Ehrlich/Steele's Unique Appeal

Baltimore Sun ^ | 11/12/02 | Allegra Bennett

[Coop]

Had the Democrats chosen an African-American running mate in Maryland's race for governor, I never would have had my head turned by Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. and Michael S. Steele.

The Democrats needed to form a bond in three geographic areas key to a win, and had solid candidate potential in former Baltimore Mayor Kurt L. Schmoke, Prince George's County Executive Wayne K. Curry, veteran Montgomery County Council member Isiah Leggett and Clarence W. Blount, a senior respected member of the state legislature. None was selected. It seems that no matter how accomplished he is, a black man can get no respect. So when Congressman Ehrlich chose the telegenic Mr. Steele as his lieutenant governor, he got my attention.

In a color-struck society such as ours, a black guy and a white guy teaming up and calling each other friend raises either a warm feeling of hope or a brow of suspicion. In this instance, you had a smart, confident white guy from Arbutus who failed the NAACP's legislative decency test and a smart, confident black guy from Prince George's County who failed the "Is He Black Enough?" test. They are both Republicans. Suspicion was very high. I had to at least look.

Who were these guys? How serious could they be about winning in a state where Democrats outnumber Republicans 2-1, where an African-American had never been elected to statewide office, where black Republicans are treated as non-persons, and where the white state Senate president feels comfortable calling the black candidate an Uncle Tom in public?

No, those two couldn't be serious. Besides, if any political party was going to be the first to select a serious black running mate in this state, it was the friends of black folks, the Democrats. When the time was right, of course.

Unfortunately, the time was not right this time for the party for which I have been a loyalist for 38 years...

[Coop]

Excellent article. Let's hope this race caused many heads across the nation to turn and take a second look. If it can happen in Maryland...

[GraniteStateConservative]

ping!

[Coop]

I was just about to do that. Thanks :-)

[Lil'freeper]

This from the same paper that published the following endorsement of Ehrlich's RAT opponent:

By contrast, Mr. Ehrlich's running mate, state GOP chairman Michael S. Steele, brings little to the team but the color of his skin. His choice was a calculated move by Mr. Ehrlich, made all the more crass when it was discovered that Mr. Steele is being paid by the GOP as a "consultant" to run.

One of these days the ultra-liberal, elitist, urbanite snobs will realize that they are the only ones who are "color-struck."

[GraniteStateConservative]

That Emerging Democratic Majority book is toilet paper.

It's ridiculous to think that a party can sustain 80-90% support from any racial group. The GOP broke ground with black voters by appointing Condi, Paige, and Powell (both Colin and Michael), as well as others. Now the GOP has two years to really drive a stake through the heart of Democrats-- which is all part of Rove's master plan.

By not having to focus on winning the Senate in 2004 or winning the House, we can focus on padding our lead-- minority outreach. There are risks of screwing it up, but we can afford to take them. We can pump money into campaigns of Black Republicans running in majority minority districts. We can try to target mailings and ads to minority communities using a style and language they will respond to.

[GraniteStateConservative]

NOTHING they can snivel about will change the FACT that a Republican was the first statewide elected black politician in MD.

Ha! Ha! Ha!

[spiffy]

Steele is sharp!

[Coop]

I posted this on a thread concerning the GOP's Hispanic success in FL & NY (and lack thereof out West), and I'll repeat it here.

Has anybody seen a breakdown of Jewish voter preference in the MD race and nationwide? I'm curious to see if the Jewish voter registration switch seen this spring/summer (thanks to the President's support of Israel against Palestinian terrorism) actually carried over into the voting booth.

[jae471]

His choice was a calculated move by Mr. Ehrlich, made all the more crass when it was discovered that Mr. Steele is being paid by the GOP as a "consultant" to run.

Huh? He was the Chair of the MD-GOP, before even being chosen by Ehrlich. The only thing they paid him was his salary.

