Students' Obama Song Used For GOP Fundraising
RNC Chair Michael Steele writes that the video shows "the indoctrination of our nation's greatest treasure -- our children."
"Friend, this is the type of propaganda you would see in Stalin's Russia or Kim Jong Il's North Korea," Steele writes. "I never thought the day would come when I'd see it here in America."
The video, which shows students learning songs praising Mr. Obama for his "great accomplishments" and efforts to "make this country's economy No. 1 again," was posted on the conservative Drudge Report and reported by Fox News, prompting anger from conservatives.
"This is the type of fanaticism Republicans are up against as we fight to stop the Obama Democrats' radical leftist transformation of America," Steele writes in the fundraising email. "The only way our Party can defeat their liberal ambitions is by electing more Republicans in the upcoming 2009 state elections and the critical 2010 mid-term elections."
School administrators say students were taught the songs in the video, entitled "School Kids Taught To Praise Obama," in conjunction with February's Black History Month. The recording and release of the video, administrators said, had not been authorized.
A spokeswoman for the New Jersey Department of Education released a statement saying that "the commissioner has directed the superintendent to conduct a thorough review of what happened."
The goal, she said, was "to ensure that students can celebrate the achievements of African Americans during Black History Month without inappropriate partisan politics in the classroom, as well as ensuring the privacy of children is not violated," as the Daily Journal reports.
The spokeswoman added that the teacher behind the video retired at the end of last year.
Steele concludes in his fundraising email that "the indoctrinating of the most impressionable members of our society is unbelievable unless you see it with your own eyes."
"Please watch the video of young school children literally singing the praises of Barack Obama that their teachers have taught them," he writes. "Share it with your friends, family, neighbors or anyone you think may be concerned by this. Then make a donation of $10, $25, $50 or $100 to support the RNC's efforts to fight this leftist propaganda and elect more Republicans this year and next."