Stephen Colbert's Michael Steele remix

I just don’t know who I am more upset with, Michael Steele or Stephen Colbert. It’s just so hard to say at this point.

The problem starts with the idiotic statements of Michael Steele purporting that hip hop needs to be the means of gaining more Black and Hispanic/Latinos into the Republican Party. Which is just dumb. A bad gimmick and a waste of time.

In fact it’s more than a bit insulting. Just because we are Black or Latino does not obviate us to being hip hop fans. Nor does it mean that we all support the lifestyle choices that are the definition of modern commercialized ghettofabulous hip hop. It in fact flies in the face of the reality that most of the ideals of many of the Black Civil Rights leaders were more in line with current Republican views than those of President Obama and Democrats. And Michael Steele knows this as well as most anyone.

So I don’t blame Stephen Colbert for jumping on that bandwagon. It was just obvious and easy. Not like he is going to take on President Obama for lying to the public about promises he has made. Like pork-barrel spending by the Government, creating a plan to deal with the economic crisis, getting all troops out of Iraq, or giving full transparency to the public on each bill before he signs them into law – to name just a few. Colbert, like Jon Stewart, is far too in love with President Obama to dare touch on those facts.

But as I was saying, Colbert took Steele on in this hip hop is the answer (lack of) mentality. Thus came a challenge to Steele to perform a rap battle. Steele of course fell into the trap, by agreeing to this and then not following thru to do it. You know that Colbert would never let that slide.

Thus we get the following.



Yes it’s funny. Yes the massive man-power and resources of Comedy Central came up with an inventive remix of the many things Steele has said, to achieve a highly biased view of all Republicans. But it irks me.

Not because it’s against Republicans. That’s what Jon Stewart and Colbert do. And they do it well most of the time. It’s just that they are degrading African Americans. All of us.

If you don’t see that, just think of this. If Fox News, or Saturday Night Live (which will never happen) – or Jon Stewart if hell froze over - created a remix of the speeches of President Obama highlighting all the lies and broken promises he has done so far what would be the result? Massive outrage. From Democrats and the media in general as every liberal in the nation would freak-out over the portrayal that the remix implies about African Americans. Yet, it’s the same joke.

Even if you change the person to say Dr. Martin Luther King, or Malcolm X – and highlighted how their political views are actually more in line with Republican values than Democrats today – the outrage would still happen. Perhaps even more.

Thus it makes me ill at ease. Because if you can’t flip the scenario, then something is wrong in the message. Laugh it up, enjoy the humor at Michael Steele’s expense all you want. Colbert makes it work, I admit. But there is more to it. The subliminal message is not positive.

Am I over the top on this? Maybe. Then again, just because someone says it’s only a joke does not make it funny, less cruel or less offensive. Even if they bring it on to themselves.