"I sent it out because it's anti-Obama"

You've heard about Montana's chief federal judge sending out a racist email about President Obama, right?

In the email, a boy asks his mother why he is black and she is white. "His mother replied, 'Don't even go there Barack! From what I can remember about that party, you're lucky you don't bark!' "

What struck me was Judge Richard Cebull's explanation of why he sent it. He claimed that he didn't send the email because it's racist. No, "I sent it out because it's anti-Obama."

Just think about that. Yeah, it's definitely anti-Obama, but what aspect of Barack Obama does it address? Is it his policies? Is it his politics? Of course not! This is about Obama's race.

And more specifically, this is about being of mixed-race, a racist's greatest fear. Obviously, his mother must have been a slut. Or "round-heeled," as Rush Limbaugh puts it. Good girls don't marry black men. (If they were married at all. I demand to see the long-form marriage certificate!)

This judge says that he didn't send out the email because it was racist, but that's all it is. It is racism, pure racism, and nothing else. There is no "anti-Obama" about it except racism. (Even if it were true, how is it "anti-Obama"? How would that say anything about Barack Obama himself?)

This is all about racism. That's why we have the "birther" movement. No one would ever question Barack Obama's birth records if he weren't black. No one would ever call him a Kenyan or a Muslim. No one would ever claim that he's not a "real" American if he were white.

He'd still be criticized, of course. That's politics. His political enemies would still be vicious in their criticism, no doubt. But this racist stuff is in addition to that. This is all about Barack Obama being black.

Racists - who flourish in the Republican Party, and are still all too common everywhere - have become absolutely hysterical about our first black president. That started before he took office, and even before he was elected. It has nothing to do with his policies.

This judge may be "anti-Obama," but he sent out that email because he's a racist. You really have to wonder how racial minorities can get a fair deal in his courtroom, don't you think?