I didn't intend my next post to be about the news (once again). But when I saw this story, I had to dust off the ol' soapbox. Here's the run-down: Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid made a bit of a faux-pas in 2008. "Privately" (whatever the hell that means, since it clearly wasn't all that private if it's now come to surface), he said that then-candidate Obama would do well in the election because he (Obama) was "light-skinned" and spoke "with no Negro dialect, unless he wanted to have one." Certainly a backhanded compliment, certainly racially insensitive, and certainly a dumb thing to say. But now Michael Steele, the Republican Party Chairman, is asking for Senator Reid to resign over his comments.

Everyone, all together now: What the fuck, Michael Steele?

You mean to say an old white dude from Nevada might "privately" say some stupid racist shit? Wow, I'm shocked. This is news. I mean, really, this is fucking news! Next thing you know, some of the Congresspeople from the South might also be racist! But surely that can't be! They only had the utmost respect for Barack Obama when he was running for president! They only had the utmost respect for Sonia Sotomayor when she was confirmed for the Supreme Court! Racism is truly a thing of the past! Fuck Harry Reid for bringing it back!

(Using exclamation points to indicate sarcasm works really well!)

Okay, I admit it. There is probably a bit of a double-standard here. If a Republican had made the same comment, there'd probably be a much larger backlash. But come on, we all know a Republican wouldn't make the same comment. (They'd say "nigger," not "Negro." [Cheap joke, I apologize. I don't think all Republicans would say that. Just some.]) The thing is, Reid's choice of words, no matter how poor, weren't meant derogatorily. It's not like he said, "There's no way I'm ever voting for Obama, even if he is one of those light-skinned ones who doesn't speak like a Negro." That's bad. That's racist. Admitting that Obama might do well in polls due to the fact that he is, in fact, light-skinned and has a very neutral accent is... kind of true. Frankly, I'm still shocked we have a black president. It's fantastic. But if he had been black black, would he have been elected? There's definitely something to the light-skinned argument. Except, wait, no. I forgot that racism is dead and no one cares about skin color or foreign-sounding names. Everyone, that is, except for Harry Reid.

(There's also a specific coincidence to this story that I enjoy immensely: Last week, Michael Steele made his own racially insensitive remark on a Fox News interview. He said that the GOP platform "is one of the best political documents that's been written in the last 25 years, 'honest injun' on that."

I'd like to see Michael Steele call for Michael Steele to resign over that comment.)