Steele points to the ‘one young black woman’ in College Republicans crowd: ‘This is my reality.’
Steele points to the ‘one young black woman’ in College Republicans crowd: ‘This is my reality.’
At the College Republican annual conference last weekend, RNC Chairman Michael Steele confronted the issue of race and the Republican Party. Lamenting the problem that “a lot of these people don’t have the technology of Internet or television,” one attendee asked Steele, “With you being chairman of the party, what are your strategies for reaching out to African American and inner-city communities?” Steele first responded by sarcastically brushing off the notion of reaching out to African Americans, before pointing to the sole African American attendee to single her out for “special recognition“:
STEELE: What? To reach out to black people? I ain’t doing anything. Black people don’t vote for Republicans, why would I bother with them? […] I’m just messing with you. That is the point I wanted you to get to. Stop it, I know what you meant. But I wanted to illustrate a point. And unfortunately you were at the wrong end of that point. But this is my reality. I look in this room and I see one young black woman here.
ThinkProgress attended the conference and recorded audio of Steele’s speech. Listen here:
Later in the speech, Steele cautioned the GOP students that they should be prepared to hear “vacuous” responses when they first speak to African Americans about President Obama.
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Sounds kind of, how did Fib Newton put it…oh, yeah, ‘racialist’
June 9th, 2009 at 4:50 pmThis is what 50+ years of racism has gotten the Republicans.
June 9th, 2009 at 4:55 pmDeal with it Steele. You’ve lost the minority vote if not permantley, then for years (or decades to come). Until the GOP wakes up and relizes that the America of Reagan’s fantasy is gone, then they have no chance of being relevant in today’s world.
My god Steele, self-loathe much?
June 9th, 2009 at 4:56 pmUh, Steele she was lost and sat down in the wrong room.
Fcuk the Republic Fascist Party
June 9th, 2009 at 4:56 pmEvery time I hear this man say something insane I keep thinking that he Cannot top himself. Then he turns around and says something even more innane and insane! Say goodbye to the Republic party, ’cause they’re putting the fire out with gasoline.
June 9th, 2009 at 4:57 pmThey actually think black people don’t have TV or Internet? Oh my Gawd, it’s worse than I thought…
June 9th, 2009 at 4:57 pmEverytime Steele opens his mouth, I’m amazed that anyone that stupid is the leader of the ooposition. Truly amazing!
June 9th, 2009 at 4:59 pmSteele: But this is my reality. I look in this room and I see one young black woman here.
– - And that one black woman was there to clean up.
June 9th, 2009 at 5:00 pmMy intestinal fortitude isn’t sufficient for me to actually watch the video of this, but my guess is that the “young black woman” was occupying a front row seat (or otherwise conspicuous) for the benefit of the cameras . . .
June 9th, 2009 at 5:01 pmSteele cautioned the GOP students that they should be prepared to hear “vacuous” responses when they first speak to African Americans about President Obama.
vacuous: asinine; devoid of intelligence
Hard to imagine why African Americans aren’t flocking to the GNOP as their party of choice.
PEACE
June 9th, 2009 at 5:02 pmOT… excuse… but, they won this one, this time…
June 9th, 2009 at 5:04 pmKansas abortion clinic won’t reopen after murder
Reuters – ?57 minutes ago?
By Carey Gillam KANSAS CITY, Missouri (Reuters) – The family of a murdered Kansas doctor said on Tuesday they would not reopen his clinic, which was one of only a few in the United States willing to provide late-term abortions.
I keep expecting Steele to start ranting about “those people”.
June 9th, 2009 at 5:09 pmYou know… there was a five letter word that seemed to describe Steele perfectly: t-o-k-e-n…. but now, I realize that its a different five letter word that describes this man: i-d-i-o-t
June 9th, 2009 at 5:13 pmOne African American in the crowd would be expected…, but is he like proud of that??
June 9th, 2009 at 5:16 pmRepublicans = Dixiecrats
Southern. White. Racist.
June 9th, 2009 at 5:16 pmDang, Steele just said American Africans would give unintelligent responses..
Not good.
June 9th, 2009 at 5:20 pmkaty Says:
Sometimes, katy, terrorism achieves it’s goals. But, I have an idea and if anyone has a rapport with pro-choice groups, please feel free to pass it on.
I think there should be a memorial for Dr. Tiller and all the women and children who will now die because of the lack of care provided by his clinic.
June 9th, 2009 at 5:20 pmI wish I had been given evidence to the contrary, but Steele is completely Nabisco: like an oreo, black on the outside, white on the inside.
His clueless comments day after day are proof he only considers race on a superficial level.
June 9th, 2009 at 5:21 pmFinally, Steele says something quantifiably true – this is his reality. And it will continue to be his reality as long as he portrays non-GOP people as “vacuous” until properly propogandized.
