They’ve just about given up trying at this point. Even #dickwhisperer has taken notice.
The press release went out last week:
“Reince Priebus, chairman of the Republican National Committee, will participate in a panel discussion luncheon in celebration of Black Music Month on Monday, June 1st, in Washington, D.C.”
The event was called “A Republican Salute to Black Music Month” and, according to organizer Raynard Jackson, a black Republican consultant, was to include R&B legend Sam Moore (“Soul Man”), Marlon Jackson of the Jackson 5 and others.
The event went more or less exactly how you’d expect, given how Republicans feel about black voters.
The Republican chairman, a Greek-German Wisconsinite, sharing a stage with legends of soul and funk? Pure gold! But somebody missed his cue.
Moore, Marlon Jackson and the others showed up. But among the “confirmed participants,” Priebus was the sole man missing. And there was nobody from the RNC to take his place.
“Reince Priebus was scheduled to be here,” Raynard Jackson explained to guests at the posh University Club. The host said Priebus sent regrets because he’d had surgery on Friday and was having difficulty talking. “He’s sore as heck,” Jackson explained. Jackson told me Priebus had confirmed his attendance Friday but wasn’t feeling as well as he’d hoped on Monday — and by then it was too late for the RNC to find a stand-in.
But an RNC official told me that Priebus’s surgery Friday had been scheduled, elective and outpatient and that the chairman was doing fine. The official said Priebus had never formally committed to attend the black-music event.
Best line in the story:
Priebus redoubled the party’s efforts to reach minorities after the 2012 election, in which President Obama took 93 percent of the black vote.
Zero times two is still zero.
aimai
What is the point of this fakery? I mean–who on their side is listening and who on our side is being fooled?
Belafon
@aimai: You’ve got the question backwards. What they care about is who on our side is listening and who on their side is being fooled.
boatboy_srq
I suppose it’s to their credit that the GOTea can’t simply admit that they’re the party of Grumpy Old [White] People. Doesn’t make these fail parades any prettier, though.
Chris
@aimai:
I think at this point the value of these events is to offend black people. Then when they complain, the right wingers can go back to their base all hurt and wounded. “You see how it is for us? We TRY to reach out to them… God knows we try. But they just don’t want to let go of their HATE for us! How can we reason with these people?”
MattF
This is such an obvious mistake that I’m inclined to sort-of believe the excuse– you can be ‘doing fine’ after elective out-patient surgery, and still not be well enough to participate in a public event. That said, the fact that making sure the event was covered was (apparently) not on anyone‘s ‘to do’ list is a clear message about Republican outreach.
Shakezula
The only way this story improves is if the artists were mistaken for waitstaff.
Which could be said about every GOP gaffe, mistep and just plain fuck up if taken as individual events.
nastybrutishntall
zing!
jibeaux
I kind of like the part about how half of the 50-odd seats/plates in the room were unused.
They couldn’t sell 50 tickets.
Amir Khalid
There is this profoundly weird quote from Raynard Jackson (who is presumably not a relative of the musical Jacksons):
Am I right in guessing that Mr Jackson all but flat-out called Reince Priebus a swine?
BGinCHI
A GOP salute to Black Music.
Subtitle: You Would Never Have the Blues If We Weren’t Oppressing the Shit Out of You
debbie
I don’t see any mention of female musicians being included. I’d hate to think someone might bring up the GOP’s War on Women.
MattF
@Amir Khalid: Reminded me more of a shmoo than a pig.
El Caganer
Giving it up for Lee Atwater? Some of the participants sound kind of delusional.
SatanicPanic
He’s a Republican, so Reince was probably busy chasing teenage boys or something
Amir Khalid
@El Caganer:
Lee Atwater loved African-American music; African-American people, not so much.
boatboy_srq
@Amir Khalid: That’s actually a [rural, mainly Midwest and Plains] pseudo-compliment. Discussing a relationship as a bacon-and-eggs breakfast: to the chicken, the eggs are a donation, but to the pig, bacon is total commitment. It still makes the other half of the relationship a barnyard animal, so the arrangement isn’t exactly a commitment between equals, so there’s definitely a put-down there. But it’s not an explicit insult.
boatboy_srq
@SatanicPanic: Horrifyingly sad how accurate that is proving.
