Michael Steele Gets In Trouble And Looks For Black Up

Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele, better known as “Money Mike,” is in hot water these days.

Money Mike had us fooled. See, we all thought that Mike had turned in his so-called race card when he took over the RNC and became a full-fledged Republican. But, Mike has come to realize that his so-called race card was pretty valuable and decided he had not quite maxed it out as of yet. So, after using the media to whine about left-wing blacks playing the so-called race card, Money Mike has decided that maybe it is time for him to swipe his get-out-of-trouble-using-race-card again … for old times sake.

On ABC’s GMA, Steele said that he was being singled out in GOP politics because he’s black. He’s calling Republicans racists. Wow, he’s joining us except in a much deeper way because I’ve been calling many in the Tea Party movement racist. In his case….

He’s indicting the whole Republican party:

The embattled chairman played the race card today when asked on “Good Morning America” if he has a slimmer margin of error because he is African American.

“The honest answer is, ‘yes,’” he said. “Barack Obama has a slimmer margin. A lot of folks do. It’s a different role for me to play and others to play and that’s just the reality of it. But you take that as part of the nature of it.”

“My view on politics is much more grassroots oriented, it’s not old boy network oriented, so I tend to, you know, come at it a little bit stronger, a little bit more street-wise, if you will. That’s rubbed some feathers the wrong way,” Steele told “GMA’s” George Stephanopoulos.

Mike, Mike, Mike…

The oftentimes bumbling Steele just doesn’t get it. Note to Brother Mike: You can’t play the so-called race card if you’re a Republican. Mike, right wingers don’t mind MasterCard, American Express, Visa or even UNO cards, but the race one is the card they don’t like.

By the way, Mike is no rookie at playing the race card.

Nothing like trouble to help Money Mike remember that he is black and find something in common with President Obama (this should illustrate how much heat Steele is feeling).

Here is what White House press secretary Robert Gibbs had to say: as quoted by The Hill:

GOP Chairman Michael Steele shouldn’t blame criticism of his actions on race, White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said Monday. Gibbs called Steele’s remark that criticism of his leadership is motivated by race “silly” during a meeting with reporters. “I think Michael Steele’s problem isn’t the race card, it’s the credit card,” Gibbs added.

Rep. Lewis, Rep. Cleaver Attacked By People For Being Called ‘Nigger’ And Being Spit On

It never ceases to amaze me the lengths that some conservative black people will go to protect racism at Tea Party rallies while attacking black leaders for being called “nigger” or being spit on by protesters.

That thought brings me to comments I read from conservative blogger Andre Harper, who proudly talks about himself as a black man who was at Tea Party rallies. Hey, that is fine by me. If he wants to hang with those individuals then that is no doubt his choice. If he chooses to ignore the racist language at many of these rallies, if he chooses to ignore that these Tea Party people were silent (nonexistent) prior to the election of Barack Obama as the first black president of the United States of America, then that is his choice. Again, where were these Tea Party people worried about big government, government spending, the loss of freedoms and all of this other stuff when George W. Bush was president? They were silent. But, we elect the first black president and all of a sudden these good and patriotic Americans are soooooooooo worried about freedom, government spending, deficits, the size of government, etc. It’s all a bunch of bullsh!t. To each their own.

But, it still saddens me when racism apologists/excuse makers you see people make comments like the following (from Harper’s blog):

Democrat puppets like representatives [Emanuel] Cleaver and John Lewis are nothing but frauds. They instinctively play the race card because that is how they have achieved their lot in life. No one should be surprised that they can’t prove these accusations. They never can. With all these videos surfacing, the large police presence and all the witnesses, I find it hard to believe that no one can identify or find any evidence of their claims. It’s disgraceful and completely unfounded for John Lewis to compare this peaceful protest to his experience on the Pettis Bridge. The situations and conditions are completely different. The truth is these cowards are always going to play the race card because they are weak-minded, cowardly individuals that exploit race by instinct.

The words are nothing short of disgraceful and ridiculous. Oh, and it’s the Edmund Pettus Bridge.

Rep. John Lewis is a man who fought and bled for civil rights to allow men like Harper and myself to be able to blog with the kinds of freedoms black people of prior generations could not have imagined when they were young. Sadly, Harper uses his platform as a blogger to refer to John Lewis (and Emanuel Cleaver, who had a Tea Party person spit on him) as “Democrat puppets.”

Once again, we see the lengths that people will go to apologize for or make excuses for racism at Tea Party (that includes Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele).

