Recently Congressman Benjamin Cardin fired a member of his Senate campaign staff for posting a racial slur about his opponent, Lt. Governor Michael Steele. This posting was not the first racial attack on Steele, a black Republican in serious contention for what is usually an automatically Democratic seat. While the Cardin campaign is not responsible for the attacks, the left's participation in them is unacceptable.
At rallies, Steele has had Oreos thrown at him, a gesture equivalent to calling him a "fake black" (black on the outside, white on the inside). Elsewhere, he has been portrayed as a "Samba," accused of being a "race traitor," and an "Uncle Tom." And these attacks have not just emanated from the black community -- they've come from white people as well. They haven't just come from impoverished Baltimoreans who are angry at the system -- they've come from wealthy, educated and supposedly enlightened people. I've even heard them from students at this very university.
And instead of condemning these despicable displays of racism, liberal black leaders have allowed them to continue. According to the Washington Times, in fact, many "Black Democratic leaders in Maryland say that racially tinged attacks against Gov. Michael S. Steele in his bid for the U.S. Senate are fair because he is a conservative Republican."
Setting aside, for a moment, the double standard that exists between racism from conservatives and racism from liberals, it is worth exploring the question of why people see (or claim to see) Michael Steele and other conservative African-Americans as "Uncle Toms" or race traitors.
Three explanations for this phenomenon come to mind. Those who use these terms or consider their application accurate: (1) Do not believe that black people are smart or intellectually diverse enough to subscribe to separate and varied political ideologies. (2) Do not believe that the Republican Party can improve the welfare of any member of the black community -- or at least any "real" black person. (3) See the black vote as the key to Steele's victory, and believe the best way to ensure a Democratic victory is to peel away those votes by painting Steele as a traitor to the Black community.
The first possibility is racist and preposterous. It ought to be dismissed out of hand.
I also take issue with the second notion, as, in many ways, Republicans have as much to offer African Americans as Democrats do. Don't get me wrong: the 1964 Republican decision to enact the Southern Strategy of attracting white voters by playing on racial fears was despicable. And the fact that the strategy worked is a negative mark on the party's history.
Yet despite what is, at best, a checkered past n regard to race relations, recent GOP policies have the potential to help African-Americans in a way the Democrats have never been willing to.
Under President Bush, blacks have made great headway in education, homeownership and entrepreneurship. Because of his policies on taxes, ownership, and small business loans, more blacks own businesses now than ever. And because of Republican policies begun under Newt Gingrich's leadership, minority homeownership recently passed 50%, which has in turn resulted in stabilized communities and asset-accumulation.
Finally Republicans should be proud of their education policy. For the first time, under No Child Left Behind, the American government is acknowledging that black children can do anything white children can -- and that they should be held to the same standards. Instead of lowering the bar for black students, NCLB helps them reach it. One need only look at the vastly increased test scores in Baltimore City to see that this law works.
And, while Republican failure to address poverty will continue to be a problem, the GOP still has much more to offer the black community.
Thus, the fact that a black man would want to run as a Republican shouldn't make him a traitor, an oppressor of blacks, or an Uncle Tom. Some of these accusations are purely the results of racism. For the most part, however, they are simply an expression of politics at work.
Liberals have continuously won the black vote through divisive scare tactics. Painting political campaigns as "us versus them," they have convinced members of the black community that the Republicans are racist.
With Steele, however, they have a problem. It is difficult to paint a black Republican as racist against black people.
Unless of course, he's just an Oreo.
--Marc Goldwein is a senior political science and economics major from Merion, Pa.
