Don’t go there, Michael Steele
Too, late, he already did.
Michael Steele, the controversial and foot-in-mouth prone Chairman of the Republican National Committee played the race card in response to rumors that he would be replaced, soon:
Embattled Republican National Committee (RNC) Chairman Michael Steele has often turned to the subject of race in his nearly two-year tenure.
But last week, in a radio interview with Rev. Al Sharpton, Steele ratcheted up the rhetoric, appearing to agree with Sharpton that if he is not reelected as RNC chairman, it will be because the GOP is racist, making “the brother take the fall.”
Sharpton said he couldn’t believe Republicans would even think of ditching Steele as RNC chair.
“You’d be the first brother run out after doing a good job. It would be interesting to see them have a historic win, and the brother takes the fall. Usually the brother takes the fall when they lose,” Sharpton said.
“You’re right. Well, you know, that’s going to be remain to be seen,” Steele said. “I get it. There are folks who are not exactly thrilled with my style of leadership. As I said recently, ‘they’ll get used to it.’”
Okay, he didn’t say it explicitly, but his “You’re right” to Al Sharpton(!) sure wasn’t a refutation of Al’s smear, either. It was, in fact, just what it seemed to be: an indirect warning to his critics that they’ll be branded as racists if they succeed in replacing him. It’s a cheap attempt to avoid a legitimate audit of his record by those who hired him.
Let me tell you something, Michael, and I write this as someone whom you impressed during your 2006 run for the US Senate and who backed you in your campaign for RNC Chairman: you need to go.
This has nothing to do with your race (a biologically meaningless concept, anyway), but with …how should I put this?… your underwhelming performance and the dumb things you’ve said in office. Consider these few things from a much larger list:
- Your lavish spending.
- Your bizarre, offensive, and inaccurate statement about the war in Afghanistan.
- Charging fees for just doing your job.
- Your poor financial management in the run up to the recent election.
- Failing to smack down TV host D.L. Hughley when he said the Republican Party resembled the Nazi Party and that Black weren’t welcome.
And now you yourself have played the race card. That’s inexcusable, especially from a conservative.
Sorry, Michael. It’s not your race, it’s your record.
(Crossposted at Public Secrets)