The Ugliness Begins

The Texas Republican Party has found itself red-faced for allowing a vendor to sell this button at its state party convention last weekend.

According to the Dallas Morning News, the vendor has apologised and the Texas GOP has denounced him, pledging to donate the $1,500 it received in rent for his stall to a charity. Pretty lame, really.

This not-to-subtle reminder of reality might give us sneak peak at what's to come as the campaign unfolds over the next several months. While many of us like to think that we've moved beyond race, the unfortunate truth remains that even as America contemplates electing a black president, racial tensions have not entirely abated and an often-suppressed undercurrent of racism persists in many parts of the country.

Until Republican party leaders take racism seriously (fat chance - remember the Republicans are the party of fear), there will be no shortage of those willing to exploit racial prejudice for political gain.