Steele Getting Challengers From Within

Things are not looking too good for Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele, who looks like a political dead man walking.

This clown has the same old ignorant rhetoric, but the bigger point is Steele could be in a lot of trouble.

Is Steele Getting A GOP Pass Because He Is Black?

Boneheaded comments from Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele are nothing new. In fact, he has honed his skill as a fountain of self-inflicted damaging comments for Republicans. The latest of his bizarre and credibility-damaging comments came as he attempted to attach the Afghanistan war to President Obama and essentially went against GOP talking points (trumpeting the value of this war).

The GOP is not too happy with Chairman Steele and one columnist Cynthia Tucker of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution) believes the reason Steele seems to have more lives than any two cats is because he is black.

TAPPER: Cynthia, you once called -- and let me underline -- you once called Michael Steele an affirmative action hire gone bad. What's your take on this?

TUCKER: Well, Michael Steele is a self-aggrandizing gaffe-prone incompetent who would have been fired a long time ago were he not black. Of course, the irony is that he never would have been voted in as chairman of the Republican Party were he not black.

Let's remember how the party wound up with Michael Steele. In November 2008, the party was devastated that the Democrats had elected the nation's first black president, while the Republican Party was stuck with being seen as largely the party of aging white people, with good reason, a party that was hostile to people of color, especially blacks and Latinos.

So the party needed a new face, preferably a face of color, and they didn't have very many officials to choose from, so they came up with Michael Steele. And it is very ironic, since the Republicans have been so critical of affirmative action, to watch them stuck with their affirmative action hire that they dare not get rid of, because that would generate even more controversy.

Now, if Steele were a Democrat leader of the DNC it would be reasonable to think that the far right would consider him an affirmative action hire and would deem him an utter failure. Moreover, Steele would come to symbolize all that is wrong with affirmative action.

It is kind of ironic that the party that claims to be against affirmative action now finds itself in a tough position (one that it would be hammering Democrats for if they were in the same spot).

Also from Tucker:

Actually, Steele has no interest in figuring out his role. He’s a self-aggrandizing loose cannon who likes being the out-front showboat. That’s his strong suit.

If the Republican Party weren’t so self-conscious about its lack of diversity, party leaders would have voted him out a long time ago. But the GOP has spent years criticizing affirmative action. It would be hard for the party to admit its recent affirmative action hire didn’t work out.

It's more than just admitting it didn't work out. Republicans, if you believe in what Tucker is asserting, would have to admit that they engaged in affirmative action in the first place.

To many on the far right, I would imagine that would be more damaging than admitting the Michael Steele project failed.

Those are strong words. One has to wonder how much truth is behind the curtain of these words.

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.

Sen. Harry Reid’s Comments Well Intended, But Reckless And Ignorant

Sen. Harry Reid has an amazing habit of creating his own troubles, and it seems he is again guilty of a self-inflicted political blunder with a racial twist. Sen. Reid’s comments came in 2008 and were part of the book “Game Change” by Mark Halperin, of Time Magazine, and John Heilemann, of New York magazine. The book was a behind-the-scenes look at the historical presidential campaign of 2008 that featured current president Barack Obama and rivals such as current secretary of state Hillary Clinton.

Here is a portion of a story written by the Huffington Post that discusses the part in question that now has Sen. Reid, who has issued the customary apology, in some hot water.

“He (Reid) was wowed by Obama’s oratorical gifts and believed that the country was ready to embrace a black presidential candidate, especially one such as Obama – a ‘light-skinned’ African American ‘with no Negro dialect, unless he wanted to have one,’ as he later put it privately,” according to the book.

First off, Sen. Reid did not make these comments intending to do harm to President Obama or out of some racist motivation. In his own way, clumsy as it was, he was attempting to pay the president a compliment. Unfortunately, this poor attempt shows that Reid in some ways does not grasp how serious people are taking political correctness these days (even when you are attempting to be complimentary). A good number of liberals, as Dr. Boyce Watkins points out, often attempt to pass compliments in this kind of ham-handed way to show that they are down for the cause.

The “no Negro dialect” comment is more than a little puzzling to me. It reminds me of something that people must have said in the early 1900s or late 1800s. How many people still use the word “Negro” today? That is just an odd choice of words to say the very least.

By the way, here is Sen. Reid’s apology statement as reported by CNN:

REID: I deeply regret using such a poor choice of words. I sincerely apologize for offending any and all Americans, especially African Americans for my improper comments. I was a proud and enthusiastic supporter of Barack Obama during the campaign and have worked as hard as I can to advance President Obama’s legislative agenda.