Amir Khalid
@boatboy_srq:
I see. Thanks for the explanation.
lol
@aimai:
It’s for rich black people so they can feel like they’re not complete sellouts and for DC politicos so they can write yet another “GOP reaches out to minorities for reals this time!” story.
a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)
They are who we thought they were, example 1,762 (roughly).
The Republic of Stupidity
@jibeaux:
Hell, they probably couldn’t GIVE THEM AWAY…
They could have always invited Ted Nugent… he’s a musician… or used to be one… or whatever…
What was Reince’s surgery, a stickenedectomy? Ya know, when you have that stick stuck up your Cheny removed…
shell
Gosh, they couldn’t have sent Ben Carson? He looks like he can get jiggy with it.
Hoodie
@Belafon: No kidding. Minority outreach by the GOP is mostly about making their voters feel comfortable in the “we’re not the real racists!” cocoon and not question whether their opinions are based on prejudice more than reason. I see that with my 80-year old in laws all the time, who love to talk about all the “good blacks” (you know, the ones that knew their place) they used to know in their youth. You wonder about the artists that agreed to participate, but it sounds like an older crowd who might be fooled into participating in a Potemkin show of diversity.
Paul in KY
@Amir Khalid: In an artful manner, yes.
Paul in KY
@BGinCHI: So there’s that!
rk
“A Republican Salute to Black Music Month”
What does that even mean? Why a “republican salute”. Why not just a salute. Also, do they really think this will change their image in the black community? I find this kind of stuff incredibly demeaning and ridiculous. I’m not black but I’m almost hundred percent sure that black voters would like republicans to talk about issues which concern them such as, oh I don’t know, maybe the economy, unemployment, murder of black men by trigger happy cops, voting rights. All sorts of issues other than a cheap ass “tribute” to black music. Although they couldn’t even get that right.
shell
It sounds like there was a grand total of two.
Mike J
Apparently, the last music produced by a black person the Republicans like was made in the early 70s. Of course most of the Republicans are in their early 70s.
Belafon
@rk: I’m imagaining a Republican trying to talk to blacks about the economy: “It’s those t-bone eating welfare queens…wait, I meant those lazy moochers…uh, let’s talk about black on black violence.”
Elizabelle
I felt so bad for Ray Charles, kicking the same week Ronald Reagan did. All the TV clips that made it look like those two were joined at the hip.
And Smarty Jones did not win the Belmont. Boo Birdsong. Bad week.
Punchy
So to celly Black Music Month, they couldn’t find anyone less than 70 years old to scratch the wax? No 50 Cents, no Ice Cube, no Beyonce? I’m sure young AAs can really relate to Sam & Dave songs. Or not.
Edit: Looks like Mike J got there first….
Paul in KY
@rk: I could think of some nasty stuff that would compromise a ‘Republican Salute’. Or maybe it’s just their cute name for a Nazi salute?
trollhattan
Remember Rand Paul going to Howard University? This is an even lamer edition of “See, we can relate to You People.”
RareSanity
@jibeaux:
Who in their right mind is paying to see to Marlon Jackson?
The only Jackson they could have gotten that was less known than Marlon would be Rebbie…and even she had a solo minor hit song (“Centipede”, for those that are curious) in the 80s, Marlon’s got nothing.
Couldn’t they have at least got Jermaine or Latoya?
geesh…
Paul in KY
@Elizabelle: Stuart Elliot was unfamiliar with Belmont & made a mistake & moved too soon on horse. Smarty probably would have won crown with a more experienced (at Belmont) jockey. That’s what has me worried a bit about Saturday. Victor is also inexperienced at the track. Jockeys at any other track know how much race is left by their relative position on track (what turn they are in, etc.). That goes completely out the window at Belmont & you must rely on the distance markers (which they don’t normally have to check at other tracks).
bemused
@jibeaux:
That’s hilarious. Why even bother with the pretence of honoring black music. Who are they kidding?
cahuenga
#dickwhisperer
Damn. Never fails to make me chuckle.
