rssMichael Steele Doesn’t Race-Bait, Except When He Does
Monday, October 19, 2009 at 12:52 pm
- 23 Comments
Greg Sargent flags a Michael Steele interview on Univision, in which the chairman of the Republican National Committee deflects a question about whether, per Glenn Beck, President Obama hates white people.
No, no, look, the reality of it is when I ran for the United States Senate and I was called an Uncle Tom by leading Democrats in the country, when I was called a slave by Steny Hoyer who is now the majority leader in the House, no one came running to my defense, and no one seemed to think that that was racist at the time. I don’t play the race card, I don’t play the race game, the way some tend to want to do.
There are a number of slippery allegations here. The first is the charge that “leading Democrats” called Steele an “Uncle Tom,” which is just false, unless the term is extended to cover liberal bloggers. The second, more directly false charge is that Steele was “called a slave by Steny Hoyer,” that “no one came running” to defend him. What happened was that Hoyer, in the final month of the campaign, characterized Steele’s record as “a career of slavishly supporting the Republican Party.” Steele, at the time, was running uphill in a deep blue state by declaring his independence from the parties. He pounced on Hoyer.
It goes to just the sheer craziness of some in the Democratic Party who think they can use racist terms and infer things about me just because I’m an African American Republican.
Then he got back-up from Rev. Anthony Evans of the National Black Church Initiative.
If I did not know Rep. Steny Hoyer, I would say that he is a racist.
Rather quickly, Hoyer apologized.
I shouldn’t have used those words. If Mr. Steele did in fact take offense let me assure him that none was intended.
The affair became a national news story. The Washington Times did a follow-up in which the paper asked black leaders whether they’d denounce Hoyer.
So, to recap: Hoyer said that Steele “slavishly” supported the Republican Party, and Steele called this a racist comment while Republicans rounded up spokesmen to call Hoyer a racist. Three years later, Steele claims that he was “called a slave” by Hoyer, and that “no one seemed to think that that was racist at the time.”
Follow David Weigel on Twitter
23 Comments
Trackback posted October 19, 2009 @ 2:36 pm
Social comments and analytics for this post…
This post was mentioned on Twitter by daveweigel: Michael Steele really should stop playing the race card. He’s not good at it. http://bit.ly/3Gen2j...
Comment posted October 19, 2009 @ 5:24 pm
To be fair, this ranks pretty low on the list of things that demonstrate Steele is a complete lunatic and liar.
Comment posted October 19, 2009 @ 5:40 pm
What Weigel Won't Write, Part 383293A: here's more on the interviewer.
Comment posted October 19, 2009 @ 8:51 pm
Ramos is a dirty Messican! Who has opinions about US politics! He should be discredited and shot, for asking Michael Steele a question about Glenn Beck. And Steele should resign in shame for palling around with terrists.
Comment posted October 19, 2009 @ 9:04 pm
Ah, the “liberal” braintrust weighs in.
The point is that the fact that Ramos is – by choice – not a U.S. citizen needs to be disclosed, both by people like Weigel and by people like Steele. CNN even had him asking questions at one of their debates without revealing that he's a foreign citizen. Even if you think he should be allowed to take up time at a U.S. debate, there's no excuse for not mentioning that he's a foreign citizen (once again, by choice).
Comment posted October 19, 2009 @ 9:17 pm
You were gunning for that Univision gig, weren't you?
HE TOOK YR JERB!!
Comment posted October 20, 2009 @ 4:13 pm
Oh Weigel—must you persist in using facts and evidence to disprove the mendacity emanating from that vapid, hollow man??
What a bore.
Comment posted October 20, 2009 @ 4:14 pm
There should be no need for CNN to mention that he's a foreign citizen. Instead USA needs very simple but strongly enforced law — all, and I mean all, foreign citizens must wear special hats when outside and stickers on their clothing when inside, and these caps and stickers must clearly identify the nationality, religion, ethnic heritage, and sexual identification of the wearer. In my area we don't put up with a lot of crap from foreigners, and I know if there was such a law that them foreigners would be chased out of the country real quick. Problem solved. You're welcome.
Comment posted October 20, 2009 @ 4:35 pm
Isn't the owner of the WSJ and Fox a furriner, too?
Comment posted October 20, 2009 @ 4:47 pm
Don't worry Steele. I'm sure you'll be able to get those minorities to join the GOP if your offer of fried chicken and potato salad is still open.
Comment posted October 20, 2009 @ 5:14 pm
Hoyer seriously apologized for that? That's almost as bad as having to apologize for using the word “niggardly.” Crazy that Democrats' generally larger vocabulary is a political liability.
Comment posted October 20, 2009 @ 5:54 pm
Rupert Murdoch is a U.S. citizen. But don't let facts intrude on your ideology.
