It started with puppies and ended with Multiple Sclerosis

With election day less than 72 hours away. I found myself turning an ever increasing deaf ear to the political ads squeezed in between my favorite television shows. It was my ignoring ear that heard a certain silence in an ad that actually caught my attention.

Let me back up for a second to explain why I heard that silence.

About four months ago I first saw a TV ad with Michael Steele on it. He started out by warning us that "The Washington set" was about to start a series of dark and frightening ad's, demonizing him and accusing him of everything under the sun, including hating puppies. He proceeded to touch on a few political points and then pulled a puppy from off camera and rubbed it under the chin and said, "For the record. I like puppies." I thought that was amusing.

Then over the next few days I started noticing people, Black People, asking each other, "Are you voting for Michael Steele?" Before long the question came around to me and I asked, "Why in the world do you think I'd vote for Michael Steele?" People would then kinda' bob and weave a little and I follow up with, "Because he's Black?" They'd shuffle a little and answer, "Yeah, I was just wondering."

I then proceeded to tell everyone almost the same answer, verbatim. "There is no way in the world that I would vote for someone just because our skin was the same color! And, there is no way - at this point in history that I would play a part in giving a Republican a seat in the Senate or the House. I want Democrats to take over the Congress and hold hearings that will hold President George Bush 100% accountable for the illegal and unjustified invasion of Iraq, The unnecessary deaths and injuries to thousands and tens of thousands of American Servicemen and women, The unnecessary deaths of hundreds of thousands of dead and injured Iraqis, The privatization and for-profit contracting of services performed in the Iraq Theater of Operations, and the lack of support in the hunt for Osama bin Laden!" So Hell no, I ain't voting for Michael Steele! At this point in my answer my face would ususally be red and I'd be scowling!

So that is where I stand on Mike Steele. He's a Bush Republican, Republicans tend to give less than a damn about minorities, middle class and lower income families. I believe that Republicans have arrogantly stolen the concept of moral decency and claimed it as solely their domain and told America that you are either moral and with us or immoral and against us - there is no middle ground and only we are civil and just. Of course those Republicans that have recently been accused of paying off abused mistresses; or tax evasion; or flirting with pedophillia; or stealing; or having methamphetimene fueled gay sex with a prostitute. Should simply be ignored and not factored into the GOP's principles - yet when Bill Clinton foolishly got a blowjob in the oval office, Republicans labeled the whole party as horny and immoral. These people have got to be kidding!

Am I voting for Michael Steele? Am I voting for a Republican? Am I voting for a Black Republican? Am I voting to help give George W. Bush a free pass on accountability?

To steal a quote from Senator Clay Davis on HBO's "The Wire"

SHHHHHHHHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIITTTTTTTT! No.

Well, back to the silence I heard.

This past week I started seeing commericals featuring Mike Steele's sister, Dr. Monica Turner. She started her ads by saying, "Congressman Ben Cardin is attacking Michael Steele with deceptive, tasteless ads," speaking about recent Democratic ads featuring Michael J. Fox and the need to have Ben Carin in the Senate to help Democrats push through federal funding for Embryonic stem cell research. As everyone knows, Fox has Parkinson's disease and his muscle spasms are clear in the ad. She goes on specifically to say Cardin "is using the victim of a terrible disease to frighten people all for his own political gain."

She goes on for a few more seconds before closing with this statement about Michael Steele "He does support stem cell research, and he cares deeply for those who suffer from disease. How do I know? I'm Michael Steele's little sister. I have MS, and I know he cares about me."

When I heard this I nearly fell out of my seat! Isn't Michael Steele doing the same thing he's accusing Cardin of doing. Isn't he using M.S. to frighten people in the same political vein that Cardin used Parkinson's? Isn't there the same amount of logic AND shamelessness in both ad's?

Well, last night as Dr. Turner was interrupting a new episode of Divorce Court, I noticed that Dr. Turner's ad ended a few words shorter than normal. She said, "How do I know? I'm Michael Steele's little sister." PERIOD! CUT! END! STOP! after over a week of this ad running, I think someone in Steele's camp realized that they looked just as pitiful as his opponent. Either way - it doesn't matter. I think folks have already made up their minds. I can only hope and pray that no matter how people vote, they vote THE ISSUES and they vote THEIR CONSCIENCE. With a large Black democratic group in Prince George's county throwing their public endorsement to Steele. I find myself worried and disheartened. I'm afraid that many Blacks are going to side with Steele because of his color. If this is the case, then their decision will be a slap in the face of all the men and women who sacrificed their lives so that we could be afforded the right to vote.

I'm going to end this post with one of my favorite quotes from an anti-Steele ad:

"Michael Steele likes puppies, but he loves George Bush!"
Think people, before you vote on Tuesday. It's not about Black or White, it's about good and bad, right and wrong.

TVBM