Obama understands responsibility of being 1st African America president, Steele doesn’t understand his

Today on Good Morning America, GOP Chairman Michael Steele, fended off the criticism surrounding his stewardship of the Republican party by implying that it could be racially motivated.

From the Huffington Post:

Appearing on "Good Morning America" Monday, Steele was asked whether he was being criticized unfairly over expenditures on items such as private jet travel, high-end hotels, and bondage-themed nightclubs, because of his race.

"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 just take that as a part of the nature of it."

Now that Steele has his back up against the wall because of his spending, especially the spending associated with the lesbian bondage club incident, he is playing the race card.

This is just ridiculous, when Steele compares his struggles to that of President Obama he ignores that simple fact that whenever Obama’s race is relevant he conducts himself in a manner that many of us in the African American community can take pride in. As for Steele, when his race is relevant he often plays the role of the mistrel.

Writing in the Grio last week Dr. Boyce Watkins noted:

“One problem for Michael Steele, however, is that even if this story is not true, the public is going to believe that it is. The tale of the financially irresponsible black man is an easy sell to the American people, particularly among conservatives. Notice that the language used to describe Michael Steele as arrogant, out of touch and economically irresponsible is similar to the dialogue aimed at President Barack Obama.”

While Obama is comfortable in his skin and not afraid to speak in his Blackcent on occasion or engage in what some might consider behavior associated with being Black (playing basketball being my favorite), he carries himself in a manner that pushes back and challenges some of the most negative stereotypes associated with Black men.

Steele on the other hand seems to think his role at times is to play a character. Let’s not forget when he said the GOP needed a “hip-hop makeover” and that it was going to launch a public relations offensive that was going to be “off the hook.”

One of the funniest moments in Steele’s tenure as head of the GOP was when Obama mocked Steele to his face during the 2009 White House Correspondents’ Dinner saying:

"Michael Steele is in the house tonight. Or as he would say, 'In the heezy.' Wassup?"

Steele stood up to call attention to himself as if Obama was talking to him man-to-man, however he didn't realize the President was leading the world in laughing at him.

I believe that the GOP selected Steele to be their “cool Black guy” in response to the Democrats’ “cool Black guy.” The only problem is that Barack Obama is a thoughtful, competent, inspiring individual who wants to be a transformational leader and happens to be both cool and Black, whereas Steele is just a simple fool.

Michael Steele let's his freak flag fly on RNC dime!

"... and $1,620.71 spent [update: the amount is actually $1,946.25] at Voyeur West Hollywood, a bondage-themed nightclub featuring topless women dancers imitating lesbian sex."



God I love Michael Steele!
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Reid's remarks were racially insensitive and Lott's were simply racist

This morning on Meet the Press, while interviewing GOP Chairman Michael Steele and DNC Chairman Tim Kaine, David Gregory, most likely reading straight from a script provided to him by The Weekly Standard, asked why President Barack Obama has forgiven Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) for racially insensitive remarks, but demanded that then Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott (R-MS) resign in 2002, for his praise of late Senator Strom Thurmond's (R-SC) campaign for president on a segregationist platform.

Steele, who recently used the phrase "honest Injun," didn't hesitate to call for Reid's resignation as majority leader.

There is a BIG difference between praising a segregationist in public like Lott did, and Reid's making, in private, a racially insensitive comment while praising and welcoming the candidacy of the man who would go on to become the first African American President of the United States.

Reid's choice of words shows that when it comes to race and discussing African Americans he is very unenlighted. THIS DOES NOT MEAN HE IS RACIST, it just means this guy, who it should be pointed out enthusiastically campaigned for Obama, has a long way to go when it comes to learning how to discuss race. His heart is most likely in the right place, his mouth and vocabulary? Not so much.

Lott on the other hand made a point say that if Thurmond had been elected president in 1948 "we wouldn't have had all these problems over all these years."

As pointed out earlier Thurmond ran on a segrationist platform and on the campaign plan remarked "all the laws of Washington and all the bayonets of the Army cannot force the Negro into our homes, our schools, our churches."

