The RNC committee members are meeting to decide the next party chair – and the best choice would be Michael Steele.
First, the selection of Steele would be a decisive step in the right direction toward addressing the diversity deficit the GOP faces. Selecting Steele would not solve that gap, but it would offer undeniable evidence that the party understands the problem and intends to take proactive steps to address it. This is not just cosmetic – it is a matter of political survival in the increasingly diverse America of the 21st Century, and a matter of reconnecting to the founding principles of the Party of Lincoln.
Second, Michael Steele has proven himself to be a powerful and engaging advocate of a modern Republican Party. A frequent commentator on Fox News and other outlets, Steele can make the case for a forward-looking GOP in a way that people will want to listen. He is an able persuader who can command attention, a conservative who can connect with voters across the center-right spectrum, a rising star in a party with too few. The job of the RNC chair – being the forward-looking face and voice for the party – is perfectly suited to Michael Steele’s strengths.
Third, Steele won statewide office in Democratic Maryland as Lt. Governor alongside Bob Ehrlich. They were a popular problem-solving team who knew how to appeal across party lines, reconnecting with centrists and independents. They made fiscal responsibility, education, health and the environment, public safety, and commerce the “five pillars” of their administration. They knew how to make government work on a local level – and such statewide efforts will be the route to Republican’s resurgence in the future as it has been in the past. The fact that Ehrlich lost re-election, despite approval ratings reaching 60%, had much more to do with the misfortune of running against the Bush-DeLay backlash of 2006 – a dynamic which also denied Steele the distinction of being the first African-American Republican Senator since Ed Brooke.
Other candidates, like South Carolina’s Katon Dawson, have able records at party rebuilding and increasing diversity recruitment. Ohio’s former Secretary of State Ken Blackwell may draw some votes for diversity away from Steele, but he has proven to be a far more polarizing figure. Steele can preside over a team of rivals, and advance the ideas of thought-leaders like Newt Gingrich. Michael Steele might be considered a long-shot by some party elders, but they should listen to younger voters and make a decision for the future – electing Michael Steele would provide an immediate and overnight shot in the arm for the Republican Party. No other candidate would come close.
43 responses so far
1 Chekote // Jan 30, 2009 at 9:16 am
I second HBills’ comments. Steele is the best choice. Also, I am getting tired of this childish mentality that if he worked with Whitman automatically disqualifies him. Next they will accuse him of having cooties!
2 sinz54 // Jan 30, 2009 at 9:28 am
Michael Steele sounds like a good choice. We need a Republican Party official who can articulate the case for the GOP eloquently. This job cannot be left to some radio commentator (and you all know who I mean). Because that becomes a tacit admission that the GOP cannot articulate a case for itself as well.
3 ireign // Jan 30, 2009 at 10:29 am
He is articulate, personable, and is good at debating. That said, the problem with Steele is he is a loose cannon at times. The interview with the Washington Post in 2006 or where he compared stem cell research to the Holocaust in front of a Jewish audience.
There is a reason the Bush administration passed him over when he wanted the job in 2006.
Republicans should take a page from Brewster’s milions and vote for NONE OF THE ABOVE and ask for a new slate of candidates.
My preference would be for Mitt Romney. He has been elected statewide. He has tons of money and connections and like Howard Dean he can devote his full attention to recruiting candidates and building up state parties.
That said, is will likely be the current chairman or Steele. Of the two, Steele is preferable.
4 buzzricksons // Jan 30, 2009 at 10:39 am
Sadly, the current slate is basically a bunch of inside-baseball hacks with KGB-esque tendencies when it comes to backstabbing their own. See Geraghty in NRO for the disappointing details. None of them have much to recommend them, including the tin-eared toolbag that sent out the “Magic Negro” nonsense. I’m with IReign; reboot the slate, please. Put in someone who understands all the issues and how to grow the party, not just preach to the choir like too many of the current candidates.
