Oreos for Uncle Tom

UPDATE, January 30, 2009: Republicans Pick Steele as Next Party Chairman

Read below how Michael Steele has been treated by DEMOCRATS.
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Examples of liberals exhibiting racial intolerance seem to be popping up everywhere.

I thought that the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel's editorial remark, referring to Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas as a black man with an asterisk, was racist and shockingly inappropriate.

That shock was mild compared to my reaction to how Democrats, especially black Democrats, have treated Maryland Lt. Gov. Michael S. Steele, candidate for the U.S. Senate.

A particularly troubling aspect of this is that liberals are condoning, and in some cases carrying out, racial attacks. They consider it socially acceptable to be a bigot when it comes to mistreating black conservatives.

What is wrong with these people?
The Washington Times reveals some extremely disturbing instances of bigotry and harassment directed at Steele.

Black Democratic leaders in Maryland say that racially tinged attacks against Lt. Gov. Michael S. Steele in his bid for the U.S. Senate are fair because he is a conservative Republican.

What a disgusting double standard!

"Racially tinged attacks" are unfair under any circumstances.

Period.
Such attacks against the first black man to win a statewide election in Maryland include pelting him with Oreo cookies during a campaign appearance, calling him an "Uncle Tom" and depicting him as a black-faced minstrel on a liberal Web log.



Operatives for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) also obtained a copy of his credit report -- the only Republican candidate so targeted.

If a Dem candidate were targeted by a Republican in this fashion, you can be sure that the MSM would be all over it. There would be rallies and candlelight vigils to draw attention to the story. The Congressional Black Caucus would stage a press conference.

Instead, because a black conservative was the target, there is silence.

Where is Jesse Jackson?

He made a beeline to stand at the side of Hugo Chavez, but he steers clear of Steele.

Weird.
..."There is a difference between pointing out the obvious and calling someone names," said a campaign spokesman for Kweisi Mfume, a Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate and former president of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.

"Pointing out the obvious"?

Is calling Steele an "Uncle Tom" merely stating the obvious???
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."

I strongly disagree with Gladden.

Racism is not democracy. Running for public office does not mean that one must submit to being pelted with Oreos. There is no justification for such juvenile, disrespectful behavior.
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.

With all due respect, that's lame. Being a conservative does not invite racial epithets to be hurled one's way.

Siler Marriott is entitled to judge Steele's views. She is not entitled to demean him by slinging inflammatory, anti-social terms.

"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."

Just because Steele does not share the political views of many public blacks does not mean that it is acceptable for people of any race to attack him with hate speech and assault him physically.

I would think that blacks would respect Steele's right to believe what he wants to be believe. They shouldn't threaten Steele on the grounds that he is in the political minority in the black community.

If anything, I would expect liberals to demand that extra care should be taken to assure that his rights are protected because of his minority status.

Compare the rampant charges of racism after Hurricane Katrina with these statements about Steele coming from black officials. A very unflattering inconsistency is evident.

Do you think Martin Luther King would approve of the treatment that Steele has received from liberals?

I don't.

While it's perfectly legitimate for any American of any skin color to disagree with Steele's politics and express that disagreement in a civil fashion, it is not appropriate to resort to tactics that are deemed socially and morally objectionable.

It is a sad, sad thing that on the day that the nation celebrated the life of Rosa Parks and laid her to rest, there are so many liberal blacks attempting to undermine the right of an individual to freely choose and abide by a political philosophy.

Black Americans should not be shunned by anyone for adopting conservative views.

Is that what the civil rights movement was about?

Don't black conservatives deserve to be treated with the dignity that God gave to every human being?

Did Rosa Parks fight for equality for blacks or just liberal blacks?

In effect, these bigoted liberals are trying to keep Steele and conservative blacks at the back of the bus. Using racial slurs and shooting Oreo bullets in an attempt to stiffle them is disgraceful.

As citizens of this country, we are free to think for ourselves, regardless of race. As free human beings, that is our right.

It is hateful to say that Michael Steele and other black conservatives, like Clarence Thomas, Condoleezza Rice, and Colin Powell, aren't really black simply because they are exercising their free will.

It's wrong.

Sadly, there is still a lot of overcoming to be done.