Check out the full version of Harper’s irrational and racism-apologizing-for blog: http://andreharper.blogspot.com/2010/03/extreme-lie-conservatism-vs-liberalism.html

When It Comes To Money Mike And The Republicans … They Are Who We Thought They Were

“They are who we thought they were,” is a quote made famous (maybe infamous) by former Arizona Cardinals head coach Dennis Green during an explosive press conference years back.

But, when you think of Michael “Money Mike” Steele, chairman of the Republican National Committee, the quote sadly rings all too true. Regretfully, Steele has become a phony face of diversity for a party all too comfortably willing to engage in the most hateful brand of politics now that we have a black man, Barack Obama, as president of the United States.

From the New York Daily News:

A secret GOP fundraising document urges the party to fill its coffers by playing on donors’ “fear” of Barack Obama and a pledge to “save the country from trending towards socialism,” Politico.com reports, complete with an image depicting Barack Obama as the Joker.

The strategy was presented by the RNC’s Finance Director, Rob Bickhart, and Finance Chairman, Peter Terpelk, to fundraisers at a GOP retreat in Florida, the Web site reports.

Included in the Power Point presentation is a slide titled ‘The Evil Empire’ depicting Sen. Harry Reid as Scooby Doo and Nancy Pelosi as Cruella DeVille, along with the Joker caricature of Obama.

No amount of pathetic excuse making (saying the offensive images had been on the Web, throwing a staffer under the bus, saying it was just for a small group, it was supposed to be humorous, turning himself into the victim) on the part of Money Mike is going to erase the fact that the Republicans’ game plan is to use the politics of fear and division to achieve what they deem to be “success” in future campaigns.

Steele says they will not tolerate this, but only time will tell if he is being a windbag trying to perform damage control.

In the video, he starts whining and trying to shift the debate back to health care and then turning himself to the victim over and over again.

Steele looks pathetic and like a clown defending this garbage.

Instead of answers, all Steele had to offer were excuses, issue shifting and victimization.

Democrats don’t want to get caught not looking and blindsided by the trash people apparently affiliated with the RNC are putting out.

The last thing Democrats want is to feel like Dennis Green did in the video below:

Can’t let them off the hook.

RNC Chairman Michael Steele: White Republicans Have Been Scared Of Me

Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele, Money Mike as some people might call him, is back in the news for his continuing efforts to try and diversify the GOP. Money Mike faces an uphill battle to diversify a party that is becoming increasingly marginalized as extremist talking heads like Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck have pretty much hijacked the GOP and stripped it clean of virtually any value to the vasty majority of minorities. In a story published by The Hill, Steele expressed some of the hurdles he has attempted to clear as the first black RNC chair. Steele’s comments were first heard on TVOne’s “Washington Watch” as he was interviewed by host Roland Martin:

MARTIN: But your candidates got to talk to them. One of the criticisms I’ve always had is Republicans — white Republicans — have been scared of black folks.

STEELE: You’re absolutely right. I mean I’ve been in the room and they’ve been scared of me. I’m like, “I’m on your side” and so I can imagine going out there and talking to someone like you, you know, [say] “I’ll listen.” And they’re like “Well.” Let me tell you. You saw in Christie and you saw in McDonnell a door open because they went in and engaged. McDonnell was very deliberate about spending…

MARTIN: Right.

STEELE: I mean, Sheila Johnson was on his team. I mean, that was a big deal. That’s because he engaged her and she helped navigate him through that relationship.

Now, if the GOP is trying to prove it is reaching out to minorities (truly reaching out) then Money Mike’s comments are reckless at best and counterproductive at worst.

Honestly, until high-profile Republican politicians reclaim the party from Limbaugh, Beck and other extremists, it can not expect to be considered a party of inclusion.

Money Mike needs to work hard amongst his Republican politicians to help the GOP mainstream distance itself from the divisive rhetoric of Beck, Limbaugh, Sean Hannity  and others and the anti-left and biased reporting on Fox News.

Stuff like this, as chronicled on The Hill, is ineffective:

Shortly after he was elected chairman in February, Steele said that the Republican Party needed to conduct an “off the hook” public relations campaign to attract blacks and Hispanics in “urban-suburban hip-hop settings.” He also said that he would attract minority voters with fried chicken and potato salad.

Money Mike needs to leave that stuff alone.

The Hill:
http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/67009-steele-white-republicans-are-scared-of-me

Republicans Are Attacking ABC Over Something That Hasn’t Even Happened

President Obama will be on ABC news during a prime-time special that is being called “Questions for the President: Prescription for America.” Right wingers are already whining about it and some have referred to it as an infomercial for the president and asserted that he will not be challenged. This is the kind of prejudice that makes no sense. The Republicans need to stop whining and work a little bit harder to get their alternative plan (if they have one) for health care reform. Taking shots at the President’s plan while not offering an alternative one seems to serve no useful purpose. Republicans can take a platform of their own and get their own message out and their own plan out. But, that is kind of difficult to do when you’re whining about the media.

