Recently, after six ballots, the Republican Party elected its first African American party chairman, former Maryland Lt. Governor, Michael Steele, in the history of the party. This new “lovefest” with Black America is almost too much to handle
Recently, after six ballots, the Republican Party elected its first African American party chairman, former Maryland Lt. Governor, Michael Steele, in the history of the party. This new “lovefest” with Black America is almost too much to handle. First, a Black president— now a Black Republican Party Chairman. We just don’t know what to do with ourselves and all this “new love.” Is it really new love, or is it the set up for the “big payback”?
Well, we know the election of President Obama was essentially an act of desperation (masked as hope) for many independents and closet Republicans, given the alternative the nation was presented with (McCain-Palin). We also know President Obama is going to have a very short honeymoon with the American public. He has had no honeymoon with the Republicans as they began to attack him on his second day of office and have declared that they will re-establish their party identity on the back of his economic stimulus package. It ain’t like the Republicans are a part of this Obama “lovefest.” Remember, the South (except for Florida), mostly Republican, went solid for McCain. We understand the underling party sentiment. So, why the huge jump to a Black party chair? Are the Republicans trying to court Blacks? Did they learn something from the Democrats? It’s not like African Americans haven’t had a Black party chairman before. We have.
People forget the late Commerce Secretary, Ron Brown, was responsible for rebuilding a tore-down Democratic Party, who was demoralized after 12 years of Reaganism (eights year of Reagan and what looked like it was going to be eight years of Bush I). Brown took a party that couldn’t win a national election if they were the only one in the race, capitalized on a Republican party split (Bush-Ross Perot) and walked a small state hillbilly (a “Bubba” by his own admission) right up the middle to the door of the White House (Clinton in 1992). The Brown chairmanship was long overdue because African Americans had been long-term stakeholders in the Democratic Party.
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