I don't think they get it. Me calling Bush a dumb peckerwood is not the same as Howard Dean calling him a dumb peckerwood. This isn't about racism either, it's about judgment in light of the perception people have about your party, a party you're aspiring to lead. No one gives a shit about the song or its performer. What they care about is the endorsement of it by someone wanting to lead the RNC.
Because I love history all of this reminds me of Bess Truman poor judgment in light of D.A.R. refusal to allow Hazel Scott to perform at the Constitution Hall because she was black. After she got wind of the story Mrs. Truman issued a press release in the morning condemning D.A.R's refusal to allow Mrs. Scott to perform and in the afternoon attended a tea party held by D.A.R. in her honor.
Contrast Bess Truman's action with that of Eleanor Roosevelt who resigned her D.A.R. membership when Marian Anderson's request to perform at Constitutional Hall was denied. Mrs. Roosevelt later persuaded interior secretary Harold Ickes to arrange for an outdoor concert for Mrs. Anderson at the steps of Lincoln Memorial.
The moral of the story is that judgment and class knows no race, color or creed.