Hot Air poll: Is it time for Steele to go?
posted at 8:40 pm on March 12, 2009 by Allahpundit
Momentarily bereft of content, I turn to the cheapest traffic ploy imaginable. I’m hearing a lot of “Steele must go” lately but I think it’s nutty. First, the man hasn’t had a shot at so much as a single congressional race yet. Admittedly, the first one on his plate isn’t looking good, but if it turns out he’s got a knack for getting people elected, he can mumble as much as he wants about “individual choice” and none of us will care. Second, the optics of the GOP tossing its first black chairman out on his ear in a matter of weeks would be horrible, especially if the guy who replaces him is known to frequent racially restrictive country clubs. Third, he hasn’t even finished naming his staff yet. How about giving them a month or two to perform (and to pull him aside and let him know that fewer interviews would be better at this point) before wiping the slate clean?
On the other hand, Liz Mair is right. He’s inching dangerously close to buffoonishness. Vote it out!
Blowback
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Interesting perspective.
jazz_piano on March 12, 2009 at 9:47 PM
Good catch. 42% yes [can him], 58% no [keep him].
JustTruth101 on March 12, 2009 at 9:48 PM
Steele might have to give one of those riproaring speeches like Sarah Palin did at the convention to turn the tide in his favor. I would be interested to see whether more RINO’s and moderates want Steele ousted or more conservatives favor that action or if it is evenly split.
technopeasant on March 12, 2009 at 9:56 PM
FIFY…. and I’d vote yes.
psrch on March 12, 2009 at 9:59 PM
Micheal Steele is trying to hard to be a leader when he wasnt hired for that type of job. Steele isnt facing an election therefor is no need for him to campaign.
I dont think now he can change into something better. He honestly believes that he is doing good with all the antics he pulls.
We need an organizer not a jester.
And most conservatives dislike Steele for the same reason we dislike Obama. Its not the color of his skin its the lack of ability he is displaying.
William Amos on March 12, 2009 at 10:00 PM
Too black to fail?
Mark30339 on March 12, 2009 at 10:01 PM
I’m not wild about what Steele’s been doing lately but I think we should stick with him. Dumping is just going to further cement the notion that the GOP is a rolling clusterf**k of a party that would rather tear itself to shreds than square off with the Democrats.
The irony of so many of you McCain supporters wanting to dump Steele does make me smile though. I mean, the some of the same folks that defended Backdoor John to their last breath aren’t even giving Steele a chance to get the chair warm. Maybe if Steele called himself Maverick…sometimes a cool nickname makes all the difference.
austinnelly on March 12, 2009 at 10:01 PM
That’s a bogus poll. Have two options, not splitting one side into smaller sections.
He shouldn’t be fired, and he shouldn’t resign. Give the dude a chance.
Enoxo on March 12, 2009 at 10:01 PM
I’ll say this,
Being black for my entire life *l* I will definitely confirm that black Americans, especially older ones, generally have very underlying conservative values but in the past 30 or so years have had the lack of will to bother implementing them. The Republican Party/Conservative has offered us nothing in terms of going back to those values message in our view seems to be:
1. Your poor to bad. It’s your fault. Your all on welfare and all do drugs anyway.
2. You live in a big city, we don’t want you. Only rich people or poor white people that live in small towns can be in our club.
3. Racism doesn’t exist anymore. It’s all in your head and also your fault. Racism ended with slavery, get over it right now.
4. We only care about being rich and making more money
5. As a matter of fact, we’re not going to even bother trying to give you any of our attention. Your not worth the effort.
5. Must love guns and hunting.
And thus we’ve been totally ignored by them and that is why the Democratic party has such a strangle hold on the black vote. I think it is imperative if you want the nation to change the way you see fit to open yourselves to bringing blacks, youth, and other ethnic groups into the fold.
The Republican/Conservative image tends to be an image of either rich (old) white men,corporate fat cats, religious wingnuts, confederate flag waving racist, or military superpatriots.
The party is losing youth, its losing intellectuals, its has nearly zero face representation of other ethnic groups. My family tends to lean more to the conservative side of things but my husband and I have both expressed we never felt welcome or wanted. The appearance is that either they ignore us or blame us for the woes of the country.
Magnus on March 12, 2009 at 10:01 PM
Who cares?
baldilocks on March 12, 2009 at 10:03 PM
Someone tell me ANYTHING Steele has done in the first month that shows any positive effect for the GOP ?
He has wasted too much time trying to be the “Face” of the GOP but he comes of more as “Howling Mad Murdock”
William Amos on March 12, 2009 at 10:04 PM
Ken Blackwell. He really wanted it. I preferred Steele because I thought he was more media savvy. D’oh! I doubt Blackwell would have have the mistakes that Steele has.
If you don’t like him, let’s draft Jeri Thompson. I’ve seen cut off a few male parts and shoved them down the throats of some liberal male interviewers. She’s a tough lady, she has a great southern accent, and, as Billy Crystal used to say in his SNL Fernando Lamas skits, “She looks mahhvelous.”
