Posted on 02/03/2009 4:58:14 AM PST by 50mm
Last week, Michael Steele made history as the first African-American elected chairman of the Republican Party. Although the GOP is currently the minority party in our two-party system, Chairman Steele takes the reins at a moment of tremendous opportunity. Mr. Steele’s publicly expressed commitment to conservative principles and the platform of the party, led me to urge the GOP leadership to elect him as chairman.
January 29 and 30 were rollercoaster days for all of us running to become the next chairman of the GOP. We appeared before the members of the Republican National Committee, making our case about how to inspire, rebuild and advance our party.
The Republican Party wins when it holds fast to its principles and articulates bold policy positions embodying those principles. The precepts of limited government, economic opportunity and personal responsibility resonate with Americans. The Reagan Coalition of economic conservatives, social conservatives and national-security conservatives wins elections when our candidates communicate a message of core values, personal and family security, self-sufficiency, and the rule of law.
For Republicans to be successful again, the party must both rebuild our base and expand our reach.
The party’s base is dispirited. Economic conservatives are appalled at reckless spending and endless bailouts. Social conservatives are on defense because some advocate the GOP jettisoning issues such as life, marriage or the Second Amendment.
Abandoning those issues, expanding government and reducing personal liberty with higher taxes will not get voters to support Republicans. If Americans seek more government and higher taxes, they will go to the professionals, the Democrats.
The GOP needs a chairman who will build the party, by mobilizing the base around our issues and reaching new voters with those very same values.
History has proven conservative ideas win. Republican leaders must explain how conservative principles - expressed through bold policies - will improve people’s lives. Show voters how conservative ideas will help them enjoy more freedom, security and a brighter future, and they will vote Republican. The GOP needs a chairman with the ability to project that message.
The GOP also needs a chairman who can go one-on-one against the new DNC chairman. Virginia Governor Tim Kaine is a lawyer with excellent speaking and debating skills. The RNC needed a chairman who could effectively lock horns with such a formidable opponent on TV and radio. Mr. Steele has the skills and strength of character to do that.
I served as a vice-chairman of the Platform Committee at the 2008 Republican convention in Minnesota. I fought to make sure that the conservative principles the GOP was built upon were strongly and clearly articulated in the platform. The party has never had a platform that more forcefully proclaims those enduring and defining principles as the one adopted in Minneapolis-St. Paul.
Over breakfast on January 30, Mr. Steele and I discussed the 2008 platform. During that conversation he earnestly expressed his full support of the platform. This is a platform that is unabashedly pro-life, strongly grounded in Second Amendment freedoms, and fully embracing limited government and the rule of law.
That conservation and my perception of Mr. Steele’s authentic embrace of those principles provided me with the basis upon which I could endorse him with a clear conscience and firm conviction once I determined it was time for me to exit the race.
The Republican Party has been in decline. Now as the economy contracts and foreign threats gather, there is a push for a radical government expansion where the national government would take over whole sectors of the American economy. At the same time, there is a push to remake our culture and society, even bedrock human institutions and basic individual and family rights.
Against this tide, Republicans must have all hands on deck. In addition to leaders in Congress and among the governors, the GOP needed a chairman who could make the case for Republican principles to the voters.
Americans voted for change. But they did not vote for a socialistic economy, weakened defenses or a never-before-seen social order. The Republican Party must draw a clear contrast for economic freedom, foreign policy predicated on strength, relentless war against international terrorism, and unwavering defense of the American family.
Principle must trump politics. I would rather endorse no one than endorse someone I feared might abandon the GOP’s values and priorities.
I supported Mr. Steele because, by energetically advocating the principles and policies in the GOP platform, he can reunite and grow the GOP once again. Republicans face daunting challenges, but by being true to our principles Republicans can be the real agents of change.
we’ve got to eliminate the john mccain 2008 and bob dope 1996’s.
and, before you blast me for denigrating dole, remember he enjoyed “bipartisanship” with the dems,
spending the social security surplus.
