Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele means well. But it seems like he just can't help himself --if there's a specific part of the brain that keeps most of us from saying every stupid thing that pops into ouur heads, it just doesn't seem to be working for Steele.
The RNC chair's latest gaffe came during a debate of sorts that featured him and former Rep. Harold Ford Jr., D-Tenn. At one point, talking about President Obama's plans for the tax rates affecting families with incomes of more than $250,000 a year, Steele joked, "Trust me, after taxes, a million dollars is not a lot of money."
A pretty dumb thing to say, no doubt, considering this economy and the political climate. But on the scale of things, probably not the biggest deal in the world. Of course, American politics being what it is today, Steele's counterparts at the Democratic National Committee couldn't resist hyping the story up a bit. DNC Communications Director Brad Woodhouse e-mailed reporters a link to a Ben Smith post on Steele's comment, and included this statement:
This week - we have seen deep into the soul of the Republican Party. First - we learned that the GOP is chasing checks on Wall Street with the promise of protecting banks from regulation and with a commitment to make sure taxpayers don't get all their bailout money back.
Now - while millions of Americans are unemployed - while millions can afford to send their kids to college, can't afford to purchase health insurance, can't afford to stay in their homes - Michael Steele - a man who moonlights from his RNC gig by getting paid up to 20k to give a speech - has the audacity to tell the American people - "a million dollars is not a lot of money." We don't know what type of caviar dreams Michael Steele and the GOP are having - but Americans would be shocked to learn that Republicans are selling themselves to the highest Wall Street bidders and that a million dollars is not a lot of money. if you needed more evidence that the GOP is out of touch with middle class Americans - this week should have given you all you need. (Oh - and don't forget the GOP budget that scraps Medicare and turns Social Security over Wall Street)...
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