Steele Blames Racism for Criticism

So the man and the organization that has repeatedly accused others of playing the race card... plays the race card? Via Taegan-

In an interview with ABC News, RNC Chairman Michael Steele suggested that race is an issue in the intense criticism he's facing.

Said Steele: "The honest answer is yes, it just is. Barack Obama has a slimmer margin. We all -- a lot of folks do. I mean, it's a different role for me to play and others to play. And that's just the reality of it. But you take that as part of the nature of it... My view of politics is much more grassroots-oriented. It's not old-boy-network-oriented. And so I tend to come at it a little bit stronger, a little bit more streetwise, if you will. That's rubbed some feathers the wrong way."

Steele also said he has no intention to resign.

Michael Steele Under Fire for Paid Speaking Gigs

Hard to imagine that this would cause him problems after all the faux paus and just plain stupidity that falls from his mouth. Via Taegan-

RNC Chairman Michael Steele "is using his title to market himself for paid appearances nationwide, personally profiting from speeches with fees of up to $20,000 at colleges, trade associations and other groups -- an unusual practice criticized by a string of past party chairmen," the Washington Times reports.

"Mr. Steele, elected in January to the $223,500-a-year RNC post, is working with at least four outside agencies in Washington, New York, Boston and Nashville that book the speaking engagements. He charges between $8,000 and $20,000 for an address, plus first-class travel and lodging expenses."

Said former RNC Chairman Frank Fahrenkopf: "Holy mackerel, I never heard of a chairman of either party ever taking money for speeches. The job of a national chairman is to give speeches. That's what the national party pays him for. We didn't have a rule book back then, but being national chairman was and is a full-time job."

VIDEO: Michael Steele rudely dismisses woman whose mom just died of cancer

By GottaLaff

Aww, isn't it precious how Michael Steele still thinks he's able to deliver a coherent message?

Republican National Committee (RNC) Chairman Michael Steele will hit the road Thursday in part of an effort to target four potentially vulnerable House Democrats on healthcare legislation. [...]

The chairman will start off the day by visiting the district of Rep. Baron Hill (D-Ind.), followed by stops in the districts of Reps. Steve Driehaus (D-Ohio), Zach Space (D-Ohio) and Mary Jo Kilroy (D-Ohio).

The four were all elected in relatively Republican districts during the last two election cycles.

I hope Michael Aluminuminum can remember which talking point on Medicare to quote from this time.

I also hope one of those four targeted representatives will bring lots of negative attention to the chairman of the RNC, a Very Important Rushpublic spokesman, a leader of the Party of NOise, by asking him about this little episode:

But it's Steele's response that makes this moment both newsworthy and a terrible comment on his character. After saying that he believed in a mature, honest discussion and not in shouting, Steele said, "People are coming to these town meetings and they're like [he then shakes]." He then looked and gestured right at Ms. Duzak and said, "It makes for great TV. You'll probably make it tonight, enjoy it." He then turned his back to her, as the crowd clapped.

Think about what Steele did. He didn't only turn his back and rudely dismiss a young woman whose mother just died of cancer. He used the shameful recent behavior of the right wing town hall screamers -- his own party's base -- to try and turn the crowd against Ms. Duzak.

H/t: Windy City Watch

AUDIO- NPR corners Michael Steele on health care reform

By GottaLaff

Poor Michael Steele. He actually had to face an interviewer who challenged him, and all he could say was:

"You're doing a wonderful little dance here and you're trying to be cute."

Via NPR:



Michael, Michael, Michael, as I mentioned in a post about Mark "STFU Already" Sanford, know when to stop. Okay? Okay:

[...] Steele told Inskeep this: "No one is trying to scare people with sound bites. I have not done that."

Oh, really? Here's what he said on "Morning Joe" last week: "[T]here’s clearly an attempt by at least the House members to put in place a structure that causes concern for the American people in respect to end of life decisions. I think that’s a legitimate point. You don’t have to call it death panels if you don’t want to. You can call it a panel. I call it rationing."

And here's his Washington Post op-ed from Monday: "[W]e need to outlaw any effort to ration health care based on age. Obama has promoted a program of 'comparative effectiveness research' that he claims will be used only to study competing medical treatments. But this program could actually lead to government boards rationing treatments based on age... Obama's government-run health 'reform' would pay for seniors' meetings with a doctor to discuss end-of-life care. While nonthreatening at first, something that is quite normal for a family to do becomes troublesome when the government gets involved. Seniors know that government programs that seem benign at first can become anything but. The government should simply butt out of conversations about end-of-life care and leave them to seniors, their families and their doctors."

