From NewsMax:
Conservative black leaders are condemning Democrats for what they view as an "act of racism" for illegally obtaining the credit report of Maryland Lt. Gov. Michael S. Steele, a black Republican believed to be ready to launch a campaign for the U.S. Senate.
"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."
