More Dem tricks against Steele

[Nucklesack]

Maryland Republican Michael Steele is fed up with the Democrats' "ugly partisan political tricks." In a letter addressed to opponent Rep. Ben Cardin, Democratic National Chairman Howard Dean and Sen. Chuck Schumer (D.-N.Y.), Steele accuses the trio of engaging in the "very type of political behavior voters are sick of."

Link

Steele, a candidate for U.S. Senate, has been followed by Democrat operatives who videotape his every move on the campaign trail. But on Saturday morning, Steele said the operative assigned to tape him crossed the line.

On the morning of September 30, I participated in a homecoming ceremony for the Army National Guard 243rd Engineers. The event -- as fitting for the occasion -- was non-political. Republicans and Democrats joined together to welcome home brave men and women returning from Iraq and I attended in my official capacity to spend time with the troops and their families.

While speaking with two mothers whose sons had died in Iraq, I noticed the ever present Democrat operative filming our conversation. A conversation with parents who have lost a loved one in combat is private in nature and has no place in partisan politics, and certainly not in the smear campaign you have waged against me even before I entered the race for United States Senate. The filming of this conversation demonstrates a callous disregard for families who have lost a loved one and is an indefensible invasion of privacy.

Steele doesn't hold back criticizing the Democrats for what he calls "gutter politics." He recites a litany of "political tricks" that his campaign has faced.

Congressman Cardin, while saying you have expressed outrage to “all concerned parties” for the racist comments on your senior staffer’s blog, you have yet to apologize to me. Chairman Dean, your personal pollster, Cornell Belcher, advocated racist attacks to “knock” me down and “discredit” me, and yet I have received no apology from you. And, Senator Schumer, your staffers pled guilty to a crime when they stole my credit report and violated my privacy and that of my family, but I have had no apology from you either.

Steele asks the three Democrats, plus Maryland Democratic Party Chairman Terry Lierman, to rectify the problem. "I eagerly await your prompt response," Steele writes in conclusion, probably knowing full well that he'll likely never hear anything from Ben Cardin, Howard Dean or Chuck Schumer.

[BuddyLee]

I cannot wait for November. Hopefully the voters put Steele where he belongs.

[itsbob (Premo)]

Originally Posted by BuddyLee

I cannot wait for November. Hopefully the voters put Steele where he belongs.

I'm more impressed with this guy everyday..

Isn't he the one they (democrats) threw Oreo's at, and the demoncrats leadership stayed silent.. saying in their silence, Racism is OK as long as it's directed towards a Republican..

[Nucklesack]

Originally Posted by itsbob

I'm more impressed with this guy everyday..

Isn't he the one they (democrats) threw Oreo's at, and the demoncrats leadership stayed silent.. saying in their silence, Racism is OK as long as it's directed towards a Republican..

They werent silent about it :

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

Link

[BuddyLee]

Originally Posted by itsbob

I'm more impressed with this guy everyday..

Isn't he the one they (democrats) threw Oreo's at, and the demoncrats leadership stayed silent.. saying in their silence, Racism is OK as long as it's directed towards a Republican..

I just started following him recently but now just researching this gives me even more reason to vote for him.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael...ookie_incident

[Bronwyn (Premo)]

I can't wait until November either. I'm voting for Steele, I've liked him from the beginning.

[gumby]

Originally Posted by Bronwyn

I can't wait until November either. I'm voting for Steele, I've liked him from the beginning.

He's definitley(sp?) getting my vote

[itsbob (Premo)]

Originally Posted by BuddyLee

I just started following him recently but now just researching this gives me even more reason to vote for him.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael...ookie_incident

The Maryland Democratic Party naturally used Mr. Mosk's article as an occasion to demand Mr. Steele return the money or be seen accepting the support of "racist Republicans." We don't know who's using whom, but it seems clear enough that Mr. Mosk was spoonfed by somebody with a partisan chopping ax. His article was published four days after the event.

http://www.washtimes.com/op-ed/20060...3809-6719r.htm

I guess all of us Republicans are racist now..

