Showing posts with label Michael Steele. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Michael Steele. Show all posts

Wednesday, May 20, 2009

Black or White, Democrat or Republican, Conservative or Liberal--Politicians Are All The Same Unless We Demand Solutions

Well, it just goes to show you, when in Rome, politicians WILL do as the Romans do. My girl Dovescorner turned me on to this one in the Washington Times. It seems RNC Chairman Michael Steel has hired a few of his relatives at relatively high salaries.

"When [he] took over as chairman of the Republican National Committee earlier this year, he brought along longtime personal assistant Belinda Cook and gave her a salary nearly three times what her predecessor made. Mrs. Cook's son, Lee, also slnded an RNC job. Mr. Steele [also] hired another family friend, Angela Sailor, to be the party's outreach director at a salary of $180,000, more than double her predecessor's compensation."
Mr. Steele was a speaker at Tavis Smiley's annual State of the Black Union event in Los Angeles. There he said, "Who would think that in 2009 you'd have two black men at the pinnacle of political power in this country. I tell you this, black folk expected Steele to be different. But you know what they say, "absolute power corrupts absolutely."

The point is why focus on race, political party, liberal, or conservative. If given the chance, politicians have shown they will "conduct business as usual." That is, unless they are held accountable. If we, the American people really want change, let's demand politicians solve problems and bridge gaps among the American people--not talk about them.

You know Congress votes for their own pay raises. I don't know about you, but I've never had a job where I could raise my own salary without someone's approval. How do you feel about the people voting on Congressional pay raises?

Friday, February 13, 2009

Michael Steele's Acceptance Speech: S2D2

I listened to Michael Steele's acceptance speech quite closely and guess what? He didn't say anything, yet alone address many of the issues African-Americans have with the Republican Party.

For instance, what will the Republican Party do to confront their most disastrous modern legacy: a poor relationship with black Americans?

How will the Republican Party turn a social conservative agenda that seems obsessed with religion, guns and abortion?

How will the Republican Party address why most African-American Republicans feel isolated in a party that is overwhelmingly white, male, Southern, conservative and seemingly closed to ethnic minorities?

How will Republicans address alleged accusations of voter suppression in every major campaign?

I don't know about you, but it's going to take more than a smiling black face to convince me that the Republican Party has anything to offer a person of color--it's going to take an acknowledgment of who I am and deference for my issues.

How do you feel? Is the selection of a black man enough to make YOU trust the Republican Party? What must the Republican Party do now?