Double Standard Dems

Michael S. Steele is the Lieutenant Governor of Maryland. Raised by a single mom, he's a local man made good:

Michael Steele was born on October 19, 1958 at Andrews Air Force Base in Prince George's County and was raised in Washington, DC. He graduated from Archbishop Carroll High School, earned his bachelor's degree in International Relations from Johns Hopkins University in 1981 and his law degree from Georgetown University Law Center in 1991. Mr. Steele also spent three years as a seminarian in the Order of St. Augustine in preparation for the priesthood.

A week ago, Steele kicked off his campaign for the Maryland Senate seat vacated by five-term Sen. Paul S. Sarbanes (D). That's when all hell broke loose. Because, you see, Steele is an African-American Republican. And "Maryland, my Maryland" is as Democrat blue as a state can be:

Black Democratic leaders in Maryland say that racially tinged attacks against Lt. Gov. Michael S. Steele in his bid for the U.S. Senate are fair because he is a conservative Republican.

Such attacks against the first black man to win a statewide election in Maryland include pelting him with Oreo cookies during a campaign appearance, calling him an "Uncle Tom" and depicting him as a black-faced minstrel on a liberal Web log.

Operatives for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) also obtained a copy of his credit report -- the only Republican candidate so targeted.

But black Democrats say there is nothing wrong with "pointing out the obvious."

"There is a difference between pointing out the obvious and calling someone names," said a campaign spokesman for Kweisi Mfume, a Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate and former president of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.

State Sen. Lisa A. Gladden, a black Baltimore Democrat, said she does not expect her party to pull any punches, including racial jabs at Mr. Steele, in the race to replace retiring Democratic U.S. Sen. Paul S. Sarbanes.

"Party trumps race, especially on the national level," she said. "If you are bold enough to run, you have to take whatever the voters are going to give you. It's democracy, perhaps at its worse, but it is democracy."

Delegate Salima Siler Marriott, a black Baltimore Democrat, said Mr. Steele invites comparisons to a slave who loves his cruel master or a cookie that is black on the outside and white inside because his conservative political philosophy is, in her view, anti-black.

"Because he is a conservative, he is different than most public blacks, and he is different than most people in our community," she said. "His politics are not in the best interest of the masses of black people."

During the 2002 campaign, Democratic supporters pelted Mr. Steele with Oreo cookies during a gubernatorial debate at Morgan State University in Baltimore.

In 2001, Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr. called Mr. Steele an "Uncle Tom," when Mr. Steele headed the state Republican Party. Mr. Miller, Prince George's County Democrat, later apologized for the remark.

The day Steele announced, CaribPundit blew the whistle on an MSM image of Steele photoshopped into blackface while far left blogger Steve Gilliard called him "Sambo."

At this point, my posts normally express righteous outrage, supported with copious links, brought home by some parallel with a little-known historical figure, tied together with memorable first-syllable alliteration that floods the first row with spittle. Today, I'm too disgusted to try. Instead I'll quote Michelle Malkin:

No minority who embraces liberal ideas is ever attacked for being a "race traitor" or a "sellout." These ad hominem attacks are leveled only by the Left, and only against minority conservatives. For the unhinged Left, race-baiting has become an expedient substitute for substantive argument.

Ain't tolerance grand?

(via RedState.Org, Ragged Thots)