Article reads:

Although it doesn't mention any candidates, the advertisement is being aired to support Lt. Gov. Michael S. Steele as he runs against 10-term Congressman Benjamin L. Cardin for the first open Maryland Senate seat in two decades. Last year, Democratic Senator Paul Sarbanes announced that he wouldn't be seeking reelection to a sixth term.

The 60-second advertisement is shaped as a casual conversation between two African-American women, with one explaining to the other how Democrats have "bamboozled" blacks into believing that their party has done more for the civil rights movement than the Republican Party.

The character named "Tina" claims that Democrats "passed those Black Codes and Jim Crow laws," "started the Ku Klux Klan," and "released those vicious dogs and fire hoses on blacks."

According to the "Tina" character, "Democrats have talked the talk, but Republicans have walked the walk."

"Girl, it's time for us to do the walk," the women say together at the end. "Y'know it, girl."

The National Black Republican Association believes that their "edgy" ad, paid for by the Black Republican Freedom Fund, a 527 organization, will "open the eyes of black Americans" by setting the "record straight," even though civil-rights historians are challenging their claims.

"It sets the record straight, demonstrating that it was Republicans, not Democrats, who championed civil rights for blacks over the past 150 years," NBRA Chairman Frances Rice said in a press release. "Democrats have hijacked the civil rights record of the Republican Party and fought every effort of Republicans to help blacks get off of the Democrat Party's economic plantation."

Although Lt. Gov. Steele told the Washington Post only yesterday, before he heard the ad, that it was "about time the Republicans speak to their real place in history . . . and to debunk the myths," his campaign released a statement earlier today asking the group to pull it.

"NBRA's current radio ad is insulting to Marylanders and should come down immediately," said the Steele campaign statement. "Although they may have had good intentions, there is no room for this kind of slash-and-burn partisan politics in the important conversation about how to best bring meaningful change to Washington, D.C. and get something done for Maryland."

"This is exactly the kind of attack politics Marylanders are sick of and why it's time to change this Washington brand of cut-throat politics," added Steele. "My campaign has already contacted NBRA and demanded the ad be removed from the air immediately."

(continued...)

Historians slam 'distortions'

The Washington Post spoke to a University of Maryland political scientist who slammed the ad's "distortions."

"It is a totally fallacious rendition of the platform of the parties because, in effect, what happened is, the two parties essentially switched ideology," Ronald Walters told the Post.

A Martin Luther King Jr. biographer and a senior researcher with the Atlanta-based King Center told the Associated Press that the Reverend was non-partisan and that he never endorsed any politician from either of the parties.

"I think it's highly inaccurate to say he was a Republican because there's really no evidence," King Center researcher Steve Klein told the .

The AP also notes that the NBRA "describes itself on its Web site as 'a resource for the black community on Republican ideals'" but "does not say how many members it has.

Last year, it was reported that half of the newly formed group's board of directors had resigned, at the same time that the Bush Administration was taking heat for the federal response after Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans.

"The organization and it's current leadership is heading down a much different direction than was envisioned by myself and the other board members," former communications director Christopher Arps said in an email sent to Redding News Review last year.

'Steele knows it's a time bomb'

Yesterday, Manhattan journalist Steve Gilliard wrote a post at his News Blog, which contained a point-by-point response to each line in the radio ad.

In reaction to the claim that "Democrats want us to accept same sex marriages, teen abortion without a parent's consent, and suing the boy scouts for saying 'God' in their pledge," Gilliard fired back that "[m]ost black people care more about jobs and Iraq than gays marrying."

Gilliard told RAW STORY that the ad was particularly offensive because "it assumes that blacks are unsophisticated voters, who are driven by emotion," when Maryland just "may have the highest concentration of blacks with advanced degrees on the planet."

"So to try and rewrite history is insulting," Gilliard added. "People know the history of the two parties and this is just offensive."

Last October, a spokesman for Steele blasted Gilliard for posting a photograph on his blog doctored to portray the Senate candidate as a minstrel after he attended a fundraiser held for Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. at an all-white country club.

"The Democratic Party has finally reached a new low with the worst kind of racist gutter politics, and it's the kind of racism that people in Maryland reject, regardless of their political party," Steele's spokesman Leonardo Alcivar said.

Democratic strategist Joe Trippi told the Washington Post that the statement was "almost as bad as what the Web site did -- to try to smear an entire party with what one random person threw up on the Web."

Gilliard told RAW STORY that Steele knows the radio advertisement is "a time bomb for which he will pay for."

"Because Steele is the beneficiary of this ad, he will pay the most for it," said Gilliard.

