Posted on 01/07/2009 2:16:03 PM PST by St. Louis Conservative
Edited on 01/07/2009 2:47:40 PM PST by Admin Moderator. [history]
WASHINGTON (CNN)
(Excerpt) Read more at politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com ...
Has this kind of election ever happened before? This is good, because there will not be much back-room dealing about who’ll lead the party. I believe this is the result of no clear party leadership at this moment.
If it's one of those 2, good luck to 'em. The party won't have my support.
BLACKWELL!
I don’t think anyone has a damn clue, personally. There’s so much inside baseball going on with these types of things. All the speculation is just that, speculation.
Second choice preferences matter here, since I believe the voting is done by instant runoff until someone reaches a majority. Thus, a candidate could conceivably come from far behind in the first round of voting if they have significant second tier support.
Hopefully Blackwell can mobilize enough grassroots support behind him to push the committeemen in his direction.
I'll tell you one thing, if it's not a true conservative, and the chairman ends up being Duncan or someone like that doofus moderate, then the republican party can kiss it's ass goodbye for at least the next ten years!
Give us a conservative, or the republican party won't see a friggin dime of support from the majority!
My concern is that these committee members may have a built-in inertia towards the "status quo"....in other words, don't rock the boat with a conservative change-agent like Blackwell. They'll be making a big mistake if that guides them. IMO they are seriously underestimating the anger and disgust with the rank & file if they think they can smooth things over with another RINO. Long-time GOP voters like me will desert this party in droves if that happens. Many have already bolted to the sidelines, as the turnout numbers from this past election clearly demonstrate.
LLS
Agreed. All I can suggest is write your state committeemen and urge them to support Blackwell.
This may seem like a stupid question but who exactly votes to elect the chairman?
Not stupid at all.
The chairman is elected by the state committeemen. Each state and territory has two committeemen, plus a state chairman, so each state/territory has three votes. There are 168 total. It takes a simple majority to win and with 6 candidates, it will take multiple rounds of voting for a winner to emerge, with candidates being eliminated in each round until one achieves a majority.
“I don’t think anyone has a damn clue, personally.”
After watching much of the debate, I emphatically disagree. The debate was very encouraging in getting the candidates to ‘get it’ about leading the party, reaching out, sticking to core values, recruiting nationwide, and energizing the base.
Saul Anuzi, Michael Steele, Ken blackwell, would be good choices. And ALL the candidates have good ideas and will be an asset to the RNC.
I meant the pundits didn’t have a damn clue about who would win.
I agree on the candidates in that they all seemed to recognize what needed to be done. I prefer Blackwell, but I think the others would be good as well.
Steele might not be as conservative as some others, like Blackwell, but he’s no RINO. He’s as conservative as you can be and not get laughed off the ballot in Maryland.
He was very polished in the debate and focussed on the points about individual freedom and responsibility, said the party needed to follow the platform, when asked about such issues.
The main job of the RNC chair is to be an articulate voice for the party and to lead the organization. Either him or Blackwell would do both jobs well enough. The only really bad choice would be re-elect Mike Duncan. Sorry coach, but you have no charisma and that was a really LOSING season. bye.
Seeing the polls on the internet etc. and given the conservative groups lining up behind Blackwell, and Steele’s ‘heft’, I’d say the race is down to Steele and Blackwell.
Chip Saltsman shot his own foot off over the Paul Shanklin CD, and Mike Duncan did as well by making a big deal over it. the other candidates are operatives without the profiles that statewide elected officials like Steele and Blackwell bring.
I was a bit disappointed that Blackwell did not seem as sharp and articulate as I hoped he would be in the debate. We need a guy who, like Newt, can go toe to toe on the talking head shows and rip the Democrats up one side and down the other. I hope he can do that. Other than that concern, he should be a good pick.
It’s timely to have the head of the Republican party be an african-American, which is also something that helps Steele and Blackwell.
If either Steele or Blackwell end up winning, how long before the MSM starts running stories about conservatives being “uneasy” about a black chairman, retreading the same old tired “conservatives/Republicans are racists” line.
I don’t put a whole lot of stock into online polls. I noticed that over at chooseyourchairman.com that Steele is 1st and Blackwell is 2nd. Steele also has big name ID and is a recognizable figure from his punditry career.
Blackwell, on the other hand seems to have the weight of much of the conservative movement behind him. Conservative groups carry a lot of weight with the grassroots, however it’s unclear how much influence they have among the members of the RNC. Members of the RNC are more likely to vote for the guy who they feel can best win elections, and not necessarily the most rock-ribbed conservative. The RNC, after all, is a political organization first and foremost.
Saul Anuzis seems like a sharp guy, however I worry about his losing record in his home state of Michigan, and the fact that other Michigan GOP activists are backing other candidates (Chuck Yob endorsed Blackwell).
Ultimately, I think there’s way too much inside baseball and internal politics that none of us know about to be able to predict. I think the best indicator is to keep track of committeemen and state party chairmen endorsements. NRO, Roll Call, and The Hill also publish stories from time to time about the inner workings of the RNC and the latest rumors/developments.
BTW, what a cr*pload of anti-Republican hatred in the comments section.
I can live with Steele, not Duncan or Chip Saltsman.
I know. It’s a joke. Personally, I’m excited about the opportunity to move the GOP in a more grassroots-oriented conservative direction, free from the Bush/Gerson/Frum/Kristol crowd.
I would think most grassroots Freepers would feel the same way. However, you never how many of these folks are trolls as well. My favorite type of troll is the “I’m a rock-ribbed conservative....but the Republican party is dead!”
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