BuckeyeSam on March 12, 2009 at 10:05 PM
Have you been out of the country? They guy hasn’t established a staff, and he’s shot himself in the feet so many times, both legs had to be amputated from the knee down. I didn’t know any better, I say he’s also castrated himself.
He’s a trainwreck.
BuckeyeSam on March 12, 2009 at 10:08 PM
I was rooting for Steele during the RNC election. From what I’d seen of him he was very good at espousing conservative principles.
His recent appearances have been greatly disappointing though. I’m personally willing to give him a little more slack, but he needs to stop the pandering and talk about basic conservative values. He has done that well. He’s not doing well at trying to remake himself.
beancounter on March 12, 2009 at 10:09 PM
Yeah, because nobody else can read the word “No” four times in a row.
The Race Card on March 12, 2009 at 10:09 PM
hey barquelounger..
I got something you can sniff.
Either the party has principals or we worry about what the Dems think and become Dem-lite. We don’t care what the hell color he is, but he has to be competent….
Something Michael Steele is not…
DUMP HIM!!!
colonelkurtz on March 12, 2009 at 10:09 PM
Today my party leader is Thaddeus McCotter.
Rae on March 12, 2009 at 10:09 PM
I’m for that.
FloatingRock on March 12, 2009 at 10:11 PM
Thanks for the insight. What would you suggest to change that? I think you’re making a very important point and this is something that needs to change.
msmveritas on March 12, 2009 at 10:12 PM
I clicked the link ready to head straight for the “Can Him” button, but after reading your post I think we should at least wait and see some kind of results (or lack of). Whether that be donations or elections.
Vigilante on March 12, 2009 at 10:13 PM
Uh, it’s the “true conservatives” who want to dump Steele.
I think he should stay at least through the midterm elections.
funky chicken on March 12, 2009 at 10:13 PM
I think Newt Gingrich should replace him to minimize criticism from the Dems and send a message that the GOP means to take back Congress. After all, Newt was a prominent contender who stepped aside early on and endorsed Steele. He has taken enough Dem positions to avoid being labeled an obstructionist, but not enough to destroy his credibility (only enough to rule out a run for himself in 2012, which adds to his appeal.)
chunderroad on March 12, 2009 at 10:14 PM
Oh please, he spends the entire title piece pimping the “no side” and you’re bitching at him because it may make morons think “Yes” is winning? My side’s ok, but maybe “no” voters are too stupid to figure out if the number next to “yes” is a majority or not.
Darth Executor on March 12, 2009 at 10:15 PM
As far as I’m concerned, Steele has had three strikes, and that’s enough. First, he agreed with Hughley when his base was compared to Nazis. Second, his shots at Limbaugh. It was bad timing, as Karl Rove said. Third, this pro-life kerfluffle. It was with grave misgiving and much deliberation that he even got the job, as his conservative credentials were under fire. Then he made his recent comments. He is just not a leader, because he doesn’t inspire confidence when the party is desperate for leadership.
chunderroad on March 12, 2009 at 10:19 PM
I think he and Paul Ryan are the best kept secrets in the House. I don’t know why they don’t get more publicity. Ryan, in particular, did a very fine job on Morning Joe this morning. Cordial, matter-of-fact, tremendous.
But McCotter can be downright inspiring. He’s a f***ing American.
BuckeyeSam on March 12, 2009 at 10:20 PM
I was OK with Newt until he sat with Pelosi on a couch on the beach and assured us everybody agrees on global warming.
Gag reflex. I don’t think he’s good for the GOP. Too much baggage.
swede7 on March 12, 2009 at 10:22 PM
Saw that show. He was very good – fast on his feet. Not sure of all his positions other than anti-stimulus.
mph on March 12, 2009 at 10:24 PM
Thank you–we need to hear from people like you.
jazz_piano on March 12, 2009 at 10:25 PM
Why? Keep in mind that I am black.
The Internet is not the real world.
The idea that any human or group of humans are perfectible is a Leftist idea. Most Leftists don’t believe in a fallen humanity so they think that those who cannot live up to stated goal–such as behaving in a color-blind manner (a conservative objective)– are evil.
Is that what you believe? No offense, just asking.
baldilocks on March 12, 2009 at 10:26 PM
Basically stop being wimps and talk TO us. Tell us directly about your value system and how its better encourage us to participate. Tell us how it can help us make Ameria and our lives better. Stop pretending that the American experience for every person and every ethnic group is monolithic. Recognize we all are looking at things through different lenses based on our experiences.
For example lets use Gun Rights. Law abiding black people in urban areas don’t have this ultimate hard on for guns and could give a crap if laws are enacted to restrict AK-47s or assault weapons. Why? Because all we know is that they are used to kill us. We don’t spend our time hunting deer or shooting animals. We spend our time ducking and dodging our criminal element trying to shoot us and killing our babies playing in the street. We have no reference to separate guns killing us versus guns as a hobby. So you can’t bombard us with this outrage over gun restriction but neglect to offer a message what types of positive uses a gun is for.