When Gregory, The Weekly Standard, Steele or anyone else advances the notion that there is any comparision between what Reid's and Lott's comments they show themselves either to be ignorant or worse, they show themselves as folks who will seek to exploit discussions of race as a launching pad to provoke racial division.

Michael Steele: Brother is still here

We will choose not to editorialize, we will just let Michael Steele speak for himself.

Keep it real Michael, keep it real. . .LOL

From THE TODAY SHOW 1.5.10

Did the GOP get Michael "Stepin Fetchit" Steele from rent-a-negro.com?

John Cook and the fine folks over at Gawker have come across pictures of GOP Chairman Michael "Stepin Fetchit" Steele posing for pictures with some of his interns, after viewing the photos I came to a realization, Steele is not a real person, but may in fact be an actor that the GOP hired from rent-a-negro.com. Steele, who even President Obama has ridiculed for his regular use of ebonics, consistently plays a role that reinforces the stereotypical coonery that many Republicans associate with being Black.


Until now I thought rent-a-negro.com was a satirical website but after witnessing Steele and re-reading the website's "about" section I have my doubts:

rent-a-negro.com serves today's changing nations by allowing you the chance to promote your connection with a creative, articulate, friendly, attractive, and pleasing African American person. This service comes without the commitment of learning about racism, challenging your own white privilege, or being labeled "radical." In fact, rent-a-negro.com allows you to use your money and status to your advantage! In addition, your dollars go to support the African American community...

Any day now I expect the GOP to post a testimonial thanking rent-a-negro.com for Michael Steele. As Black man I just cannot take this fool seriously.

Note to Michael Steele: Obama was not laughing w/you, but at you for the minstrel show you've become

Since everyone is doing their analysis of the White House Correspondents Dinner and I had to do mine. After watching President Obama crack on Michael Steele I realized how pathetic the first Black chairman of the GOP has become.

"Michael Steel is in the house tonight, or as he would say in the 'hizzy'. . .whassup!" Obama joked.

While the first Black President of the United States does have a certain flavor and swagger (CNN's Kyra Phillips should notice that even though I am Black I spell and pronounce it correctly), he is also redefining the way America views Black men, Steele on the other hand plays to a lot of stereotypes of Black men.

I am not sure who Steele is trying to appeal to when he calls people "baby," and pledges to be "off the hook." Some of us Black folks do talk like that. I will acknowledge using slang and my "Blackcent" when appropriate. . . you know when I'm kicking back with friends, around the water cooler, talking trash with my college buddies, when I am trying to entertain my "non-Black" friends in other informal situations, WHEN I DON'T EXPECT TO BE TAKEN SERIOUSLY! Is Steele auditioning to host "106th and Park" or is he the chairman of the GOP?

Steele should understand that there is nothing wrong with keeping it "real," however I doubt he knows what "real" is.

Steele to Limbaugh: Yessir Massa Rush, I didn’t mean to do you no harm

While some will push back and tell us there are no racial overtones in the verbal undressing of Republican National Committee Chair-puppet Michael Steele by pill-popping bigot Rush Limbaugh, we beg to differ.

As the first African American elected to head the party, which is considered racist by many, Steele’s role has a lot of racial symbolism attached to it.

After promising to make the party appeal to the “hip hop” crowd, which was roundly mocked, Steele finally appeared to be getting his footing with impressive appearances during the “State of the Black Union” and CNN’s “D.L. Hughley Breaks the News.”

When Hughley mentioned that Rush was the de facto leader of the GOP, Steele corrected him and declared he was the head of the party. He went further by calling Rush’s declaration that he wanted President Obama to fail “incendiary” and “ugly.”

But then the bloviating blowhard responded.

“It's time, Mr. Steele, for you to go behind the scenes and start doing the work that you were elected to do instead of trying to be some talking head media star, which you're having a tough time pulling off,” wailed Boss Rush. “But it seems to me that it's Michael Steele who is off to a shaky start.”

Rush, where is the respect that should be afforded to the man elected to head the RNC?

