Come On Home Brother Steele!

Michael Steele

In 2008, when this blog was new and President Barack Obama was elected this nation's first African American President, a funny thing happened. The Republicans made Michael Steele, also an African American, its National Chairman. I must admit, I applauded this measure. I was caught up in the euphoria of the times and I actually thought (as well as said on this blog) that maybe this truly was "post-racial America". I mean, I nearly bought the notion. I was still stunned that this country actually elected a black president in my lifetime and from my generation; but then, to see the GOP actually make a black man its chairman... well, that was just too much. I hailed it as a great counter-move and an olive branch... a chance to reach out to African Americans. In reality, all it was, was window dressing.

Flash forward, two years later... the Republicans have roared back. (I know, I can't stop talking about this... I've been seemingly obsessed with this all week.) They won 60 seats in the house and made some serious headway in the Senate. America's honeymoon with Barack Obama is seemingly over, and this was done with literally no help from Black voters except, unfortunately, the ones who didn't vote last Tuesday... THEY HELPED! The Republicans have decided now that they don't need the black man sitting in the big seat. He was never really the leader of the party anyway. Everybody knows that Rush Limbaugh is the "defacto" leader of the Republican party.

Republicans are now aggressively recruiting a challenger to Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele, whose tenure as party chief has been marked by ill-chosen comments and questions about finances, only from their point of view! The RNC must decide in January whether to keep Brother Steele. Republicans, looking to oust President Barack Obama in 2012, are considering a chairman who would operate more behind the scenes and let Rep. John Boehner, likely the next Speaker of the House, take the lead as the party's main spokesman.

"I think we need to move to a nuts-and-bolts (i.e. white) type of candidate who will get back to the fundamentals, who will make the trains run on time and raise money," said Saul Anuzis, a committee member from Michigan and former state party chairman who is weighing a bid for chairman. "I'd rather have that than a talking head who wants to be the face of the party." Oh, so NOW, he's a talking head!

I tried to tell Brother Steele that he was playing on the wrong team and that these guys would throw him under the bus the first chance they got. I mentioned it months ago and I'm not the least surprised that this is happening now. Republicans and their apologists always seem so wounded and so hurt that the majority of African Americans won't vote for them. It's not because we don't believe in family values, it's not because we're not patriotic, and it's certainly not because some of us (myself) don't believe in being fiscally conservative. It's because we see a lot of their supporters as some of the same people who were wearing sheets and burning crosses on lawns not too long ago.

When they talk about replacing the brother now that they don't care about or feel they need the African American vote (They need for us not to vote period!), this more than cements the point. Considering the blatant disrespect his party is giving him, don't be surprised if Brother Steele switches to the Democratic Party eventually. And remember, you heard it here first!

Brother Steele... and yes, despite your wrong headed politics, I still call you brother. I was just talking to your mama and she told me to tell you to come on home and cut out all of this foolishness!