Recognize we are patriots but have a hard time being super patriots. Why? Because 90% of our existence in this country has been brutal and negative and this has left generational psychological damage. Instead of offering a positive ,” okay well we know that sucked and we recognize there are still challenges but what we offer can help you over come those challenges, ” Instead we get a chorus of , “Slavery is over , get over it and stop being lazy”. I’m mean how can you say this to people where some of them are still alive and had went through Jim Crow and Klan raids?
Magnus on March 12, 2009 at 10:32 PM
The RNC chairman has three main duties:
1. Raise Money
2. Raise Money
3. Raise Money
Steele is acting he is suddenly the de-facto leader of the Republican Party (he isn’t) and spends all his time on media apperances (which have been catastrophic, I might add). These media apperances have greatly inhibited his fundraising abilities and taken away time from other essential duties such as re-staffing the RNC (after he brazenly fired a ton of people).
Sorry, but the only one who could save Steele at this point is Sarah Palin. If she signals support, he would survive. If she remains quiet or is critical, he is a goner.
Norwegian on March 12, 2009 at 10:32 PM
He already said he would NOT support a GOP primary challenge against Specter the traitor.
He’d rather protect a turncot liberal RINO, than support a conservative challenger.
That says it all.
He wants the status quo and will not upset the good ol’ boys apple cart.
roninacreage on March 12, 2009 at 10:33 PM
I attend a predominately white Christian church. This church has stated goals, none of which have anything to do with race or adherence to values related to race or to a specific earthly location.
At Trinity United Church of “Christ” it is otherwise.
baldilocks on March 12, 2009 at 10:33 PM
Thanks for and interesting read.
I know my take and what I gather from rank and file conservatives, like members of this site, that we blame generational poverty on the government welfare system. I know when I received a monetary gift, from my parents for example, the respect for the money is just not quite the same as the money I earn. I extrapolate that negative toll receiving welfare from the government must take on people if they receive generation after generation. I would think in generates a sense of complacency while reducing self-dignity. Welfare should be delivered by the community through social organization and churches.
This to me seems to be a media construct. The uber-wealthy people are more likely to donate to Democrats. I would say you find more of the small business “wealthy” in the GOP. Being part of a family that owns a small business, we do want to make more money, but we do that via creating opportunities for others. For example, two of locations are on the Southside of Chicago in areas Obama served as a community organizer (Roseland neighborhood). Our attempting to make money in these neighborhoods (and they are tough neighborhoods) creates jobs for those that live there and services for teh residents. I would our company reflects GOP ideals and the media’s image is wrong.
One of the greatest ways I have see to give the black communities attention is school choice. I find it patently unfair that I can choose which schools my kids go to because I can afford to live in about 75% of the suburbs of Chicago. But for those that can afford only 10% of the neighborhoods, their school is practically choosen for them.
I wish the republicans would stop nibbling at the edges of school choice with vouchers. Establish system of state funded scholarships for all kids from Pre to college (except post bachelor-degrees). Than declare that ALL schools are private (current public schools would be “sold” to the town or city(ies) they serve). Parents than can freely choose the type of school that serves their needs best.
WashJeff on March 12, 2009 at 10:34 PM
AK-47s are for hunting…tyrants and crooks if need be.
I wasn’t aware you or your nuclear family had suffered so….
congratulations on your mental acuity considering you are about 143 years minimum…..
sven10077 on March 12, 2009 at 10:37 PM
“generational psychological damage” =s mystic theory not any fact…
like the Germans and French each “genetically needing Alsace-Lorraine”….
sven10077 on March 12, 2009 at 10:40 PM
I forgot about that. STRIKE FOUR.
chunderroad on March 12, 2009 at 10:42 PM
School choise is an EXCELLENT opening. Our children (specifically black and hispanics) go to probably the worst schools on the planet. Complete hell-holes.
I think Steele is trying to rectify it but he doesn’t have the skill to stick to a conservative message and also frame it in a way to attract people that might have a skewed view of it and that have thus rejected it. So he is bumbling the message.
Magnus on March 12, 2009 at 10:42 PM
This is exactly what I’m talking about.
Magnus on March 12, 2009 at 10:44 PM
With great respect for your position, Michael Steele is not the right man for the job. He has only two years experience as a lt. governor, no leadership experience and he seems to put his foot in his mouth nearly as often as he opens it.
Rather than a unifier and energizer, he seems to struggle to articulate a clear message. It has nothing whatsoever to do with race. Its about leadership.
swede7 on March 12, 2009 at 10:44 PM
by the Magnus does black on white violence lead to genetic impacts and long-term multi-generational damage or is this a selective racial trauma?
