Isaac Chotiner has an observation about Michael Steele's recent statement that “I believe the worst thing we can do now is to look backwards. Who you elect as our next chairman will speak volumes about our willingness to truly be the party of Lincoln.” Chotiner writes:
This is not exactly equivalent to saying people who oppose Steele are all racists, but its close. How amusing that the conservative moment, which goes into hyperventilation mode every time false accusations of racism are made, chose this guy to run the RNC.
Amusing maybe, but not unexpected. Part of Steele's pitch for himself as RNC chair was that he'd be able to blunt Democratic accusations of racism and put Democrats on the defensive on issues of race, but in practice he's often used race as a way to apply pressure to his conservative critics within the party.
The underlying problem here is with the fact that black conservatives are so often relegated to the role of legitimizing conservative anti-anti-racism. Republicans can hardly blame Steele for being this cynical when its essentially the reason he got the job.
