Russell stumping for Steele

[msgadget]

I have a whole lotta respect for Russell Simmons as a zen/capitalist black man devoted to raising up the entire populace so when I first saw the WaPo article about him stumping for Steele I got that queasy feeling. As you may know, I'm NOT a party person. I think both sides pander shamelessly to get elected and then ignore us as much as they can get away with until just before the next election cycle. My problem with Steele has more to do with his light-weight, token image than his party choice. Seriously, that's what makes me blink first when I see his name in print.

But, I thought, RUSS is backin' this guy! Why not Kweisi Mfume? With democratic party leaders studiously avoiding 'special' or black interests, what happens when the other party does? Republicans printed a 2005 Civil Rights calendar even though their black pols rarely acknowledge the black struggle as worthy of much note. Sure, dems will be in black churches in October and November and may even be photographed with some black folks in the nearer future even though equality and poverty seem to have been judged losing issues by strategists who, obviously, have been hired to paint the party as struggling and disjointed. Oh, and speaking of strategists, do make note of the input by Ms Brazile, she who thinks Karl Rove is an okay guy. One of my favorite water cooler mates is an unabashed Coulter fan but I wouldn't give him a shout-out on TV for being okay except for the wanting to kill liberals part of his obviously tortured psyche because he - like Karl - would sooner bite off his tongue than say something nice about me or my ideals in front of a national audience.

Anyway, judge for yourself:

Angling for Hip-Hop Appeal

By Matthew Mosk
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, August 25, 2006; B01

Maryland Lt. Gov. Michael S. Steele's credibility with a pivotal constituency -- African American voters -- got a boost yesterday when hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons got behind his U.S. Senate bid.

"It's extremely significant," said Donna Brazile, a Democratic political strategist. "It says that Michael Steele is someone who is comfortable with youth voters and minority voters."

Yesterday's heavily promoted announcement was just the latest example of how one of the nation's highest-ranking black Republican office holders is trying to balance two aspects of his life -- his race and his political party. Standing beside Simmons, Steele happily embraced the label "hip-hop Republican." :puke:

That title is the essence of Steele's delicate campaign strategy to draw votes from Maryland's large pool of black voters while retaining financial and Election Day support from another minority group in the state, conservative Republicans.

He might, for instance, be the only politician in America to have had fundraisers hosted this year by Russell Simmons and Dick Cheney.

Simmons, in turn, might just be the only host to throw fundraisers for both Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton and Michael Steele.

"I'm from hip-hop, how can I give in to labels?" asked Simmons, who as co-founder of Def Jam Records has been at the forefront of hip-hop's ascendance, as well as efforts to register black voters.

Simmons said he first came to Maryland four years ago to campaign against Steele, but Steele won him over. "Every time we've had a discussion, it boils downs to the same two things: education and opportunity," Simmons said. "The lieutenant governor is clear on his mission."

Steele's message of black empowerment -- that African Americans no longer want a seat at the lunch counter, they want to own the diner -- has resonated with Simmons and with Cathy L. Hughes, founder of Radio One, one of the nation's most successful black-owned radio networks.

Hughes's name appeared on the invitation for a fundraiser last night in Baltimore, but she did not attend.

Support from these icons of black popular culture could help burnish Steele's image for political dexterity. He almost never invokes his deep GOP roots on the trail and launched his first television ad this week pledging to "talk straight about what's wrong in both parties."

Other Democrats, though, have called his strategy a cynical attempt to divert attention from his own biography: that of a social conservative who chaired the state Republican party and worked aggressively on behalf of President Bush.

State Democratic Party Chairman Terry Lierman yesterday advised against reading too much into the endorsements.

"I think it's two individuals supporting a right-wing candidate who does not reflect the values and priorities of Marylanders," Lierman said. "When the time to vote comes, people will know that a vote for Steele is a vote for Bush."

Steele has consistently trailed in polls that match him against one of the leading Democrats in the party's crowded primary field, Rep. Benjamin L. Cardin of Baltimore. Polls have shown Steele in a statistical tie against the other Democratic front-runner, former NAACP president Kweisi Mfume.

continued here: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/24/AR2006082401676_pf.html