Whether you yourself are racist or not, race is definitely a factor in this election and there are definitely conservatives who are willing to exploit it. At the recent "Values Voters" conference, they were selling boxes of waffles with Obama dressed up as a sort of Muslim Aunt Jemimah. Hilarious! Just a couple of weeks ago, Georgia Republican Lynn Westmoreland said that Obama and his wife were "uppity" a word that has traditionally been used as a slur against black people who "get above themselves." I'm sure that was just an inconvenient choice of words, right?

The Republicans have been using the "Southern Strategy" for years with great success. You're not a racist? Good for you. Unfortunately, the Republican party and conservatives have long relied upon racial divisions and dogwhistle words like "uppity" to appeal to like-minded white voters. Racism is real. Republican racism is very real. Whether you yourself are racist or not is irrelevant.