[Dems_R_Losers]

The weeks went on. And then show time, Election Day. In the voting booth, I stared at the pad marked with Mr. Ehrlich's name, knowing that selecting his tab was a vote for change and a good point of reference in Maryland history with the first African-American lieutenant governor. I saw my vote as a manifesto from black Democrats to the Democratic Party leadership not to take my support for granted ever again.

Wow! Earth to NAACP/DNC: Pay attention!!!!

(An aside: don't ever let anyone tell you that these "Democrats for ________" campaigns don't work or are meaningless. Republicans cannot win in many states without votes and support of sizable numbers of Democrats. Groups like this tell them "it's OK" to vote Republican.)

[Coop]

Flag

[ItisaReligionofPeace]

They are the most patronizing and racist types there are. When Black people realize this it's over for the elitist liberals.

[Coop]

Flag

[BushRep]

Ehrlich is certainly someone to be watched, especially for the Vice-Presidential nomination in 2008.

Ehrlich-Steele are two fine people with a great future in this Party, especially if they build the Republican Party in Maryland.

Ditto for Romney-Healey.

If someone can repair the Massachusetts Republican Party, it is Mitt Romney.

Go Ehrlich! Go Romney!

[HoosierFather]

In early June, I predicted (in this forum) that Bob Ehrlich would beat KKT by 51-49%. This was based upon the quality of the candidates (he's an very impressive guy; she's a bumbling nucklehead).

Then, after KKT picked the white Republican (Larson) and Ehrlich picked the black Republican (Steele), I changed my prediction to Ehrlich-Steele winning by 52-48%. KKT had clearly offended her base and Ehrlich had engineered a statement of inclusiveness to the black community by picking Steele.

The final results: Ehrlich - 51.4%; KKT - 47.9%; Lancaster (Libertarian) - 0.7%. Not bad political prognostication!

But, I think this article from the Baltimore Sun is very insightful and should be read by all Republican political leadership around the country. The message is that the monolith of the black vote in America is clearly poised for change.

I believe that blacks are finally realizing that the policies of the Democrat party are failing them and their children. They are starting to acknowledge that many Democrat leaders are inherently racist and have little to offer other than the mental slavery derived from government handouts and demogaugic hatred of conservatives and all that is Republican.

Maybe it was the events of 9-11 that brought Americans together, maybe it is the leadership, ethics, and trust of George Bush, maybe it is the internet? Whatever the factors, it should be obvious to most political observers that the black ice of Democrat control of minority voters is beginning to thaw. And, if it can happen in places like Maryland, it can happen nationwide.

Republicans should seize this opportunity to reach out to minotity voters, like Bob Ehrlich did in Maryland. When successful, minority inclusion will solidify the long term dominance of the Republican party, the true party of strength and new ideas, for many decades to come.

[DC native]

Your viewpoint is interesting to me. My take on this is that nothing has been realized here and no changes have occurred in the American psyche. Black people have consistently shown that they are far more interested in the color of someone's skin rather than the content of their character. They voted for Steele, not Erlich, and only because he is black.

[cogitator]

It's an interesting thought, but the statistics still showed a predominantly black vote for KKT (90% +). The main reason she lost was due to significant shift in white women voters from KKT to Ehrlich. Despite his efforts, black voters still didn't/don't trust him. Steele may be able to change that, to an extent, but look at the predominant view of blacks toward Clarence Thomas -- it hasn't changed a whit. (And I didn't meant to write "white".)

Don't want to be discouraging; just realistic.

[Grand Old Partisan]

Soon you'll be hearing plenty about "Back to Basics for the Republican Party" (www.republicanbasics.com), which Michael Steele tells the press is his "favorite book".

[aristeides]

The Washington Times has called on the Baltimore Sun to apologize to Steele for that editorial statement.

[Mamzelle]

I was so WRONG about Maryland! Have been dining on the most delicious crow and humble pieI've ever eaten. I lived in MD and watched the crooked Dems steal every election, and had written this state, which is beautiful in the far western part (Frederick) and the bountiful East (Easton, Salisbury) but not so hot in the middle (Balmer), --off---If MD can do this, any state can! We should draw much encouragement.