Part of why I love Justice Thomas, Condi, Walter Williams is that they do not wallow or revel in some fractured past they transcend it….
if I have to spend all my days apologizing for actions taken by people from a different region of my nation that neither I nor my family took part in or gained from when will I start getting apologies from Al $harpton, $uper Je$$e Jack$on, and even O’bambi for Gangsta Rappas and the Crips and Bloods or is that, as always, “different”?
sven10077 on March 12, 2009 at 10:44 PM
Stirring defense AP… He live another round. Barely.
Diogenes of Sinope on March 12, 2009 at 10:46 PM
The only problem I can see is stated thusly:
I cut it off there because the poster went in a direction with which I disagree. You can’t have action before you get education. A conservative education is great but for it to take real hold, it must begin within the family. And, obviously, that education starts not with white conservatives–not unless the particular white conservative is part of an individual black family.
It’s an uphill battle, of course, because Leftist ideology has nearly destroyed the black American family.
baldilocks on March 12, 2009 at 10:47 PM
Leave Michael Steele alone!!! He’s like that gay cop on Six Feet Under, David’s squeeze, you know. And don’t tell me what happens to him, I’m only on the first series! Bah.
Fortunata on March 12, 2009 at 10:47 PM
Jim Crow ended circa 1965 and Klan raids were going on into the late-1960′s, so anyone 60 years old or so would have vivid memories of this societal and literal terrorism.
profitsbeard on March 12, 2009 at 10:47 PM
Yes.
radiofreevillage on March 12, 2009 at 10:48 PM
yeah being called on self-inflicted nueroses sucks…
How is the black community demanding we pretend that people who have never been directly impacted by Jim Crow, The “Birth of a Nation Daily Klan Reenactments*” and such any different from the people from the US South who wave Confederate flags and pretend they are direct victims of Sherman’s March to the Sea?
I can’t see it…
if “life” begins for you mentally several generations back or even two how can anyone ever be pro-choice since this implies an innate sentience on a micro-cellular level that transcends our current views of sentience and heck even sapience?
I notice all the motion you require comes from my end not the black community bothering to read or understand the collective history of the US and get over any of its self-inflicted baggage.
My family was buy being part of Ohio’s contribution to the Army of the Cumberland at the time, pragmatic abolotionists who detested trying to run a farm in competition with slave labor.
Went home to Ohio and managed not to own a slave or “force” anyone into Color Purple Sharecropping….
I judge people based on the content of THEIR character which is a result of their experiences….not their great grandfather’s cousins’ aunts’ sisters….
sven10077 on March 12, 2009 at 10:50 PM
I like Michael Steele but it is time for him to go because of his own inaction. The GOP needs to formulate a clear concise and anti-Obama message and all he has done is attack Rush Limbaugh and plead for moderation.
Screw him and any “Republican” who isn’t out there openly expressing a desire that the filthy liar in the White House fails in his socialist agenda.
highhopes on March 12, 2009 at 10:53 PM
Jim Crow is a blight…how about Ms. Black *insert campus name* here….
I bought into the notion that equality was the goal of the black community I grew up in….
that ship has sailed.
I respect people who suffered real Jim Crow just as I respect people who lost jobs because people with extra melanin got an extra 25 points for being of a certain group in direct contravention of our Constitution….
that does not mean I would tolerate racial grievance mongering by a white mishandled by institutional racism of his father or grandfather anymore than I enjoy being held responsible by rheotoric of a system that expired eight years before I drew my first breath….
“get over it” is a good goal or since I am of English stock when can I browbeat the Vatican and/or Rome into “Reparations for Blue Brits”?
sven10077 on March 12, 2009 at 10:54 PM
Steele must go. Why? He is a lousy spokesman. In little more than a month he has demonstrated that he cannot handle the press (this was supposed to be his strong suit), and he has alienated the base. He cannot effectively convey a message and is not convincing. The problem may not be Steele, it may be fractures within the party resulting in a garbled message. Either way, Steele has not shown any leadership and his insecurity shows.
Say what you will about Howard Dean, at least he directed his attacks at the opposing party. He was an attack dog and his attacks brought Democrats together. Steele is conflicted and insecure. He sends the worst possible message to voters namely that the Republican Party still doesn’t have an identity. His “off the hook” message appeals to no one.
Minorities don’t find him authentic and the base does not find him genuine.
Angry Dumbo on March 12, 2009 at 10:54 PM
He was not hired to be the class clown he was hired to be the producer of a series so to speak….
Howard Dean knew that he would always be in friendly territory every time he was on TV, Steele either is so ego bound he feels that the newsies will take it easy on him or worse that he is a Judo master of gotcha soundbites…one is an error of judgement and the other willful self-delusion.
sven10077 on March 12, 2009 at 10:57 PM
That is for sure, dear sister-in-Christ.
Love your blog.
OmahaConservative on March 12, 2009 at 10:58 PM
well according to some here I guess TUCC is sort of like a “healing seance of racial harmony disguised with genetic psychological damage rhetoric”….
pretty funny that Barry Soetoro feels the “imprint of slavery and Jim Crow” when neither he nor his daddy ever felt the lash of either….
sven10077 on March 12, 2009 at 11:01 PM
When Steele became the RNC chair he made a riveting speech and talked about “knocking people down” if they dared to obstruct. Don’t know where that guy went, but he better come back and fast and start knocking the DL Hughley’s of the world down on their asses. Then maybe Steele will get some respect for himself and thus the GOP. Getting more flies with honey doesn’t work in politics.
