Because People Matter

Steele Trap: How the Steele, RNC Debacle Spotlights GOP Tokenism

by Roger White

On more than one occasion the new Republican National Committee (RNC) Chairman Michael Steele has cast himself as the black anti-Obama; someone who, because of his race, age and savvy is uniquely positioned to articulate an effective counter to the President’s agenda. He’s even gone so far as to claim he would run for president himself “if God told him to.” But Steele’s early stumbles reveal more than just a lack of political finesse and humility. They reveal the deep discord between the substance of racial inclusion and the cultural and ideological limits of the GOP. They also highlight fault-lines between different factions of the black conservative movement.

Steele was elected into the leadership ranks of the national Republican Party by a hundred or so Capital insiders because the Party needed to present a face to the American electorate that neutralized the powerful multi-cultural symbolism that the Democrats embodied in the wake of Obama’s 2008 victory. It’s not that the Democrats don’t have their own racial baggage and legacy of discrimination.  One could plausibly argue that Michael Steele and his top of the ticket running mate Robert Ehrlich beat Kathleen Kennedy Townsend in the 2002 Maryland gubernatorial race because of Townsend’s decision to choose an obscure, white retired admiral for a running mate instead of rewarding the black communities decades long Party loyalty and electoral clout (blacks make up a third of the state’s electorate) by putting an African American on the ticket.  But this much is clear. On racial justice issues, the further away we get from Reconstruction the worse the GOP looks.  

"Top Two"--A Dangerous Proposition to Limit Voters Choices

By C. T. Weber

Be aware Californians, on your June 8, 2010, direct primary ballot will be a very dangerous proposition which appears very harmless.  It is called the Top Two Candidates Open Primary.  I had always thought the purpose of a primary was to allow each political party to select who would run in the general election against the winners of the other parties.  However, the purpose of this proposition is to put all candidates for the same office on the same ballot.  Here’s the killer: only the two candidates with the highest vote totals for each office, regardless of party preference, would then compete for the office at the ensuing general election.  This