RNC Chairman Has Steel Grip on Members

Click here for all of Tim Mak’s reports from the RNC Summit in Hawaii.

(Honolulu, HI) – Michael Steele has nothing to worry about. Even his supposed ‘enemies’ are praising his work at the Republican National Committee’s winter meeting in Hawaii this week.

Massachusetts National Committeeman Ron Kaufman, who the National Journal’s Reid Wilson included on Steele’s ‘enemies list’, praised the Chairman for his efforts in getting candidates elected.

“You go talk to people in Virginia, and New Jersey, and Massachusetts, and ask them: ‘Was the RNC a factor in your win?’ And it’s unequivocally yes. And that’s what matters for [Steele]… and that comes from someone from the ‘enemies list’!”

Asked for his reaction to being included on the National Journal’s anti-Steele list, Kaufman said:

“I’ve been working in Republican politics my entire adult life. I’ve known Michael forever… I campaigned for the guy who ran against him, but I didn’t do so to oppose Michael Steele. So, I take it with a grain of salt. It makes me chuckle. To me, ‘enemies list’ died with Richard Nixon. I like to fight with Democrats.”

Indiana National Committeeman Jim Bopp, whose ‘purity test’ resolution Steele has criticized as being too “divisive”, said that the Chairman had good support among the RNC: “I think he’s being supported by the members of the [Republican National] committee.”

“I think most of the issues that have come up are just distractions,” Bopp continued, citing the resolution on Chairman Steele’s book tour as one example.

Among all of the Republicans that FrumForum spoke to, not one argued that Steele’s hold among members of the RNC was weak.

“I think that the amount of effort that the RNC has put into our last three victories, as well as some of the local races, was excellent. Michael has really done a great job in fundraising, putting field staff together, and winning these special races,” said Bob Bennett, a former state chairman and the National Committeeman from Ohio.