5 HollywoodBill // Jan 30, 2009 at 10:40 am
First ballot: 168 ballots. 85 to win — Mike Duncan – 52 Michael Steele – 46 Katon Dawson – 28 Saul Anuzis – 22 Ken Blackwell – 20 Ken Blackwell is totally unacceptable. Even in a bad year for Ohio Republicans, he was repudiated and won only 37% of the vote. Even Republicans wouldn’t vote for him. And Katon Dawson belonged to a whites only country club in SCarolina. Like the GOP needs more image problems.
6 InTheMiddle12 // Jan 30, 2009 at 10:53 am
So the swing votes will go to Steele. This is over. Steele will win this because those not with Duncan won’t go with him. That’s my prediction.
7 buzzricksons // Jan 30, 2009 at 11:03 am
Steele will be easy for the Dems to tar with his past idiocy re. the “holocaust” comments, as well as the (for some) unfortunate tag, “Fox News Contributor”. Expect to see a lot of that in the coverage of his taking the helm, as well as next to any comments he has to make as spokesman for the next few years. At least until the Dem majorities and Obama’s ‘12 reelection victory are totally solidified, that is.
8 beastwood19 // Jan 30, 2009 at 11:09 am
Mike Steele is the best choice (although I like former football player Ken Blackwell as well), both have compelliing Horatio Alger bootstrap stories that are important for our party.
9 ireign // Jan 30, 2009 at 11:10 am
Buzz, why do you think we shouldn’t challenge Gillibrand’s narrative which is fair game when the Democrats are going to focus on idiotic things like Fox News Contributor of which people in the Democratic party are or were such as Harold Ford Jr? Turning the other cheek, does not seem to work in politics.
10 HollywoodBill // Jan 30, 2009 at 11:17 am
Second ballot: 168 votes cast. 85 to win — Mike Duncan – 48 Michael Steele – 48 Katon Dawson – 29 Saul Anuzis – 24 Ken Blackwell – 19 Thankfully Blackwell is sinking like a rock.
11 buzzricksons // Jan 30, 2009 at 11:35 am
I would suggest keeping the powder dry until the election cycle, when there’s also a record of votes to attack, and spend the meanwhile providing forward-thinking alternatives to the Democrats’ plans. Bringing this stuff up is fine as an observation, now; making a big deal out of it right out of the box is counterproductive: first, the people are exhausted by this stuff as it’s perceived as “negativity/partisanship” blahblah. second, there’s nothing the GOP can do about it until ‘10 when she’s up for reelection anyway, so why waste facetime before the media making this attack the message, when there are other, better messages that would be more productive for the future of the party’s electoral prospects? I think the party suffers from shortsightedness when it comes to “choosing the hill we want to die on”, so to speak.
12 Bulldoglover100 // Jan 30, 2009 at 11:45 am
I support Steele for the main reason that he is smart enough to understand just how damaging Sarah Palin is to the GOP.
13 buzzricksons // Jan 30, 2009 at 11:47 am
In the 90’s, the Gingrich crew ascended and held high popularity when they stayed on policy message. Relentless discipline maintaining policy/governance/bread ‘n butter talking points and not going off on tangents about who said/did what kept them in the pocket to emplace the agenda. The wheels started falling off when they got caught in “the game”; the gossip/media-driven popularity contests etc. Want to win elections and majorities again? Go back to the discipline of the early period of the “90’s Revolution” for pointers on behavior. Right now, wasting media cycles on irrelevancies like the law school record of Paterson’s appointment (who’s had a long career as attorney and legislator in the intervening 15+ years) is such a fool’s errand I’m amazed anyone’s seriously suggesting it is worth the investment of time and mental bandwidth. Small fish; bigger ones to fry, people.
14 buzzricksons // Jan 30, 2009 at 11:48 am
They’ll finish Palin off by making her the “Brownie” of the impending volcanic disaster in her state. Game over, thanks to the vindictiveness of the media.
15 InTheMiddle12 // Jan 30, 2009 at 12:01 pm
Third ballot shows Steele gaining strength with Duncan and Blackwell losing strength. Interesting to see what the 4th ballot will bring but I think it’s pretty clear Steele has the momentum and will be the likely winner.