Actually, keep talking, Aluminuminuminum. Not only is it entertaining, but the hole you're digging for yourself and your party is big enough to hold, well, and elephant.

Who funded Michael Steele's RNC chair bid, & how he spent the money

By GottaLaff

Michael Aluminuminuminum got lots of money from lots of the usual sources, and spent lots of it after he got lots of it:

Republican National Committee chairman Michael Steele spent nearly $370,000 to win a contentious election in January, aided in part by consultants who rely on the RNC for business.

In filings made late Friday with the Internal Revenue Service, Steele reported spending $369,023 since kicking off his bid for chairman in the fall of 2008, more than any of the other five candidates who sought the chairmanship. [...]

[H]e beat then-South Carolina Republican Party chairman Katon Dawson with 91 out of 168 votes -- a cost of $2,196 per vote.

The former Maryland lieutenant governor and GOPAC chairman relied heavily on close friends, including executives at an oil services company in Nebraska. Everston International Venezuela and Everston Operating Company, which share a P.O. Box in Kimball, Neb., each gave Steele's campaign $25,000. Florida Republican Party chairman Jim Greer gave Steele $15,000 after endorsing the Marylander's campaign in early January.

Raising money from consultants and friends is not atypical in these races but the amount of money raised caused eyebrows to raise.

A number of contributors included major Washington consulting and lobbying firms, along with political action committees. At least four Republican consulting firms contributed to Steele's campaigns. Jeff Larson, a partner at FLS Connect, gave $2,500 to Steele; his firm handles telemarketing for the RNC and has done hundreds of thousands -- if not millions -- of dollars of business in the last several years.

And Larson, like many contributors, gave his contribution in February, after the chairman's race was over. In fact, the report filed Friday shows Steele raised $43,250 after the race was over, including from Republican bigwigs like Fred Malek. [...]

A source close to Steele said all payments to consultants were to cover expenses, and that no consultant made money off the campaign.

Steele spent much of the money on travel; candidates for RNC chairman made a point to visit voters, made up of a committeeman and a committeewoman as well as each state's chairman, in their respective home states.

Steele spent $83,593 at Moby Dick Airways, a charter plane service that the Republican National Committee used extensively in the years before he became chairman. He also flew on a private plane of Florida businessman Tom Talbot, founder of a lumber company. Steele's campaign committee estimated it spent $22,924 on flights using Talbot's plane.

He also spent heavily on staff and consultants. Three companies owned by Republican strategist Blaise Hazelwood, one of his main advisors and the person who signed the IRS reports, made a total of $68,743 off Steele's campaign.

OnMessage Inc., a firm run by Steele advisor Curt Anderson, made an additional $7,603; South Carolina GOP strategist Jim Dyke pulled in $4,096; and New Hampshire web strategist Patrick Hynes made $14,209.

Hazelwood contributed to Steele's campaign, as did Parish Braden, the chairman's personal assistant who is now employed with the RNC. Hazelwood's, Anderson's and Dyke's firms have all done business with the RNC since Steele became chairman; the three companies have made more than $100,000 combined in Steele's first six months on the job.

Several other staffers, operating as independent consultants, were paid a total of $22,983, according to the reports.

It must be nice to have wealthy friends with private planes.

VIDEO-- Michael Steele: "I got the fried chicken and potato salad!"

By GottaLaff

Local Republican blog Hoosier Access was able to get RNC Chairman Michael Steele to sit down with a group of bloggers and they taped the conversation. The old gaffe-o-matic [...] answers a question from a gay person of color in this clip about the GOP's diversity outreach.

"GOP's diversity outreach"? Isn't that an oxymoron?

And as for Michael Aluminuminuminum? Well, he's always good for a quote-o-matic.

AUDIO-- Numb nuts Steele refers to members of the Obama administration as "numb nuts."

By GottaLaff

Mr. Entertainment:

During his guest-hosting gig on Bill Bennett’s radio show this morning, RNC Chairman Michael Steele commented on the Wall Street Journal report that the Obama administration plans to appoint a “Special Master for Compensation” to ensure that companies receiving federal bailout funds are abiding by executive-pay guidelines.

Paddy posted about that here.