Conservatives do not need to expand their base they need to expand their message. A Liberal is a Liberal is a Liberal and until they finally get the message (usually when they get clobbered by reality) they will not change. Reaching out to them is a waste of time and only makes conservatives feel unwanted and unwelcome and unneeded.
70% of Jews voted Democrat even though with their party in control Israel is less secure. 90% of blacks voted Democrat even though they don’t believe in gay marriage and support religion. They will continue to vote Democrat until they die or reality hits them on the head.
2) Steele is another, in the long line, can't we all get along Rinopublicans.
Palin/McFumbles was the last time I will hold my nose, and vote for these Frist like RINOs.
I know ... no big deal
While originally enthused by such an strong, likable sounding guy, I became quickly deflated when I hear him say we must expand out base away from our conservative principles.
We have another Juan McCain in our midst.
This will be a few more dark years added to the downturn to this party.
We must distinguish the opinion that we must expand our party to other voters by attracting them to our conservative message, or whether we give up our conservative ideas in an attempt get other voters. The first is proven to work time and again, the later is what we saw in 2008.
Steele's comments seemed to me to say we must attract other voters...black, Hispanic, women, etc. This is true. We can't win without winning over more voters. How we attempt to do that is the key. I think we will have a chance to see if Steele is effective or not and which route he will go. I am happy to see Duncan gone, since this has been a disastrous period for the party. I liked Blackwell's message much better than Steele in terms of conservatism, so we will see.
The GOP does not need to rebuild their base, they need to stand behind ideals and candidates that appeal to the entire base.
Obama won because Republicans stayed home. Nothing appealed to them.
And reaching out to the pro-abort and militant homosexual lobbies will certainly put some fighting spirit back into the base, right?!?
They need a new honorific.
Bob Dole also helped spend the peace dividend from the end of the cold war. That should have been used to pay down the national debt.
Someone get a fork and a fat lady.
Mr Blackwell, I think you would have been a much better man for the job. You are a true conservative, and Mr Steele is a RINO. Your concession speech underlines your character as a true gentleman.
Don't wonder too far away. If we can succeed in dumping Steele, we'll need you.
This is code for: We need to reach across the isle and let everyone under the big tent. The same frickin' hype we have been hearing for ever it seems like. The republican party is not going to rebuild it's base, with a gay marriage, gun control, and abortion proponent like Mike Steele. Another affirmative action pick that defies common sense. Anyone who thinks Steele is conservative had better take a look at his record, he is NOT conservative and I wouldn't even consider him moderate. He is a frickin' left wing RINO.
I will re-register as an Independent this year, no more republican RINOs for me.
I’m well past tired of the Economic Republicans trying to run the GOP as Democrat Lite. And Steele’s record on gun control pretty much puts him outside of any option I might select as far as what I’m supporting over the next four years.
And that crap about Steele’s being pro-Second Amendment pretty much makes him look like a liar. Either that or he’s too stupid to know when Steele is lying to him. Either way, I don’t think I’d trust his advice.
Blackwell whom I like choose Steele over Dawson.
Only Blackwell really knows why? There is less ambiguity about Dawson’s conservative creds than Steele’s
This is what happens when two urban Yankees make the final RNC vote choice by a deal.
/sorta s
What did we expect, Tom DeLay or Jeff Sessions?
This thread sounds like a replay of many threads of 24 months ago... only the names are different.
With a guy like Steele at the helm, how will we ever get Duncan Hunter elected as the GOP candidate for 2012?
For the party to get stronger, it must cut off the adopted liberal agenda it has tried to take on and build upon the solid conservatism on which the party was founded.
Anything less than this means that the Republican Party will wander in the desert for 40 more years.
Ping
Blackwell was my pick. IIRC you guys said the same.
Here are his reasons for backing Steele.
My Way or the Highway mentality is getting very tiresome. Michael Steele was not my choice and not perfect but he's a hell of lot better than having Mike Duncan or Saul Anuzis at the helm.
These whiners should just run for office themselves if they're going to scream "RINO" at anyone who fails to agree with them 100% of the time.
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