“Orange County resident” and National Republican Committee member Shawn Steel of Greater Palos Verdes, husband of 2nd Supervisorial District candidate Michelle Steel, was quoted in the Orange County Register this past weekend as saying that “I got nothing against Jose Solorio, but he’s a vegan. What a freak! That’s like a fascist. That’s like ISIS.”
Well that certainly seems rude and destructive to the social fabric — as well as borderline insane. His wife’s opponent, Allan Mansoor, sent around an email where you could literally hear his eyes rolling as he said something like “see, this is why we Republicans have trouble connecting with voters.”
After Solorio clarified to Register reporter Martin Wisckol that he was a vegetarian, for health reasons, rather than a dairy-product shunning vegan, and Wisckol broke the news to Mr. Steel, the candidate’s husband recanted and explained that it was a joke.
“Vegetarians are more laid-back,” he said. Vegans “are radical nonconformists. … My statement was made in levity – I really don’t mind vegans,” he said. “But from a district that’s 98 percent meat-eating? A politician who’s supposed to be a man of the people?”
Oh, I get it. A joke. Except for the part about vegans. Whom he somewhat tolerates. But then he gets into the “how can he represent you if he doesn’t match your eating habits?” argument (one that I, as a vegetarian myself, have heard made in earnest.) But hey, any way to get people to vote your way by estranging them from a politician you oppose is fair game, right?
OK, I admit it — I don’t always get prominent elderly white Republican male humor. Let me see if I can try my hand at a similar jest.
Shawn Steel on the hook: “Red Meat, Yes! White Women Over 40, No!”
As I understand it, I’m supposed to start with someone’s personal choice that differs from that of the majority of the people in his district, and then get people to dislike them on account of it, while simultaneously backing away from it jokingly and still maintaining that it’s still sort of true. But what can I use? I’ll finish reading Wisckol’s article and see if there’s anything that I — oh, here’s something!
Wisckol continues his story by quoting California Republican party Chair Jim Brulte:
[Brulte] pointed out that achieving the goals for the state Legislature likely will come down to Orange County, where Republican Young Kim is challenging incumbent Assemblywoman Sharon Quirk-Silva and Nguyen is vying with Solorio for an open central county Senate seat.
He also pointed out the importance of having Asians running in those districts, which have heavy Asian and Latino communities.
“Us white males over 40 are a shrinking minority,” he told the crowd of mostly white females over 40, emphasizing the need to diversify. “The candidate who most looks like, sounds like has the shared experiences and shared values of the neighborhood tends to win.”
Ah — see that last line? That’s what Steel was doing with Solorio! It’s like he and Brulte are reading out of the same playbook!
OK, I’m going to try my hand at making a prominent elderly white male Republican joke here — wish me luck!
So — again like me, but unlike most people in CA-34 — Steel is married to a younger Asian woman. (In my case, it’s less than a two year difference, but still.) And Brulte says that the GOP has wanted Asian women — Michelle Steel, Young Kim, Solorio’s opponent Janet Nguyen, and AD-55 resume faker Ling-Ling Chang, but not Lisa Bartlett — to run wherever possible this year in order to appeal to the rising number of Asian voters on the basis of similar race and gender. (OK, joke time!)
In marrying an Asian woman, Steel rejected every other eligible white woman in the world. (Not even ISIS goes that far! Although Mao Zedong, Pol Pot, and most military leaders in the Japanese military in World War II also probably married Asian women!) And therefore, Steel’s personal choices are different from the vast majority of people in the district, and they should be alienated from him! But don’t be offended, because this is just a joke! But he really is different from most people in his district in terms of this extremely personal decision. That part is not a joke. The part that’s the joke is … is ….
OK, I’m sorry — I’m still stumped. I’m still going to have to go with “rude, destructive to the social fabric — and borderline insane.”
Reminds me of 2004 when CNN talking head Candy Crowley – trying to fit in with the boys by painting Bush as a man of the people and John Kerry as an out-of-touch elitist – mocked Kerry for ordering green tea (instead of coffee or a beer, like a man of the people would.) Later that day she found out to her embarrassment that he drank green tea to ward off prostate cancer which his family had a big history of.
She somewhat redeemed herself 8 years later, at the Obama Romney debate, during the great “Proceed, Governor” moment where she had the facts at her fingertips.
Mrs. Steel doesn’t live in the district. Or even the County – a feat that not even Ackerwoman, Sidhu, Galloway, or Walters could match.
The hubby also tried to stir up anti-Arab hatred in Anaheim a few years back (out of the blue, seemingly) when Dalati – a Syrian-American – ran for the city council.
This withered little creep is bad news. Still, I’m not sure he deserves a hook through the head.
His head would have to be pretty darn thin from front-to-back for that hook to go all the way through it. I think that it’s just painted on there as a gesture of solidarity to his fellow aged pieces of meat.
His head would have to be pretty darn thin from front-to-back
Sounds about right.
a vegan,,,and here i thought he was mexican