ThresherK
@shell: Or Mr Awwwwww Shucky Ducky instead?
This incident did have the effect of informing me that June is Black Music Month, however.
Brachiator
@rk:
I think it involves a raised fist with the middle finger extended.
Priebus wept.
a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)
@Elizabelle: I watched the Belmont that year in a room full of strangers at the NC State Fairgrounds (long story). As the pre-race talk finished and post parade began, the room was full of “Triple Crown!” excitement and they all seemed quite confident. I was quiet and the man in front of me turned and asked “aren’t you excited about a Triple Crown(!)?” I confessed that I didn’t believe there would be one and I thought they were going to run me out of the room.
You recall the race; it looked good for Smarty Jones and then Birdstone came on late and won. While it was looking good, the man in front turned and said “See!!” Then, at the end he asked me “how did you know?” I told him I didn’t know, and in fact had a 50% chance of being wrong. But the colt wasn’t bred for a mile and a half, had hadn’t really been tested in a longish race and it was clear there would be a rabbit or two gunning for him. The gut announced “seems this lady knows her stuff.”
After the race there was of course a long interview with Stew Elliott, who explained the race in great detail. As he was turning to end the interview, a reported shouted “what do you think went wrong?” and Stew turned back and said “I think it was a mile and a half.” Then those people really looked at me. LOL.
@Paul in KY I didn’t think Stewie moved his horse too soon; I think the colt was gonna go and the jockey had as much hold of his face as he could without making it worse. And the colt seemed a little more keyed than he’d been in the first 2 legs.
Amir Khalid
@RareSanity:
Jermaine is the Muslim convert in the Jackson family. (Janet is married to some rich Arab dude and may have converted too, but I’m not sure about her.) The Republican party, or its voter base, is known for some degree of antipathy towards Muslims.
Bubblegum Tate
@Chris:
Good point. It’s certainly a dynamic we’ve seen over and over again.
Brachiator
@Amir Khalid:
I hadn’t kept up with Janet Jackson’s personal life, but I think that many Republicans would just love her husband.
He and Jackson married in 2012.
scav
A Republican Salute to Black Music Month with apparently very little to no actual music played, but rather a series of finger-waggings and a PR/Branding exploratory committee you had to pay to be a guinea-pig of / contributor to and few on either sides of the table bothered to show up
Epic on the symbolic scale.
Cacti
A Republican Salute to Black Music:
Pat Boone performs second rate knock offs of your favorite black musicians.
Paul in KY
@a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q): Appreciate hearing your point of view. What do you think about Saturday?
Frankensteinbeck
@aimai:
The point is that they don’t think they’re racists. Racists don’t just hate, they believe. They believe that ‘black culture’ is encouraging laziness, and that cutting welfare and making drug laws harsher and giving the police a pass on every killing will force black drug addicts to go sober, get a job, and make something of themselves like Ben Carson. And like Ben Carson, those blacks will then see that Republicans are right about everything. They woo black voters because most of them think their policies are good for black voters, if those voters will just turn away from the beguiling government teat long enough to think clearly and responsibly. And those attempts to woo black voters fail because of all the baked in racist assumptions, which the Republicans can’t stop flaunting because they truly believe everything they say about blacks.
One side of all this is that, since they know rap music encourages blacks towards gang violence and unwed pregnancies, they only go looking for black musicians pre-80s.
gene108
@jibeaux:
Look at who is headlining this…if it was 1965…you’d have some pretty edgie talent, with Sam Moore and a really up and coming musical talent, with the Jackson 5 (or may have been a bit before the Pa Jackson pulled the band together, IDK).
