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Another day of setbacks for GOP outreach to minority communities

The Republican National Committee has said repeatedly, for quite a while, that it wants to expand beyond its older, white base, and bring in more racial and

The Republican National Committee has said repeatedly, for quite a while, that it wants to expand beyond its older, white base, and bring in more racial and ethnic minorities. I think it's safe to say today was not a helpful day in this effort.

In New Jersey, for example, the leading Republican U.S. Senate candidate was forced to delete a racist tweet, directed at Newark Mayor Cory Booker, from his official campaign account. In Wisconsin, Gov. Scott Walker (R) was forced to fire an administration official who equated undocumented immigrants with "Satan." In D.C., Jason Richwine is talking again about minorities being intellectually inferior on a genetic level.

And then there's Oklahoma.

As Scott Keyes reported this morning, Rep. Markwayne Mullin (R) hosted a town-hall meeting in his Oklahoma district yesterday, and fielded a question from a self-described "Birther Princess." Mullin wasn't eager to pursue the racist conspiracy theory -- not because he considers it ridiculous, but because he believes it's too late.

Though Mullin at first appeared to be batting down the Birther Princess's nutty theory, it quickly became clear that he only took issue with her timing, not the substance of her accusation. "I believe what you're saying," he told the woman, saying he thought the birther issue "probably would've been" big enough to drag down Obama in 2012. Mullin felt aggrieved that he had to question whether Obama was actually born in the United States, concluding that although the issue is "still there," it's too late to prove it to the country.

Mullin is the second House Republican to endorse birtherism just this week.

Like I said, it's just a banner day for Republican minority outreach, isn't it?