16 InTheMiddle12 // Jan 30, 2009 at 12:06 pm
buzz: Gingrich ushered in an era of the highest partisan feeling the country had seen in many years. It failed. He failed and was run out of town and the remaining legacy he left of non-partisan participation got fully dispatched through Obama’s candidacy. Until the GOP re-learns how to be a loyal opposition, which are words I’m continuing to hear coming from GOP elected officials, they will lose nationally. The American electorate will not be pushed into a ‘one party’ has all the answers culture again for a long time.
17 InTheMiddle12 // Jan 30, 2009 at 12:07 pm
PS. Gingrich is leading the charge with being a loyal opposition and is at the front of the line in warning the GOP not to act like they did when he was a leader.
18 Chekote // Jan 30, 2009 at 12:09 pm
The last thing the GOP needs is another southern, white male that belonged to a “whites only” club. Talk about reinforcing negative stereotypes?!
19 InTheMiddle12 // Jan 30, 2009 at 12:17 pm
Duncan has withdrawn.
20 InTheMiddle12 // Jan 30, 2009 at 12:38 pm
In looking at the delegates as they voted I saw 1 black person and the rest white men, except for a fair amount of white women. I may not have seen all 168 but the GOP better do something to better represent the face of America.
21 InTheMiddle12 // Jan 30, 2009 at 12:44 pm
Dawson, 62; Steele, 60; Blackwell, 15; Anuzis, 31 votes. Oh Oh, Looks like the GOP may not be going toward Steele, though it was more votes than the last ballot it looks like Duncan’s support went to Dawson. Interesting.
22 Chekote // Jan 30, 2009 at 12:47 pm
Dawson belonged to a “whites only” club. This should be a no-brainer!!!!!!
23 suey // Jan 30, 2009 at 1:12 pm
Looks like it’s Dawson. I’ll take that
there are 5 Black men in the party hierarchy I think they had 4 of them on stage earlier as a show of inclusiveness.
24 Chekote // Jan 30, 2009 at 1:16 pm
Blackwell drops out and endorses Steele. There is still hope for rationality to prevail.
25 HollywoodBill // Jan 30, 2009 at 1:17 pm
Thankfully, Ken Blackwell has just withdrawn and thrown what little support he had to Steele. Dawson’s membership in that Whites Only Country Club is a huge p.r. problem. Plus, his being from South Carolina only reinforces the image that the GOP is a regional party, based in the South.
26 Chekote // Jan 30, 2009 at 1:19 pm
HBill, right on comrade.
27 Chekote // Jan 30, 2009 at 1:21 pm
Seriously now, the “whites only” club is a PR catastrophy for the GOP.
28 Chekote // Jan 30, 2009 at 1:33 pm
The fifth round: Steele 79, Dawson 69, Anuzis 20.
29 HollywoodBill // Jan 30, 2009 at 1:38 pm
And my main man, Chekote, Anuzis has just withdrawn. We’re on to the Sixth Ballot! Dawson belonged to that Whites Only Coutry Club for 15 years! If he wins, the press is going to have a field day with it.
30 Chekote // Jan 30, 2009 at 1:40 pm
Anuzis drops out
31 Chekote // Jan 30, 2009 at 1:43 pm
HBill, The fact that Dawson is even competitive shows you just how much work there is to do in the GOP.
32 Chekote // Jan 30, 2009 at 2:05 pm
STEELE WON!!!!! The GOP is turning a corner. Finally!
33 suey // Jan 30, 2009 at 2:09 pm
Steele it is. Congratulations on electing what seems a good moderate man.
34 HollywoodBill // Jan 30, 2009 at 2:13 pm
Chekote–the amount of work is unbelievable. But Steele is a good start.
35 buzzricksons // Jan 30, 2009 at 2:16 pm
Middle12; I should’ve been more explicit. The majority class of 94 got elected overwhelmingly, and was popular for the first while (i.e. before Newt’s head and ego exploded – which he details well in “Lessons Learned”) based on their offering a rational, sharply distinct from the Dems, policy platform. They beat the pants off the Dems with policy, not the partisan “personal destruction” nonsense; in fact, that’s the game perfected by the guy in the White House at the time. When they got baited into playing on that turf, it was game over because Bill was always the master. If they’re smart enough to regroup around policy, they’ll deserve to win again. If they remain mired in social-identity politics and the like, they should be shopping for outdoor gear to brace for a long time in the wilderness.
