Please heed the call
Don't stand in the doorway
Don't block up the hall
For he that gets hurt
Will be he who has stalled
There's a battle outside
And it is ragin'.
Itll soon shake your windows
And rattle your walls
For the times they are a-changin.
-Bob Dylan-
Perhaps imitation really is the sincerest form of flattery, perhaps it's coincidence, perhaps it's desperation, perhaps it's deja vu. After five rounds of balloting, Former Maryland Lt. Gov. Michael Steele is now the chairman of The Republican National committee. Governor Steele is, for those not familiar with him, an African American and while some call him a moderate, others find him staunchly conservative. Whatever he may be, he's a first for the GOP and in y opinion, it's about time.
“It’s time for something completely different. . . . We’re going to bring this party to every corner, every boardroom, every neighborhood, every community. And we’re going to say to friend and foe alike, ‘We want you to be a part of us, we want you to work with us. And for those of you who are ready to obstruct, get ready to get knocked over.’ ”said Steele according to ABC this afternoon. A bit reminiscent of the 1960's hit Dylan song, if lacking in conviction.
Does this represent the beginning of a new RNC? Is the old order rapidly aging, or is Steele much more of the same old song? He has been a commentator on Fox News, he lead the crowd in cries of "drill baby drill" at the 2008 convention. Is it enough that his ancestry is African to bring more minorities into the GOP or will a change in complexion not be enough of a change in everything else?
It remains to be seen, but whatever Michael Steele is, he is not Barak Obama, much less Bob Dylan.
The man of Steele: ‘We want you to be a part of us, we want you to work with us. And for those of you who are ready to obstruct, get ready to get knocked over."
ReplyDeleteRephrase: "Our way or the highway." Politics as usual.
I think this is more of a desperate grasp much like "Sarah the magic female."
ReplyDeleteThe dems got a black man elected so THAT must be what they need.
The RNC cannot seem to get a handle on the fact that their agenda LOST.
It's not the messenger, it's the message!
What, their choice was either outright racists singing racists songs or lamenting desegregation or an African Amerian. It seems a bit "weird" to me. Does selecting Steele mean that they decided against outright hypocricy for ordinary hypocricy?
ReplyDeleteI'm trying to suspend judgment for a while, just because I don't know anything about the man other than that, as a governor of Maryland, he evokes memories of Spiro.
ReplyDeleteI would hate to see him being used as part of another "conservative" minstrel show, but of course, that's what I suspect too.
Minstrel show or not, the selection of Steele may not matter. What counts are who the Republicans choose as their nominee in 2012. If the "base" picks Palin, for instance, the party will tank.
ReplyDeleteMidterm elections in 2010 are our immediate concern ... whether the reprehensibles chose to participate in or obstruct the President's agenda.
I expect little more than obstructionism. That effort has so much inertia.
ReplyDelete