Steele Announces his Candidacy for RNC Chairmanship

[Lunar]

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/thefix/2008/11/michael_steele_to_run_for_rnc.html



Former Maryland Lt. Gov. Michael Steele has decided to run for the chairmanship of the Republican National Committee, a move sure to shake up the evolving race for control of a party demoralized by broad losses at the ballot box earlier this month.

Steele confirmed his candidacy in an interview today with The Fix and announced it formally during an interview on Fox News Channel's "Hannity & Colmes" show this evening.

"After two devastating election cycles, the party has reached a crossroads," said Steele comparing the Republican party to someone who has "hunkered down" in a corner with no idea what to do next. "I think I may have some keys to open the door, some juice to turn on the lights," Steele explained.

Steele is the second candidate to formally enter the race; Michigan Republican Party Chair Saul Anuzis launched his own bid with a You Tube video and a new website earlier this week.

A number of other candidates are mulling the race including: current RNC Chairman Mike Duncan, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (Ga.), former Tennessee Republican Party Chairman Chip Saltsman, former Iowa Rep. Jim Nussle, South Carolina Party Chair Katon Dawson and Florida Republican Party Chair Jim Greer.

The next chairman will be selected by 168 RNC committeemen and women during the organization's winter meeting in January.

Steele seems virtually certain to be one of the frontrunners for the post no matter who else joins the race given his resume and his profile. Following a stint as chairman of the Maryland Republican Party, Steele was elected lieutenant governor of Maryland in 2002. In 2006, he embarked on a Senate bid for the seat vacated by Sen. Paul Sarbanes (D). Despite massive spending on his behalf by the national party, Steele came up short to now Sen. Ben Cardin.

Since that loss, Steele has remained in the party mix as chairman of GOPAC, a national conservative organization designed to elect Republicans at the state and local level. He is also a frequent television presence as a contributor on Fox News Channel and the author of the now famous (infamous?) "Drill Baby Drill" line at the Republican National Convention.

Steele is also African American, a potentially powerful distinction in a party struggling for leaders that break out of the "old white guy" mold and badly in need of ways to broaden their coalition in future national elections.

For his part, Steele rejected the idea that the color of his skin had anything to do with his chances at becoming RNC chair. "I am a Republican who happens to be African American," he said.

Steele added that over the past few days he has been reaching out via phone to as many of the committee members as possible to make sure they know how important they are in this process. The people he has spoken with are "appreciative" of his candidacy, Steele said; "Even for those who have already committed to someone else they have been very enthusiastic," he noted.

In the interview Steele also made clear that in the current debate over whether the party should move to the middle or reaffirm its conservatives roots he falls clearly in the latter category.

"The core values of our party should not change," Steele said. "We are the conservative voice in America.

[Keystone Phil]

"The core values of our party should not change," Steele said. "We are the conservative voice in America.

Exactly. God bless this man. We're all for you, Michael!

[Eraserhead]

Shouldn't he try to actually get himself elected to something before he starts worrying about other Republicans?

[Lunar]

Shouldn't he try to actually get himself elected to something before he starts worrying about other Republicans?

Plouffe was talked about for DNC chairmanship.

And he was elected in a joint ticket.

This is a dumb criticism.  Just because a Republican lost a senate election in Maryland doesn't mean he's a loser.

[Meeker]

If I was looking for a leader to take my party out of the wilderness, I wouldn't be looking for Michael Steele.

But that's just me.

[Keystone Phil]

What does this man losing a U.S. Senate election in a very Democratic state in a very Democratic year have to do with anything? How does that make him a bad choice for party leader? I'm not crowning Steele as a great political mind but many great political strategists would never be elected to office.

Tell me - What offices were Axeldrod, Begala, Carville, Rove and Atwater elected to?

[Ronnie]

Go Michael Steele!   This guy would be an awesome chairman.

[Eraserhead]

Shouldn't he try to actually get himself elected to something before he starts worrying about other Republicans?

Plouffe was talked about for DNC chairmanship.

And he was elected in a joint ticket.

This is a dumb criticism.  Just because a Republican lost a senate election in Maryland doesn't mean he's a loser.

I generally consider people who lose to be losers, Lunar.

[Boris]

Since I doubt the RNC Chairmanship have much if any effect on whether or not you guys gain seats in 2010, and since the GOP desperately needs to make at least some sort of half-assed attempt to attract minorities, Steele is a good choice. Waiting for the Democrats to screw up and then basically running on the platform of, "we're not the Democrats," would probably be the easiest way to attain power instead of stressing "conservative," values, though.