Here's the hilarious transcript of what is either one of this year's great spoofs or a GOP Big, Big Lie ad:

Script: National Black Republican Association 60-Second Radio Spot Paid for by the Black Republican Freedom Fund, an NBRA 527 affiliate Not authorized by any candidate or political committee

Pam: Dr. King was a real man.

Tina: You know . . he was a Republican.

Pam: Dr. King, a Republican? Really?

Tina: Democrats passed those Black Codes and Jim Crow laws. Democrats started the Ku Klux Klan.

Pam: The Klan . . . White hoods and sheets?!

Tina: Democrats fought ALL Civil Rights Legislation from the 1860's to the 1960's. Democrats released those vicious dogs and fire hoses on blacks.

Pam: Seriously!

Tina: And the Dixiecrats? Remained Democrats and vowed to vote for a yellow dog, before a Republican. Republicans freed us from slavery and put our right to vote in the Constitution.

Pam: What?

Tina: Republicans started the NAACP, affirmative action and the HBCU's.

Pam: Democrats have bamboozled blacks.

Tina: Democrats blocked the minimum wage passed by Republicans. Over 200 billion dollars have been spent on education, healthcare and job training since President Bush took office.

Pam: So, Democrats want to keep us POOR and voting ONLY Democrat.

Tina: Democrats want us to accept same-sex marriages; teen abortions without a parent's consent and suing the Boy Scouts for saying "God" in their pledge.

Pam: We NEED to THINK! and vote OUR own values.

Tina: Exactly ... Democrats have talked the talk, but Republicans have walked the walk.

Pam: I hear ya girl. It time for us to "DO" the walk.

(Together they laugh about it.)

I hear that all the black republican senators and congressmen got together to make this ad. haahahahaha

Certainly the idea that he souhgt a nation that did not judge someone by the color of their skin but instead by the content of their character is something the GOIP has been trying to achive for Decades. And the Democrats have fought them every step of the way by continuing to support racist and unfair "affirmative action" programs which continue to segregate individuals on the basis of race.

It's tragic. But that's the dirty little secret of democrats, that the policies and programs they support while appearing benevolent to africanamericans on the surface, are just throwbacks to the same racist US that existed before MLK and the civil rights movement.

I think slowly but surely african-americans are beginning to realize that the Democrats have sold them a bill of goods that is doing them more harm them good.

Certainly the idea that MLK sought a nation that did not judge someone by the color of their skin but instead by the content of their character is something the GOP has been trying to achive for decades. And the Democrats have fought them every step of the way by continuing to support racist and unfair "affirmative action" programs which continue to segregate individuals on the basis of race.

It's tragic. But that's the dirty little secret of democrats, that the policies and programs they support while appearing benevolent to african-americans on the surface, are just throwbacks to the same racist America that existed before MLK and the civil rights movement. And yes, it was southern Democrats who created the KKK. In fact, Democratic Senator Robert Byrd was a leader in the KKK in his hometown. He's now a leading senator in the democratic party.

I think slowly but surely african-americans are beginning to realize that the Democrats have sold them a bill of goods that is doing them more harm them good.

Ummmmmm WRONG More Democrats signed the Civil Rights Bill than Republicans Lokisfur Please do so ever try yet again.

Larry

Rasta- How many black republicans in office?

Do you think MLK would be a big fan of Bush and pre-emptive war were he alive today? Was his wife?

What Party did his wife belong to?

And what party did the dixiecrats all run to?

RastaLokiDerfl5Ninjaaman:

The GOP 1964 presidential nominee voted AGAINST the 1964 Civil Rights Act.

The 1964 Civil Rights Act was pushed through by a Democratic president, who understood that in doing so he was kissing off the South for his party for quite some time to come. Why? Because the racebaiters would reregister GOP, which, in fact, they did. Ever heard of Nixon's Southern strategy?

I don't understand how you could be so wrong on damn near every issue, rasta. It's like clockwork.

In Goldwater's defense, it wasn't racism that led him to vote that way. He believed it was none of the government's business; That reason would overcome nonsense. But when? It hasn't yet, even with laws.

It was Lyndon's last shining moment before he screwed the pooch.

Zarkov and Larry. Though I didn't bring up the civil rights act of 1964, you should remember that the majority of both Democrats and republicans voted for the bill.

It should also be noted that prominent Democrats Al Gore, Sr. (Algore's dad) and Robert Byrd (still around) voted against the bill.

My biggest complaint with the democrats is not the Civil Right Act of 1964 which was an excellent piece of legislation. It is that the democrats took the Civil Rights Act to mean that they could begin to implement "affirmative action" programs based on race that went way beyond equal opportunity and instead attempted to engineer an equal outcome even if it meant developing different standards for different races. That is simply wrong. it is racist. And it is a direct rejection of MLK's dream that we should all be judged
by the content of our character" and not by the color of our skin.