Paul in KY
@gene108: Sammy Davis, Jr. would have been the hepcat headliner.
rikyrah
The GOP does not get it. If they had merely disrespected this President as President that would be one thing. But it was the constant dehumanization of not only the President, but his entire family . They think that we didn’t notice? Barack and Michelle Obama are the very best that this community could offer this country, and they consistently disrespected them. He is the President of the United States . Don’t they know that we know if they treat him and his family like this, we know what they think of us.
Linnaeus
@aimai:
Yeah, the GOP isn’t doing this for people of color. They’re doing this for white moderate-ish voters who don’t want to think of themselves as racist.
Brachiator
@rikyrah:
Yep. The willful blindness is astounding.
a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)
@Paul in KY: Frosted is the most dangerous as a spoiler. The colt has loads of talent, and is rested. Frosted has actually got the stronger overall racing pedigree compared to American Pharoah, but the bay colt has that presence that you don’t see very often. Gary Stevens when watching workouts before the Preakness, said nothing when Dortmund came by, but he saw American Pharoah go by and said “fuck.” That’s “presence,” because in a workout they all just gallop lightly. But horsemen can see the spark in a workout.
But American Pharoah does not have strong breeding for distance. But he’s not only shown more consistent talent than his pedigree would predict, he’s got that presence. A mile and a half always concerns me. If any horse in recent times can do it, this colt is the one. He just has the extra spark that Smarty Jones did not. It’s not a technical, muscular talent or speed thing; it’s a personality thing.
All that said, Frosted has me very concerned.
drkrick
@ThresherK:
Every month is Black Music Month.
a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)
@rikyrah:
I think they believe none of us will notice. I have been more horrified and furious at the personalized disrespect for the President and his family than I ever could be at political intransigence, which we saw with Clinton also.
LongHairedWeirdo
ZERO TIMES TWO? That’s a libelous claim!
He said they *redoubled* their efforts. That would be zero TIMES FOUR!!!1!!!!1!!!11!!!
This proves that you LIEberals are the real racists.
Paul in KY
@a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q): Frosted is a very tough horse, trained by a great trainer. Certainly has pedigree to go 12 furlongs. Thank you for your take on it.
NorthLeft12
So nobody else wanted to share the stage with these gentlemen? They could not get anyone of the few thousand or so GOP stars that live in the Washington area to take over this event?
That sounds so bogus.
Paul in KY
@a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q): Too bad Afleet Alex got that terrible trip in Derby. He was a Triple Crown caliber horse.
AlladinsLamp
You should use dynamic scoring:
Zero times two equals WIN!
low-tech cyclist
@rikyrah:
Quoted for truth. Even a middle-aged white guy like myself can see this.
If I had a dollar for every time I’ve heard that either Barack or Michelle only got where they did before they went into politics because it just got handed to them via affirmative action, I could take a bunch of us out for dinner at the best French restaurant in town, and no skimping on the wine.
And this is a couple that’s about as good as it gets, white or black. At which point any reasonable black person has to think, “how the fuck do any of the rest of us – you know, us mere mortals – earn these people’s respect, when this is how they treat our superstars?!”
But C+ Augustus, who did actually get everything in life handed to him on a silver platter – no, we all had to rally around his sorry ass, or we were being unpatriotic.
No, no double standard here.
It’s a positive, I suppose, that the past six years have brought to the surface the virulence of the racial hatred that’s still too present in America. Ten years ago, it was largely invisible to people like me: yeah, we weren’t exactly in a post-racial society, but maybe we were getting kinda sorta close. Can’t pretend that anymore. I’m sure persons of color weren’t fooled, but white America, even liberal white America, largely was, because we really do live in separate worlds, most of us. Now we see.
Epicurus
I have it on good authority (i.e., I just made it up) that the surgery performed on the Obvious Anagram was the removal of what was left of his spine. He now is being supported by an inanimate carbon rod* stuck up his back.
*Yes, the one which was awarded Employee of the Month at SNPP.