In a skit that didn’t make it to air last weekend, “Saturday Night Live” viciously mocked conservatives.
The late night comedy show targeted several Republican lawmakers well as U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. In the skit--a parody of the "Super Bowl Shuffle" performed by the 1985 Chicago Bears--SNL cast member Keenan Thompson impersonated Thomas in a rap that included the line: “I’m super closed-minded even though I’m black.”
The skit, entitled “Establishment Shuffle” was intended to be a send up of so-called “establishment” Republicans.” The skit included impersonations of Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, former Speaker of the House John Boehner, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, and Senator Lindsey Graham, but it was clearly intended to be of a mockery of conservatism in general, not the intra party split that is currently present within the GOP.
Thomas, who is rarely described as being a part of the GOP “establishment,” was singled out by Thompson who rapped:
My Names Clarence Thomas
And I’m here to say.
Corporations are people in every way.
All you crazy right-wingers
I’ve got your back.
Because I’m super closed-minded
Even though I’m Black.
In the past, black Republicans, including Thomas, have had their “blackness” called into question due to the fact that they hold conservative views. Thomas has been referred to as “Uncle Thomas” by some liberals—a play on the term “Uncle Tom” which was originally used to smear African-Americans who we’re seen as being subservient to white authority figures.
You can view the skit in its entirety here.