RepubChica on March 12, 2009 at 11:06 PM
sven10077 is providing the perfect image of what I’m talking about. This is how many of us see the party and conservatives and outright reject the message. He or She has taken what I’ve said and somehow turned into something to be ridiculed, mocked, dismissed or criticized.
So Democrats/liberals have had an easy entry way into monopolizing these blocks of voters because they have offered an understanding ear. Unfortunately some of their solutions have been destructive to our social standing. And some of Republicans solutions have left us behind (ie. Reaganomics).
I agree with Baldilocks that it is an uphill battle and I think that’s why its been neglected. There doesn’t seem to be a feel that making that climb is worth it. But if you have a few generations of parents that don’t give a damn raising children that they are teaching not to give a damn nothing is going to change. Those that don’t value education at home or outside of the home are not going to raise children to value education in the home or outside of the home. There needs to be some sort of outside catalyst that is strong enough to withstand the storm and not afraid to go head first into it.
I just think Michael Steele can provide a good opportunity if he would just sit down and think about exactly what the message is and how he wants to deliver it.
Magnus on March 12, 2009 at 11:06 PM
I believe Steele must go. He was never the right choice to begin with. He has a difficult time presenting what the GOP is all about. He seems to not know what our core beliefs are.
Being a Buckeye, I wanted Ken Blackwell. I believe he is the real deal Conservative. He walks and talks the Conservative line.
The problem with the GOP is that it is runned by country club republicans who don’t have a clue on who and what is the GOP base. The only point they have in common with us is free market principles.
We need a person who can understands and can communicate our message. He/she also needs to be able to identify and acquire talent to restore the GOP organization. He/she also needs to be able to recruit good candidates tailored to each district and state that can win.
What the GOP also needs to do is recruit people that have street cred to get our message into the black community and other groups that we best represent their needs. That we are the party that represents the individual and the empowerment of the individual/community. That instead of centralizing power, we want to give it back to the individuals and community. Two areas are school vouchers and block grants to communities (not cities).
aps on March 12, 2009 at 11:07 PM
Thanks for this. Though I am all for moving forward, one can’t help but notice that some want to remember good recent history and forget the bad parts. It’s that fallen human nature again.
baldilocks on March 12, 2009 at 11:07 PM
No, its not funny. And the imprint is real. But I agree people need to move beyond it. Lighten up please.
swede7 on March 12, 2009 at 11:08 PM
You really are talking from anger rather than knowledge.
baldilocks on March 12, 2009 at 11:09 PM
Thank you, brother(?).
:)
baldilocks on March 12, 2009 at 11:10 PM
DL Hughgley Steele getting an extra 1.1% of the Black block vote is a bad trade if he has to agree with DL Hughgley that my party rally “looked like the Nazis”…
see I know this may be a mind-blowing revelation to you but just as you bridle at my pointing out the folly of self-delusory “generational psychological damage” I’d really rather not have a guy who WORKS FOR ME agree with a Gangsta Comic that I am a Nazi…..
newsflash my family fought the Germans although obviously not as well as Barry’s whose uncle helped the Russians liberate death camps…
My message is simple….
1) what an individual makes is implicitly his or hers modified only by the leanest of taxes needed to rpovide baseline goods and services from the government
2) collective defense is the primary objective of the US Federal government
the rest is just noise or state’s business not federal…
My antipathy is not to you Magnus, I am certain you are sincere, but at the end of the day I’ll leave the Pander Bearing to the DNC not the RNC.
sven
sven10077 on March 12, 2009 at 11:12 PM
Who cares what TUCC is to “some here?” You (and everyone else) should base your judgment of TUCC (and everything else) on an objective standard, not the shifting “morality” of a group opinion which may change tomorrow.
That last is also known as moral relativism.
baldilocks on March 12, 2009 at 11:14 PM
Finally, an honest conversation about race.
manwithblackhat on March 12, 2009 at 11:14 PM
To all you who think Steele should go … read the GQ article/interview. He is a free spirit who understands the zeitgeist. Republicans need him so so bad.
You may disagree with him on some points but a two-party system is a system of compromise. You will never find someone who reflects every value you have and if you did, he’d offend 95% of the rest of the country.
What he brings is enthusiasm, a great backstory, diversity, articulateness, charisma.
Steele’s the real deal.
MaxMBJ on March 12, 2009 at 11:17 PM
It’s extremely rare that “assault weapons” are used in crimes. The vast majority of murders committed with firearms, a large part of which stem from gang violence, are actually with smaller caliber handguns.
