Pulling a play from the How-Does-This-Possibly-Make-Sense Playbook of the Democratic Party, Maryland Democrats are attempting to convince black voters to not support black GOP gubernatorial candidate Lt. Gov. Michael Steele because Steele has been a supporter of President Bush who oversaw the government’s handling of the Katrina disaster where many of the victims were black.
The Washington Times reports today in an article headlined “Democrats to push Steele-Katrina link":
Maryland Democratic leaders are aiming to tie Lt. Gov. Michael S. Steele to the federal government's response to Hurricane Katrina to dampen his appeal among black voters in his U.S. Senate bid.
"I think it's one of President Bush's major failings as president, and I think it symbolizes a very disturbing approach to governing," said Derek Walker, executive director of the Maryland Democratic Party.
"Bush has wrapped himself around Steele's campaign, and Steele has wrapped himself around Bush. Steele needs to address that," Mr. Walker said.
Rep. Steny H. Hoyer, Maryland Democrat and House minority whip, said: "I don't think the African-American community is going to want to give a stamp of approval to the Bush administration."
For his part, Steele noted:
"My words on Katrina have been very clear. I've freely addressed this issue from the beginning," he said. "It was an incredible failure of the government to recognize and execute its responsibility on all levels. I've said it in print, on the radio, in public settings."
Apparently, Democrats think black voters are so ignorant that they are going to fall for the idea that Steele hates his own race so much that he somehow agrees with how the whole Katrina episode was handled and was happy to see all the, as New Orleans Mayor Nagin might say, “Chocolate People” suffering.
Maryland Democrats have cited Hurricane Katrina in the Steele campaign to help secure the black vote - a large and historically loyal bloc.
"You might have a crossover of black Democrats voting for Steele. That's what everybody is really worried about. It's what we call a legacy vote," says state Sen. Gloria Lawlah, Prince George's Democrat and member of the Legislative Black Caucus of Maryland. [...]
"Katrina was a wretched event," he said. "It made clear in our society that there were too many left out, left behind."
After his breakfast speech, Mr. Hoyer equated voting for Mr. Steele with supporting the Bush administration.
Most people wouldn’t believe that about a white candidate (including President Bush if he were running again) in the Katrina situation, but the Democrats are so desperate to beat Steele that they will resort to even the most ridiculous of arguments.
They cannot stand the idea of a black GOPer succeeding: they’re not the least bit interested in the success of blacks, but the success of Democrats.
But what all these Democrats are failing to tell their voters is that it was the Democrats who have ruled the government of Louisiana and New Orleans for a long time. Dems still believe they can fool black voters into remaining loyal to the Party that has remained “loyal” to them.
Prince George's County State's Attorney Glenn Ivey, a Democrat, said his initial "concerns" about blacks voting for Mr. Steele have subsided.
"I had some concerns, but my sense is that the whole Katrina episode has reminded a lot in the African-American community as to why they're Democrats," Mr. Ivey said.
I’m not so sure it’s a good idea to get any voting bloc—black or otherwise—to actually think about why they’re Democrats. Such an exercise is likely to increase Republican-voter rolls.