[vraiblonde]

I just got my most recent FactCheck and I'm disappointed. I've always thought of them as non-partisan and taken their word as the gospel. When they skewer Republicans, it's right on target. Same with Democrats.

But lately I've noticed they've got a bit of bias going on. Thought it was just my imagination until today, when it became clear:

http://factcheck.org/article445.html

Summary

In an ad featuring a Boston terrier at his side, GOP candidate Michael Steele accuses Democratic Rep. Ben Cardin of taking "money from special interests" and then voting against importing cheaper prescription drugs from Canada. Steele says he wants to "ban gifts from special interests." The ad misleads viewers by conflating campaign contributions (Cardin's "money from special interests") with lobbyists' gifts ("gifts from special interests") that Steele says he wants to ban.The ad makes it appear as if Steele has not received contributions from special interest groups when, in fact, he has.

The spot also accuses Cardin of voting against bills that would have allowed cheaper medicines to be imported from Canada. It's true Cardin has voted against such measures in the past, although one of the bills the Steele campaign accuses Cardin of voting against would only have allowed cheaper imports if the Secretary of Health and Human Services gave his approval, which he had already refused to do.

Steele also fails to mention his party affiliation in any of his ads. A DSCC ad attacking Steele, which we find to be accurate, leaves no doubt that he is a Republican.


Analysis

Steele's ad appeared on Maryland airwaves on September 27, in response to a Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee ad that claimed Steele "loves George W. Bush." While we take no issue with the factual content of the DSCC ad, we find the Republican candidate's most recent ad to be misleading.

The bold paragraph above is what caught my attention. I hope that everyone in the state of Maryland knows that Steele is a Republican. I mean, he's only the Lt. of a Republican Governor.

Continuing with the theme from a previous ad that he "likes puppies," Steele stands next to a growling Boston terrier and says Cardin, has "taken money from special interests for twenty years." Then Steele says he wants to "ban gifts from special interests." If you listen carefully Steele doesn't accuse Cardin of taking gifts , instead he says Cardin has taken money from special interests. "Money" equals legal campaign contributions.

Steele didn't accuse Cardin of taking gifts. He specifically says that Cardin takes money from special interest groups, which he does. There's no "careful listening" that needs to be done. Special interest groups are special interest groups, regardless of whether the campaign contributions are legal or not.

Steele does not mention that he is a Republican in any of his ads; the majority of Maryland voters are Democrats.

Um...so? Democrats obviously will vote for a Republican - just ask Robert Ehrlich.

Steele has said in his ads, that he is against last-minute pork-barrel spending amendments, against gifts from lobbyists and for importing drugs from Canada. But lest he be mistaken for a Democrat, the DSCC highlighted his more Republican positions in a Sept. 27 ad, citing sources that showed Steele supports keeping troops in Iraq without a timetable for departure, and noting that in 2004 he said he supported the President's Medicare prescription drug plan - a bill most Democrats didn't back. Also, Steele has said he is against "any effort that would result in the destruction of a human embryo," meaning he is against current embryonic stem cell research. Steele is in favor of using adult stem cells and umbilical cord blood cells only. In 2002, The Baltimore Sun reported that "Steele says he is staunchly opposed to abortion," and in 2006 the National Right to Life identified Steele as "pro-life." Steele's party affiliation, while not clear in his ads, will be clear on the ballot.

So that would make him....a moderate? Because he doesn't tow the party line? I'd think that would be a good thing, but FactCheck doesn't seem to think so. And they're making a rather large deal about him not stamping "Republican" on his forehead, when anyone who would be eligible to vote for him certainly already knows his party affiliation.

[FromTexas (Premo)]

Yes, it may just be possible that because he is the man running against a Democrat, that he just may be a Republican. Maybe they are concerned that because he is black it may appear he is a Democrat - because Republicans are all rich racist old white men.