Steele-ing Black Votes?

The Democratic Party is up in arms over Michael Steele, accusing him of "political identity theft. Here's what they're screaming about:

Lt. Gov. Michael S. Steele's new campaign signs seem to identify him as a Democrat. A "Steele Democrat," they read. The bright blue placards and bumper stickers made their debut yesterday in Baltimore during an event announcing a new coalition of Democrats supporting the lieutenant governor's U.S. Senate bid. Steele, of course, is the Republican nominee for Senate and a former chairman of the state Republican Party.

Here's what Democratic leaders are saying:

"Michael Steele is trying to hide the fact that his campaign is funded and directed by George Bush and the Republican party," Singer said in an e-mail statement. "When Steele returns the money he's gotten from the national Republicans and unequivocally rejects the President's support, he can try to portray himself as an independent."

Mr. Singer's statement is designed to distract people from what's happening in Maryland and elsewhere: that the 'Black Monolith' is crumbling, with many in the black middle class being far more independent than what I call the 'Civil Rights Leaders' Generation'. Mr. Singer doesn't want people to learn that Mr. Steele is thought to be getting a third of the black vote in current polling. I'll guarantee a Steele victory if he draws upwards of third of the black vote in Maryland.

Terry Lierman, chairman of the Maryland Democratic Party, had stronger words. "Steele's new logo is the biggest election fraud perpetrated on the voters of Maryland in this campaign to date, and proves that Steele thinks his only chance is political identity theft," Lierman said in a statement. "But 'Steeling' a logo or party name won't work; Maryland's voters are smart enough to know that the former Maryland Republican Party Chairman, who was on the executive committee of the RNC and who was recruited to run by George Bush himself, will just be another Bush Republican vote in the U.S. Senate."

The ferocity of Mr. Lierman's attack is yet another sign that Democrats are worried about Michael Steele's candidacy. As I said here, Democrats have plenty of justification for their fears. Here's what I quoted in that post:

This year, the Maryland Democratic Party commissioned a statewide survey of black voters which showed that 44 percent were open to a Steele candidacy.

I can't imagine more than a handful of Democrats that could win without 80+ percent of the black vote. There aren't any Democrats that could win without 60 percent of the black vote. Here's some of the quotes from black Democrats that support Lt. Gov. Steele:

Among the few recognizable Democrats to appear was William H. Murphy Jr., a Baltimore lawyer who has ties to Republican Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. "I'm sick and tired of being taken for granted by the Democratic Party," Murphy said. "We don't embrace George Bush, we embrace Michael Steele," he said. "We don't embrace George Bush's vision of America, we embrace Michael Steele's vision of America."

Mr. Murphy isn't ready to switch parties but Democrats should be worried because he isn't alone in his sentiments, as I wrote about here:

Leggette said there are two Democratic parties in St. Louis, one that benefits whites and another that ignores blacks. "At one time, Democrats were a solution for us. I don't know when that changed or why that changed, but it has," Leggette told me.

She has no intention of voting for McCaskill's Republican rival, U.S. Sen. Jim Talent, but, like me, she's grown bored with the dog and pony show put on when major elections roll around. Democrats show up, throw out the "evil Republican" mantra, ask for black votes, then disappear without ever addressing our socioeconomic concerns or needs.

Democrats raise millions for major campaigns that rarely trickle down to neighborhood committees, like Leggette's, charged with getting blacks to the polls, she said. It's a "frustrating" experience, complicated by "clueless" leadership and blacks seeking personal gain. "My community has been affected by benign neglect. Black political leaders only interested in lining their pockets with crumbs ought to get the hell out of the way," Leggette said.

These are just part of the signs that I'm seeing that verify the validity of my theory, which is that Democrats are in deep trouble once you read beyond the horserace stats. Historically reliable coalitions aren't reliable anymore. As Mr. Murphy said, blacks are "sick and tired of being taken for granted by the Democratic Party."

To add to the party confusion, a Democrat with the last name Mfume endorsed Steele yesterday. Michael Mfume, son of former Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Kweisi Mfume, linked arms with Steele in Baltimore. "I'm here, and I'm in support of Mr. Steele," said the younger Mfume , whose professional experience as a film and music producer includes directing the horror movie Ax 'Em, according to Internet postings.

That's gotta hurt Rep. Cardin. Like any Democrat, Cardin has to rely on winning a lion's share of the minority vote. This information is as close to a death knell for a Democrat as I've seen and I've been watching for many an election cycle.

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Posted Friday, September 22, 2006 6:23 PM

August 2006 Posts

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