If you think that the Democrats are the party of racial tolerance, think again.
Betsy's Page
They only tolerate liberal blacks. Conservative blacks are worthy of extra derision and attacks and they're quite open about this approach as they prepare to face Michael Steele's candidacy for the Senate in Maryland.
<<<
State Sen. Lisa A. Gladden, a black Baltimore Democrat, said she does not expect her party to pull any punches, including racial jabs at Mr. Steele, in the race to replace retiring Democratic U.S. Sen. Paul S. Sarbanes.
"Party trumps race, especially on the national level," she said. "If you are bold enough to run, you have to take whatever the voters are going to give you. It's democracy, perhaps at its worse, but it is democracy."
Delegate Salima Siler Marriott, a black Baltimore Democrat, said Mr. Steele invites comparisons to a slave who loves his cruel master or a cookie that is black on the outside and white inside because his conservative political philosophy is, in her view, anti-black.
"Because he is a conservative, he is different than most public blacks, and he is different than most people in our community," she said. "His politics are not in the best interest of the masses of black people."
During the 2002 campaign, Democratic supporters pelted Mr. Steele with Oreo cookies during a gubernatorial debate at Morgan State University in Baltimore.
In 2001, Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr. called Mr. Steele an "Uncle Tom," when Mr. Steele headed the state Republican Party. Mr. Miller, Prince George's County Democrat, later apologized for the remark.
"That's not racial. If they call him the "N' word, that's racial," Mrs. Marriott said. "Just because he's black, everything bad you say about him isn't racial."
>>>
Yes, but using oreos and calling him "Uncle Tom" are racial attacks. You don't use those to campaign against white candidates.
And don't think that this is just a few isolated Democrats in Maryland. It isn't. Top Democrats in the state are ducking responses about these racially-tinged attacks on Steele. There are only a few Democrats in the state willing to go on the record condemning such attacks. Kweisi Mfume is one of them. Good for him.
And of course, the story of how staffers in Chuck Schumers office illegally obtained Michael Steele's credit record in preparation for the campaign has been totally lost from view. Imagine if they were staffers in a GOP senator's office planning to use illegally-obtained documents against a Democratic candidate, particularly a minority candidate. We all know how we'd hear about that every day.
The constant assumption that blacks are traitors if they dare to hold conservative views is so patronizing to blacks that truly insults the ability of blacks to hold independent thoughts. They won't debate him on his beliefs and policy proposals but instead attack him for his race. They are despicable.
betsyspage.blogspot.com
washingtontimes.com
washtimes.com |
