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.