Here is part of the Fox News report:

Opponents of President Obama’s proposed health care reform are blasting ABC News for refusing to air opposing ads during a prime time special next Wednesday, just as a new study finds ABC News coverage of the president’s health care plan is favorable by a ratio of 3 to 1.

The prime time special — called “Questions for the President: Prescription for America” — will be a nationally televised event during which Obama will answer questions presented by audience members selected by ABC News. The network has refused to accept advocacy ads during the hourlong show.

Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele accused ABC News and anchor Charles Gibson of making Obama’s case for “nationalized” health care “without any opportunity for opposing views to be aired.

That is quite a statement for something we’ve not yet seen.

More from the Fox story:

In a fundraising e-mail aimed at raising nearly $100,000 to buy air time for a counterprogram, Steele said the RNC’s request to add its views to the debate during the special was “flatly rejected” by ABC News.

“What are the Democrats and their media allies afraid of? The truth?” he asked in a fundraising letter to supporters. “That is outrageous! And we will not take it!”

But ABC News spokesman Jeffrey Schneider told FOXNews.com that it has been a “longstanding” policy not to accept “advocacy” ads.

Schneider explained that the policy was established decades ago and only local ABC affiliates air issue ads.

If ABC is truly being consistent (with its ad policy), then Republicans should quit whining. It sounds as if they can go to local affiliates and do what needs to be done. That should be their approach if they are truly interested in something other than creating a controversy out of nothing … or, a nontroversy. In this country, to the victor goes the spoils. The Democrats won big in November and they have the bigger megaphone (just as Republicans did when George W. Bush was in office the previous eight years).

Fox News:
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/06/18/critics-attack-abc-news-refusing-air-opposing-ads-obamas-health-care-special/

The Politics Of Fear: Starring Michael Steele

Leave it to Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele to never let an opportunity to spread fear and division pass without exploitation. Steele, in another effort to appeal to those conservative Republicans, is playing the fear card by trying to convince people that Democrats want to take your guns away and move terrorists into your backyards. These days, in the wake of the thrashing the Republicans suffered in the November election, conservatives are pretty much overplaying the fear card (socialism, too much taxing, losing gun rights, fascism, communism, big government, the U.S. being less safe and on and on it goes).

From Steele:

“Whenever they can, wherever they can, the Democrats want to take away the rights of law abiding citizens to own and purchase a gun – a right that is guaranteed under the United States Constitution. …

“It is ironic, to say the least, that at the same time Democrats in Congress are threatening to deny Americans their second amendment right to own a firearm and defend their families and homes, they are considering bringing terrorists like 9-11 mastermind Khalid Sheik Mohammed and other Al Qaeda detainees to our communities once the President follows through on his campaign promise to close Guantanamo Bay. …

“In April, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano – former Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano – approved the release of a report warning that ‘right-wing extremists’ concerned about government restrictions on the right to own firearms are prime candidates for conducting violent acts of domestic terrorism. Not only is this silly, it is sad. …

“Now let’s pause for a moment…Everything I’ve just discussed is what the liberal Democrats are able to do with control of two branches of government. Before the end of President Obama’s first term it is entirely possible that liberal Democrats could control every lever of every branch of government. …

“Supreme Court justices hold lifetime appointments. That is why it is imperative that President Obama take his time and search for a nominee with the wisdom and grounding to interpret the laws of our great nation – not one who will have a knee jerk desire to ‘empathize’ with the concerns of Americans. Sounds like instead of another Judge Roberts, the President is looking to put Doctor Phil on the Court. …

“There is no doubt that the President is under extreme pressure with this decision. Liberal groups who escorted him down Pennsylvania Avenue on Inauguration Day are looking for a bit of payback. … They want a young, activist, left-wing justice who will leave a liberal legacy long after the Obama administration is over. Obama is considering including politicians, not judges, among his short-list of Supreme Court nominees. We don’t need a justice on the Court with an ideological agenda.”

The last sentence is funny when you think of the fact that many of the Supreme Court justices come in with an ideological agenda. You don’t think Clarence Thomas, as one example, was picked for very specific reasons (being a black hardcore conservative). With that line, Steele acts as if we’re all too stupid to realize the obvious. Republicans look for conservative justices and Democrats look for liberal judges. Michael, we know the game. You had your guy in office for eight years and now the Democrats have their person in office.

Talking Points Memo:
http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2009/05/steele-dems-want-to-take-away-our-guns-move-terrorists-into-our-communities.php?ref=fp2