A horse of a different color: Maryland's Michael Steele and the courage of the black Republican

National Review, Dec 5, 2005 by Jay Nordlinger

All agree that, as lieutenant governor, Steele has played a significant role in the administration. His portfolio includes education, a faith-based initiative, minority business enterprise, and trade. He takes a particular--and politically rare--interest in the fortunes of ex-cons. Governor Ehrlich points out that the state constitution assigns no duties to the lieutenant governor, "so the job description is whatever the governor wants the job description to be"--and Ehrlich has relied on Steele, giving him "wide latitude." A four-year record "gives Mike a lot to run on."

In the summer of 2004, Steele was tabbed to speak at that national convention, and some touted him as a kind of answer to Barack Obama, the (black) Democrat who was running for the Senate in Illinois, and had electrified the Democratic convention. (Obama eventually won, of course--over another black candidate, Republican Alan Keyes.) Steele himself gave a rousing speech, in which he linked the GOP to civil rights, and spoke a familiar credo, often attributed to Lincoln: "... You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong. You cannot help the wage earner by pulling down the wage payer. You cannot further the brotherhood of man by encouraging class hatred...."

Nor did he ignore foreign policy, showing some tartness: "[Senator Kerry] recently said that he doesn't want to use the word 'war' to describe our efforts to fight terrorism. Well, ladies and gentlemen, I don't want to use the words 'commander in chief' to describe John Kerry." That one sent Vice President Cheney rocketing out of his chair, and the rest of Republicandom enjoyed it as well.

'READY TO GO'

Party leaders in Washington urged Steele to run for the Senate, and he has accepted the challenge. Obviously, you would not want to bet the ranch on him, given the Democratic coloration of Maryland, and the cloudy picture for Republicans in 2006: It promises to be tough all over. What you can safely bet on is that race will continue to rear its head. In 1998, the Democrats did a number on Ellen Sauerbrey, the Republican nominee for governor. At the eleventh hour--under the guidance of operative Bob Shrum--they launched an ad campaign depicting Sauerbrey as a racist. This was too much for honest Democrats, including Schmoke, who was mayor. ("I know the difference between a political conservative and a racist.") But the campaign had its effect, and Sauerbrey went down.

"Do you have your chin strap buckled?" I ask Steele. "Oh, I've got mine buckled," he answers. "The question is, do they have theirs buckled, because they've never run across a Republican like me. I learned the game from them. I've watched them for years. And they'd better be buckled up, because I'm ready to go." Four years ago, the Ehrlich-Steele ticket won about 15 percent of the black vote. Can Steele, by himself, as a Senate candidate, win more? "! don't know," he says. (Governor Ehrlich, in a separate conversation, answers in exactly the same, direct way.) But Steele is ready to campaign everywhere, as he and Ehrlich did in 2002--"going to every neighborhood, talking about poverty, talking about entrepreneurism, taking on taboos." He knows that a few white conservatives will vote against him, or stay away from the polls, because of his skin color: "The Klan's running around the state here and there. Sure, sure." But he also maintains that "there will be some black liberals who hold their noses and vote for me."