The apology was accepted by Barack Obama and should be accepted by others. Sen. Reid (and I have not always been his biggest fan) needs to choose his words better (even if he sees himself as passing a compliment), but it’s clear that while his brain and mouth were malfunctioning, his heart probably was in the right place.

As a side note, RNC chairman Michael Steele has compared Sen. Reid’s comments to those of former Sen. Trent Lott, who felt the U.S. would have been better off if segregationist Strom Thurmond had become president in 1948. As I wrote in an earlier blog, it just shows how ignorant, political and hypocritical Michael Steele is in his role for the Republicans.

Always The Victim … Starring RNC Chairman Michael Steele

Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele never misses an opportunity to position himself a victim and all who oppose him as hypocrites or in some other way as bad people. Steele recently was on TV to discuss Sen. Harry Reid’s stupid and racially insensitive comments (I will blog about that later) and called out the Democrats and progressives for what he feels is hypocrisy about how racial charges are handled. But, in his clumsy zest to attack Democrats, Steele showed his own hypocrisy by downplaying a recent comment that he made that many people feel was a slur against Native Americans.

Once again, Michael Steele wallows in victimhood, deflecting his own racially insensitive comment, while attacking Sen. Reid for a racially insensitive comment and calling on him to resign as majority leader of the U.S. Senate.

Here are Steele’s comments, while being interviewed by Fox News Sunday host Chris Matthews, about Sen. Harry Reid:

STEELE: I think he should. There is a standard where Democrats think they can say these things and apologize when it comes from the mouth of their own. But if it comes from anyone else, it’s racism. It’s either racist or it’s not. And it’s inappropriate, absolutely. So if the standard is the one we saw with Trent Lott as leader at the time, then I think this absolutely falls in that category here. … Remember, this is the same leader who just a few weeks ago was talking about health care in the context of slavery. Clearly he is out of touch.

As you will see in the Huffington Post account, Matthews did confront Steele about his double standard. But, the RNC chairman simply said if his comments were offended he apologized and tried to leave it at that apology (something he was not willing to allow Sen. Reid). So, where is the real double standard there, Chairman Steele? If the hypocritical Steele is not willing to resign, as RNC chairman, after his racially insensitive remarks, then why should Sen. Reid resign from his post as majority leader?

Now, in no way, shape or form can you compare Sen. Reid’s comments to that of former U.S. Senator Trent Lott, who suggested that “all of these problems” could have been avoided if segregationist Strom Thurmond had been elected president of the United States in 1948. Once again, the passion of Steele is somewhat admirable, but he is so clumsy and blundering that he takes a political issue that could be a good one and blows it because it is perhaps he who is the out-of-touch hypocrite.

Generally, when Michael Steele is confronted on his missteps (and there have been more than a few), he blames Washington, people afraid of change, Democrats, the media, etc. For the most part, he blames everyone but Michael Steele.

Michael Steele To Sen. Harry Reid: Check Yo Self!

“Money” Mike Steele, the Republican National Committee’s chairman and leader of the right-wing’s reluctant exploration of hip hop culture, was back on the mic again. This time, he was in a conversation on an MSNBC show and last seen essentially running and screaming away from Donny Deutsch, who called out Steele for his comments directed at Sen. Harry Reid. Steele’s comments were part of an orchestrated effort to play the so-called race card while accusing Democrats of playing the so-called race card. It is, to say the very least, a very interesting strategy.

Here is an excerpt from a Think Progress story that features strong comments from Hip Hop Mike (as The Field Negro aptly calls him):

On MSNBC’s Morning Joe, co-host Mika Brzezinski called Reid’s remarks “unfortunate.” Her guest, RNC Chairman Michael Steele, said Reid needs to “check himself” and ripped him for being “out of touch,” “clueless,” and “ignorant.”

Wow, Hip Hop Mike was setting it off.

Those are quite the strong comments, including, ”check himself?” It seems Hip Hop Mike is at it again trying to fire up his crew with some straight-up off-the-hook comments.

I thought we squashed these beefs with 2Pac and Biggie.

Check out these thoughtful, scholarly and measured responses from RNC Chairman Michael Steele:

DEUTSCH: I’m still trying to understand why the analogies he’s made are wrong. Obviously, the issue here is that any great change throughout history has the naysayers saying “it’s not time, it’s not time.” So why was that an irrelevant analogy?

STEELE: I won’t even dignify that with a response.

DEUTSCH: What do you mean, dignify? It’s a question, it’s a genuine question.

