AP: Steele on Thin Ice at Helm of Republican Party
- Posted on November 26, 2010 at 3:51pm by
Scott Baker
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WASHINGTON (AP) — A significant bloc of Republican National Committee members wants embattled chairman Michael Steele to step aside, but the rank and file have failed to settle on a clear alternative, according to Associated Press interviews with committee members.
More than four dozen interviews with members of the 168-member central committee found fear that a badly damaged Steele could emerge from the wreckage of a knockdown, drag-out fight to head the party as it challenges President Barack Obama in 2012. While most agree that Steele’s time has been rough — and costly — the members also recognize that a leadership fight could overshadow gains that Republicans made in the midterm elections.
With balloting set to take place in just two months, many just want Steele to go.
“You can‘t keep spending the kind of money they’re spending every month just to operate the RNC,” said committee member Ada Fisher of North Carolina. “I would hope he would step aside.”
“The question is who should be hired for the next two years, It’s not a matter of firing anybody,” said James Bopp, a committee member from Indiana who holds great sway among social conservatives on the panel. “I just don’t think Steele has performed at the level we need for the presidential cycle.”
In interviews with 51 committee members, 39 said they preferred Steele not be on the ballot when they meet near Washington in mid-January to pick their leader.
For his part, Steele hasn’t said whether he will pursue the 85-vote majority needed for a second term. Already, members have been hearing from others interested in that quest.
Michigan committeeman Saul Anuzis has announced his candidacy. Former RNC strategist Gentry Collins, an operative who is warmly regarded among RNC members, has formed a committee to explore a chairman’s race. So, too, have Missouri chairwoman Ann Wagner and former Bush administration official Maria Cino.
A group of committee members, meanwhile, is courting Wisconsin GOP chairman and RNC lawyer Reince Priebus, who ran Steele’s 2009 bid for chairman but has not ruled out challenging his ally.
Connecticut chairman Chris Healy also is weighing a run. And several GOP governors have urged Republican Governors Association executive director Nick Ayers to seek the position, a suggestion he has been reluctant to embrace.
Steele, too, is talking to committee members, highlighting his role in the Republican landslide.
Voters punished Democrats from New Hampshire to California, giving Republicans at least 63 new seats in the House. Republicans picked up 10 governorships and added six Senate seats. The party also gained control of 19 state legislative chambers and now hold their highest level of state legislative seats since 1928.
“Now is not the time to trade in proven electoral success for unproven hope,” Idaho Republican chairman Norm Semanko told fellow RNC members. “Now is not the time to change leaders. And now is not the time to be distracted into internal strife and battles among one another for power and control of the GOP infrastructure.”
Looking ahead, the GOP focus is voting Obama out of office. To do that, Republicans need a coherent message, a strong party apparatus and a sizable account that Steele has seemed uninterested in building.
When Collins resigned from the national committee last week, he wrote a scathing letter questioning the ability of the RNC, under Steele, to lead the charge against the Democrats.
“Sadly, if left on its current path, the RNC will not be a productive force in the 2012 campaign to deny President Obama a second term, retain our House majority and elect a Senate majority,” he wrote to the party’s leadership.
The letter was a playbook for any of Steele’s potential rivals, noting that the chairman had maxed out a $15 million credit line the committee had approved.
“I think the Gentry Collins letter made it impossible for Mike Steele to be re-elected,” said Virginia committee member Morton Blackwell, who is backing Anuzis.
Steele started the job with a $23 million surplus; the RNC raised more than $79 million this year and has spent all of it. Some went to places that previously saw little RNC cash or interest, including five U.S. territories that each has three votes on the central committee.
“There are two things that a chairman needs to understand. They’re going to start with a deficit. That’s fact. They also will need to figure out how to get the major donors back on board because they weren’t on board last time,” said Linda Herren, a committee member from Georgia. “They still helped elect Republicans. But it was not through the RNC.”
Third-party groups, led by veteran GOP operatives Karl Rove and Ed Gillespie, raised in a few months almost as much as the RNC has since January 2009. Those dollars fueled blistering television ads that helped Republicans to victory but were an embarrassment to the RNC.
“I supported Steele very heavily last time. I haven’t written him off, but I’m looking at the other ones,” said Georgia GOP chairwoman Sue Everhart. “Michael Steele, his heart was in the right place and he tried to be a good chairman. We won, but you‘ve got to have leadership at the top or it doesn’t work.”
