Whatever you do, RNC, Don't. Deviate. From. The. Standard. Layout.
Don't even think about actually putting a picture of the man you're supposedly honoring in the blog post supposedly honoring him. It's more important to make sure those web-surfing, GOP-curious voters looking for an alternative to the Democratic Party know that it's Reince Priebus, champion of civil rights, who's delivering this message of rememberance and not....those Democrats.
And in honor of Reince Priebus's whiteness, the “minority outreach” propaganda-generating algorithm programmed into their website's backend — conveniently linked to their @GOP Twitter account robo-tweet mechanism — has generated this tribute:
On April 4, we commemorate the death of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King. It was 45 years ago in Memphis, Tennessee, that the great civil rights leader was assassinated. This somber anniversary should give us cause to recall the movement he inspired and to uphold his legacy.
Today his monument stands on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., not far from the Lincoln Memorial where he shared his dream with the nation. Millions of visitors from across the country and around the world pass by and are given the chance to reflect on his life.
But the truest testament to his influence is not etched in stone. No, the real measure of his work is that America is today a better place thanks to him. Segregation is but a memory. Discrimination is outlawed. Racism is recognized as the evil that it is.
So far, so true. But there's one problem: the “mouth” speaking it. Mr. Priebus, the face of the party actively engaged in making a mockery of everything Dr. King stood for, surely he must realize he's fooling no one other than those already guaranteed to vote Republican, right?
Yet there is always work left to be done. The task of forming a ‘more perfect union’ is never finished. So the best way to pay tribute to Dr. King is to continue to stand for liberty, equal opportunity, and justice for all–just as he did.
Oh good, I'm glad he feels that way, because we've been waiting a long time for Republicans to actually
do something other than publish a love-filled blog post every time an historically significant date rolls around, only to spend the other 364 days of the year mocking it.
Like on that “equal opportunity” thing mentioned above, for example. African Americans haven't voted overwhelmingly Democratic for decades because Republicans are the champions of equal opportunity. If their words truly reflected what's in their hearts, wouldn't they be tripping over themselves to publicly condemn Justice Scalia's rather contradictory “racial entitlement” comment made during the VRA Supreme Court oral argument? Or to renounce the behavior of their white supremacist constituents in attendance at this last CPAC event? You know, the one at which Priebus himself spoke, the day after those inconvenient CPAC incidents occurred.
As a wise man here once said...
“Don't tell me what you believe, show me what you do and I will tell you what you believe.”
Likewise, show me what you haven't done, and I'll tell you what you believe. But their base doesn't want to hear anything about that stuff, because it's not how they feel. So these types of blunders get a pass. Even after conducting “autopsies” to figure out what went wrong after they lose elections, they still manage to overlook a big part of the problem: Silence is consent. They appease one shrinking bloc of voters at the expense of another growing one. That's fine by me.
The blog post continues:
And how bravely he stood. It can be easy to forget the resistance he faced–the hate, the violence, the arrests. Twenty-nine times he went to jail. But he faced it all calmly, resolutely and with kindness, insisting on meeting hate with love, violence with peace.
He once noted, “Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, “What are you doing for others?’” Dr. King could answer that question without hesitation. He helped America live up to its ideals.
And I will ask you the same question, Mr. Priebus. What are
you doing for others? Making sure they can't vote? Throwing them out of CPAC panel discussions? Calling them “wetbacks?” Erasing the line between church and state enshrined in your beloved-when-it-suits-you Constitution by way of female reproductive regulation or marriage inequality?
So soon they forget, but we won't. And the way things have been going lately, they won't let us forget, even if we wanted to. Gaffe after gaffe after gaffe.
King’s focus was making a difference–doing what was right. Cut short though it was, his was truly a life well-lived. No one can dispute that. And his life challenges all of us to serve a purpose greater than ourselves and for the greater good.
Remember Dr. King today for what his legacy can inspire us to do: to help our neighbor, to right wrongs, to treat all with dignity and respect, and to live with love in our hearts even in the most trying of circumstances. [...]
Truly inspiring words from crap-peddler extraordinaire Reince Priebus, who, once again, has found another date of historical significance to serve as a vehicle for delivering the GOP's rebranding propaganda.
See? Everything is all better now. All the white racist Republicans can take comfort knowing that they really aren't racist after all.
Because MLK.
.........
Other GOP propaganda opportunities recently exploited include Black History Month and Women's History Month.
Because we don't want to forget.