PLEASE keep Michael Steele in his position forever.
Anywho, today Steele said:
"You wear your hat one way. You like to wear it, you know, kind of cocked to the left, you know, because that's cool out West," Steele said. "In the Midwest, you guys like to wear it a little bit to the right."
Clearly, he's trying to sound "in touch" with the "common man" and whatnot, and what's more folksy and local and "street" than knowing how the natives like to tilt their brim?
But anyone "common" would almost certainly know that people wear their damn hats pretty much any way they want. In the northeast and midwest (I've lived in both) we tilt our hats EVERY WHICH WAY, Michael. It's made up folksiness. There's absolutely no regional code, save one:
In the midwest, wearing your hat to the right is a way to associate yourself with the "Folks" Nation, gangsters who include Gangster Disciples and The Crips. On the West Coast wearing your hat to the left indicates you align with the "People's" Nation such as the Vice Lords and Bloods.
This may seem trivial, but it's absolutely the reason folks in public schools and other "common" institutions often meticulously wear their hat facing straight forward or back. Being perceived as "fronting" an unearned gang association warrants an assault.
Besides being profoundly weird, it seems like the quote serves as a reminder that there is noone at the helm in the GOP, messaging-wise. The same way that nobody told them that "teabagging" had unintended implications to vast swaths of their intended audience, this is so tin-eared. It's the opposite of "in touch" or "common," it's jarring reminder to most people who hear it that they don't understand the way the world actually works.
I hope Michael Steele stays around forever.