This site tracking public commitments to the six candidates for RNC chairman suggests that, contrary to some suggestions, Chip Saltsman's "Barack the Magic Negro" stunt hasn't exactly given him a boost. Here's the breakdown:
Saul Anuzis - 13,
Ken Blackwell - 12
Katon Dawson - 11
Michael Steele - 10
Mike Duncan - 9
Chip Saltsman - 1
The Politico article that first insinuated otherwise, titled "Magic Negro flap might help Saltsman," sucked when it came out.
Lead:
The controversy surrounding a comedy CD distributed by Republican National Committee chairman candidate Chip Saltsman has not torpedoed his bid and might have inadvertently helped it.Totality of the evidence:
some of those officials are rallying around the embattled Saltsman, with a few questioning whether the national media and his opponents are piling on.
“When I heard about the story, I had to figure out what was going on for myself,” said Mark Ellis, the chairman of the Maine Republican Party. “When I found out what this was about I had to ask, ‘Boy, what’s the big deal here?’ because there wasn’t any.”
Alabama Republican Committeeman Paul Reynolds said the fact the Saltsman sent him a CD with the song on it “didn’t bother me one bit.”
“Chip probably could have thought it through a bit more, but he was doing everyone a favor by giving us a gift,” he said. “This is just people looking for something to make an issue of.”
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On Monday, Limbaugh prominently re-posted the song on the top left corner of his website above the headline, “Drive-by media misreporting of ‘Barack the Magic Negro’ song.”
EVIDENCE DOES NOT SUPPORT ASSERTION. I see no help, I see no rallying, I see no boost in the RNC race. I see Rush yammering away and Politico's caption -- "The controversy surrounding a comedy CD distributed by the RNC chair candidate has not torpedoed his bid" -- being transformed into a crackpot theory.