STEELE: Next question.

DEUTSCH: It’s a genuine question.

STEELE: Next question. Come on. I’m sorry, sir. I’m not going to sit here and say it’s an appropriate comparison to slavery.

DEUTSCH: He’s not. He’s comparing it to dramatic change, and the naysayers to change.

STEELE: Whatever, whatever. Next question.

DEUTSCH: That’s a great response. Very, very intelligent, brave response.

STEELE: It is. As was your question.

Hip Hop Mike went a little too far back in his youth… back to like kindergarten with his responses. Come on, Hip Hop Mike. It’s time to grow up and not running screaming from debate in a childish display of weakness.

Hip Hop Mike got punked by Donny Deutsch.

What would the homies think?

Think Progress:
http://thinkprogress.org/2009/12/09/steele-deutsch-questions/

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.

Michael Steele’s Plan For Attracting Minorities To The Republican Party … Fried Chicken And Potato Salad

Republican National Committee chairman Michael Steele disappoints a lot of people. I don’t think Steele is a bad guy, but he seems to have a low opinion of blacks and a lack of understanding of why many blacks have abandoned the Republican Party during the last six to seven decades.

Listen to what Steele offered (jokingly) when asked about how he’s going to work to attract diversity to the GOP. (Hint: The answer includes fried chicken and potato salad.)

Huffington Post reported on this story.

Someone out of the view of the camera says ”I’ll bring the collard greens” and Steele chimes in about what he will bring.

This (along with trying to “talk black” as he is apt to do from time to time depending on the audience) is not an effective recruiting strategy to diversify the Republican Party.

Real change begins in the hearts, minds and souls of those who have the tightest grip on the GOP. That is the upmountain battle Steele faces.

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/

Negro, Please: Steele Attacks President Obama Using Race

Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele rarely misses an opportunity to open his mouth to offer criticism of President Barack Obama. Sadly, however, Steele is resorting to old and tired Republican talking points: Jeremiah Wright, Bill Ayers, etc. Steele, however, steps into an interesting territory with this comment he recently made (as documented by Think Progress):

STEELE: The problem that we have with this president is that we don’t know [Obama]. He was not vetted, folks. … He was not vetted, because the press fell in love with the black man running for the office. “Oh gee, wouldn’t it be neat to do that? Gee, wouldn’t it make all of our liberal guilt just go away? We can continue to ride around in our limousines and feel so lucky to live in an America with a black president.” Okay that’s wonderful, great scenario, nice backdrop. But what does he stand for? What does he believe? … So we don’t know. We just don’t know.

Some of the tired talking points from Steele in the above comments:

1. We don’t know him
2. He was not vetted
3. The press fell in love with him
4. The press fell in love with him because he’s black

These are some of the same tired and old talking points we heard over and over again throughout the presidential campaign. Additionally, it’s evidence Michael Steele and Republicans refuse to bring anything new to the table (that is positive). The public wants something more for the Republicans than to play the fear card and the woe-is-us (the press supposedly in the pocket of President Obama) card.

Check out Think Progress’ article because it points out a little hypocrisy coming from Michael Steele (with his implications about the president based on race). Maybe it’s time someone took the microphone away from Chairman Steele. He may be a good man, but it seems as though nearly every time he opens his mouth something damaging to the party comes out. Comments like that may strengthen the Republican base, but it hurts the ability for the party to expand beyond its far-right base.

I will say one thing about Michael Steele: He knows how to stay in the public spotlight.

Think Progress:
http://thinkprogress.org/2009/05/22/steele-obama-race/

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

Michael Steele Laughs As Caller Refers To President Obama As ‘Magic Negro’

Apparently, Republican National Committee chairman Michael Steele is working to strengthen his credentials among the far right of the GOP. While hosting a conservative talk show (for regular host Bill Bennett), Steele got a couple of good chuckles as a caller referred to President Barack Obama as “magic negro” during the show.

Here is the Think Progress transcript:

CALLER: It’s just like the LA Time said last year or two years ago: He is the magic Negro.
STEELE: Yeah he — [laughing]. You read that too, huh? [still laughing]
CALLER: Oh yeah. I read that too. Even when things go wrong, he still manages to come out smelling like a rose.
STEELE: Well, yeah.

It’s sad to hear someone like Michael Steele find funny what so many black people find objectionable if not outright racist. Chairman Steele, is appealing to the far right’s conservative base worth selling your soul?

Think Progress:
http://thinkprogress.org/2009/05/01/steele-magic-negro-joke/