The reason that the 2nd amendment is crucial for conservatives is because it ensures that we the people retain the option to end tyranny. In the history of the world freedom is extremely rare. Tyranny of one form or another is the rule. Without the second amendment it is inevitable that it will be so again. This is why the issue is so vital to conservatives, because it is the only tool that can preserve freedom, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
It still remains up to individuals, families and communities to lift themselves out of poverty and improve their own conditions. There is no way around that. But conservatives are the ones offering genuine viable solutions to strengthen education and families to make that easier. What more can be done than providing the required tools? It’s not possible to force somebody with a negative attitude to become positive, and when negative attitudes are reinforced by a community it feeds on itself and exacerbates the problem further. It’s been thoroughly proven that giving people handouts, (welfare), only causes a cycle of dependence which makes matters worse. The only real solution is for people to improve their own lives, and aside from fostering education and a strong family structure, I don’t see what else can be done.
Sometimes tough love is the only answer. People in these communities may not like to hear that they have to pick themselves up by their own bootstraps, but it remains the only path nonetheless. If encouragement makes them less likely to do so, maybe we should stop, but even if they hate us in the process, if their hatred fuels the process it will still be worth it.
FloatingRock on March 12, 2009 at 11:17 PM
What I just said to sven applies to you also. Unless sven is the author of your moral/political standard(s), who cares what he thinks ?
baldilocks on March 12, 2009 at 11:17 PM
Your blog is a good one, and….
Nope, I started out in a racially diverse HUD apartment complex that started out majority black and slowly evolved as Vietnamese, and Cambodian refugees were placed there became split fairly evenly between Asians, Hispanics, Blacks, and poor whites. When I was a young man the objective even the most arrogant and loud blacks protested for was equality and inclusion in the main, by the time I was a teen blacks were voluntarily resegregating. A case of “have our cake and eat it too” in the vein of hyperfeminists who infiltrate male athletic clubs for “access to business networking” but see no hypocrisy in wanting “curves for women” to be thought of as not breaking rules….
equal is equal “more than equal” is not.
Every society and culture has a tale of woe that “justifies our anger”….I’d rather live my life in the world I walk in and not add baggage from 1600 years back or even 60….
your mileage may vary…
keep up the good work,
sven
sven10077 on March 12, 2009 at 11:18 PM
I’m getting tired of Repubs (not just Steele) who constantly tell interviewers how bad the R’s have been, but they will now do better.
Quit doing the D’s job for them — instead, criticize D’s first, middle, and last — if you’re an R leader, lay off the R’s.
mockmook on March 12, 2009 at 11:19 PM
Bugger the Spirit of the Times.
baldilocks on March 12, 2009 at 11:19 PM
the some here is a black man who has decided to try to sell me on the idea that I need to tolerate an RNC chair who calls me a Nazi, because of “generational racism”….
were I in a church where my pastor advocated what Jeremiah Wright does in reverse I would either leave or need to be bodily prevented from throwing a bible at him….
Just because Jeremiah Wright had a tan doesn’t make his or his flock’s antics right…
sven10077 on March 12, 2009 at 11:20 PM
I believe we are all one, human.
sven10077 on March 12, 2009 at 11:24 PM
sven, the hole is deep. Stop digging.
swede7 on March 12, 2009 at 11:25 PM
it all goes back to letting the mules always pick the battleground, we now have a generation of GOP members and sadly leaders who are in the grip of Stockholm Syndrome…
it is “poor form” to point out Bambi has “friend issues” but I am somehow a “soon to be reformed Nazi” because I won’t whisper sweet nothing lies in the ears of minority groups to pander their vote?
sven10077 on March 12, 2009 at 11:26 PM
Thanks for the honest dialogue.
We Americans are the victims of a Leftist education which tells us that whatever is in it for “me” is the best way to go. Black Americans have colored (heh) this ideology according to America’s very real and dismal history of race relations wrt its citizens who are black. (Racism didn’t simple stop forty years ago, but it eased up. That’s the way it is.)
With this in mind, what should be the goal of conservatives of all colors? To counter that mis-education–by (almost) any means necessary. And to fight off complacency.
baldilocks on March 12, 2009 at 11:27 PM
sven, let me know when you get to China.
swede7 on March 12, 2009 at 11:27 PM
That’s my exact point.
baldilocks on March 12, 2009 at 11:28 PM
This was a golden opportunity that was missed by Steele to bring it to Hughley on political persuasion and race. He could of made it personal and talked about his political path or used many examples of prominent black, latino, asian conservatives, but he went mute. So many ways to challenge that categorically racist, ignorant statement. By the way, where’s the comic’s apology? I like how these guy’s get blanket immunity to be asses and racists towards RNC chairs and not a whimper from the media.
I can understand sven’s frustration and anger.
RepubChica on March 12, 2009 at 11:29 PM
Your bro has more cojones than you do.
baldilocks on March 12, 2009 at 11:30 PM
Thanks for the advice, but no…
I am not a racist, I don’t care that Steele is black I care that he is not doing his job. I do care about people who are in my party and want to import racial grievance mongering into the GOP, but not in a hateful way. One of my largest beefs with “Old White Guy” John McCain was his pandering to La Raza…I am dying for anyone to explain to me how precisely La Raza’s pap differs in content and structure from a white supremacist group other than the color of the “harmed by fate” party in question…..