[Хahar 🤔]

Who are the electors for this position?

[Lunar]

Shouldn't he try to actually get himself elected to something before he starts worrying about other Republicans?

Plouffe was talked about for DNC chairmanship.

And he was elected in a joint ticket.

This is a dumb criticism.  Just because a Republican lost a senate election in Maryland doesn't mean he's a loser.

I generally consider people who lose to be losers, Lunar.

The last president of the United States that hadn't first lost a political race was JFK.  Generally you have to lose before you can be a winner in this country.

[Eraserhead]

Shouldn't he try to actually get himself elected to something before he starts worrying about other Republicans?

Plouffe was talked about for DNC chairmanship.

And he was elected in a joint ticket.

This is a dumb criticism.  Just because a Republican lost a senate election in Maryland doesn't mean he's a loser.

I generally consider people who lose to be losers, Lunar.

The last president of the United States that hadn't first lost a political race was JFK.  Generally you have to lose before you can be a winner in this country.

Yeah, which is why he should try to win something. I don't see him as a "behind the scenes" sort of guy, but that's me.

[Lunar]

Shouldn't he try to actually get himself elected to something before he starts worrying about other Republicans?

Plouffe was talked about for DNC chairmanship.

And he was elected in a joint ticket.

This is a dumb criticism.  Just because a Republican lost a senate election in Maryland doesn't mean he's a loser.

I generally consider people who lose to be losers, Lunar.

The last president of the United States that hadn't first lost a political race was JFK.  Generally you have to lose before you can be a winner in this country.

Yeah, which is why he should try to win something. I don't see him as a "behind the scenes" sort of guy, but that's me.

Most of the candidates for RNC chair aren't former representatives, are they?  Most of the big players are Republican State Chairmen, meh?  I don't know where they came from, though.

[Bacon King]

He's alright, I suppose.

[Queen Mum Inks.LWC]

Cool.  I like him.

[© tweed]

is part of the motivation here "oh look we have black people too"?  because much of Steele's campaign in 2006 centered around how black he was.

[DownWithTheLeft]

Steele and Newt are two of my favorites

CAN'T CHOOSE!!

[??????????]

Ugh...and the downward spiral continues.

More.  Of.  The.  Same.

Not gonna help.

Steele is a solid conservative. Sorry.

[Lunar]

Ugh...and the downward spiral continues.

More.  Of.  The.  Same.

Not gonna help.

Steele is a solid conservative. Sorry.

I'm talking strategy-wise.  Dean wasn't a solid liberal but he knew what the hell he was doing and led the Democrats to massive success.  And at least he had actually won before.  Steele has absolutely no credentials in running any kind of campaign, especially hundreds of separate campaigns across the nation.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GOPAC
http://www.gopac.org/default.aspx

[??????????]

Ugh...and the downward spiral continues.

More.  Of.  The.  Same.

Not gonna help.

Steele is a solid conservative. Sorry.

I'm talking strategy-wise.  Dean wasn't a solid liberal but he knew what the hell he was doing and led the Democrats to massive success.  And at least he had actually won before.  Steele has absolutely no credentials in running any kind of campaign, especially hundreds of separate campaigns across the nation.

Ah, you may have a point there. However, I don't know who, at this point, would be good for this job. Not very many strong anything, leadership wise, in the GOP right now.

[○∙◄☻¥tπ[╪AV┼cVê└]

Gee, the fact that the current RNC chair is Hispanic has helped the Republicans with Hispanics so much......

[Workers' Friend]

"The core values of our party should not change," Steele said. "We are the conservative voice in America.

Exactly. God bless this man. We're all for you, Michael!

If he is a Populist I shall support him.

[Ronnie]

Steele and Newt are two of my favorites

CAN'T CHOOSE!!

If Newt was running, I would support him strongly.  I don't think he is, though.

[Brandon H]

Who are the electors for this position?

The article said 168 people. Each state party has a national committeeman and committeewoman. That's 100. Then probably the 50 state chairmen / chairwomen. That's 150. Not sure about the other 18. Maybe former chairmen or Presidents or something. I'm sure it's on the Republican website (which I know some people on this forum could not visit without vomiting).

I'm not a fan of Steele based on comments he made about Paul following the debate where Paul schooled Rudy, though he is an improvement over Saul (I can't remember his last name) from Michigan who wanted Paul out of the debates altogether. Newt Gingrich on the other hand had some positive things to say about Paul, but seems like he is not interested.

[Lief 🗽]

Can someone explain to me why Steele is special besides the color of his skin? He's just a random Lt. Governor who got crushed in a Senate election... who is also black.