Friday, April 23, 2010

Michael Steele Talking Too Much About Race


After recent revelations about his big spending, Michael Steele has started to come clean about the role race plays in the GOP. It's funny how he seems to have discovered that he is Black over the last few weeks. He recently admitted that the GOP had in fact used the Southern Strategy, as pointed out by Rachel Maddow.

Steele also stated, during a speech this week at DePaul University:

“Why should an African-American vote Republican?

“You really don’t have a reason to, to be honest — we haven’t done a very good job of really giving you one. True? True,” Republican National Chairman Michael Steele told 200 DePaul University students Tuesday night….

Steele seemed to hold the diverse student audience’s attention most when he talked about his own experience suffering racial discrimination — in his first law firm interview for example — and when he confessed his party’s failure to reach out to African-Americans:

“We have lost sight of the historic, integral link between the party and African-Americans,” Steele said. “This party was co-founded by blacks, among them Frederick Douglass. The Republican Party had a hand in forming the NAACP, and yet we have mistreated that relationship. People don’t walk away from parties, Their parties walk away from them.

“For the last 40-plus years we had a ‘Southern Strategy’ that alienated many minority voters by focusing on the white male vote in the South. Well, guess what happened in 1992, folks, ‘Bubba’ went back home to the Democratic Party and voted for Bill Clinton.”


It appears that the Republican Party may be losing control of its racial stooge. The Republican leadership put Steele in the Chairman's seat to be a prop to counter claims that the Party wasn't a reflection of America's diversity. He was put there to look pretty. I don't think his GOP handlers are too happy about him making comments that basically confirm what critics have been saying for some time about the Republican Party. First he made the comment that Black leaders may not have as much room for error....in response to criticism from within his own Party. Now he is talking about how his Party has used the Southern Strategy.

I think he'll be gone if the Republicans don't win big in November. They will have to win big by gaining enough seats to take over the House of Representatives.

3 comments:

rikyrah said...

he was just telling the truth.

Brian said...

I know... but that's not why the Republican Party made him Chairman.

Watching the fallout will be interesting. The GOP has backed itself into a very difficult corner on this. Their whole approach of using him as a prop hasn't had the desired results IMO. If they fire him... they confirm much of what he has been saying. If they keep him... he keeps talking. lol

Needless to say... i'm enjoying the whole show.

Andre said...

AI, I think you're giving MC Steele a little too much credit. He's had a little bit of rebellious streak lately, but I'd hardly call it an awakening. This is the same dude who basically capitulated to Rush Limbaugh of all people when a little heat was put on him. If the RNC decides to keep him at the helm (a VERY faint possibility, IMO), they'll keep him on a much shorter leesh in preparation for Election, 2012.