June 9th, 2009 at 5:21 pmYoungSloshee Says:
and the fact that he his head of the RNC means that they do, too.
June 9th, 2009 at 5:22 pm“his” s/b “is” – typing too fast.
June 9th, 2009 at 5:23 pmWhy would any people of color show up for that GOP flea circus convention when they can watch MC Steele and the other GOP clowns humiliate themselves for every night on TV – for free!
June 9th, 2009 at 5:23 pm“But this is my reality. I look in this room and I see one young black woman here.”
So can I assume a flurry of news pundits on Faux , decrying the racist statement – far beyond what Sotomayor said ??? (As opposed to Colbert, who doesn’t see color?)
And to expect “vacuous” responses when talking to African Americans about Obama. Doesn’t that say the same thing as the racists when they talk about low intelligence and the N word ?
June 9th, 2009 at 5:30 pmYou remember that cop in “Boyz in the Hood” that held the gun on Cuba Gooding Jr….?
June 9th, 2009 at 5:30 pmnoble idea, pete… sad that it will be necessary…
June 9th, 2009 at 5:40 pmMichael Steele:
“I’m a token among tokens and you want me to do something about inclusion??!!”
LOL
God, I love Republicans! They’re funnier than Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert–because they don’t try to be!
Mo Rage
June 9th, 2009 at 5:40 pmhttp://www.moravings.blogspot.com
He really is the gift that keeps on giving. Can we really blame African Americans for not voting Republican? What intelligent person would endorse a party that works overtime at taking people’s rights away.
Just keep talking Mikey. I see the map turning bluer and bluer!
June 9th, 2009 at 5:43 pm“African Americans haven’t gotten anything from Democrats in the last 50 years”?!
Are you kiddding me?
Maybe they haven’t gotten enough, sure, but we wouldn’t have the Voting Rights Act of 1964 if it weren’t for Democrats. And as it is, the Republicans have tried repeatedly, even in the last 12 months, to take away provisions of the VRA.
Mo Rage
June 9th, 2009 at 5:45 pmhttp://www.moravings.blogspot.com
watchdog Says:
Franken’s Book Only Worth A Dollar
What a Joke!
***
that’s senator franken to you pal.
:)
June 9th, 2009 at 5:45 pmhttps://www.conservativebookclub.com/Join/SingleBookJoin.asp?sour_cd=sb059az&prod_cd=c6918
Get Coulters book for free!
June 9th, 2009 at 5:49 pmNo, FUBAR the clown, most Blacks don’t vote Republican- it’s like Log Cabin Repubs- they’re voting against their interests, kind of masochistic if you think about it.
Keep on yammering, you freaking idiot, and you and your pathetic ilk will just fade off into oblivion, where you always belonged.
June 9th, 2009 at 5:49 pmYou reep the constituency you sow.
June 9th, 2009 at 5:58 pmThere’s a movie “Brother” Steele should see. I’m just sayin’ – if he disappears for two weeks and comes back talking like Huey Newton, you heard it here first.
“Sometimes when you get over the wall, you gotta throw a rope back — not help them build it higher.”
June 9th, 2009 at 6:02 pmWatchdog, I’d hardly be so smug in calling neoconsrscum’s rant “talking points”. Your guy Steele is making your voting pool smaller by the day, and considering what posts I’ve seen of yours in these threads, you’re hardly one to accuse folks of towing the company line. Please.
The unfortunate fact is that, by and large, people of color and LGBT’s are voting against their interests if they vote Republican. Rather than spending your days on Internet chat threads trolling people who disagree with you, perhaps you and “Brother” Steele should face reality and find ways to change your party. It would be great to have real, honest policy debate in this country between two parties that truly represented all of us. The Democrats have made strides towards traditionally Republican constituencies. Perhaps you and your ilk ought to try something similar.
June 9th, 2009 at 6:24 pmGet Coulters book for free!
No thanks. The last one was too coarse. And it left a rash on my ass.
June 9th, 2009 at 6:26 pmwatchdog Says:
Franken’s Book Only Worth A Dollar
What a Joke!
http://rawstory.com/news/2008/Ann_Coulter_booksigning_takes_place…_in_0420.html
No caption necessary.
June 9th, 2009 at 6:35 pm“Later in the speech, Steele cautioned the GOP students that they should be prepared to hear “vacuous” responses when they first speak to African Americans about President Obama. ”
So Steele thinks African-Americans can only offer vacuous responses? Does he even realize he is a supreme role model for “vacuous”, no matter what your origin? What a stupid, ridiculous, dumbo of a speaker this man is. And the fact he is totally racist towards African Americans — unbelievable!
June 9th, 2009 at 6:47 pmUm…OK, but did anybody notice Steele never answered the question?