Echoing the common conservative criticism of the Obama administration’s use of so-called “czars,” Steele wondered aloud, “can the people appoint a czar to make sure these numb nuts don’t do what they’re doing?”

Pot. Kettle. Aluminuminum.

I apologize

All the time that Dr Dean was chair of the DNC I bitched and moaned over the way the media tried to trump up faux controversies and feuds. I swore up and down that the traditional media would never treat a RNC Chair in a similar matter. I don't know if it's because they're doing their job, or Steele is just such a rich target, but I was really wrong.

Michael Steele Neutered By RNC Rivals

I may not like Steele, but this just plain smells. Why bother with a democratic election if you're just going to undercut the guy in every way? If he's a fool, call a special election and kick him out.

"Capitulating to critics on the Republican National Committee, embattled Republican Party Chairman Michael Steele has signed a secret pact agreeing to controls and restraints on how he spends hundreds of millions of dollars in party funds and contracts," the Washington Times has learned.

Just last week, Steele accused the resolution's proponents of a power grab "scheme."

Newt Gingrich Rips Into RNC

By GottaLaff

Rushpublics continue to eat their own. How appropriate, considering there's plenty of room in Newtie's big gut:

On C-SPAN's Washington Journal program this morning, Newt Gingrich talked about the Republican Party and RNC Chairman Michael Steele.

Said Gingrich: "The Republican National Committee is this tiny group of people, some of whom have been there 20 years or more. And they all think they're precious. And they all think they should be taken care of. And they all think that the job of the chairman first of all is to make the RNC members happy."

Urp.

Michael Steele may lose control of Republican purse strings

By GottaLaff

Using my unusually sensitive powers of perception, I'm sensing a lack of faith (there's that word again) in the RNC chair. Let us pray for him:

A battle over control of the party's purse strings has erupted at the troubled Republican National Committee, with defenders of Chairman Michael S. Steele accusing dissident RNC members of trying to "embarrass and neuter" the party's new leader.

Randy Pullen, the RNC's elected treasurer, former RNC General Counsel David Norcross and three other former top RNC officers have presented Mr. Steele with a resolution, calling for a new set of checks and balances on the chairman's power to dole out money. The powers include new controls on awarding contracts and spending money on outside legal and other services.

Mmm, I love the smell of Rushpublics eating their own in the morning.

Needless to say, it's not surprising that they are going for public flogging of Steele, who was seen as a figurehead color cover for the color-aroused, retro GOP. What's sad is that I'm sure Steele really thought he was going to break some serious new ground, and take the party in another direction -- perhaps feebly -- but even meager steps were met with the wrath of Rushbo and his party wingnuts. A Steele supporter, however, gets right to the point -- it's cutting the balls of head of the party out for all to see.

"I urge you to reject this hostile attempt to embarrass and neuter the chairman of the RNC," Wisconsin Republican Party Chairman Reince Priebus wrote in an e-mail to the 168-member national committee.

Drowning in their own spew.

GOP Chairman Michael Steele Denies Tea Party Claim

By GottaLaff

Hi Tea Partiers? It's me, Chairman Michael! Hi-eeee! Sorry for the text message, but it's all I have time for.

Soanyway, yeah, I'm kinda rilly busy, and can't rilly come to your tea party and stuff, but let's be best friends. Rilly. Call me, 'k? K. 'K? 'K. Sweartogodyouwill? Kewl. Tell everybody you know what I just said, 'k? 'K. 'K? 'K. Ttyl! Luv youuuu! Kbye:

But the latest flare-up—a very public rejection of a request to speak at the anti-Obama, anti-tax "Tea Party" in Chicago on April 17—might not be his fault. "He never asked to speak," says a party official. "There was never an expectation nor formal request for our participation."

But here's how it's playing: The event's organizers, the Don't Go Movement in Chicago, say they received a request earlier this week from Steele to participate. Organizer Eric Odom, on the Don't Go site, [...] shut the door to any play by Steele. "[...] Unfortunately, it appears that he has only just decided to reach out after realizing how big the movement has gotten and how much media is now involved," he wrote in an E-mail to the RNC. "With regards to stage time, we respectfully must inform Chairman Steel [sic] that RNC officials are welcome to participate in the rally itself, but we prefer to limit stage time to those who are not elected officials, both in Government as well as political parties. This is an opportunity for Americans to speak, and elected officials to listen, not the other way around."

