Steele’s Tapdance

He can’t actually let on that he’s a Republican (we have 2 to 1 Dem registration in Maryland, and in the black community of course the numbers are even more lopsided).

Steele is generally cautious with his references to the Republican Party, although he says that is because most people know his political affiliation. When he announced his candidacy before a boisterous crowd in Prince George’s County, the nation’s most affluent majority-black suburb, he did not once mention his GOP affiliation. Instead, he described himself as a “bridge” between the parties.

Leonardo Alcivar, a communications specialist who worked for Steele’s campaign and is now working for Swann, said there is a key distinction between the way the two men are running. “We don’t have to shy away from being Republican in the way Michael does,” he said.

The interesting thing to me about this “black Republican” media creation is just how artificial it is. The GOP looked at places where a white Republican would have a hard time and just grabbed a black guy, hoping to make inroads among black voters without actually addressing the policy questions that keep black voters away from the GOP.

Democrats need to learn not to take the black vote for granted – those week before the election visits to black churches are tired – but the Republican party simply shows no sign of understanding that the party of Katrina can’t just put on a happy face.

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