At this point Michael Steele's tenure as RNC Chair has become such a joke, that it's hard not to wonder if he's intentionally writing the punch lines himself.
As everyone who doesn't live under a rock now knows, a recent report revealed that on Steele's watch the RNC billed thousands of dollars on luxury hotels and travel, and most embarrassingly, a bondage themed nightclub. (Try to read that sentence without giggling. It's virtually impossible.) Despite his early run-ins with (and subsequent retreat from) Rush Limbaugh, his multiple verbal gaffes, (including musing on the record that the GOP was not likely to reclaim the House this year) it is Bondage-gate that appears to have finally turned Steele from laughingstock to the political equivalent of Dead Man Walking.
GOP Consultant Alex Castellanos, a former Steele confidante, was recently joined by North Carolina's GOP Chair in calling for Steele's resignation. Anyone seeking further proof that Steele's tenure as Chair is on the political equivalent of life support, need look no further than the recent "letter of support" signed by thirty other state GOP chairs. That seems like the political equivalent of a Hollywood couple issuing a press release to announce how happily married they are.
Steele recently admitted that he believes that Blacks in high profile positions -- from himself to the President -- are judged more harshly than their White counterparts. This statement is one of the few things that he (someone I have interviewed in the past and on a personal level happen to like) has said in recent months that I actually agree with. But since he ceased being taken seriously a while ago, now everything he says is either dismissed altogether or greeted with outright ridicule, even when it actually makes some sense. The irony of course, is that if he believes this axiom to be true, that he would be held to a higher standard, shouldn't he have tried harder all along to avoid so many unnecessary yet costly mistakes?
I thought things couldn't get worse for him when someone created a video mocking Steele's financial scandal by depicting him as a blinged-out rapper, complete with gyrating video vixens and all. Then The Root.com included him on a list that could have been called "Fellow Blacks we Wish we Could Give Back." (I know Steele hasn't had the greatest year but to put him on a list with O.J. Simpson still seems pretty harsh.)
But as funny as taking potshots at Steele may seem at the moment, the possible failure of his tenure is ultimately no laughing matter for Black Americans of all political stripes.
When Steele acknowledged that he believes he has a slimmer margin of error as a Black man, he hinted at a largely unspoken, yet widely perceived racial reality in the eyes of many minorities: that when a minority trailblazer fails they make it that much harder for those who come after them.
A friend of mine once shared that there were young women working in entertainment who privately shed tears when Jamie Tarses, the first female head of ABC's entertainment division, resigned, after her gift for picking hits like Friends for NBC did not translate into success as an executive. Their tears could have been for a variety of reasons, but it's likely that some of them knew that fairly or not, she was carrying their own hopes and futures on her shoulders, and that her failure had just made their own climbs up the ladder a little tougher.
The same goes for President Obama. I often get criticized, particularly among some older Americans, for being too "Pollyanna-ish" (read: naïve) about my perspective on race relations, so it came as a surprise to some when I said at one speaking engagement that President Obama has zero room for outright failure, simply because he's the first. And if he fails -- and I'm talking impeachment level embarrassment -- it will make it that much harder for another Black person to be granted the same opportunity anytime in the near future.
Which brings me back to Michael Steele. Some of you may be thinking that nothing would make you happier that to see Steele fail, because you see him as a token, or political turncoat or simply don't like him.
But let's not forget that former Secretary of State Colin Powell, a Black conservative, arguably did just as much to make some white conservatives and swing voters comfortable with the idea of seeing a Black man serve in a leadership capacity at the highest levels of government as any Black Democrat has. My point is that effectively combating racism and prejudice has historically required a combination of government intervention, along with individuals encountering those who defy the negative stereotypes that they possess. So far, Steele does not appear to be doing that. Which does not help any of us -- particularly among some of the extremists within his party who are looking to validate their prejudice.
So even though I don't agree with Steele on everything, I for one am rooting for him to salvage both his reputation and his leadership role.
Because if Steele fails, it simply makes it that much harder for those who have refused to accept the President in a leadership role, to accept any Black man in one, and in the end that doesn't help any of us.
This piece is republished courtesy of TheLoop21.com for which Goff is a political writer.
Follow Keli Goff on Twitter: www.twitter.com/keligoff
The problem he faces in his bid to be the Rosa Parks of dumb, is that he can't work out which end of the bus is which.
Steele made himself a JOKE, no one encouraged his LAME hip hop wannabe schtick, he did that all on his own. It rivaled Blacksploitation flicks of the 70's. If you want to mention the trailblazers for Blacks...... they are Democrats, Barbara Jordan, Shirley Chisolm, John Lewis, Andrew Young.
They took the reins of power, and kept their DIGNITY.
Puh-leeze.
Tony Perkins buying the klan mailing list from David Duke for $ 83,000
Haley Barbour attending a klan affiliated BBQ with CCC, and his photo was on their website.
Sometimes it's about the man (not his race), and this is one of those times.
He was hired to add a 'splash of color' to the pasty white GOP. But instead of actually trying to find a qualified candidate they pulled a Sarah Palin and just picked someone.
I do think it is funny that GWB was the last moronic figurehead that didn't completely implode. Well we can argue that one. You would think that someone that is given a national position then immediately thinks they earned it and that they know everything.
However, if the point is just to prove that African Americans can lead major political organizations, the late Ron Brown (Chairman of the DNC) decisively proved that point 20 years ago.
If the Republican Party will be reluctant to reach out to minorities for the foreseeable future due to Michael Steele’s incompetence, that says more about what is wrong with Republicans – and why many of us here choose not to join them – than it does about African Americans.
I certain would not want the Republican agenda to succeed just to assuage Republican racism.
Steele reminds me of those blacks who hate affirmative action NOW after they have benefited from it. I am black and I don't care if Michael Steele fails. He is not good at his job. Period! So therefore if racism does not exist and Michael Steele has on many occasions talked about the color free society now all of a sudden Steele is a victim? Please.
He like Sarah Palin was chosen by the establishment as a foil against Obama. Palin because Obama did not pick Hilary as VP and therefore McCain just picked a woman (despite the fact that she was not vetted properly) to go up against Obama. It did not work because Palin is clueless.
Steele because any black man coming up against Pres. Obama will be strictly about politics and they could assault the Pres in any way that they choose and look to Steele as the point man. The joke is on the "Repugs" now - all men are not created equal and a dimwit like Steele could never hold a candle to the President. Fire him and put someone in there who can do the job whatever the color.
For most people Mr. Steel isn't doing harm to African Americans, he is doing harm to himself and his party. Granted there is an element of society that will feel the way you describe, but they are a minority that will always look at people different than themselves with suspicion and fear, they are called racist..