Michael Steele has a full plate. Newly elected to be Chairman of the Republican Party, he is an exciting breath of fresh air.
He is a man accustomed to fighting the fight. You may remember him as the Lt. Governor of Maryland. You may remember him as he ran for the U.S. Senate in Maryland and he was pelted with Oreo cookies at rallies from all those open minded liberals attending them to cause trouble. You may know him as the Chair of GOPAC and a frequent guest pundit on Fox News.
Steele is articulate, engaging, relaxed, confident and focused. He intends to be successful in his own 50 state strategy to bring Republicans back out of the ashes. His past political experience in a staunchly blue state, Maryland, has prepared him for the challenge.
Michael Steele is a pro-life Catholic who joined the Republican party in 1976 after feeling inspiration from Ronald Reagan's first run for President. He once trained for the priesthood. He faced opposition from the far right for being a moderate Republican. Horrors! He joined forces with a group that included Republicans such as Christie Todd Whitman to work within the party and his critics thought this to be an unforgivable offense. Maybe Steele will be able to open up some minds in the Republican party and encourage thinking people to grow the party while remaining true to its principles. Who died and left this small group the boss? Why do they feel it is their job to provide a litmus test for other Republicans? It is not productive.
Michael Steele is a happy warrior. He will turn the RNC into the voice and face of the loyal opposition instead of just a fundraising arm of the party. This is a very welcome change. Most Republicans would be hard pressed to identify the past chairman, he was completely invisible and silent, to boot.
Steele has reached out to some of those who also ran for the chairmanship and that is good. Several other candidates were good, just not quite right for the leadership position. He will benefit from the help of the others. Tomorrow he will hold a meeting with his new team. He is hitting the ground running.
I feel better already.
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