During Republican governors’ private meetings last week in California, a consensus emerged that Steele must leave his post when his term expires. Governors returned to their states and this week shared that message with their committee members, telling them that retaking the White House requires someone else.
Others say they still like the chairman — and his doting attention, his speedy replies — but believe it’s time for him to go.
“He’s a wonderful man. He’s done a good job,” said Cindy Costa, a committee member from South Carolina. “But it would be better for him — and I want the best for him — to step down knowing he gave an honest shot and did a good job this election cycle.”
Steele knows the millions he doled earned him chits from state party chairs he visited on a 48-state bus tour.
“He has been a great supporter for Arkansas,” said state party chairman Doyle Webb. “All I can do is tell you the way I am appreciative and beholden to Chairman Steele.”
___
AP National Political Writer Liz Sidoti contributed to this report.
___
Online:
Republican National Committee: http://www.gop.com
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Comments (58)
jokirk71
Posted on November 27, 2010 at 8:42amPaul Ryan would make a terrific chairman of the RNC as well as Speaker of the House and in 2012 POTUS.
Report Post »Penn
Posted on November 27, 2010 at 7:28amIf Steele steps down or is forced down, I hope Sarah Palin takes his place. She would be too much of a distraction in a presidential campaign, ( I would not want her to be the Republican candidate) but she could be one heck of a fundraiser.
Report Post »TAKEITBACK
Posted on November 27, 2010 at 7:21amThe Tea Party saved the RNC, new leadership is needed or a new party will be created!
Report Post »Silversmith
Posted on November 26, 2010 at 11:38pmThis is the RNC’s moment. They will either get with the movement or be left behind. It would be best for everyone if they cleaned house quick.
Silversmith
Report Post »runnin.whitehorse
Posted on November 26, 2010 at 11:25pmSteele has made a good effort. Republican’s need to put it in the hands of a women, plain and simple!
Report Post »skyaky
Posted on November 26, 2010 at 11:18pmTime for someone a little more committed and enthusiastic to lead the party to the crucial 2012 elections.
Report Post »mikenleeds
Posted on November 26, 2010 at 10:43pmOut with the rhino ….
Report Post »JoeAverage
Posted on November 26, 2010 at 9:15pmOK boys, action speaks louder than words. Click on the link and sign the petition to dump Steele.
Report Post »http://replacemichaelsteele.com/
Doc_Slammin
Posted on November 26, 2010 at 8:52pmA significant bloc of Republican National Committee members are not the only ones who want chairman Michael Steele to step aside, I do too.
I have thought this for a while… furthermore, this is a job that Sarah Palin would fall into almost perfectly. It puts her in a position to transform the “Grand Old Party” into the “Government Of the People” again.
Report Post »drattastic
Posted on November 26, 2010 at 8:21pmI’m not a big fan of Sarah Palin being president but she would be perfect as head of the RNC, great fund raiser ,rock star on the right ,can draw big crowds ,scares the hell out of leftwingers,etc..purrrfect
Report Post »Constitutional
Posted on November 26, 2010 at 6:26pmI like the idea of having an articulate african-American as the head of the Republican party but only if he is truly conservative and qualified to be the spokesman. This guy is a bit of a dingbat.
Report Post »New-American-Saviors
Posted on November 26, 2010 at 8:06pmSounds like the Obama Campaign.Except the opposite party.
Report Post »moonpeace
Posted on November 26, 2010 at 6:02pmIt is time for Mr. Steele to step aside before somebody’s feelings get hurt by bring thrown into it
Report Post »I have been saying for a while now that the right person for this job is Sarah Palin. Although I love her, I don’t think she is ready for President, and I don’t want to see her damaged by running and. However, she is such a motivator and loved by so many conservatives that she would do wonders with the Republican party. I’m telling you she would have the party on fire within days.
82dAirborne
Posted on November 26, 2010 at 6:13pmAgreed. She can not be elected in 2012/2016. She is plenty young to wait. She could and would inject so much excitement and vigor into the GOP and The Tea Party!! Time some of the older bull elephants retired and made more room for new blood.
Report Post »82dAirborne
Posted on November 26, 2010 at 5:55pmEnter Sarah Palin! Just about the perfect choice.
Report Post »moonpeace
Posted on November 26, 2010 at 6:16pmAmen to that! Being a great motivator, probably the best of all the conservatives, Palin would be absolutely perfect for running the GOP. The party would be on fire before her announcement was completed. Perhaps later she can make a bid for the Presidency, but she needs a little more time working with the party. Sarah Palin definitely has a place among conservatives.
