The old joke about Republicans and Conservatism, Inc., and blacks goes something like this:

Q: What do you call the black guy at a Republican dinner?

A: The keynote speaker.

In 2009, they began calling him chairman. That’s when Republicans, terrified after a man of suspect parentage and citizenship named Barack Hussein Obama became president, elected Michael Steele as their chairman.

At a CPAC even over the weekend, Ian Walters, communications director for the American Conservative Union, said the GOP picked Steele because he was black. That, he said, was a mistake.

The New York Times:

The spokesman, Ian B. Walters, made the comment on Friday night at a dinner in Oxon Hill, Md., that was part of the annual Conservative Political Action Conference.

“We elected Mike Steele to be the R.N.C. chair because he’s a black guy,” said Mr. Walters, the communications director for the American Conservative Union, which organized the conference. “That was the wrong thing to do.”

There were audible gasps when Mr. Walters made the comment, Jonathan Levine, the media editor at The Wrap, who was at the dinner, said on Twitter.

Here is video of #CPAC Comms Director Ian Walters making his remarks about former RNC Chairman Michael Steele

"We elected Mike Steele to be the RNC chair because he's a black guy; that was the wrong thing to do." pic.twitter.com/QpWs96b478

— Jon Levine (@LevineJonathan) February 24, 2018

Mr. Steele was the first black chairman of the Republican National Committee, serving from 2009 to 2011. His tenure coincided with the election of Barack Obama as the first black president.

Mr. Walters said Republicans were “somewhat lost” after the election of Mr. Obama and “weren’t sure what to do,” leading to Mr. Steele’s selection as chairman.

Of course, Walters apologized, as all good conservatives do after a Kinsley Gaffe. And, of course, Steele wouldn’t accept.

Speaking with MSNBC’s crazy black leftist Joy-Ann Reid—not a Republican—Steele explained that the GOP has a racism problem:

In a phone interview on Saturday morning on Ms. Reid’s show, Mr. Steele was asked if the Republican Party had a problem with racism.

“Yes, they do. And I think we need to be honest and acknowledge it,” Mr. Steele said. “The fact that people sit here now and say this has nothing to do with race — yeah, it does, when you stand on a podium and blatantly speak to race the way Ian did.”

Well, Steele is right. But for the wrong reason. The GOP does have a racism problem; it’s terrified of being called racist.

But that’s what telling the truth gets you these days.

Funny thing is, Walters doesn’t look white, which means his minority background didn’t afford him protection.