02/15/2009
We at VDARE.com have long been deeply unimpressed with Michael Barone, whose space consumption in MSM opinion slots is matched by the crushing inaccuracy of his pet forecasts.
However, a founder of the invaluable Almanac Of American Politicshas to be expected to have some knowledge of facts, and we salute him for Republican Chairman Michael Steele Owes His Victory to Puerto Rico, Other Territories U.S. News and World Report Saturday February 14 2009
This strange article reports that Michael Steele
owes his victory…to the territories: the 15 votes cast for him from Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, the Northern Marianas and American Samoa put him over the top against South Carolina Republican Chairman Katon Dawson.
Barone coyly observes
The delegates from the territories, or many of them, have something in common with Steele, as a "person of color,"
He then goes on to celebrate the career of ultra leftist San Francisco Congressman Phil Burton, a notorious political thug who apparently utilized his control over similar Pacific Island rotten boroughs to amplify his influence in Democratic affairs in the 1970s. The implication is that Barone hopes Steele will similarly undemocratically impose an ideological agenda on the GOP.
The Politico article which Barone cites for the news gets to the real point:
Island bloc expects Steele payback By Ben Smith & Alexander Burns 2/9/09
The residents of the five territories, from Puerto Rico in the Caribbean Sea to the tiny Northern Marianas in the Pacific Ocean, provided Steele with a bloc of 15 votes — one more than his margin of victory — when they swung into his camp late in the balloting last week.
They had reason:
a leading committee member from the Virgin Islands, former shadow Senator Holland Redfield, said they expect results."They've committed themselves into putting real, hard money into the races here in the [U.S.] Virgin Islands, Guam, [American] Samoa, Puerto Rico, and the Northern Marianas," said Redfield, a leading figure in the territorial caucus at the RNC gathering.
"This was not just given to [Steele]," he said. "It was given based on commitments..
(Needless to say, Steele spokesmen deny anything so blatant.)
Of course, campaign funds injected into these tiny communities can hardly avoid ending up in the pockets of the friends and relatives of the local Pols, even if they tried.
What a pretty picture. The new RNC Chairman, the “Consultant Candidate” (American Spectator) won because a group on RNC hacks from never-win states combined with those capable of fitting Barone’s description as “person(s) of color” purporting to represent insignificant communities which do not vote in American elections anyway. These, and those stupid enough to obey black supremacist Ken Blackwell’s unprincipled betrayal of his supporters and follow his endorsement of fellow black Steele have saddled the Republicans with a leader totally detached and alien from their core constituency.
Steele rivals Michelle Obama as the ultimate political Affirmative Action beneficiary. (See America’s Half-Blood Prince, Chapter 10). But at least the Obamas attract and can deliver their ethnic group.
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