Party Politics are an Excuse for Reverse Racism

The headline of the story caught our eye, but it is the text of the story that should infuriate any self respecting person in our country.  Because Mr. Steele has different political views, Black Democratic “Leaders” in Maryland say that it is perfectly acceptable, nay, it is justified to pelt the man with Oreo® cookies, call him Uncle Tom and to depict him as a black-faced minstrel.  Because his views are different the “Leaders” think that any attack is acceptable, shot of calling him the “N word”.

One of the people leading this attack is non other than Kweisi Mfume, one time “leader” of the NAACP.  Can you imagine the outrage if these statements were made by Mr. Steele about his opponents?  

You don’t have to because Mr. Steele is a man of integrity and character.

'Party trumps race' for Steele foes
Black Democratic leaders in Maryland say that racially tinged attacks against Lt. Gov. Michael S. Steele in his bid for the U.S. Senate are fair because he is a conservative Republican.
    Such attacks against the first black man to win a statewide election in Maryland include pelting him with Oreo cookies during a campaign appearance, calling him an "Uncle Tom" and depicting him as a black-faced minstrel on a liberal Web log.
    Operatives for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) also obtained a copy of his credit report -- the only Republican candidate so targeted.
    But black Democrats say there is nothing wrong with "pointing out the obvious."
    "There is a difference between pointing out the obvious and calling someone names," said a campaign spokesman for Kweisi Mfume, a Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate and former president of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.
State Sen. Lisa A. Gladden, a black Baltimore Democrat, said she does not expect her party to pull any punches, including racial jabs at Mr. Steele, in the race to replace retiring Democratic U.S. Sen. Paul S. Sarbanes.
    "Party trumps race, especially on the national level," she said. "If you are bold enough to run, you have to take whatever the voters are going to give you. It's democracy, perhaps at its worse, but it is democracy."
    Delegate Salima Siler Marriott, a black Baltimore Democrat, said Mr. Steele invites comparisons to a slave who loves his cruel master or a cookie that is black on the outside and white inside because his conservative political philosophy is, in her view, anti-black.
    "Because he is a conservative, he is different than most public blacks, and he is different than most people in our community," she said. "His politics are not in the best interest of the masses of black people."
    During the 2002 campaign, Democratic supporters pelted Mr. Steele with Oreo cookies during a gubernatorial debate at Morgan State University in Baltimore.
    In 2001, Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr. called Mr. Steele an "Uncle Tom," when Mr. Steele headed the state Republican Party. Mr. Miller, Prince George's County Democrat, later apologized for the remark.
    "That's not racial. If they call him the "N' word, that's racial," Mrs. Marriott said. "Just because he's black, everything bad you say about him isn't racial."


It is simply disgusting that anyone would stoop to using attacks like this, much less members of the man’s own race.  If any white person said anything close to these remarks about a black candidate these same people would be up in arms, they would call for the resignation of the person and the press would make sure the story would not die.

It is sad that these “leaders” are putting their politics ahead of race.  We are not saying they should embrace Mr. Steele just because he is black.  They can run against him on the issues, on his record.  To run on his race, is just despicable