The Problem with the Republican Party, for the Foreseeable Future

[Content Note: Racism.]

Politico—Bobby Jindal Rejects Mitt Romney's 'Gifts' Theory: "Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal [who is Indian American] forcefully rejected Mitt Romney's claim that he lost because of President Barack Obama's 'gifts' to minorities and young voters. Asked about the failed GOP nominee's reported comments on a conference call with donors earlier Wednesday, the incoming chairman of the Republican Governors Association became visibly agitated. 'No, I think that's absolutely wrong,' he said at a press conference that opened the RGA's post-election meeting."

Portland Press Herald—Maine Republican Chairman Questions Black Voters: "Maine Republican Party Chairman Charlie Webster is once again alleging possible voting irregularities, this time claiming that groups of unknown black people showed up in some rural towns to vote on Election Day. ... 'In some parts of rural Maine, there were dozens, dozens of black people who came in and voted on Election Day,' he said. 'Everybody has a right to vote, but nobody in (these) towns knows anyone who's black. How did that happen? I don't know. We're going to find out.' When Carrigan pressed Webster on where it happened, Webster provided no specifics or proof of his claims, but said the party would investigate further."

Think Progress—Fox News Captions Footage of Illegal Border Crossings with 'The Hispanic Vote': "Since Mitt Romney lost the Hispanic vote in record numbers on Election Day, some Republican lawmakers and conservative pundits have openly conceded that the party has a 'rhetoric' problem when it comes to the Latino vote and have begun advocating for comprehensive immigration reform. However, the GOP's new-found eagerness to appeal to Latinos took a hit on Thursday afternoon when Fox News ran a segment about 'The Hispanic Vote in 2012' and proceeded to show stock footage of people crossing the border illegally."

Mother Jones—Top Georgia GOP Lawmakers Host Briefing on Secret Obama Mind-Control Plot: "President Obama is using a Cold War-era mind-control technique known as 'Delphi' to coerce Americans into accepting his plan for a United Nations-run communist dictatorship in which suburbanites will be forcibly relocated to cities. That's according to a four-hour briefing delivered to Republican state senators at the Georgia state Capitol last month."

Think Progress—McCain Skipped a Briefing on Benghazi to Hold a Press Conference: "Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) is demanding a special select committee to investigate the events leading up to the deaths of four Americans in Benghazi, Libya and has held around-the-clock television appearances pressing for a complete review of the incident. But all of the senator's media interviews and press availabilities may be interfering with his ability to gather information about the event. On Thursday morning, CNN's Dana Bash reported that McCain chose to hold a joint press conference with Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Kelly Ayotte (R-NH) rather than attend a closed-door briefing about the attacks."

If you think that state Republicans accusing President Obama of insidious mind control and Republican US Senators shirking their duties to try to frame as a cover-up what good money says was a pretty typical intelligence clusterfuck after a terrorist attack on the other side of the globe don't belong on a list of racist shenanigans, I will just briefly observe that Republicans didn't seem too concerned about propaganda and bad intel when a white guy was in charge. And I'm thinking that's not just because he played for their team.