Maryland Politics -- Democrats pile on Steele

Maryland Democrats are trying to turn the Dean debacle to their advantage. They will probably face a strong black conservative candidate in the race to replace Sen. Paul Sarbanes next year. That candidate, Lt. Gov. Michael Steele, has not yet declared, but the heat on him is building.

It appears that Steele wrote a blurb praising Michael Zak's Back to Basics for the Republican Party, a book that urges Republicans to recapture their strong civil rights heritage and to court black voters. Since then Zak has made public statements to the effect that the Democratic Party oppresses blacks.

For example, "Mastery over blacks has always been Democratic Policy. Before it was cotton. Now it is misery." And "Democrats are socialists and we should call them socialists. It's to the Democrats' advantage children grow up poor and uneducated."

Democrat leaders are circulating a petition demanding that Lt. Gov. Steele apologize for Zak's statements, which they characterize as being just as offensive as anything Gov. Dean has said.
They claim that Steele,

"failed an important test of character by aligning himself with Michael Zak's dangerous, deceptive and racially divisive commentary."

Steele's spokeswoman replies that

the lieutenant governor praised the book years ago and did not endorse Mr. Zak's recent comments

Read about it here.
More details here.

It's just an opening ploy, and a silly one -- Dean actually said offensive things, Steele didn't -- but it shows how the political game is played in Maryland -- dirty, ruthless, and stupid.

It's going to be an interesting political season. Stay tuned....