Hillarysworld

Thanks to Jimmy Carter's outrageous remarks about how much of the criticism of President Obama is "based on racism" and stems from "a belief among many white people ... that African-Americans are not qualified to lead this great country," Steele is finding his voice.

Carter, of course, is not alone with his outburst. Consider the inflammatory comments of Rep. Henry "Hank" Johnson, D-Ga., who told reporters that, if we tolerate incivility to the nation's first black president -- in the form of, say, a member of Congress yelling out "you lie!" during a presidential address -- then, before you know it, "we'll probably have folks putting on white hoods and white uniforms again and riding through the countryside intimidating people."

Steele is firing back. He accused Carter of being "dead wrong" and "out of line" in a way that serves to "diminish real instances of racism that need to be addressed." Later, during an interview by CNN's Wolf Blitzer, Steele blasted Johnson's comments about white hoods and intimidating people as "an ignorant statement" and insisted that it is "beyond anyone's comprehension that you can make that leap."

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2009/09/20/the_chairman_finds_his_voice_98384.html

But where Steele really delivered was when he tried to turn the tables on Democrats who are criticizing Rep. Joe Wilson and insist that many of those who represent poor and minority constituents are doing more harm than the South Carolinian who called out Obama.

"You tell me where racism really exists," Steele said. "Is it in the words of a congressman who says 'you lie'? Or is it how we strip education funding through opportunity scholarships? Or is it how we cut money for our HBCUs (historically black colleges and universities) around the country? Or is it the fact that so many African-Americans still live in neighborhoods that are burnt out and run-down?"

Exactly. And Steele was just scratching the surface. He could also have mentioned how Democrats work to undermine educational reform efforts that help black students through their slavish adherence to teachers' unions. Or how liberals attack and try to discredit African-American conservatives who dare to think their own thoughts. Or how Democrats in the 1990s actually challenged using race in redistricting because they feared having minorities concentrated in one district would make surrounding districts majority Republican. Or how white Democrats worry about changing demographics as much as anyone when nonwhite Democratic voters begin to represent ever-larger shares of the Democratic electorate in states such as Arizona, Colorado, Texas and California.

The war of words is on, and Michael Steele is getting in his share of licks. More importantly, let's hope the RNC chairman is also getting African-Americans to think about those policy areas where Democrats have betrayed them. It's time that community learned to challenge its friends as vigorously as its adversaries. It'll be better off for it.