My desire to see Condi Rice win the nomination back in ’06 until she said “no” was not based on race, nor was my support and phone work on behalf of Ken Blackwell both were the best people for the job.
I knew who Steele was from my time in his home state, and I tried to warn people who he was. Got shouted down, “he’ll be so media savvy!”…..
yeah how’s that working out for us again?
He is not the “face of the GOP” he is supposed to be the “muscle of the purse”….
sven10077 on March 12, 2009 at 11:31 PM
Aside from all of his errors, that’s the substantive problem I have with Steele. Honestly, I haven’t seen or read everything he’s said so maybe I just missed it, but there are are a few principle reasons that conservatism would be highly beneficial to struggling communities, (and welfare being a proven failure), that it should be simple for him to convey this message. Yet, as far as I know he hasn’t done so, specifically. He’s talked about it only in the vaguest way.
Steele: Education and family. That’s the message. Ending the war on drugs would make a huge difference too, by virtually eliminating the marketplace that the gangs rely on. That’s why they fight over territory.
FloatingRock on March 12, 2009 at 11:31 PM
How about replacing Steele with Ken Blackwell, or Blackwell and Katon Dawson as co-chairs?
rjm319 on March 12, 2009 at 11:32 PM
Ya think? Guess I’m a coward.
swede7 on March 12, 2009 at 11:33 PM
I don’t know if you mean this but if it means we can’t take the hit of dumping a black man this quick and giving racist ammo to the Dems I agree. I think dumping him without a failure of the type like the midterms were lost invites problems.
I am dissappointed I would have thought the whole Rush thing would have made him sit down and run through all the gotcha questions and look at the answers he gave.
Conan on March 12, 2009 at 11:34 PM
Don’t know, but he’s being straight-up. What about you?
baldilocks on March 12, 2009 at 11:34 PM
One of the biggest clubs we have is school choice. Do we use it, NO.
We can make the arguement that the schools are failing, look at the results. The cost is greater than most private schools. This would allow the parents to choose the right choice for their child at a cost savings to the taxpayer. The taxpayer wins, the parents/children win, the only loser is the NEA.
aps on March 12, 2009 at 11:37 PM
Baldi you and I have been around each other enough that I am pretty sure you know on the domestic front I feel we need to aikido their use of class war rhetoric right back at them and show why cutting out the middle man of the state is the best solution in many if not most cases.
Prosperity, property rights, and individual liberty as codified in the Bill of Rights are universal when applied well. I suspect that all of the attempted pandering has been counterproductive to the cause of advancing conservatism because let’s be frank we are no longer “conservative” in the classical or modern sense….
the ideology we espouse is paleo-classical liberalism from the dawn of the enlightenment, and this nation has shifted so far left for so long that if anything using the civics terminology once taught the structural changes we’d like to see to the system are “radical”….
getting back to the old idea of a person being able to exert his talents, property, and drive to go as far as they possibly can is so strangled by red tape and regulation and taxation these days it brings to mind the scene from the film “Brazil” where Tuttle vanishes in a storm of red tape….
My fear is that were it possible to truly “clean the slate” on race and many injustices of history it already would have happened, but the slate is so leveraged it is likely a bill that would never be marked “paid in full”….
sven10077 on March 12, 2009 at 11:38 PM
I don’t particularly care what he thinks. I’m not even addressing this person directly. I’m just using them to illustrate my point.
Maybe I’ll frame it this way. My father was really good helping us study and learn. My sister was dyslexic and couldn’t read or write properly. My mother and I repeatedly would tell him something was wrong with her. She would try to express something was wrong with her. He would just write it off as her being lazy, or spiteful, or clowning around. (Should would write some letters backwards and upside down or spell words with the letters out of order). So she had a hard time reading and writing. Eventually she went to my mother, for help and stopped going to him. Of course my father would criticize my mother going the lengths she was going through to help. Again the mantra was she was being lazy so feeling rejected and that it was too hard she kinda gave up on trying to read and write for a period of time. My mother took her to doctors and specialist and tutors, talked to the teachers and got her diagnosed and got her assistance. She was severely dyslexic.
To this day my father acts like its news to him and ridicules the very idea of it.
Magnus on March 12, 2009 at 11:39 PM
I believe the answer to that is yes.
Magnus on March 12, 2009 at 11:43 PM
that will sadly just feed the notion we are pandering, and I fought for Blackwell hard….
in the end the Mike Steele show is making me reflect on if I am a conservative more or a Republican more….
if the former I am going 100% SarahPAC, if the latter I may come around later this year but Chairman Steele would be doing himself a REAL favor if he’d focus more on getting staff and less on scolding me and the backbone of his party in public in enemy territory…
if he sincerely feels there needs to be these dialogs and “steering” there are ways to achieve that that don’t involve DL Hughgley…
sven10077 on March 12, 2009 at 11:43 PM
as do most of us here, in the end the ability for the black community to hear the message we have rests on their overcoming their blinders as much as our prostrating ourselves in front of the NAACP over and over….
