Political History

This year, for the first time in American history, a black man has been elected to one of the highest posts in our country. He has assumed the mantle of leadership of millions of citizens, high powered and regular Joe alike, seemingly from out of the blue. Frederick Douglass, Martin, Malcolm, and all those who followed could only imagine such an accomplishment. 

Those watching from the sidelines, saw what appeared to be an incredible long shot as he had to compete against seemingly impossible odds. Leaving race out of the equation, having to overcome relative lack of name recognition is hard enough. But when one factors in race in today's charged skin tone sensitive environment, a black man being elected is tremendous. 

Especially when that black man is Michael Steele and that high ranking post is Chairman of the Republican National Committee. Sure, that other fellow, Barack, pulled off an astonishing victory. He too had to overcome some rather serious challenges to achieve his victory. 

Yet, if the media is there to cheer lead for you. Hollywood comes out in full force not only to worship the ground upon which you walk but to assail the very nature of your opponents. Grassroots organizations register Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, etc.  among an untold number of undocumented individuals, and others who may not have had the legal right to vote. A black man winning this election wasn't too far out of the realm of possibility.  Hell his party was following George Bush.

Michael Steel accomplished a daunting, incredible feat. The RNC, the party of Lincoln, is oft cast as the party of Old White Men. Blacks who claim membership in this organization encounter the harshest levels of condemnation from media types, liberals, and their own brown skinned people. Uncle Tom is typically the epithet hurled. White liberals look upon brown/black skinned Republicans as one looks at a wart to be excised.

I am a black Republican. Hence I feel I know somewhat of what I speak. I was proud of my people to see General Colin Powell appointed Secretary of State. Thrilled to see Dr. Condoleeza Rice as National Security Council head. Yet, the NAACP did not see fit to recognize these individuals for their achievement. Somehow I don;t expect to see anything about Mr. Steele's accomplishment posted either.

Mr. Steele is not some guy the RNC propped up as a puppet in response to President Obama, He is a former Lt. Governor from Maryland. In fact, with Mr. Steele on the ticket, the Republicans regained the Gubanoatorial seat after a 36 year absence!  

See what others have to say:

Michael Steele: I Left Moderate Republican Group This Spring

Nov. 20, 2008, 10:30 a.m.

Mary Katharine Ham

The Weekly Standard

Let me be straight-forward in a way I think Michael Steele would appreciate: A black Catholic who grew up in D.C. and lives in Prince George's County becomes a Republican, overcoming social pressure and withstanding abuse, because he believes in conservative ideas and the way they can serve all communities, not because he wishes to be a squishy moderate beloved of the Beltway press. The knock on his pro-life credentials has always struck me as silly, and his leaving the RLC should quiet that line of attack.

Michael Steele's Got Game

I'm not going to pretend that I've followed this especially closely; Geraghty and Ambinderoffer more informed takes.

I will say that Steele is pretty clearly a fairly talented guy. If you take the nine open-seat Senate races that have been held between the last two political cycles (2006 and 2008), and compare the performance of the Republican candidate against the partisan composition of the state, then Steele is something of an outlier: you'd have expected a generic Republican to get only about 35 percent of the vote in a state like Maryland in a cycle like 2006, but Steele got 44.2 percent.



Now, granted, Ben Cardin wasn't exactly the most inspiring candidate. But for a very conservative Republican to do this well in Maryland (and make no mistake: Steele is very conservative) takes some serious political intangibles.

Republicans Cheer for Chairman Steele

In the United States, in 2009, the head of the Democratic Party and the head of the Republican Party are black.

Granted, one has much more power than the other. (One is titular, the other is de jure.)

And one may have been chosen in reaction to the other.

But -- for a party that was not too longer ago openly dedicated to a strategy of using racial fears to attract white votes, it's something.

In a short stemwinder, Steele promised to broaden the party's geographic base and "stand proud" as the country's conservative party.

"It's time for something completely different," he said, to cheers.

 "To my friends in the Northeast, get ready baby, we're going to turn it on.  We're going to win in the Northeast.  We're going to continue to win in the South... In the West."

"To those who are ready to obstruct," he warned. "[G]et ready to get knocked over."

Did Republicans choose Steele as a token? Some RNC members will think so, as will many skeptical Democrats.  But Steele won this thing by himself.  The RNC is a fractious, uncooperative bunch. And Steele patiently politicked his way through six ballots. Just a few hours ago, my correspondent Will DiNovi saw Steele and Ohio's Kenneth Blackwell face to face in the hall. "I know we've disagreed on a lot of things," Steele was telling him. Blackwell waited a little -- then he endorsed Steele.

Steele's election won't help the party attrack black voters immediately, but if Steele sets the right tone, he could help the party compete for them in the (way)  future.  As GOP strategists have always known, and noted, somewhat dyspeptically, it's white suburban voters, particularly women, who are responsive to a diversity message. The RNC isn't diverse yet; only five black delegates were chosen to attend the national convention. Steele was disgusted by that. It prompted him to run.

Even more than race, even as Steele lauded the party's conservative members, his election marks a step away from the balkanized Southern white ethos of the party. Steele, pro-life, has worked with moderate Republicans all of his life, although he did his best during the campaign to minimize those ties. If he reverts to form, it means that the RNC has just selected a chairman who will not prioritize social issues above economic issues.  When people speak of broadening the party's geographic diversity, they are speaking in code. They mean that the party needs to welcome more moderates; needs to be more forgiving of departures from orthodoxy; need to be less antagonistic to pro-choicers and gays.   

A Democratic strategist sums up their skepticism about Steele's transformative powers. "I remember hiring homeless people to hand out literature in African American neighborhoods. If that is their national strategy to broaden their appeal to minority voters it's going to get awfully expensive," this strategist said.

Steele was a seminarian for a few years before getting his law degree. He is trained in corporate litigation.