The RNC, playing CYA like nobody's business:

"He's in a daylong meeting anyway, so we weren't ever going to be speaking," said an official. "It was just a 'Hey, we're going to be in town' call."

Well, after we E-mailed Don't Go, organizers there must have realized the news value of their claim. They put out a news release titled: "RNC Chairman Denied. Steele Not Wanted to Speak at Chicago Tea Party." The RNC's reaction: "They're just having a little fun."

Those fun-loving little scamps.

Michael Aluminum does it again: Bishop to shun Steele's address at pro-life banquet

By GottaLaff

Look up "loser" in the dictionary. Yes, that's him:

A Roman Catholic bishop in Indiana will shun a pro-life banquet if Republican National Committee Chairman Michael S. Steele addresses the sold-out event, The Washington Times has learned.

The other honoree at the April 16 Vanderburgh County Right to Life (VCRL) banquet is Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, and the snub by Bishop Gerald Andrew Gettelfinger of Evansville over Mr. Steele could embarrass Mrs. Palin, a hero to pro-lifers, and reverberate throughout the movement.

Tsk! That would be ::stifling snicker:: awful!

Mrs. Palin, an evangelical, is twinned with Mr. Steele, a Roman Catholic, as the featured attractions at the banquet, billed as the biggest such event in the nation and expected to attract more than 4,500 people.

Nor will Bishop Gettelfinger be the only prominent area pro-lifer to shun the banquet over Mr. Steele. Evansville Catholic Charities Director Jim Collins also plans to boycott the gathering, saying he was "shocked" by Mr. Steele's answers on abortion during a recent interview.

He's referring to these answers.

"No pro-life person could have answered the way he did," Mr. Collins said. "I don't care how he dances around it afterward, he is not a pro-lifer," he added, contending that Mr. Steele's presence would thus tarnish the event.

Oooopsie! Seems Aluminuminuminum not only made an irreconcilable boo-boo, he's also a really bad dancer.

"The banquet has always been the high point because the speaker was always someone who had impeccable pro-life credentials - who had actually accomplished something to protect human life in the womb," Mr. Collins said, adding that he has "not found one credible achievement by Michael Steele" on pro-life issues.

We here at TPC have not found one credible achievement by Michael Steele... on any issue.

Big h/t: BuzzFlash

GOP chief Steele: ‘We lost our minds’. Gee, really?

By GottaLaff

Michael Aluminuminuminum is whining about Rushpublicans whining [bracketed remarks added by yours truly]:

Republicans better stop whining and start thinking of new electoral strategies to return to prominence, the new head of the Republican National Committee [whined] Friday.

"I’m tired of seeing the same old, same old," RNC Chairman Michael Steele told about 750 Republicans at a party dinner in suburban Denver. "I’m tired of hearing the same old arguments. I’m tired of hearing the complaining", [he complained]. [...]

"If you want to complain and moan and groan about everything going on," Steele said, "there’s the door," [he complained and moaned and groaned]. [...]

"We started drinking from that wonderful Potomac River" when in charge of Congress and the White House, Steele joked. "We got that Potomac fever, and we lost our minds," [he griped]. [...]

"They have every level of government," Steele said of the Democrats. "They control it all," [he bellyached].

You should hear him when he's being negative.

H/t: BuzzFlash

Steele v. Dean

By GottaLaff

First Read compares/contrasts the first few months of Howard Dean's stint as DNC chair to Michael Aluminuminuminum's as RNC chair:

In the first few months after becoming DNC chair in ‘05, Howard Dean received plenty attention for controversial remarks he made. He said the GOP was “pretty much a white, Christian party.” He quipped that many Republicans “have not made an honest living in their lives.” And, appearing on “Meet the Press,” he told the late Tim Russert that Tom DeLay was likely going to jail. Those comments became fodder for the New York Times, as well as TV news. But looking back at them, they pale in comparison to what Michael Steele has said in his first few weeks as RNC chair. He suggested that the three GOP senators who voted for the stimulus (Collins, Snowe, and Specter) might face primary challenges and might not receive party funds, but the RNC later backtracked. He called Rush Limbaugh an “entertainer” who was “incendiary” and “ugly,” yet he later apologized. And then he told GQ that abortion is a “personal choice,” but later released a statement maintaining that he’s always been “pro-life.” A lot of this probably has to do with Steele trying to please his audience. He tells FOX he might be up for punishing those Northeast moderates; he interjects to DL Hughley that Limbaugh might not be that helpful; and he strikes a moderate tone on abortion to GQ. Being a chameleon often helps political candidates. But a party chair?