“With you being chairman of the party, what are your strategies for reaching out to African American and inner-city communities?”
Apparently, he has no strategy. Which means he doesn’t care about reaching out to African Americans. Or inner-city communities. I guess he’s just of the typical Republican mindset that “we don’t need them.”
Which is a pity. Since obviously something somewhere along the line sold HIM — a black man — on the Republican Party, you’d think he would be in a unique position to find ways to sell the party to other African Americans.
But his lack of effort in this area tells me that he really doesn’t want blacks in the GOP (not enough room in the tent, apparently). It’s so much more beneficial to the GOP to blast blacks as racist when they vote Democratic (snark).
June 9th, 2009 at 6:49 pmI’m beginning to think that Steele became a GOoPer because he’s just barely smart enough to realize that the only time he can shine is when he’s in a group of one. He would be a low-level aide, at best, in any other environment.
June 9th, 2009 at 6:55 pm@watchdog – re: “breaking them up into groups”, that was done long ago by your party’s “Southern Strategy”, a move that brought short-term success through xenophobia, fear and other methods of obfuscation. So don’t pass the buck, or forget what the GOP did long ago.
Re: the social programs, it must be nice for you to be able to say that they don’t make a difference when all you see is a number on a budget sheet. I have strong doubts that you’ve seen the inside of a community center that keeps kids off the street, for example. Yes, some of them may not work, but a lot of them do. But you sit there and paint with such a broad, dismissive brush. You don’t think about the real ramifications of something like that – not only keeping kids out of trouble and providing positive role models for them, but perhaps allowing a single parent to get another job or further his or her education. I could go much deeper, but I hope you understand my point. You don’t seem to think about much more than the political angle.
You’re not even a conservative. You’re just a cynic.
June 9th, 2009 at 7:06 pmYeah, Mikey – and as long as you *stay* a Republic, that will continue to be your reality.
They hate you, you know.
June 9th, 2009 at 7:43 pmHey Repubs, just stick with your core constituency, angry white middle-aged and elderly males. Don’t listen to the concerns of the broads or the inferior breeds. Their intelligence counts for nothing as opposed to the power of your logical, manly brains. You’ll defeat them and overcome all through the force of your super brain-rays!!!
June 9th, 2009 at 8:28 pmLamenting the problem that “a lot of these people don’t have the technology of Internet or television,” one attendee asked Steele, “With you being chairman of the party, what are your strategies for reaching out to African American and inner-city communities?”
Later in the speech, Steele cautioned the GOP students that they should be prepared to hear “vacuous” responses when they first speak to African Americans about President Obama.
**************************************************************
Good grief! If the majority of Republicans are usually this dismissive of and condescending towards African-Americans as a whole — and frankly, it sometimes seems that way — then Steele shouldn’t be at all surprised that there was only one black person in that room. It certainly doesn’t surprise me any. What Steele clearly doesn’t realize is that this isn’t going to change any time soon as long as he continues to encourage Republicans to think of African-Americans as being “vacuous”. Most people — regardless of whether or not they’ve achieved someone else’s idea of a baseline measure in terms of academic, financial, and/or professional success — are at least intelligent enough to know when someone is “talking down” to them or acting out of a preconceived notion of who they are, and they usually don’t view such a person favorably or positively.
June 9th, 2009 at 9:10 pmMapleStreet Says:
“But this is my reality. I look in this room and I see one young black woman here.”
So can I assume a flurry of news pundits on Faux , decrying the racist statement – far beyond what Sotomayor said ??? (As opposed to Colbert, who doesn’t see color?)
Why yes, Steele stated that he lives in a completely different reality than white people.
Hang on, let me get my wingnut-ese on…
HOW IS THAT NOT RACIST? ANYONE WITH A BRAIN CAN SEE THAT!
/wingnut
.
watchdog Says:
Franken’s Book Only Worth A Dollar
What a Joke!
Some wingnut bought a bunch of his books at retail, took them to the dollar store, stocked them, and then took a picture of it.
What a Joke!
Also, off topic.
June 9th, 2009 at 10:08 pm.
Does anyone have a head count on the Latino turnout?
.
June 10th, 2009 at 1:10 am.
LIE-CHEAT-STEELE
The “NEW” G(no)P
.
June 10th, 2009 at 1:11 amMr Steele, your and the gops reality is NOT the reality of America or the world. You comments to the young lady are typical of a ignorant no nothing person who thinks he is something more then he is.
June 10th, 2009 at 10:47 amKeep talkin’, Mike! Everytime you open your yapper, the Dems come out looking a little better and gain a few more voters!
Shout your message (incomprehendable and detached as it may be) from the mountain tops, Mr. Steele!
June 10th, 2009 at 10:53 am