Report Post »Diamond Girl
Posted on November 26, 2010 at 5:29pmSteele has to go…should have never been elected by the brainy Big-Wig-know-it-alls in the first place, Ken Blackwell was/is far better than the RINO ever was, it infuriated me way back when, got called racist at a site I used to be on for years from their beginning (so-called conservative site at that, it used to be, not anymore, just a phony site that only cares about numbers of hits it gets, trolls welcomed) etc…which was pathetic to say the least..anyway I was correct, not one apology either, nor would I ever ask for one. My point is, wake up out there, too many lemmings on the repub side of the aisle too, let alone Peyton Place Politics that are endless at some sites…gets old.
Steele, show some class and step aside…don’t pull a Pelosi.
Palin would do well here…but that’s not gonna happen, she has delusions of grandeur, thinking she is gonna be out next Prez dontcha know…and pigs fly…you betcha!
Pence/West ‘12!
Report Post »Mousey
Posted on November 26, 2010 at 5:38pmwas that Little Green Footballs ?
Report Post »squeaker
Posted on November 27, 2010 at 2:28pmDiamond Girl – “”Palin would do well here…but that’s not gonna happen, she has delusions of grandeur, thinking she is gonna be out next Prez dontcha know…and pigs fly”"
hey, shortly after obambam got in office……. SWINE FLU
Report Post »New-American-Saviors
Posted on November 26, 2010 at 5:11pmEventually you begin to think you’re actually in charge of something then the truth surfaces. See…No Racist comment here !
Report Post »steve5150
Posted on November 26, 2010 at 5:10pmSteels a nice pleasant tame RINO but like all his ilk it’s time for him to go. The Republican base is tired of these eunuchs running the party into the ground.
Report Post »Mousey
Posted on November 26, 2010 at 5:06pm“Now is not the time to trade in proven electoral success for unproven hope,” Idaho Republican chairman Norm Semanko told fellow RNC members. “Now is not the time to change leaders. And now is not the time to be distracted into internal strife and battles among one another for power and control of the GOP infrastructure.” <—- oh silly me … i thought we made gains IN SPITE OF and against the wishes of the GOP. They fund the worst candidates I can imagine and have the nerve to claim the honors for that landslide???????
Steele has all the backbone of a pipe cleaner and we really need someone who is a real conservative not some 'in the middle' we need a guy that's clearly a fighter.
Oust the whole bunch and devour the GOP
Report Post »NeoFan
Posted on November 26, 2010 at 4:54pmJust like all the Rino’s this one will not lift a finger for the good of the party or the country. He will have to be ripped out kicking and screaming. Its going to take no less than a decade to remove all the parasites this party has living off of it. The country may not survive that long.
Report Post »clockwatcher
Posted on November 26, 2010 at 4:49pmHe must go. Less than 2 years the Black Jimmy Carter will be voted out . A true leader must be in charge of the party to move the nation forward. Sarah make money, get on tv but don’t run. You will only give the dems a win. You are as clueless as the Black Jimmy Carter.
Report Post »HillBillySam1
Posted on November 26, 2010 at 4:43pmI think that it is time for a good, strong, Conservative woman to take the lead role in the RNC. The table has been set, so now we just need someone to cook the meal……or is that too sexist??
Report Post »J.C. McGlynn
Posted on November 26, 2010 at 4:41pmHe didn’t run the RNC very effectively during the past election. Personally, I say “ELECT SARAH PALIN.”
Report Post »Hugie 59 PA
Posted on November 27, 2010 at 11:06amI agree, if you must replace Steel, Palin would be a great choice since I would like to see her run in 2016 for the presidency not 2012.
Report Post »capecodsully
Posted on November 27, 2010 at 4:10pmThe Republican who wins the White House in 2012 wont be leaving in 2016.
Report Post »BloggyBayou
Posted on November 26, 2010 at 4:39pmRPOF Chairman: The Most Important Election In The Country Before 6 November 2012
http://www.practicalstate.com/?p=3496
Cheers
Report Post »missy8s
Posted on November 26, 2010 at 4:38pmRun the RINOs out!
Steele’s a RINO, show him the door!
We have had enough of bogus “leaders” that prefer to play in the “squishy middle” and sell conservatives down the river…
STAND FOR SOMETHING OR GET OUT OF THE WAY!
