Hat tip to reader P. for this one. On yesterday's episode of Washington Watch on TVOne, Republican National Committee chairman Michael Steele (pictured standing) visited Roland Martin and they spoke about how the GOP can engage the Black voting bloc. Check out the moderate-conservative Republican's comment about his partymates. No embeddable video link (grrr...my biggest pet peeve as a blogger), but you can view the video clip here.
For those of you who can't see the video, here is Mr. Steele's response to Mr. Martin's comment that "One of the criticisms I've always had is Republicans -- white Republicans -- have been scared of black folks": "You're absolutely right. I mean I've been in the room and they've been scared of me," Mr. Steele said. "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.'"
Asked how Republicans can better reach black voters, Mr. Steele said the party needs to focus on “education and the economy” and credited Governors-elect Chris Christie in New Jersey and Bob McDonnell in Virginia for running a message that could appeal to black voters. “You saw in Christie and you saw in McDonnell a door open because they went in and engaged,” he said. “McDonnell was very deliberate about spending.” Mr. Steele specifically pointed to McDonnell, who secured the endorsement of BET founder Sheila Johnson early in his run and used her as one of his top surrogates on the campaign trail. Both GOP candidates, however, lost the black vote by landslide margins. “Sheila Johnson was on his team. I mean, that was a big deal,” Steele said. “He engaged her and she helped navigate him through that relationship.”
Booker Rising response: I see conflict in Mr. Steele's very near future - like, tomorrow - because some of his partymates ain't happy with the remarks.
Michael Steele: "White Republicans Are Scared Of Me"
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2 comments:
You know, I had a genuine post-racial feeling with this guy- not empty rhetoric like Obama, seemed to me he was largely focused on issues/campaigns... so what's THIS all about?
I've defended him on my blog more than once and gave him the complete benefit of the doubt, too- although a bit out of his depth, I thought he'd grow into the job- I like his personality, and hey- at least the guy's got a sense of humor.
But after NY-23 I lost most respect for him... that's largely his fault for letting it go down like that-- he's the boss, and it was botched, that's all I know.
Hey Mike, I'm not afraid of you, man- unless you're referring to your ability to quarterback us through the 2010 midterms that are the one last hope for this country.
We need to get that right, so I'm sure you'll understand it if you get benched-- nothing personal, and CERTAINLY nothing racial about it... you're just disappointing us, that's all.
While I am a moderate Dem, I appreciate Michelle Steele’s honesty. It could very well be that Steele and most Black folks scare the GOP and that he therefore has no business as head of that party. There are those who feel the same way about President Obama in the sense that he is such a nice and logical guy—to logical to sugar-coat the truth and the adoring masses don’t really want to hear what he needs to say. On the other hand, is President Obama rough enough to play hard ball….like Hillary Clinton would; because we know that she could “get down for the get down” in necessary. Hey, maybe the wrong Obama is president because the first lady doesn’t play either.
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