Steele may seek to head RNC

[yellowcanine]

http://politicalwire.com/archives/2006/11/09/steele_may_seek_to_head_rnc.html

Defeated Maryland Senate candidate Michael Steele (R) is considering "a bid for the chairmanship of the Republican National Committee," according to The Fix.

"Steele would not challenge current RNC Chairman Ken Mehlman, but chatter among Republican insiders is that Mehlman has made clear for months that he might not return to his current post."




Might actually be a good move for Steele, not sure it does much for the RNC, though. Steele is a likeabe guy but kind of a light weight given to saying off the cuff things that get him in trouble. And his election night non-concession speech in the face of all of the networks already calling the race for Cardin was a poor move, imo. I can see him not conceding until more of the votes were in, but the wiser way to handle it would have been to just say nothing than to make a "We are going to keep fighting" speech...."

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

1. And he tried to say he wasn't going to be a Republican shill?

But now he wants to be head Republican?? Glad this asshole lost.

[MADem]

2. Well, there's the ticket, a loser managing the losers.

What is it with this GOP penchant for easily controlled black and brown spokespeople? They don't want to give ANY minorities rights on a broad scale, they work like evil bastards to suppress their votes, but they pick out 'favored dusky folk' and then act like they're inclusive, as though that's going to fool anyone?

Mehlman probably wants to come out of the closet...and he can't do that so long as he's head of the RNC.

As for Steele, I agree with your "lightweight" assessment. That guy will say ANYTHING to get himself out of a jam, and not think about the downstream consequences. Of course, that was good for us, certainly--that "Bush is my homie, my home boy" comment was fucking priceless!!!!

[gratuitous]

3. I'd support him

Can't be much worse than Mehlman, can he? Well, there's always hope that Steele could lead the GOP from its current wilderness into . . . a state of complete chaos.

[greccogirl]

15. I would as well.

Steele is a good man.

[geek tragedy]

4. Smart PR move for the Republicans, but I don't

know what kind of job he'd do.

[msongs]

5. his campaign material says he is a democrat! nt

[yellowcanine]

6. Yeah that might be a sticking point also. good point.

[On the Road]

12. Sounds Like the Attack of the RINOs

I don't know if I'd rather the GOP regain some semblance of moderation or keep pushing the right-wing envelope and go compeletely over the edge.

[Orangepeel]

13. Steele *isn't* a RINO. He just plays one on TV.

he's as right wing as a body can get, and used to be head of the Maryland GOP. He just pretended to be a bipartisan outsider in an attempt to get elected in a blue state.

[On the Road]

14. You are Correct -- Bad Phraseology

I should have said the GOP is trying to create a moderate image.

[theothersnippywshrub]

7. I think the DNC should attempt to influence this.

Steele is an attractive, likeable, articulate liar with a sense of humor and would be a very effectice spokesman for the RNC. I think he would appear on television constatntly as the head of the RNC while some other more evil person (hand picked by Rove) actually ran the operation. After a year or two of non-stop television appearances Steele will again run for office with a better chance of winning. Think Haley Barbour. Steele made a lot of disparaging comments about Bush and the GOP during his recent campaign and I think the DNC should collect and distribute those comments to weaken his standing in the GOP.

[noonwitch]

9. I agree, the GOP wants to make inroads with black americans, too

He would be a good choice in that regard. He had a good show in the recent election, and he is a good speaker.

Mehlman's toast. I don't think that the GOP wants him to continue at this point.

[Captain Hilts]

8. After the dirty tricks he was caught doing? Perfect! nt

[qanda]

10. Read the comments over at the Washington Post blog

They are hilarious! http://blog.washingtonpost.com/thefix/2006/11/steele_for_rnc.html

[Jack Rabbit]

11. If I were a Republican, I'd be screaming for Mehlman's head on a pike

Remember what DU sounded like after the disaster of 2002? We wanted Terry McAuliffe gone, Dick Gephardt gone and Tom Daschle gone.

We might have been on to something. Now that they're all gone, we won. But I digress.

Ken Mehlman has not served the Republican Party well. Like his mentor, Karl Rove, Mehlman's idea of an idea is to post as many talking points together in a single memo without regard to logical coherence. If the first two points don't resonate with all voters, maybe the third one will. Taken together, all the points may contradict each other, some are easily refuted with -- gasp! -- real facts. Other points were McCarthyesque smear and innuendo against a opponent. Sooner or later voters would wise up to those tactics and ignore his message.

It should be a self-evident truth that I am not a Republican, and certainly not a Brand-W Republican. However, I would welcome a new GOP chairman who is committed to raising the level of national discourse.

Perhaps Maryland DUers can fill us in on whether Michael Steele would be up to that kind of task. I'm not saying we have to agree with Steele -- he's a Republican, after all -- but the question is whether he can lift political rhetoric out the the gutter through where Rove and Mehlman dragged it.

[w4rma]

16. I support him in his endevor. (nt)