Free Republic

Critics of Michael Steele's tenure as Republican National Committee chairman are motivated by racism, Steele suggested in an interview published on Tuesday. Speaking to Washingtonian magazine (no online version), Steele wondered why his Democratic National Committee counterpart doesn't get the same criticism he does. "I don’t see stories about the internal operations of the DNC that I see about this operation," Steele said. "Why? Is it because Michael Steele is the chairman, or is it because a black man is chairman?”

Michael S. Steele has maneuvered through a minefield of internal discontent, emerging from a critical party gathering with his authority intact.... High-profile Republican gubernatorial wins in Virginia and New Jersey and a victory in the recent special Senate election in Massachusetts have helped quiet grumbling within the RNC over Mr. Steele, whose position and authority seemed shaky just a few months ago. A feared open revolt against the former Maryland lieutenant governor fizzled at the 168-member RNC's winter gathering in Honolulu over the weekend, despite lingering questions... In the view of RNC General Counsel Reince Priebus, who is also Wisconsin...