We’ve been hearing a lot about the vendor who sold controversial buttons at the Republican State Convention…buttons that asked if the White House would still be called the White House if Obama becomes president. So, I gave the button maker, Jonathan Alcox, a call. It turns out he makes buttons, stickers, etc for both parties and in his estimation, with equally messages. Alcox says he meant nothing racist with his button and had gotten the idea from a cartoon in a newspaper.

“I only made 12 buttons to test them out,” he said. “And, I only sold four. Two were sold to journalists who were looking for a controversial story to bring out of the convention.”

Alcox says he’s sure paying the price for the 8 bucks he made on the buttons. The Texas Republican Party has banned him from all future conventions and they have banned him from the national convention.

“Those conventions are essentially my livelihood,” said Alcox. “I don’t understand why they are making such a big fuss over these buttons when I sold equally offensive buttons at the Democratic convention and nobody said a word. In fact, they sold out almost immediately.”