who understands how wrong that assessment is."
We cats agree with almost all of today's Washington Post editorial. Except for that last little aside at the end ("we hope, anyway"). Heck, if the Republican Party wants to head down this self-destructive path, we're eager to cheer them on.
UPDATE: "Mr. Saltsman... could still be vaulted into the chairman’s seat by hard-core committee members who resent the explosion of criticism and have learned nothing from the last election. Maybe [the Republicans] like the hole their party is standing in and want to dig it even deeper." — The New York Times, Thursday, January 1
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