Arkansas Democrats Played Race Card on RNC Chairman Steele

Kenneth Ryan James Blog: RNC Chairman Michael Steele paid a visit to Little Rock last night and held a presser to discuss health care reform, calling on President Obama to quit blaming Republicans and pass a bill. From the Tolbert Report:

Chairman Steele became quite animated when asking about the possibility being discussed of passing the health care bill in the Senate without the sixty votes needed to close debate. “Do it!” said Steele. “We are down 20 votes in the Senate, 78 in the house. Don’t come up in my face talking about how I’m an obstacle and we’re blocking this process. You’ve got the votes Mr. President; pass the bill.” Banging his hand on the table, Steele challenged Obama saying, “Get it to the floor; up or down, baby. And if don’t think you’ve got the votes, enough votes to get to sixty, you’ve got the nuclear option, do 51.”

Given the current events of the day, you would think the state Democratic response would be couched in terms of the health care debate. Instead, the DPA ended up playing a race card against the first African-American GOP Chairman.

#8220;While Chairman Steele is here in Arkansas raising money for the state GOP and its political activities, I hope he will take time to tour Pulaski County and Central Arkansas. I invite Chairman Steele to visit Philander Smith College campus right here in Little Rock to see the importance of the $500,000 investment Philander received through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

“Philander is just one of 37 four-year and two-year institutions of higher learning in Arkansas that will receive a total of $42.5 million in Recovery Act funds, announced in early August. This funding for renovation, energy-efficiency upgrades, and expansion of higher-education facilities will provide jobs in the economic crisis. It will aid us in providing the education necessary to future generations of Arkansans to help them get good-paying jobs and grow our state.

Since Mr. Steele was in Little Rock, why wouldn’t the DPA invite him to tour UALR instead? After all, it received $4 million in stimulus money instead of the much lower $500,000 at Philander.

Could it be that Philander Smith “is the result of the first attempt west of the Mississippi River to make education available to freedmen (former African American slaves)” and an “historically Black, four-year liberal arts institution” Which is “only United Negro College Fund member institution in Arkansas”?

It is indeed sad that DPA Chairman Todd Turner chose to engage in race politics in order to attempt to steer the story away from the abysmal month his party is having relative to the health care debate.

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