Yesterday, I noted a story that stated that Newt Gingrich and Michael Steele were in a behind-the-scenes competition for RNC chair.
Today it is reported (via Fox News): Steele Likely to Seek RNC Leadership Post
Michael Steele, former lieutenant governor of Maryland, has decided to run for the chairmanship of the Republican National Committee and is in talks with Newt Gingrich to win the former House speaker’s endorsement, FOX News learned Tuesday.Steele declined to comment, but a source close to the situation said Steele would announce his candidacy as early as Thursday.
The piece notes that Gingrich has issued a statement stating that he does not want the job.
Interestingly, another contender, according to the story, is Chip Saltsman, Mike Huckabee’s campaign manager. Whether the bid constitutes evidence of Huckabee’s 2012 plans or just Saltsman’s own ambitions within the party are not clear.
In regards to Steele, the Baltimore Sun’s Maryland Politics blog has a brief entry on Steele: Michael Steele’s Rx for the GOP
Back to Gingrich, I still think that he is trying to up his profile and continue to wonder if he isn’t positioning himself for a 2012 run. He is the only prominent Republican saying things like the following (via the NYT):
“We need to be honest about the level of failure for the past eight years and why Republican government didn’t succeed,” said Newt Gingrich, the former House speaker, who has played an increasingly assertive role in the debate over the party’s future. “Otherwise, we’ll get back in power again and do the same things again.”
He also was a fairly vocal critic of the bailout process. As such, he seems to be deliberately setting himself up as the critic of the party within the party. I still think he has too much baggage to actually win, but that won’t necessarily stop him from trying.
Regardless of any of that, I think that Newt as RNC chair would have been a mistake for the Republicans, and Steele, at least, offers the chance for a new face, and hopefully some fresh ideas.
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November 12th, 2008 at 9:42 am
I heard Newt speak the other day and I would be suprised if he does want the job of GOP Chair. I get the impression that he enjoys operating behind the scenes too much. I would even say that he is much more effective in the role he is serving now. I agree that Steele would be the better choice for setting the proper course of action for the RNC. I have been disgusted for the past couple of years of the direction the party leaders have taken. The blatant disregard of conservative principles in favor of more populist ideologies is sickening.
November 12th, 2008 at 10:25 am
The advantage with Newt is that he is a big picture thinker. He probably could take the GOP in a different direction, especially in making it more competitive outside the South. Yet, I think he would rub Capitol Hill Republicans the wrong way.
But, Michael Steele is a failed politician. He might be a fresh face, but Maryland voters kicked him out. I’m not sure what success he’ d have cajoling the establishment to engage in different tactics.
November 12th, 2008 at 10:54 am
True on both counts.
November 12th, 2008 at 12:31 pm
It is true that both Steele and Newt have baggage, but unfortunately, most politicians do.
I was thinking about Newt and I think he would be better serve outside the lines as an advisor of some sort. He is currently making a larger impact from the outside than he could from any political office he may potentially hold. I see him having no chance of getting a Presidential nomination because his baggage includes infidelity. He would bring in fresh ideas which would ruffle the feathers of the Washington entrenched, but, if their ideas were so great I doubt we would be having this discussion.
As far as Steele goes, sure he lost his bid to be elected as a Senator for Maryland, but who would ever accuse Maryland for being a GOP stronghold? It would be a mistake to think that just because Maryland did not vote him into office that he could not be effective on a National level.
Please do not misunderstand me. I am not an apologist for either. I do believe that it is possible to find someone that has high character and is a leader, not a politician. I do think that in order for the GOP to ever become successful, it does need some new ideas. Those ideas do need to be based off of a core set of principles that every conservative can agree to. By principles, I am referring to the American value system that the country was founded on. Values based on treating the Constitution and Declaration of Independence as the foundation of our past, present and future and not as documents to be changed to meet the supposed needs of a party line or opinion. Values based on rational thought, not merely doing something that is politically expedient.
The problem as I see it (and I can be wrong), is that the conservative movement is trying too hard to conform to issues rather than stay true to conservative principles. I believe the principles that make this country great are ideas everyone can get on board with, such as individual responsibility the freedom to make yourself as successful as you want to be, and strong family values. I do not think we have seen true conservative principles in action on the national level in some time. There needs to be more emphasis on character than on what opinion polls say. I had a hard time figuring out if McCain is a moderate Republican or a JFK era Democrat.
Until the GOP gets on board with what they believe and gets a leader with high character guy to lead the way, there will be continue to hard times for the party.
November 12th, 2008 at 7:29 pm
Or, they could graft Gingrich’s head on Michael Steel’s body. Kinda like The Thing With Two Heads, only less unintentionally humorous.
November 12th, 2008 at 7:42 pm
Don’t go tempting the RNC, now…
November 13th, 2008 at 7:04 am
Too funny
November 13th, 2008 at 3:35 pm
I wouldn’t say that Michael Steele is a failed politician. In the area of Maryland where he is from (and Maryland in general), a dead dog could beat Michael Steele if it were a Democrat. His losing in Maryland is not really a sign of him failing at anything. Now, he’d have other issues, and I consider him generally untested, but untested doesn’t mean failed, and it is really hard to test Steele without moving him to a state where he has a chance.
November 14th, 2008 at 3:31 am
I think that most of the previous comments are on track and I comment at the risk being redundant….but I want to add in my thoughts.
Conservatives have lost their party. If we look at the currently significant political parties, the Libertarians seem to espouse most of the conservative ideals that the Republicans started to abandon during (yes, during) the Reagan era. But in reality, getting the Republicans back on track is probably more likely to succeed that the Libertarians really becoming a political power.
As mentioned above, Republicans need to get back to the Constitution as a basis for their platform. They need to forget kissing up to the right wing Christians and promote freedom for all religions. The Republicans need to approach the labor unions because the skilled trades who have incomes that put them into the upper middle class are not represented by the liberals who the union leadership supports. Fiscal conservatism….even if it means higher taxes, the party needs to be intellectually honest and face the unfunded debt issue and cut back over all parts of the bureaucracy (it can be done, many states which don’t have the ability to print money (as does the USA) have both cut spending and raised taxes to balance their budgets) In this line, the Feds need to give the states more autonomy and not attach so many strings to their grants.
The GOP needs to recognize the need for environmental balance and not be “knee jerk” opposed to anything aimed at helping the environment.
While I could go on here on my soapbox, I will make one last point.Last but not least,the Republicans need to differentiate between being pro-business and supporting the corrupt and unethical corporate greed we are seeing now.
While I am not an Obama supporter by any means, perhaps he will shake up the Washington bureaucracy. And, if he gives America a real taste of true liberalism as he promises, we may get the impetus we need to get the Republican party back as a voice for conservatives.