Report Post »tobywil2
Posted on November 26, 2010 at 5:24pmMy vote goes to Christine O’Donnell,
Report Post »But only if she promises to cast a spell on the Demoncrats, http://commonsense21c.com/
FToth84
Posted on November 26, 2010 at 4:28pmAgreed! I must say that I am not a very big Steele fan myself. Bring Conservatism back to the Republican Party!!!
Report Post »M31Sailor
Posted on November 26, 2010 at 4:22pmNever saw many black guy’s skating. The one’s that did were very good hockey players. Thank’s for your service, Mike, time for new mgmt.
Report Post »Sailor
snowleopard3200 {mix art}
Posted on November 26, 2010 at 4:47pmTime to change managment; makes good business sense to bring new blood with new vision and abilities in to changing times.
Report Post »grandmaof5
Posted on November 26, 2010 at 5:01pmHope you both had a blessed Thanksgiving. With all the criticism of Crist, Murkowski and Castle I hope Mr.Steele will honor the will of the party and step aside honorably for the greater good. The last thing needed is in-fighting with so much at stake in 2012.
Report Post »M31Sailor
Posted on November 26, 2010 at 5:09pmThanks Grandma Dittoes
Sailor
Report Post »HKS
Posted on November 26, 2010 at 5:40pmIf not for the tea party this guy would already be under the bus. I’ve seen no leadership here. That party has done nothing but move backwards. At this point they don’t know who they are.
Report Post »Dustyluv
Posted on November 26, 2010 at 5:47pmI like you Mike…But time for you to go. You have the same number of balls as the President…NONE!
Report Post »tower7femacamp
Posted on November 26, 2010 at 5:58pmAND WHILE WE SLEPT the senate passed S 510 74 SCUMBAGS to 25 senators
Report Post »http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NUoRYkpLarA
this bill will make it illegal to grow your own food !
Robert W
Posted on November 27, 2010 at 1:08amIsnt this the knucklehead who had a repub get together at an s&m club? Can him.
Report Post »JKN
Posted on November 27, 2010 at 10:04amPlease, Michael Steele, do the honorable thing and step down… Race has nothing to do with it.
Report Post »godlovinmom
Posted on November 27, 2010 at 1:47pmI agree he has to go…we need someone in there that will show a little back-bone…the only thing I’ve seen steele do is wear the fire pelosi hat…and that’s when we started complaining about his leadership…we need someone with more than props…
Report Post »Sparky101
Posted on November 27, 2010 at 9:00pmHaving met Michael Steele a number of times in different settings, I can tell you that in him we have an honest, trustworty man of integrity, God fearing and pro-life to the core. Replace him at your peril.
Report Post »CYCLONE
Posted on November 28, 2010 at 6:45amWalter Williams should be the “Real” 1-st black president right after Bill Clinton…. as far as Steele is concerned… I DID’NT KNOW HE WAS A CONSERVATIVE !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! GTFO of the Republican party or I will keep voting Ron Paul (as a write-in, as a Libertarian, and as a republican… or as the right person) for the rest of my life since Reagan 1988…!!!!!!!!!!!
AMEN
Report Post »m2davis
Posted on November 28, 2010 at 10:56amI don’t know if there is someone in the Republican Politial arena that is truely strong enough to stand up to the intense scrutiny of the Liberals, Media, adn most of all the Elite Republicans.
This person has to be able to say NO to alot of people who think they deserve what they are getting from the government in the form of welfare checks, social security checks, farm subsidies, grants, student loans, post office take back, firing Unionized federal employees, TSA employees and the like.
In order to reverse the current trend of over spending he/she will have to take everything off the table and start brand new. Zero based budget is the only answer to save us economically. Period.
Is there a person who is able to do that and still survive the persecution by the left?
Even Sarah Palin doesn’t seem to take the ridicule anymore. Not that she has to, as a private citizen anyway.
But whoever takes the position on as a Presidential Canidate will have to be 1. Thick Skinned 2. Ready to play take away and 3. Only a one term president.
Who will take this job and play hard ball for the country, not for any personal ideals. He/She will have to live on his or her lifetime with the country saying they were a Tyrant or worse. History will not be kind to this sort of person for hundreds of years.
And most of all we have to find this kind of candidate and then we have to sell him or her as the type America needs to bring it back to a Republic, not a Socialist state. Seems like an impossible task doesn’t it? And after we find such a person to lead us, are you willing to follow?
Report Post »godlovinmom
Posted on November 28, 2010 at 11:56ammy very prayer is that God does send someone who we’ll help us get out of this mess…for the last couple months their have been alot of patriots coming out of the woodwork…my hope in America is renewed…educate yourselves and then others…
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