It looks like we have a battle for the RNC chair where no matter what the outcome, conservatives are bound to arise victorious. The Washington Times reports:
Republicans close to each man say they are intent on ousting Mike Duncan when his tenure ends in January and to insert themselves to articulate a counter-agenda to President-elect Barack Obama´s administration.
A bevy of backers for each man, neither of whom is an RNC member, have been burning up the phone lines and firing off e-mails as they try to sway the 168 RNC members in the wake of the second consecutive drubbing of Republicans at the polls.
“The Republican National Committee has to ask itself if it wants someone who has successfully led a revolution,” Randy Evans, Gingrich confidante and personal attorney based in Atlanta, told The Washington Times on Monday…
“Steele is a good guy,” Mr. Gingrich said in an e-mail response to The Washington Times. “There are a number of good guys.”
In one corner, we have Newt Gingrich, the only post-Reagan leader of the Republican party that could claim heir to the mantle of conservatism. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports:
Newt Gingrich has let it be known that, if Republicans want him, the former U.S House speaker is willing to serve as chairman of the national party and lead it out of the wilderness it’s blundered into.
The question is whether the 168-member Republican National Committee is open to the match.
“If a majority of the RNC thought he was needed, he would accept that appointment,” said Randy Evans’ Gingrich’s close friend and legal counsel. “He fully appreciates the urgency of the moment.”
In the other corner, we have Michael Steele, the most prominent African-American Republican behind only Condy and Clarence (Colin no longer counts). Today, he has an article in WSJ that looks like him bolstering his credentials:
Republicans once said that the opportunities this nation has to offer rest not in government but rather in the hands of individuals. Over the past decade or so, however, we Republicans lost our way. The disparity between our rhetoric and our action grew until our credibility snapped. It wasn’t the fault of our ideals. It was the failure of our leadership.
Over time, our principles morphed into baser motives. Continued political dominance grew more important to those who led us than the noble vision most of us originally signed on for. And to maintain power we turned to the controls of government — we became the party of big government. We behaved like Democrats.
True, the country has changed and our party must adapt. However, it is wrong to believe we must change our principles or become conservative-lite. After all, the voters did not suddenly become liberal; but they have lost any sense of confidence that the Republican Party holds the answers to their problems.
[...]
We must articulate a positive vision for America’s future that speaks to Americans’ hopes, concerns and needs. It’s time to stop defining ourselves by what we are not, and tell voters what we believe, how we’ll lead, and where we’ll go; how we Republicans will make America better; how we’ll make their families more prosperous, their children better educated, their parents more secure, and all of us healthier, safer and stronger.
Our challenge lies not in beating Democrats, but in uniting around a message that solidifies our ranks and attracts new people to our cause. We have to listen to what Americans are telling us about their hopes, desires and needs, and then translate that message into proposals for meaningful action squarely grounded on the values we Republicans have always stood for.
Our faith in the power and ingenuity of the individual to build a nation through hard work, personal responsibility and self-discipline is our uniting principle. That is the sacred ground upon which our Republican Party was built. For the sake of all Americans, it is the ground we must reclaim.
In addition, Mike Huckabee is trying to push his former campaign manager, Chip Saltsman for chair.
I can’t speak for any of my comrades on this site, but I’ll throw in for Michael Steele. He isa true conservative and his political aspirations are pretty much nil at this point. It would also be great to see Steele counter PE-BHO after a state of the union speech. I love Newt, but if he has any aspirations of running in 2012, I fear that he would use the power of the RNC chair to undermine any potential opponents he may have. In addition, his work at American Solutions needs to continue and something like the RNC chair would only divert him.
- Yossarian