Comment posted October 20, 2009 @ 6:14 pm
Of course, he switched citizenship purely to get around the foreign ownership of media laws in the US. Don't believe his wife is a US citizen, nor his children by his first wife. Of course, context doesn't mean much to your ideology either.
Comment posted October 20, 2009 @ 6:18 pm
Be careful using the word “renege” too. (From Larry Wilmore, senior black correspondent of The Daily Show.)
Comment posted October 20, 2009 @ 7:16 pm
Huh? How is it remotely relevant whether a news interviewer is an American citizen? Based on what principle of journalistic ethics must CNN or anyone else disclose his citizenship?
Comment posted October 20, 2009 @ 8:41 pm
Considering his record, Hoyer probably didn't mean anything by it (as opposed to neo-Confederate, anti-Voting Rights Act Southern Republican congressmen calling Obama “uppity”), but it was still an incredibly stupid choice of words.
Comment posted October 20, 2009 @ 10:22 pm
It's stupid only in that people listening to him are stupid. Slavish is an apropos adjective for Republican candidates who uncritically toe the party line or risk being labeled RINOs. Steele had spent the past decade chairing the county and state GOP before being Lieutenant Governor and was running a campaign stressing his nonexistent independence. Hoyer's pointing out his history of devotion to the party, not that he let the party exploited his race.
Comment posted October 20, 2009 @ 11:28 pm
I'm sure he was. I don't like Rep. Hoyer and think he is a bad Democrat, largely due to his support of Bush policies like the invasion of Iraq, but I don't think he is racist or that he would use race-baiting. But labeling a descendant of slaves as “slavish” is offensive and dumb regardless of intent. Perception and providing openings to your opponents to accuse you of race-baiting are important factors to consider.
We're talking about Micheal Steele, for fuck's sake; it shouldn't be difficult to understand that speaking indelicately (or dumbly, or buffoonishly, or incomprehensibly, or absurdly dishonestly or hypocritically, or insanely, as the case often is) can be damaging to yourself and your cause. Of course, Steele's response was worse than the offense, but how about a little less partisanship and a little more intellectual honesty?
Comment posted October 21, 2009 @ 12:01 am
Wall Street
Glorify Israel
Anti 9/11 Truth
bbc beck blitzer bolton breitbart coulter
cspan drudge gutfeld hannity huckabee imus
ingraham krauthammer kristol limbaugh malkin
north oreilly rivera rove scarborough stossel susteren
Gotta Serve Somebody by Bob Dylan
Comment posted October 21, 2009 @ 12:37 am
I'd think it more offensive to assume Steele descended from slaves because he's African American. As far as I know he was adopted and hasn't shared anything about his biological family if he knows anything about them (Wiki says his adopted parents descend from sharecroppers so he's entitled to take offense to this sort of thing).
As far as partisanship goes, I don't think Democrats, in general, benefit from doing anything to hurt Steele's reputation and make it more likely that he'll lose his job of running his party into the ground. Also, I thought Blunt's monkey joke a few weeks ago was tone deaf (and, worse, not funny) but didn't see the point in hanging him out to dry for it.
What if someone had praised Steele's slavish dedication to bringing integrity back to the GOP?
I agree that it was stupid for Hoyer to say something he had to apologize for; I just regret that we live in a world where he had to apologize for properly employing a word that's never conjured up images of American slavery.
Comment posted December 10, 2010 @ 10:54 am
The Epi Leather, shiny palladium hardware, rolled leather handles with ring attachments, and Louis Vuitton Canvas engraved padlock on the side of the bag make this handbag truly standout. Instantly, I fell in love with the balenciaga bags Speedy in black! It was gorgeous, sophisticated and I thought it would lovely in my collection. I absolutely loved the Speedy Cube, but due to the ultra high price I turned to the Epi collection for a more affordable take on a black louis vuitton belts handbag. At the moment, I have four different louis vuitton clutches in my collection going on a 5th in two weeks and I thought it was quite senseless to even think to getting lousi vuitton Speedy 30. So I change to search for a black Jimmy Choo clutches I came across the Louis Vuitton Leather Lockit and it was love at first sight! I have been eager to own a Louis Vuitton store Outlet in black for some time now. If the Catier bags doesnt interest you in black, it also is available in Cassis, Ivoire, and Red. My personal favorite is the black, and I just may add the Louis Vuitton discounts Epi Leather Lockit to my current wish collection. By the way, if you think the price is high, you can visit our online store to choose some Louis Vuitton multicolor for you. I change to search for MiuMiu tote I came across the Louis Vuitton Speedy handbag. Epi Leather Lockit and it was love at first sight! The Louis Vuitton Epi MiuMiu online have always been a favorite to me, and when I saw that the lockit came in Epi Leather also I was took. For some odd reason,cheap lv handbags sale, I have never taken notice of this particular lockit handbag before and I must say it is stunning.The features of this handbag are absolutely beautiful. Written by Louis Vuitton Trunk On Sale.
RSS feed for comments on this post.
Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.
