*** Scroll down for updates ***
[On a related note, back in 2002, Thomas V. Mike Miller, president of the MD Senate, called Michael Steele an "Uncle Tom."]
I love the smell of scandal in the morning.
If you haven’t heard about Cardingate, let me fill you in. Last week, Wizbang Politics discovered that a staffer for U.S. Rep. Ben Cardin, the Democratic opponent to Republican Lt. Gov. Michael Steele in the Senate race in Maryland, was blogging under the name “Persuasionatrix” (cached copy).
Although the woman never named her employer, she said she was a member of the senior staff. Wizbang’s Kevin Aylward did some digging and found out her name is Ursula Gruber and she’s from Chicago. The mainstream media picked up the story pretty quickly:
- In Cardin Camp, Online Slurs Get Junior Staffer Fired
- Cardin campaign staffer fired over racial blog posts
- Cardin fires campaign staffer over racial comments against Steele
So what’s the big deal about Persuasionatrix? She wrote some racially-charged things, and unfortunately, race is a big part of the Maryland Senate race.
First, in the post “Racism Card post,” she said that an incompetent black staffer faced with criticism from his supervisor pulled what I call “racial rank”:
And when his supervisor, after explaining the same detail seventeen different times, becomes frustrated and less then pleasant, he has one recourse that is only available to him because of the color of his skin…He plays the racism card, the magic passport to a different chain of command.
As someone who’s seen it action, I know it exists. “I’m being disciplined because I’m black!” or “He just hates black people, the racist!” I’ve been tempted to pull racial rank myself. Some blacks do it often; others sparingly. It’s a last resort measure when all else fails, although it may or may not have been true in this case.
Second, in the post “Forbidden Delights,” Gruber made reference to the 2002 Oreo cookie debacle involving Steele. While at a campaign stop, someone in the audience apparently tossed Oreos at Steele. [This account is "under dispute."] Gruber seemed to think it was funny. Writing about how the cookies were “forbidden” in the office because of their connotation, she wrote: “Before I leave, however, I need a picture of all of us holding the forbidden cookies with the caption: ‘Devouring the Competition.’”
So what? you may ask. Here’s the story. Calling one another Oreos is something blacks do to imply that a black person is white on the inside, although black on the outside. In other words, they’re questioning a person’s “blackness.” If a black person isn’t spouting outdated rhetoric about how racist white people are, certain blacks consider him a sell-out. Or something like that. Dumb, I know, but that’s the way people are.
Honestly, I don’t think what Ursula Gruber blogged about was that bad. She just made the mistake of failing to cover her cyber-tracks. We’re all entitled to think how we want to think, after all.
Anyway, Gruber was fired on Friday. I and other bloggers believe she played a bigger role in the campaign than Cardin’s staff is letting on. I listened to Cardin’s interview on WBAL yesterday, and he said at least three times that the woman had been a junior staffer brought in to work on the “Get Out The Vote” campaign. On the blog, Gruber either puffed herself up, calling herself a senior staff member (it wouldn’t be the first time someone exaggerated their job duties, so she could be lying), or Cardin and his people are trying to downplay her role.
The American Spectator reports that Gruber was “steered to Cardin through MoveOn.org and the Democrat National Committee.” According to a “state Democratic operative,” Cardin’s people considered circulating a lie about the woman being a Republican plant.
We can assume Cardin, as a sitting Congressman running a Senate campaign, is quite busy and probably doesn’t have much contact with staffers. But two key questions emerge: 1) Is Cardin lying about Gruber’s role in his campaign; 2) Did Cardin know his staff considered the Republican plant story, and did he approve?
Integrity is an important quality in a candidate, and I’m sure voters in Maryland would be interested in the answers to those questions.
Cardin’s communications person rebuffed Kevin Aylward when he contacted them for comment, and I don’t think I’d fare much better. I would love to speak to someone on the inside. If that’s you, contact me.
Previous post: Michael Steele: Black and Right?
Update: Commenter Tyrone of Wake Up Black America writes:
When Mike Miller called Michael Steele an “Uncle Tom, democrats said nothing in prostest.
When a staffer of Chuck Schumer stole Michael Steele’s credit report, once again democrats said nothing in protest.
When blogger Steve Gilliard called Michael Steele a “Simple Sambo running for the big houseâ€, democrats said nothing in protest
When the editor of the Baltimore Sun said,â€The only thing Michael Steele brings to the ticket is the color of his skinâ€, democrats said nothing in protest.
When it comes down to this incident, all they can say is that it never happened. So do they also say the other incidents didn’t happen as well. Or is it a Vast Right wing Maryland Republican theory?
Let’s face it, the racist tactics used against Steele are well documented. No amount of down playing the Oreo cookie event can justify every other race tactics that was done to try and humiliate Steele. Sorry, but it just doesn’t fly.
More on Oreos at Hot Air. (via MM)