And if Steele were to be removed (which wouldn't be easy)...?

Can the Republican Party, which is struggling to win over minority voters, see two minorities in the last two years (Mel Martinez and Michael Steele) step down as chairman of the party? What message would that send?

Um, I think the Rushpublics sent the ol' "not-inclusive message" long before any thoughts of removing their party chairs.

VIDEO: White House reporter dozes off during Chip Reid question

By GottaLaff

Via Mediabistro:

An unidentified reporter nods off in the second row of the briefing room while CBS' Chip Reid asks Press Secretary Robert Gibbs a question about a possible second stimulus.

It turns out that the reporter is WSJ's Laura Meckler, who is expecting. That could explain her nodding off. Then again, it could just be Chip.

Scott Murphy Gains on Tedisco in NY-20

Oh oh. NY-20 is the race that looks to make or break Chairman Steele.

With less than three weeks until the NY-20 special election, Scott Murphy (D) has cut James Tedisco's 12 point lead to just 4 points, according to a new Siena Research Institute poll.

Tedisco now leads the race 45% to 41%.

Key factor: "While two weeks ago, voters said Tedisco would do a better job than Murphy representing them on six issues, Murphy now leads on two of those issues, including the most important issue for 20th C.D. voters: the economy."

A Democratic poll yesterday also showed the race tightening.

Michael Steele does it again

By GottaLaff

Michael Steele promised to reinvent RightieLand as Urban Suburban Edgy Hip Hoppy Off the Hook Wannabe Cool Dudes and Dudettes, and now he rep-re-sents... 'cause he's a fan of the Pack Rats:

Who do you listen to?
I actually listen to a cross section, because I like to hear what the medium is saying, what the voice is.

But do you have a favorite?
P. Diddy I enjoy quite a bit.

Do you want to rethink that?
[laughs] I guess I'm sorta old-school that way. Remember, I came of age with the DJ and all this other stuff, so I'm also loving Grandmaster Flash, and that's not hip-hop, but... Um, you know, I like Chuck D. And I always thought Snoop Dogg was--he just reminded me of the fellas back home. So I've always thoroughly enjoyed him. [...]

Who else?
I like Sinatra. I like old-school. You know, Bing Crosby, Sinatra, Dean Martin. Love Dean Martin. He was one of these guys who just didn't give an F. He just didn't. Life was a party, and you either want to party or you don't. But yeah, I like those. I'm a big Pack Rat. I love the Pack Rats from the 1950s--Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., Frank Sinatra, those guys.

You mean the Rat Pack.
The Rat Pack, yeah.

Michael Aluminuminuminum is the most uncool, un-urban suburban, un-edgy, un-hip-hoppy embarrassment in all the land. His appeal now extends to... nobody. It's painful. I feel the urge to self-medicate when I read about him.

H/t: RAM

Michael Steele: Congressional GOP are greedy "mice"

By GottaLaff

Was today declared Shoot Yourself in the Foot Day? Because if it wasn't, it should have been:

In Cal Thomas's column today, GOP Chairman Michael Steele appears suggest, in colorful terms, that unnamed congressional Republican critics are greedy, "mice" angry at him only because he's cut off access to the RNC war chest.

Mr. Steele said he is in stage two of a two-stage process to reform and transform the Republican Party.

He won't reveal details, because, "The mice who are scurrying about the Hill are upset because they no longer have access to the cheese, so they don't know what's going on."

Referring to his fellow Rushpublics as rodents should go a long way in boosting his fine reputation as RNC chair. We can already see how it's flourished. Wait, what's this? It's not flourishing? Why, that's crazy! ...Isn't it?

Republican insiders tell Political Wire that a no confidence vote on RNC Chairman Michael Steele is likely to be called after the NY-20 special election on March 31 -- regardless of whether Republicans win the seat or not.

Katon Dawson, who came in second in the January RNC vote, is said to be quietly organizing a vote and is getting the support of several state party chairmen who want to dump Steele.

Mr. Toast.

VIDEO: Michael Steele should just focus on TV. Ouch.

By GottaLaff

When you need to bring in a second chairman to do the real work.... Two words: Mr. Toast--

According to Mike Allen, the people around Michael Steele are thinking he should bring on a co-chairman who will focus on organizing, management and fundraising and let Michael stay focused on TV appearances where he's doing such a bang-up job...