Alex, to answer your question, I have no idea what MLK would think about 9/11 and the actions we have taken in response to the complete change in the political climate of the world. There are two worlds, the pre-9/11 world, and the post 9/11 world. MLK lived in the pre 9/11 world so it is impossible to try and "guess" what he would think about the post 9/11 world. It changed us all in unpredictable ways.

That is why I concentrated my comments on what I did know. And it clear MLK would be for programs which opened the doors for blacks and provided equal opportunity but be against any programs which would create different standards for blacks thereby segregating them once again from the rest of America.

The biggest lie is that the Dixiecrats are still Democrats. Everybody knows that Strom Thurman, Jessie Helms, and Phil Gram (the largest Dixiecrats) became Republiclans.

First Northern Republicans And Democrates Supported Civil Rights !!

Southern Democrates Were The Issue Period !!!


Then There is George Wallace:

Governor of Alabama
In 1958 he was defeated by John Patterson in Alabama's Democratic gubernatorial primary election, which at this point in Alabama history still was the decisive election, the general election still almost always being a mere formality. This was a political crossroads for Wallace; Patterson had run with the support of the Ku Klux Klan, an organization Wallace had spoken out against, while Wallace had been endorsed by the NAACP. After the election, aide Seymore Trammell recalled Wallace saying, "Seymore, you know why I lost that governor's race?... I was outniggered by John Patterson. And I'll tell you here and now, I will never be outniggered again."[1] [2]

In the wake of his defeat, Wallace adopted a hard-line segregationist style, and used this stand to court the white vote in the next gubernatorial election. In 1962, he was elected governor on a pro-segregation, pro-states' rights platform in a landslide victory. In his inaugural speech he declared "In the name of the greatest people that have ever trod this earth, I draw the line in the dust and toss the gauntlet before the feet of tyranny, and I say segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever."[3] [4] The lines were written by Wallace's new speechwriter, Asa Carter, a Klansman and longtime anti-Semite. Wallace later stated that he had not read this part of the speech prior to delivering it, and that he had regretted it almost immediately. However, he did not hesitate to repeat it.

/>

On June 11, 1963 he stood in front of Foster Auditorium at the University of Alabama in an attempt to stop desegregation of that institution by the enrollment of two black students, Vivian Malone and James Hood. This became known as the "Stand in the Schoolhouse Door." Wallace stood aside only after being confronted by federal marshals, Deputy Attorney General Nicholas Katzenbach, and the Alabama National Guard.

Then Came The Change While Still A Democrat:

In the late 1970s Wallace became a born-again Christian, and around the same time apologized to black Civil Rights leaders for his earlier segregationist views, calling these views wrong. He said that while once he had sought power and glory, he realized he needed to seek love and forgiveness. It was because of this change in his worldview that Wallace realized the harm his earlier segregationist rhetoric and views had caused. His final term as Governor (19831987) saw a record number of black Alabamians appointed to government positions.

Now Look What Party His Son Belongs To:

George Corley Wallace, III

Commissioner Wallace, a Republican, is the only son of George Corley Wallace, Jr., and Lurleen Burns Wallace, both of whom were Democratic governors of Alabama. His sisters are Mrs. Bobbi Jo Parsons, Mrs. Peggy Sue Kennedy, and Mrs. Janie Lee Dye.

Controversy
In June 2005 he opened up the first day of the annual national convention of the Council of Conservative Citizens (CCC), a conservative group that critics describe as "white supremacist". This was not Wallace's first interaction with the CCC; he gave speeches to the CCC once in 1998 and twice in 1999.

[edit]
Lieutenant Governor Campaign
In the June 6, 2006, Republican primary election, Wallace qualified for the runoff election, which was held on July 18, 2006. He lost to attorney and Washington lobbyist Luther Strange, who was largely perceived to be the frontrunner, by a 55 percent to 45 percent margin. Senator John McCain of Arizona, a potential candidate for president in 2008, had made appearances on Wallace's behalf. Strange will face Democrat and former Governor James E. Folsom, Jr. in the general election. Wallace believes his political career may be over due to the defeat, which was his third major defeat in Alabama state politics

Things That Make You Say Hmmmmmmmmm......

-Sarge

James E Folsom, Jr. is the son of "Big Jim" Folsom, two term populist governor of Alabama who was a moderate on race issues.

Big Jim was defeated by George Wallace in his bid for a third term. George beat him primarily on the race issue.

Maybe George III thinks he can play the same cards.

Martin Luther King was a Republican?

He did have a dream, you know.