ColorOfChange.org changing the color of democracy

ColorOfChange Executive Director Rashad Robinson appeared on "The Young Turks" last night to talk about the culture war rhetoric that's been a centerpiece of the Republican primary. The conversation was prompted by a recent Salon.com article that warns that a long primary "threatens to change the very parameters of our political discourse," shifting the dialogue further right as social issues take center stage and the economy and unemployment go ignored.

But as the candidates head into today's Michigan and Arizona primaries, Rashad points out that voters have more opportunities to see just "how far outside the mainstream some of [the candidates'] proposals are..."

UPDATE: (01/12/12) Marc Lamont Hill weighs in.

In case you've ever wondered what Newt Gingrich would say at an NAACP conference, wonder no more. While campaigning yesterday in Plymouth, NH, Gingrich remarked," I'm prepared, if the NAACP invites me, I'll go to their convention and talk about why the African-American community should demand paychecks and not be satisfied with food stamps." 

This just days after GOP hopeful Rick Santorum told a group of Iowans in Sioux Falls that he "doesn't want to make black people's lives better by giving them someone else's money." This much is clear: Race-baiting has taken center stage in the Republican primaries.