Wait, Isn't The Right Supposed To Be Racist?

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By: Jenée Desmond-Harris

As sexual harassment allegations against black Republican presidential hopeful Herman Cain surfaced this week, conservative supporters rallied to his defense. Rush Limbaugh, who's famous for nothing if not his racist radio rants, has taken up for the gospel-singing, former Godfather's Pizza CEO who's leading in the GOP polls. Conservatives who would normally balk at any allegation of racism don't seem put off in the least by the assertion, made by Cain's PAC, that the attacks on him represent a Clarence Thomas-esque "high-tech lynching."

This seemingly unconditional embrace of Cain -- who brags that his ancestors were slaves, wants to be called "black American" instead of "African American" and has nicknamed himself "the Black Walnut" -- isn't new: He won the Florida straw poll and is neck and neck with Mitt Romney in Iowa. Republicans praise his plain-speaking debate style and call him "genuine." CONTINUE....

Related articles

• Ho Sit Down: Rush Limbaugh Adds His Two Cents On Herman Cain Issue "It Really Is About Blacks Getting Too Uppity" (bossip.com)
• Are the Herman Cain-Clarence Thomas Comparisons Fair? (usnews.com)
• Herman Cain-Clarence Thomas Comparisons Made By GOP Base Amid Sexual Harassment Allegations (huffingtonpost.com)
• Anita Hill Advisor Says Accusers Have Reasons to Fear Coming Forward (abcnews.go.com)

Black Folks We'd Like To Remove From Black History

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As happy as we are for the nation to get its yearly reminder that black people do exist in the context of American history, there’s a growing list of characters that has us harking back to Zora Neale Hurston’s famous words: “All my skinfolk ain’t kinfolk.” Indeed, while we love our own, we sure do dream of erasing a few of them from the history books. Some are politicos, others are pop culture figures, but they all share one common attribute: They’re embarrassing. CONTINUE....

Michael Steele's RNC Regime Ends

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By: Nsenga Burton

Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele graciously stepped aside, handing over the reins to Wisconsin Republican Party Chief Reince Priebus in the battle for one of the most coveted positions in the Republican Party. CONTINUE....

Michael Steele Pleads For New Term As RNC Chair

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By: Liz Sidoti, AP National Political Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) — GOP Chairman Michael Steele defended his rocky two-year tenure anew Monday and asked for another term, boiling his re-election pitch down to this: "My record stands for itself. We won." CONTINUE....

Steele: Reid Should Resign, But I Shouldn't

By: Frederick Cosby, Special to BlackAmericaWeb.com

Embattled Republican National Committee Chair Michael Steele said Sunday that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid should resign for using racially offensive language in praising President Barack Obama, even though Steele didn’t volunteer to quit his job for using a phrase last week that many Native Americans consider a racial slur.

 

Steele: Reid Should Resign, But I Shouldn't....

Are Michael Steele, the GOP Really Patriots?

By: Zack Burgess

"The two parties have combined against us to nullify our power by a ‘gentleman's agreement' of non-recognition, no matter how we vote ... May God write us down as asses if ever again we are found putting our trust in either the Republican or the Democratic Parties." - W.E.B. DuBois, 1922

If ever there was a home for fighting, the United States Congress is it. Once known as a bastion of freedom, it has now become a governing body so full of vitriolic behavior that it makes one wonder why we continue to watch and a support such immature antics in our politics - and political discourse.

Congressman Joe Wilson had the audacity to yell at the president, calling him a liar. Conservative radio blowhard Rush Limbaugh has called for his failure. And the chairman the Republican National Committee, Michael Steele, is cool one minute – if you get what I mean – and divisive the next. Yes, it’s that ugly. Which makes one wonder: What’s happened to patriotism in the age of Obama?

Unfortunately, the cognitive dissonance is a serious reality. Instead of them being happy that our perception around the world is improving, the GOP seems satisfied with the status quo. Do Republicans live in an intellectual void? Or is it a tiny box of irrational, reflexive nationalism, girded by a vicious partisan savagery whose shame knows no boundaries? The concern, frankly, is that it appears that Republican opponents of President Barack Obama either do not understand or simply do not care about what’s at stake for our country. 

Are Michael Steele, the GOP Really Patriots?....

Black or Not, Is Steele Okay with GOP's Racism?

By: Tonyaa Weathersbee

When Michael Steele became the first black to chair the Republican National Committee, I harbored hopes that he might turn out to be the face of racial change in a party whose future hinges on it broadening its base beyond Southern white people.

Sadly, he’s become the face of complicity.

Black or Not, Is Steele Okay with GOP's Racism?....

Report: GOP Support Spiraling in Nearly Every Demographic

By: Denise Stewart

The Republican Party has lost support in almost every demographic subgroup, with the exception of regular churchgoers, according to a Gallup analysis released on Monday.

In 2001, the first year President George W. Bush was in office, 47 percent of Americans identified themselves as Republicans, and 46 percent identified themselves as Democrats.

Spring forward to 2009 - after eight years of a Bush presidency - and the election of President Barack Obama, and the numbers change to 52 percent identifying as Democrats and 37 percent identifying as Republicans.

“Most of the loss in support actually occurred beginning in 2005, after Hurricane Katrina and Bush’s nomination of Harriet Miers to the Supreme Court – both of which created major public relations problems for the administration,” the Gallop organization said.

Carol Swain, a Vanderbilt University law professor and frequent political commentator on national newscasts, said she is not surprised with the drop in Republican support.

“There are so few choices. You either support Democrats or you stay at home,” Swain told BlackAmericaWeb.com. In the last election, a lot of Republicans stayed at home, and many have not returned, she said.

Report: GOP Support Spiraling in Nearly Every Demographic....

Michael Steele: Rush Goof Was Part of My Strategy

RNC Chairman Michael Steele on CNN, March 25, 2009