GOP Officials Just Can't Quit Making Racial Jokes About Barack and Michelle Obama

Funny ha-ha number one:

Rusty DePass is under fire for his Michelle Obama gorilla comment on Facebook. The gorilla comment has been since followed by DePass issuing an apology by saying “[t]he comment was clearly in jest”.

DePass, a GOP activist and former chairman of his state’s elections commission, wrote of the First Lady Michelle Obama on Facebook this weekend.

First, an aide to state Attorney General Henry McMaster had authored a Facebook post about the escape of a gorilla from Riverbanks Zoo Friday. DePass then posted the following response on Facebook:

“I’m sure it’s just one of Michelle’s ancestors - probably harmless”.

DePass reportedly told WIS News thereafter:

“I am as sorry as I can be if I offended anyone. The comment was clearly in jest."

Um, yes, it was clearly in jest, which is immaterial. All jokes are "in jest," by definition. Letterman's tween-rape-fantasy jokes are also "in jest." That doesn't change the fact that some jokes rely on taboo, offensive, or over-the-line suggestions to make their "in jest" point.

Funny ha-ha number two:

Newscoma posted details of a racist email sent from Sherri Goforth, legislative aid for Sen. Diane Black (R-Gallatin). The email depicts the Presidents of the United States with President Barack Obama as a pair of eyes in a black background.

I spoke with Sherri Goforth minutes ago to confirm she sent this email. She confirmed she had sent it and also said she had received a letter of reprimand from her superiors but said she will stay on the job.

...

“I went on the wrong email and I inadvertently hit the wrong button,” Goforth told NIT. “I’m very sick about it, and it’s one of those things I can’t change or take back.”

"Wrong button." Okay.

Eh, I don't feel like launching into a lecture. Either you think this is acceptable public behavior or you don't.

I guess I'd point out that the MSM, and a good fraction of the public, has this image of Republicans as racists, and some Republicans are far more to blame for this state of things than the MSM.

So, yeah, slam the MSM for bias and all that or for highlighting Republican scandals of this sort while giving Democrats a pass. There's truth in that. But no one should have any illusions that this stuff isn't exactly made up out of thin air, and we have a lot of our fellow conservatives and Republicans to thank.

posted by Ace at 03:56 PM

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