Michael Steele For Rnc Chair
The RNC committee members are meeting to decide the next party chair – and the best choice would be Michael Steele.
First, the selection of Steele would be a decisive step in the right direction toward addressing the diversity deficit the GOP faces. Selecting Steele would not solve that gap, but it would offer undeniable evidence that the party understands the problem and intends to take proactive steps to address it. This is not just cosmetic – it is a matter of political survival in the increasingly diverse America of the 21st Century, and a matter of reconnecting to the founding principles of the Party of Lincoln.
Second, Michael Steele has proven himself to be a powerful and engaging advocate of a modern Republican Party. A frequent commentator on Fox News and other outlets, Steele can make the case for a forward-looking GOP in a way that people will want to listen. He is an able persuader who can command attention, a conservative who can connect with voters across the center-right spectrum, a rising star in a party with too few. The job of the RNC chair – being the forward-looking face and voice for the party – is perfectly suited to Michael Steele's strengths.
Third, Steele won statewide office in Democratic Maryland as Lt. Governor alongside Bob Ehrlich. They were a popular problem-solving team who knew how to appeal across party lines, reconnecting with centrists and independents. They made fiscal responsibility, education, health and the environment, public safety, and commerce the "five pillars" of their administration. They knew how to make government work on a local level – and such statewide efforts will be the route to Republican's resurgence in the future as it has been in the past. The fact that Ehrlich lost re-election, despite approval ratings reaching 60%, had much more to do with the misfortune of running against the Bush-DeLay backlash of 2006 – a dynamic which also denied Steele the distinction of being the first African-American Republican Senator since Ed Brooke.
Other candidates, like South Carolina's Katon Dawson, have able records at party rebuilding and increasing diversity recruitment. Ohio's former Secretary of State Ken Blackwell may draw some votes for diversity away from Steele, but he has proven to be a far more polarizing figure. Steele can preside over a team of rivals, and advance the ideas of thought-leaders like Newt Gingrich. Michael Steele might be considered a long-shot by some party elders, but they should listen to younger voters and make a decision for the future – electing Michael Steele would provide an immediate and overnight shot in the arm for the Republican Party. No other candidate would come close.