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In his book, Michael Steele loudly criticizes Republicans who don’t embrace the Tea Party line, George W. Bush, George H.W. Bush, John McCain, and Republicans who supported policies with whom he disagrees.
But now that he’s taking fire for his mismanagement of the RNC, he’s invoking Reagan’s so-called Eleventh Commandment:
All I’m saying is cut it out. If we have party differences that are inside the party, let’s deal with them inside the party. You don’t see the Democrats running around trying to beat up their national chairman or embarrass him.
Chairman Steele needs to have a long talk with Pundit Steele; the RNC chairman needs to spend more time raising money and supporting the party — both its conservative and centrist wings — and less time running his mouth and alienating entire GOP blocs.
Not only is Chairman Steele ineffective, defensive, and hypocritical — he’s also quite forgetful! Like the time he forget that he fought tooth and nail for the job that, he now says, he didn’t ever really pursue.
Chairman Steele does nor need anyone to embarrass him. He does a really great job of doing that himself.
The man IS a joke.
I agree Steele seems to not be the person for the job.
But, he doesn’t really doesn’t have anything to work with either.
What is the RNC these days?
Newt / Reagan traditional establishment Republicans?
Palin / T-Paw semi third party “conservatives”?
The purify the party / God, Guns and Gays religious right?
The no taxes / succession tea party?
The problem as I see it is that in his quest to pander to ALL of the above he alienates ALL as well.
Im not going to donate a dime to the RNC as long as he over-panders to the “crazies” in the party….
The crazies are not going to donate a dime as long as he does not pander only to them.
The religious right seems to be getting their revenge by putting some backing / numbers behind the third party types.
And the third party types want to purify the party to a group of souther white males that all come from apalatia……
Yep. Steele is a boob, but who else would want / take the job?
Never thought I would ever agree with David Frum | Political Byline // Jan 8, 2010 at 1:35 pm
[...] via David Frum: Steele Can’t Have it Both Ways. [...]
Hot Air » Blog Archive » Steele: God has placed me in this role for a reason // Jan 8, 2010 at 4:11 pm
[...] is idiotic, and to have it involve infighting with other Republicans is inexcusable. As Frum’s site notes, while demanding that the party settle its differences with him behind closed doors, Steele [...]
Once upon a time, Michael Steele was a struggling political operator in my native state of Maryland. The woebegone Maryland Republican Party, with few alternatives and little to lose, decided to play the quota card by naming Steele head of the party. His performance was neither bad nor good but the position gave Steele a sounding board. Steele, a talented public speaker, had his profile raised by Congressman Bob Ehrlich when Ehrlich chose him as his Lieutenant-Governor running mate in 2002 Maryland Governor’s election. The closest thing to a Republican electoral powerhouse in Maryland, Ehrlich defeated the charisma-challenged Kathleen Kennedy Townsend in the 2002 race. And so Steele fell into a four year term as Lt-Governor. Taking a political risk, Steele ran for the retiring Senator Sarbanes’ Senate seat in 2006 but lost to another charisma-challenged Democrat, Ben Cardin, in a very Democratic year. He ran as good a race as possible under trying circumstances; Ehrlich lost re-election convincingly to Martin O’Malley.
Michael Steele seems to me to be a fine fellow but the truth is that he has few accomplishments, most of which he earned due to being a black Republican who makes a good speech. The only thing to commend him as head of a major political party is that he is not Ken Mehlman. But he’s no Haley Barbour, Bill Brock or Ray Bliss.
DFL:
You are correct.
Steele is untouchable, because the GOP won’t shaft one of its few loyal black activists.
Steele is a perfect example of what’s wrong with affirmative action.
ARESENIO STEELE HAS TO GO. THIS GUY HAS USED THE OFFICE EXCLUSIVELY TO PROMOTE HIMSELF. HE WILL DESTROY OUR CHANCES AT RETAKING THE HOUSE.
HE IS A SHOW PONY AND A JOKE. HE IS NOW ON A BOOK TOUR WHICH NO ONE KNEW HE WAS WRITING. HE HEDGED BETS ON HANNITY’S SHOW YESTERDAY SO HE WOULD BE COVERED WHEN WE LOST. HANNITY BEING THE BALLESS WONDER THAT HE IS DID NOT CALL ARSENIO STEELE ON IT, BUT LET HIM BLATHER ON ABOUT HIS NEW BOOK.
GET RID OF ARSENIO STEELE NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
GET RID OF ARSENIO STEELE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
sinz54
Affirmative action, so Steele used quotas and legal manuevers to get his job? And the whole time I thought his appointment was just cynical pandering to a voter block that has all but abandoned the GOP.
Maybe the GOP needs more Hotair types to go explain to all those clueless blacks and Jews just how stupid they are for supporting a Democratic Party run by Nazis and Klansmen; but there are no bigots on the right, cause all right wing bigots are just covert leftists.
Reagan’s “11th commandment” is ultimately responsible for the situation the party finds itself in now. If Republicans could clean house by calling each other publicly on B.S. when it occurs (and it occurs everywhere) then Bush would not have been able to drive the party’s image into a ditch.
Ever notice that that level of control is always advocated by those like Steele who are already IN control? Asking someone in control whether they need more control is like asking a barber if you need a haircut. But control of the party does not and should not belong to Steele or any of the so-called leaders of the GOP. It belongs to all of its members, and to the extent anyone who stands to profit politically by the “11th Commandment” advocates it, they betray the party. Theodore Roosevelt had it right about leaders: “To announce that there must be no criticism of the President,
or that we are to stand by the President, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public.”