Steele, like others have done recently, quickly apologized and proved Hugley’s point.

Everyone is watching Steele’s stint as head of the GOP, African Americans in particular are paying close attention to how he handles the issue of race and how the party responds to him. He doesn’t need to be a militant Black man, he just needs to command respect.

Steele had a very good weekend, he appeared in two settings that allowed him to present his case to African Americans and did so effectively. Even some progressives considered it refreshing. His “real talk” about the GOP, race and where he would like to take the party won him some respect from many who felt he was nothing but a mere puppet.

Rush’s response to Steele reminded us of a slave master or a Jim Crow era sheriff who would say to any Black man who they felt got out of line “Say boy, shut up and sit down. Be a good little darkie and know your place.”

Steele should have channeled Sidney Poitier in “In the Heat of the Night” and declared “they call me Mr. Steele!” , but instead he caved and might as well have said “Yessir Massa Rush, I didn’t mean to do you no harm.”

Michael Steele you have lost the respect of very people you were trying to win over.

GOP Chair Steele states the obvious to Glenn Beck: no reason to trus the GOP. . .

In discussing the Fairness Doctorine with GOP Chair Michael Steele, FOX NEWS host Glenn Beck whines about how he feels the GOP base has been betrayed the party and then Steele comforts him by telling him 'No reason, none, to trust our words or our actions at this point.'

For some reason Beck is comforted by this. . .LOL got to love the GOP. This something Democrats have known for years.

Paging Keith Olbermann: Michael Steele is biting on your "Special Comment" style

In his first response as GOP Chairman to President Barack Obama's weekly radio address, Michael "Mike Tyson is my ex-brother-in-law" Steele bites on Keith Olbermann's "Special Comment" style by pivoting from camera to camera at :41 and 1:46.



Additionally, while anyone should be against wasteful spending in the stimulus package it should be pointed out that whenever the GOP and their mouthpieces (the stellar Elisabeth Hasselbeck for one) complain about some of the spending they are not acknowledging the jobs this spending will create. Steele ridicules spending $45 million for ATV trails and removal of fish passage barriers, but he doesn't acknowledge that American workers will build those trails and remove those barriers, and most likely use American suppliers.

The GOP keeps pushing tax cuts as the solution, however they don't acknowledge that people without jobs won't have taxes to cut.

Who knew? Mike Tyson is Michael Steele's ex-brother-in-law?

Oh by the way we forgot to mention that the Washington Post delves into some potentially bad news for Michael Steele as well.
Steele's Campaign Spending Questioned
Agents Contact Sister After Ex-Aide's Claims

By Henri E. Cauvin
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, February 7, 2009; A01

Michael S. Steele, the newly elected chairman of the Republican National Committee, arranged for his 2006 Senate campaign to pay a defunct company run by his sister for services that were never performed, his finance chairman from that campaign has told federal prosecutors.

Federal agents in recent days contacted Steele's sister, a spokesman for Steele said yesterday.

The claim about the payment, one of several allegations by Alan B. Fabian, is outlined in a confidential court document. Fabian offered the information last March as he was seeking leniency for himself during plea negotiations on unrelated fraud charges. It is unclear how extensively his claims have been pursued. Prosecutors gave him no credit for cooperation when he was sentenced in October.
-snip-

In one of his allegations, Fabian points to a February 2007 payment by Steele's Senate campaign of more than $37,000 to Brown Sugar Unlimited, the company run by Steele's sister, Monica Turner. Campaign finance records list the expense as having been for "catering/web services." Turner filed papers to dissolve the company 11 months before the payment was received.
Turner, a doctor and the former wife of Mike Tyson, declined yesterday to describe any services she provided to the campaign. "Ah, it's the 'sabotage Michael Steele' story," she told a reporter before closing the door of her home in Potomac. "No, I'm not with that program. . . . I'm not going to do this."
-snip-

Change has come to America? A Black GOP chair?

Former Maryland Lt. Governor Michael Steele was just elected Chairman of the National Republican Committee.