'Hood rich' reputation may sink Michael Steele
OPINION - The tale of the financially irresponsible black man is an easy sell to the American people...
The Urban Dictionary defines “hood rich” as: A person from an urban neighborhood that looks like they have a lot of money, but they are living far beyond their means.
Speaking of those who might be “hood rich,” it seems that Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele may have been celebrating Black History Month in an interesting and non-traditional fashion. Reports are that the chairman spent over $17,000 dollars on private planes and another $12,691 dollars on cars, all during the month of February. Steele made one trip for the RNC in which he spent $9,099 dollars at a Beverly Hills hotel and another $1,946.25 at a place called “The Voyeur West Hollywood Club,” which is: “a bondage-themed nightclub featuring topless women dancers imitating lesbian sex.” Not sure what part of the Republican Party platform the Voyeur West Club fits into, but based on the sex scandals of Republicans Larry Craig, Mark Foley and others, there might be a match. You also can’t help but laugh at the irony of someone watching lesbians simulate sex acts in cages and simultaneously voting against gay marriage.
The truth is that we don’t know for sure if Michael Steele was actually the man in the club spending money like he’s 50 Cent. In fact, the RNC spokesperson said that Steele, “was never at the location in question, he had no knowledge of the expenditure, nor does he find the use of committee funds at such a location at all acceptable.”
One problem for Michael Steele, however, is that even if this story is not true, the public is going to believe that it is. The tale of the financially irresponsible black man is an easy sell to the American people, particularly among conservatives. Notice that the language used to describe Michael Steele as arrogant, out of touch and economically irresponsible is similar to the dialogue aimed at President Barack Obama. One can also tie Tiger Woods, “the irresponsible sex addict with poor values” in with Michael Steele, along with many other black public figures who are presented as undisciplined buffoons to the public.
WATCH RACHEL MADDOW’S REPORT ON THE MICHAEL STEELE SCANDAL HERE:
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Michael Steele, welcome to the black man club. No matter what you actually did, you’re going to be thrown in the pile with the rest of us.
“For those donors who truly believe in conservative values, this latest news about Steele has to be very disturbing,” said Douglas MacKinnon, former press secretary to Majority Leader Robert Dole. “No matter which side of the aisle you find yourself, if you are giving a political party your hard-earned money, you should have no doubts that it is going to be spent as advertised and not to provide a spoiled, egocentric, out-of-touch chairman with frivolous luxuries which are out of reach of the vast majority of the American people. Michael Steele needs to resign and let the RNC vote in a man or woman who understands that his or her needs do not come before the needs of the nation or the party.”
Need I say more?
The truth, however, is that Republicans have a very good reason for giving Michael Steele the boot. Steele has not been a very good fundraiser, spending more than past RNC chairs, while raising less money. The Republicans are going to need every penny in November to finish up their blitzkrieg against the Democrats. A straight-laced, bible-thumping white guy could probably raise far more money for the organization than Steele, especially given that black people are no longer the hot conservative fashion trend they once were. Steele’s selection as RNC chair, if you recall, was driven by the Republicans trying to match the Democrats’ black guy with one of their own. It didn’t work very well, since Obama has proven to be a far more effective politician than Steele.
When I see Michael Steele at the National Action Network Convention in New York on April 17, I am going to tell him that I am glad that the Republicans have asked him to resign (which they surely will). Very few self-respecting black men should subject themselves to the unseemly acts of defending racist tea partiers, and cow-towing to Rush Limbaugh’s ridiculous behavior. The Republicans have never shown appropriate respect for Michael Steele, and I honestly felt sorry for him. I also find it quite plausible, that this “coincidental” revelation might not have been so coincidental at all. The Republicans want Michael Steele to move on, and so do I.
Dr. Boyce Watkins is the founder of the Your Black World Coalition and the initiator of the National Conversation on Race. For more information, please visit BoyceWatkins.com>
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