Jack & Jill Politics

One gets the feeling that the tiny community of Black Republicans’ nerves must have been frayed by Sarah Palin’s constant pattern of race-baiting to get attention. But her support of Dr. Laura who recently decided to leave her radio show after the public outcry following her use of the word “nigger” 11 times — that seems to have been the final insult. It’s surprising that this hasn’t received more mainstream media play since all things Palin, especially conflict, appears to fascinate them. Palin tweeted to Dr. Laura: “Don’t Retreat, Reload” — implying that perhaps Dr. Laura should use the word “nigger” more and tell more people who are called nigger to be less sensitive?! God, what an embarrassment.

I say, it’s about time that Black Republicans finally pushed back. The GOP has no chance of recruiting minorities to their very white ranks if they continue to support this person. She is now completely & officially on the fringe.

Here’s Hip Hop Republicans quoting The Daily Beast of all places (red text emphasis is HHR’s):

John Avlon a senior political columnist for The Daily Beast reports that black Republicans are blasting Sarah Palin for Dr. Laura’s recent “N-word” rant. After a tweet from Sarah Palin in defense of Dr Laura, a few are saying she may not be fit to lead:

The few black conservative candidates, columnists, and media figures—who represent the GOP’s only hope for reclaiming the legacy of Lincoln and, with it, long-term demographic relevance—are not amused. They’re now saying what many in the GOP increasingly believe: Sarah Palin is not fit to be a serious leader of the Republican Party.

I spoke to Michel Faulkner, the former NFL player and Harlem preacher challenging Charlie Rangel for a House seat, and he was unsparing in his criticism: “Why Sarah Palin feels she needs to join in to Dr. Laura’s personal meltdown is beyond me. She’s sounding like she just likes to hear her own voice—and the voice that she has is no longer credible. It says that a leading voice among conservatives has joined the ranks of the entertainers—trying to shock us each day with more and more outlandish commentary. And at that moment that person is no longer fit to lead.”

“The constitutional stuff she’s saying doesn’t even make any sense,” Faulkner said. “She doesn’t know what real shackles are… But ‘don’t retreat, reload?’ Lady, are you kidding me? That is scary language in anyone’s terminology. Sarah Palin scares me.”

Nationally syndicated conservative columnist Deroy Murdock took an even stronger line. “Sarah Palin’s tweets resemble something scribbled by a ninth-grade cheerleader. Is it asking too much for a reputed American political leader to communicate in complete sentences? Palin’s gravitas gap is growing into the Gravitas Canyon,” said the media fellow at the Hoover Institution on War, Revolution and Peace at Stanford University. “Even worse, she deploys her vacuity to defend an acerbic talk-show host who just detonated herself by tossing around the word ‘nigger’ on the air 11 times, as if it were a volleyball. The American right can do better than this. And it must.”

Booker Rising has a solid selection from their furious audience and leading African-American Republicans (here’s a sample):

Sandra Rose: “Sarah Palin Comes To Dr. Laura’s Aid. Is She A Closet Racist?”

The conservative blogger in metro Atlanta, Ga., writes: “Dr. Laura Schlessinger stirred up controversy when she repeatedly uttered the N-word to a black caller during her radio show on August 10. She later apologized, but Palin stoked the fires of controversy once again when she took to her Twitter page and tweeted: ‘Dr. Laura: don’t retreat: reload! (Steps aside because her first amendment rights ceased to exist thanks to activists trying to silence. Isn’t American, not fair)’”

She continues: “It’s obvious that Palin’s cloudy judgment confuses ignorance and racial insensitivity with Dr. Laura’s inalienable rights to freedom of expression. ‘Does anyone seriously believe that Dr. Laura Schlessinger is a racist?’ Palin asked in a post on her Facebook page. ‘Anyone, I mean, who isn’t already accusing all conservatives, Republicans, Tea Party Americans, etc., etc., etc. of being racists?’ Dr. Laura and Sarah Palin prove that even high profile rednecks often blur the boundaries of human decency.”

Robert A. George: “Rhymes With Trigger”

The moderate-conservative Republican journalist in New York, on Sarah Palin’s defense of Dr. Laura: “The best thing about Sarah Palin is that, as time unfolds, she manages to say and do things that slowly but surely invalidate her as a credible GOP presidential nominee in 2012. Which means that Democrats and the media can find someone else to obsess over in the next couple of years — and Republicans can start looking at the serious ’12 contenders. Palin’s latest absurdity? Ticking off the few black Republicans there are out there by rushing to Dr. Laura Schlessinger['s] ‘defense’ after [the] radio host announced she was quitting her talk-show host following an outburst of the ‘N-word’ in a conversation with a caller. ‘Don’t retreat…reload’ the former governor urged Dr. Laura. ‘Reload’ what? Put more N-bullets in her barrel?”

After outlining the comments of black Republican Timothy Johnson of the Frederick Douglass Foundation, he concurs: “Wow. You mean, just because the First Amendment gives individuals certain rights, it doesn’t relieve them of the responsibility to try to act right? You’d almost think that Palin understood that — given her comments on a certain other volatile First-Amendment-related issue. Now, in terms of a reality check, Palin — or any GOP contender — having ‘to answer to black Republicans’ is a bit amusing. Not exactly a major swing constituency among Republicans. However, Johnson’s point about the problems that this episode brings up vis a vis perceptions that the Tea Party/GOP allows racist sentiments is a completely reasonable one. It’s not exactly the first time that accusation has been made.”