Move to Dump Steele Grows

Kentuckian Mike Duncan is still being mentioned as a possible replacement for RNC Chair Michael Steele. There are many other names, as well: Wisconsin Republican chair Reince Priebus, Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour (who will run for president, if he runs for anything), Saul Anuzis from Michigan, to name a few.

Steele's gaffes are to numerous to list. Time for him to go, and the RNC is fortunate that Mike Duncan is willing to step up again, particularly given what bad shape Steele has left the place in.

Will Mike Duncan Oust Steele?

There have been grumblings that Michael Steele needs to go almost since the day he became Chair of the Republican National Committee. Steele's gaffes made him the Republican equivalent of Joe Biden. In addition, Steele let go of some outstanding political operatives, and did not bring in sufficient new talent to pick up the slack -- particularly fundraising.

Now, Kentuckian Mike Duncan -- who preceded Steele as RNC chair -- is being urged to run against Steele at the RNC meeting in January.

The RNC would be lucky to have Duncan for another term, if he is willing to run. In any event, Steele needs to go.

Politico Craziness

Somebody has added something to the coffee over at Politico this morning. One article suggests that Michael Steele is a viable candidate for President (of the United States, that is). Another article suggests that Sarah Palin should replace Michael Steele as RNC Chair.

I see both of these scenarios as about as likely as Al Gore becoming the next Bachelor on ABC.

What Michael Steele Really Said

It's much easier (and more fun!) for Demo-blogs to repeat the lie that RNC Chair Michael Steele said the party's new plan to attract blacks is to offer fried chicken and potato salad.

Listen to the video. As Realclearpolitics notes,

A young gay blogger (who Browning also describes as a person of color) asks Michael Steele about his future plans for the "inclusion of diverse populations in the Republican party."

Steele responds: "My plan is to say, Y'all come. Cause a lot of you are already here."

Steele's response generates some laughter, but off camera you can hear someone (though almost certainly the blogger who asked the question) say, "I'll bring the collard greens."

This generates more laughter among the group, as well as Steele's genial response: "There you go. I got the fried chicken and the potato salad, okay?

Put in it's proper context, Steele's remarks are a far cry from Browning's headline or his assertion that "to lure African-Americans into the GOP, Steele is offering "fried chicken and potato salad."

To be sure, Steele has said some dumb things as RNC Chair. But in this instance, he is being smeared.

Drill, Baby, Drill!

GOPAC Chair Michael Steele whipped the crowd into a standing ovation, and had them chanting "Drill, baby, drill!" Steele told the Convention that we put country first by becoming energy self-sufficient.

Update on Northup Fundraiser

Anne Northup hit the energy issue hard today at her fundraiser luncheon, which featured former Lieutenant Governor of Maryland, Michael Steele, the first African-American elected to statewide office there.

Northup (like a majority of Americans) supports extracting oil located within the U.S., including Alaska and off-shore. John Yarmuth prefers that we remain at the mercy of those Arab countries that view us as the Great Satan, while we develop alternative fuels. And he'd like to bring back those wind-fall profit taxes on the oil companies in homage to Jimmy Carter. Energy will be the defining issue of the election, and Yarmuth is on the wrong side of it.

The guest-speaker at the luncheon was Michael Steele, who made his national debut at the 2004 Republican National Convention -- the same year that we first heard Barack Obama at the Democratic National Convention.

It's impossible to watch Steele without comparing him to Obama. Steele is just a few years older than Obama, and like Obama is tall, articulate and speaks with a wonderful baritone voice. But whereas Obama is prone to gaffs when he goes off teleprompter, Steele speaks extemporaneously without flaw. The most significant difference between the two -- other than their politics -- is that Steele doesn't take himself so deadly seriously as Obama. He projects humor and humility in contrast to Obama's self-righteous sense of superiority.

Steele lost his bid for U.S. Senate two years ago, the same year that Northup lost her race for a 6th term in Congress. Both were candid about their individual losses, incurred at a time when the political climate had shifted for reasons outside of their control.

Steele attributed the Republican "shellacking" to a "trifecta" that included an "unpopular war, an unpopular president and an unpopular party" that had forgotten to adhere to conservative principles.

Even after the losses of 2006, Steele maintained, candidates with vision, leadership and advocacy -- like Northup -- need to continue to fight; he commended Northup for running for her seat aggressively, rather than whining or pitying herself.

Losing an election does not define who we are, Steele observed. He joked that having grown up as a "Black man, a conservative Roman Catholic and a Republican in the District of Columbia," he knew about losing. The more important issue is how to react to the loss, he said. Steele and Northup have both passed that test admirably through tenacious perserverence and adherence to principle that would well serve other Republicans to emulate in another difficult election year.