NewsMax.com Wires
Wednesday, Oct. 19, 2005

"It is partially racist," the Rev. Jesse Lee Peterson, told the Washington Times. Peterson, a nationally syndicated talk-radio host and founder of the Brotherhood Organization of a New Destiny (BOND), a religious group dedicated to rebuilding urban families, said Democrats "are trying to prevent any [black] Republican from forging ahead.

"If a black Republican sets the tone, it is going to have a huge impact on young blacks," said the reverend. "It is going to show them that Republicans are not trying to hold you back, they are not trying to stand in your way." Rev. Peterson said Democrats fear losing their historically solid base of support in the black community, and will stoop to any level to prevent the truth from tarnishing the historical, yet incorrect, perception that the GOP does not welcome blacks.

"There is a sense of desperation there," he said. "Blacks are starting to take a look at the liberal leadership and see that they have not done anything for them in 40 years."

Niger Innis, national spokesman for the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), a civil rights group, told the Times that he agrees with Peterson.

"I don't think it is a mere coincidence that the [Democrats] targeted the highest-ranking, statewide black Republican elected official," Innis said. "They are very fearful of the reception Michael Steele is getting from black voters all over Maryland. That obviously scares the [daylights] out of, not only Maryland Democrats, but Democrats nationwide."

Phyllis Berry Myers, co-founder of the Mayflower Compact Coalition, a black leadership alliance, said Democrats were targeting black Republicans and playing to racial stereotypes by delving into Steele's credit history.

"One of the things black people are accused of is that they don't know how to handle money," she told the Times. "To go after the lieutenant governor in this manner just shows [the Democrats'] racial insensitivity ... You would think that those who claim to be such friends and allies of black voters would understand the implications of going after someone's credit report."

According to the Times, Steele, the first black elected to statewide office in Maryland, is a rising star in the national Republican Party and is considered the party's best hope for capturing the U.S. Senate seat of retiring Maryland Democrat Sen. Paul S. Sarbanes.

For more than two months, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District and the FBI have been investigating the unauthorized acquisition of Steele's credit report by two former staffers of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC).

The staffers were doing opposition research on Steele when they apparently found his Social Security number on court documents and used it to access his credit data.

While the Rev. Anthony Williams, pastor of Chicago's St. Stephen's Evangelical Lutheran Church, said he did not believe the DSCC singled out Steele's credit report because he is black, he told the Times the Democrats should get the same kind of scrutiny Republicans would when race is an issue.

"Political mercenaries in the Democratic Party ... always use the race card. It's a double standard," said Williams, a black political activist and registered independent.

"I think [the Democrats] are hiding something," he said. "If it was one of their own under attack, they would be hollering from the rooftops.

"They all want to act like they don't have their fingerprints on this," Williams continued. "By the way, where is the outrage from the Congressional Black Caucus?"

Editor's note:
Blacks, Hispanics are joining the GOP as never before! Meet the "New Republicans" – Click Here Now