MICHAEL STEELE: PLAYING THE ERASE CARD

Michael Steele, Chairman of the Republican National Committee, cannot bring himself to mention the name of Thurgood Marshall (1908-1993, Supreme Court Justice: 1967-91). 

Yet Steele wants to deflate the nomination of Elena Kagan to the Supreme Court. Kagan was a law clerk to Marshall.

What to do? Well, why not link Kagan to comments Marshall made and simply not mention Marshall? That might work. 

So, on May 10, 2010, Steele posted a criticism of Kagan on the Republican National Committee website [text posted below], which criticized her for supporting "statements" that the US Constitution “as originally drafted and conceived, was ‘defective.’” 

Steele did not acknowledge that the "statements" endorsed by Kagan were those of Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, who spent a legal lifetime undermining the Constitutional provisions which enshrined human slavery in the United States.

Would anyone argue today that the US Constitution is not defective for its endorsement of human slavery?

Would anyone suggest that Justice Marshall was wrong in pointing this out?

Michael Steele's rhetorical slight of hand is both sad and provocative. 

Michael Steele's gambit provokes sadness. As a prominent citizen, an African American, he simply cannot publicly align his political party with the legacy of Thurgood Marshall. But nor can he dare to refute this legacy. 

Steele's sad solution is to allude to Kagan's second-hand critique of the slavery provisions in the US Constitution but without identifying her authority: Thurgood Marshall. To criticize Kagan as hostile to the US Constitution, Steele had to at least try to erase from public discourse the person who had asserted before Kagan, that the original Constitution was defective: Thurgood Marshall. 

Michael Steele's rhetorical slight of hand is provocative because he knows that the nomination of Elena Kagan represents the ethnic, racial and cultural diversity, which is reflected in the America of today. Michael Steele knows America is not the America of the GOP.

To his dubious credit, Michael Steele sees the GOP for what it can be for members of racial minorities, such as himself - a source of income for the individual, who is willing to be trotted out in public, as a Republican party representative. 

Because the broad concerns of non-white citizens receive no hearing in GOP circles, there is a rewarding personal a role for such as Michael Steele, and he has played it well, first in Maryland and now as titular head of the national GOP. 

In Maryland, Steele ran successfully for Lt. Governor, but only on the condition that he be paid $5,000 per month during the campaign. His condition was met. 

Now, as GOP Chairman, Steele draws a handsome salary and also charges for speaking around the country. If the concerns of minorities do not do well in GOP circles, Steel has at least found a way to do well for himself. But only by such ploys as erasing the legacy of Thurgood Marshall. 

Photo credit: tpmlivewire, May 10, 2010

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Here is the text of Michael Steele's statement:

Over the past year, the American people have been witness to President Obama's massive expansion of the federal government into our daily lives. To assure the American people, President Obama's Supreme Court nominee, Elena Kagan, will need to demonstrate that she is committed to upholding the vision of our Founding Fathers, who wrote a Constitution meant to limit the power of government, not expand it.

The President has stated repeatedly that he wants a justice who will understand the effects of decisions on the lives of everyday Americans. But what Americans want is a justice who will stay true to the Constitution and defend the rights of all Americans, adhering to the rule of law instead of legislating from the bench. Given Kagan's opposition to allowing military recruiters access to her law school's campus, her endorsement of the liberal agenda and her support for statements suggesting that the Constitution "as originally drafted and conceived, was 'defective,'" you can expect Senate Republicans to respectfully raise serious and tough questions to ensure the American people can thoroughly and thoughtfully examine Kagan's qualifications and legal philosophy before she is confirmed to a lifetime appointment.