People like you and Baldi are worth a hundred Steeles no hyperbole…
all the best,
sven
sven10077 on March 12, 2009 at 11:44 PM
I’m in contact with a political conservative in my district. I wonder what we could do to educate the populace outside of the traditional education system.
You have sparked my imagination. Thanks.
baldilocks on March 12, 2009 at 11:45 PM
Maybe you missed my earlier post. Agree with sven on Steele. Disagree with his assessment of people’s intent and their suffering, perveived or otherwise.
I live in a mixed racial neighborhood, mostly black, in Atlanta and racism is a two way street here. I don’t judge people by their color, or the content of their character. Judgement belongs to the Lord.
Straight up.
swede7 on March 12, 2009 at 11:45 PM
Sven,
Cheers!
Magnus on March 12, 2009 at 11:45 PM
School choice…lol.
Got a list of urban private schools urban poor could afford even with their voucher?
The only choice urban working poor have is public schools.
Republicans need to dump the absurd idea they are for smaller government yet for every cockamamie christian conservative personal freedom violation that they think will raise a few bucks or motivate a few voters.
How can we look credible when saying government is bad except for the military, oh and morality police?
How do we say government is good at creating and enforcing trade deals, while saying the market will protect against poisonous toys from china without government regulation?
I find the shrill calls to core principles not only vapid and self serving but also woefully short sighted.
Maybe had we not had 4 years of total republican control of congress we could still pretend our ‘coalition’ wasn’t comprised of diametrically opposed factions.
Racism, homophobia, xenophobia, demagoguery, and antiscience didn’t make America great.
Whoever decided that instead of modernizing the republican party we needed to pander to religious zealots have put the party in the predicament it currently finds itself in.
Their cynical manipulation of religious voters did in fact work for a time, but in 2004 Karl Rove threw away any hope for his permanent majority in order to reelect his boss.
The naked pandering and elevation of christian issues, and the contempt with which the Republican elite dismissed them once Bush won is where most of this toxic hostility is coming from.
If you promise people a social conservative agenda while telling them they are essential for victory they might actually believe the hype.
The very same people now protesting so called ‘dem lite’ strategies are the same type that agreed with pandering to the religious zealots to make up for demographic challenges.
The truth however is these people are no less compromising their political beliefs than the people arguing the Dem lite position.
Christian conservatism is antithetical to small government conservatism.
barkolounger on March 12, 2009 at 11:47 PM
Just my 2c worth…if you consider how widespread slavery was in the ancient world, and how common it was (right up to the 19th century) in most parts of the world, especially if you include things like “indentured labor”, and how the number of ancestors we have increases exponentially…we are *all* of us descended from slaves. Just a matter of a few generations.
Does it matter if our memories are within living memory? Yes, in my opinion. But only for another 20 years, maximum. That’s why we should define and refine conservative principles, and leave the identity politics to the Dems.
Fortunata on March 12, 2009 at 11:47 PM
If a conservative had the guts to get in the trenches (say the South Bronx where I used to live. I’m in Atlanta now.) you’d be surprised how much they could chip away at the Dems control.
Magnus on March 12, 2009 at 11:48 PM
a few things,
1) I am sorry for your sister’s condition…went through the same thing with my brother and my actions hurt our relationship until after he got out of prison
2) and not trying to be ugly…I, and by extension, the GOP am/are not your father…
personal achievement and drive are personal matters…from what you’ve said your sister went to the best source of help she could find, and when there availed herself of it and achieved…
the path the GOP offers will lead to a better economic, social, and security future for everyone involved if followed well in my opinion. I have and am always happy to discuss achievement and drive with anyone.
The fastest growing economic strata in the Bush years was minority wealth, I suspect you’ll be shocked at how receptive the black community will be to hearing a true fiscally conservative message when SanFran Nan, Harry Hi-Roller, and Ogabe get together and let the Bush tax cuts expire in 2010….
you’ll have about 20% of the US public whose current “taxes owed” at the end of the year will go up 10-25%…..
“change”….
I deal in two colors when it comes to people,
green because money talks B$ walks
and red because we all bleed it…
sven10077 on March 12, 2009 at 11:51 PM
I’m getting more and more cynical. I don’t think it matters much who the RNC chair is, so yeah, give Steele more time.
ddrintn on March 12, 2009 at 11:52 PM
Sure. She autographed my Sarah Palin poster at CPAC. Nice lady.
Sapwolf on March 12, 2009 at 11:57 PM
Binny you better hope the economic pandering pays people before the tax increases get a hold of them….
all of your imputed racial pap won’t be worth a bucket of spit if the folks get reminded of 1500 being 15% of 10,000
sven10077 on March 12, 2009 at 11:59 PM
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