Republicans, Looking for Someone to Blame, Pick Another Black Man

The Republicans and their repugnant and now repudiated view of economic and poltical reality are looking all around for someone to blame for the unprecedented problems they have created and the fact that the nation rejects them in historically high numbers (see recent polls of party identification).

Favorite targets are black men and women. In the last eight years, the Republicans have managed to turn a budget deficit into a $1 trillion a year deficit, a country at peace into a country involved in two wars it cannot win, an economy gorwing at a steady 4% a year into an economy shrinking at about 1% a year.So, Barack Obama, first African-American President is handed the ball, totally deflated, to fill up with air so that American families can stay afloat. Immediately the Republicans stake out their new ground, claiming that if the the stimulus program doesn't work, then President Obama is responsible for the recession (not the foks who created, but the foks who tried to solve it).

President Obama proposes a solution that many economic and political experts in both parties indicate has a good chance to put the air back in the deflated ball. The Republicans give zero votes to the proprosal and immediately realize that it was a mistake as the country repudiate's their resistance to change. Since the Black man in the White house enjoys, for the moment, the teflonic Reaganeque auro, they blame a woman, Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the House, saying that if House Democrats had only worked with them, they could have crafted a "bi-partisam" bill to vote for.

So, who will take responsibility for the unraveling of the Republican domination of the political scene in America that began with Bush and now is in full bloom? The Republicans choose a Black man - Michael Steele, the newly elected Chair of the Republican National Committee - to take the blame. Aside from the obvious qualities reflectd in Steels's resume of business and political leadership, the choice is a cynical attempt to counter the Obama popularity by also showing that Republicans have African-American leaders and, at the same time, make sure that none of the good ole white boys of the party will have to take blame for the next round of failures in elections.

Steele cannot solve the Republican problem. The problem with the Republican party is that it follows the wrong ideological tendencies in its program of governance of all aspects of public life. There are only two things that can save the Republicans from a prolonged decline in influence: a huge failure by President Obama or the return of FEAR and GREED as primary dynamics in the public.

Steele by being Black cannot attract more African-American voters, much less more latinos because neither is blind to the fact that Republicans, by ideology, do not like African-Americans or Latinos, especially if they are poor, but also if they appreciate their own heritage or their recent past in another country.

Barack Obama has the backing of the American people and majorities in both houses. Nancy Pelosi has the majority in the House. Mr. Steele will bring intelligence, new ideas and energy to the RNC, but he only has the Republican establishment to work with. Who do you think will succeed?