36 ireign // Jan 30, 2009 at 2:16 pm
Congrats Michael Steele!
I did want to address Chekote’s posts. I would suspect that there are problem numerous country clubs in South Carolina that are all white or just have a few African-American members. That is function of who has money and power in much of today’s society and how segregated the elite are in our country. In the exclusive New York City suburbs, I caddied at a country club when I was younger that was predominately Jewish and I was aware of very few Christian members and I don’t remember anyone of a different race. Mayor Bloomberg was a member. I don’t think him being a member made him a racist or anti-Christian just as I don’t think Dawson is necessarily a racist. He might be a racist who knew of the club’s policy or might be a nice guy who genuinely did not think twice about the policy.
This blog commenters seem to be composed disproportionately of those who seem to want to avoid attacking any Democrat but are more than happy to assume that a Republican is a racist. You are correct electing Dawson would have been a bad PR move. But that doesn’t make it right.
Many of the commenters on this blog are just as intolerant as those they criticize i.e. the religious right.
37 ireign // Jan 30, 2009 at 2:17 pm
Once again, I thought NONE OF THE ABOVE would have been the proper outcome for today but Steele is probably the best of the bunch notwithstanding his penchant for putting his foot in his mouth.
38 buzzricksons // Jan 30, 2009 at 2:31 pm
How long before someone at MSNBC or another such network says the RNC had to put Steele up because they needed a black guy to go against Obama? And how many crickets will chirp while the world waits for the racemongers of the left to condemn the remark?
39 Chekote // Jan 30, 2009 at 2:33 pm
ireign. I don’t think that I am or have been intolerant. I was simply referring to the PR nightmare and the fact that Dawson reiforced every negative sterotype of Republicans. Talk about playing into the enemy’s hand!!!!! I couldn’t care less what club he belonged to.
40 ireign // Jan 30, 2009 at 2:52 pm
That’s a fair point. Although Bloomberg and many other politicians have dealt with a similar issue and I think many on the right were making a mountain out of a molehill.
My comment, “Many of the commenters on this blog are just as intolerant as those they criticize i.e. the religious right” was not directed at anyone in particular but was something I felt reading a good number of blog comments.
Buzz is correct that Steele has his own pr issues. But hopfeully he and others will go to mat and effectively end this cry of tokenism that the left is likely to make.
41 suey // Jan 30, 2009 at 3:01 pm
I don’t think the left is the demon you suppose. The right called Obama the
“affirmative action” candidate but this was mainly the wing nut side of the spectrum. Some at the left side of Daily Kos may joke in response to what was said about Obama but anyone with any position will not. Expect a call of congratulations to Steele from Obama about now.. Ring…Ring
42 fact based // Feb 1, 2009 at 7:55 am
While speaking to the Baltimore Jewish Council, Michael Steele compared doctors conducting stem cell research to Nazis performing human experiments during the Holocaust: “You of all folks know what happens when people decide to experiment on human beings, when they want to take your life and use it as a tool.” [Associated Press, 2/10/06]
43 InTheMiddle12 // Feb 3, 2009 at 4:04 pm
BUZZ: OK. I guess I take it as elementary that politicians should advocate policy. American people care about policies, not politics, though the words are rooted in the same root, so to speak. The GOP either lost touch with their policies or didn’t execute them. At this point I can’t tell you what the GOP policies are other than attempting to balance the President’s economic policy. I think the GOP would be smart to wait 6 months before beginning to shape any policies to see what they’re reacting to. They are not in power, under any stretch of the imagination. But they should be doing a lot of reflecting on what it means to be in the GOP. It’ll be interesting to see what Steele does with this. No doubt he’ll be looking to Cameron over in the UK who took the Conservatives to the middle and is making a big come back
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