Friday, January 30, 2009

BREAKING NEWS: The New Face of the Republican Party: Michael Steele Elected RNC Chair!

Michael Steele defeated Katon Dawson and was elected the new chairman of the Republican National Committee.
Michael Steele is the first African American ever to achieve this position.
Pundits across cable news are saying Republicans, desperate and fearful since the Presidential election of Barack Obama, elected Steele to
regain the minority vote. Steele is not an RNC member and is viewed by some members as an outsider.
The Washington Post reports:
After five ballots, the race came down to Steele and Dawson. Republican party strategists in attendance at the meeting openly fretted about the possibility of electing Dawson, who had acknowledged his membership in a whites-only club, and the signal it would send to a country that had just elected Obama as the nation's first black president.
From Steele's acceptance speech:
"It's time for something completely different and we are going to bring it to them...we are going to bring this party to every boardroom, every neighborhood, every community, and we're gonna say to friend and foe alike we want you to be a part of us. we want you to work with us and for those of you who wish to obstruct, get ready to get knocked over. This is our opportunity. I cannot do this by myself.. New Direction for this country.. Grow and build the Republican Party with this country."
From wikipedia:
Oreo cookie incident (Oreo Cookie = Black on the outside, white on the inside)
After a September 26, 2002 gubernatorial debate, which had occurred without reported incident, Paul Schurick, Ehrlich's communications manager, claimed that the Townsend campaign handed out
Oreo cookies to the audience. Five days after the debate, Steele said that one or more Oreo cookies had rolled to his feet during the debate suggesting a racist statement against him. "Maybe it was just someone having their snack, but it was there," Steele said. "If it happened, shame on them if they are that immature and that threatened by me." At the time of the debate"I was in on the cleanup, and we found no cookies or anything else abnormal. There were no Oreo cookies thrown.", Schurick had not mentioned any such incident, but in November 2005 he claimed "It was raining Oreos... They were thick in the air like locusts. I was there. It was very real. It wasn't subtle."In a November 2005 Hannity and Colmes appearance, Steele agreed with Hannity that cookies were thrown at him. Neil Duke of the Baltimore NAACP, who moderated the debate, praised the "passionate audience" and noted their "derisive behavior"but did not see such behavior. "Were there some goofballs sitting in [the] right-hand corner section tossing cookies amongst themselves and acting like sophomores, as the legend has it?" Duke said. "I have no reason to doubt those sources; I just didn't see it."The operations manager of the building where the debate was held, interviewed three years after the event by the Baltimore Sun, disputed Steele's claim and said Some eyewitnesses including AP reporter Tom Stuckey who was at the event have said cookies were handed out.[Other eyewitnesses could not corroborate Steele and Schurick's claim.

11 comments:

Tara said...

Praise God, Yahoo, Steele is a great American!!!

Dee said...

I found the Oreo Cookie incident very interesting. Why would he and his publicist make such claims if they were not true. Very curious.

Defensores de Democracia said...

Perhaps God exists, although we do not know the Color of God yet.

This is very Big Fat News - This guy is a revolution inside de Republican Party.

And Michael Sttele is Very Funny. Something that the Republican Party sorely needs.

This is the First Good News for the Republicans since "Bad Luck" struck the party on November 4, 2008.

Perhaps Republicans become again the "Party of Lincoln" as Michael said in the first speech as chairman.

Is this the Republican Obama ??

This guy is not only funny but shrewd.

This has to do with Race, Racism, Raciality and with Millennials and Youth, because younsters are in large part Minorities.

So I had to post here :


Milenials.com

Raciality.com

Vicente Duque

. said...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_S._Steele

"Steele’s mother was a widowed laundress who, he stated, worked for minimum wage rather than accept public assistance. Steele grew up in a Democratic household. However, as a young man he switched to the Republican Party.
After joining the Republican Party, Steele became chairman of the Prince George's County Republican Central Committee. In 1995, the Maryland Republican Party selected him as Maryland State Republican Man of the Year. He worked on several political campaigns, was an Alternate Delegate to the 1996 Republican National Convention in San Diego and a Delegate to the 2000 Republican National Convention in Philadelphia that ultimately chose the George W. Bush ticket.
In December 2000, Steele was elected chairman of the Maryland Republican Party, becoming the first African American ever to be elected chairman of any state Republican Party."


Interesting:
Political positions

On gay marriage: Steele has stated that he personally opposes a federal marriage amendment to ban same-sex marriage and believes that states should decide the issue for themselves but has indicated he would support it if elected RNC Chairman. He rates the issue of banning same-sex marriage low in importance. [42]

On the war in Iraq: "It is imperative we improve conditions on the ground so we can bring our troops home as quickly as possible and have the Iraqi people take control of their own destiny. At the same time, we should not publicly state a timetable for implementation. I do not support a 'cut and run strategy.' Any politician out there talking about timetables and timelines is playing into the hands of our enemies who have an enormous capacity to wait. It would be a disaster for us to cut and run, as it would destroy our credibility in the region for at least a generation. At the same time, it is the Iraqi’s themselves that will ultimately have to make democracy work in their country. We should stay there only long enough to give the Iraqi people the tools they need to secure the very democracy they voted for three times. After that, it’s up to them."[43]

Energy policy: "To provide immediate relief for Marylanders, I have called on President Bush and Congress to enact an immediate moratorium on the federal gas tax - more than 18 cents per gallon - and an immediate moratorium on the 24 cents per gallon diesel tax. Moreover, Congress should approve legislation to suspend the tariff on ethanol imports. But those actions are designed to deal with our immediate crisis. Congress must roll up its sleeves and work to solve the underlying problem - our dependence on foreign sources of energy. To do that, I’ve called on Congress to double President Bush’s budget request for biomass and bio-refinery research, and create market and tax incentives for E85 fuels, hybrid technologies and alternative energy sources. Tax credits for hybrid and alternative fuel vehicles need to be renewed and expanded. Additionally, we must increase fuel efficiency standards for automobiles – not just this year, but over the next several years."[44]

Affirmative action: "Studies show enormous disparities still exist in education, healthcare, employment and economic opportunities along racial lines in the United States. I believe programs are still necessary to help close these divides. I support giving people opportunities. Programs must be fair to all Marylanders – of every color – and they should focus on economic empowerment."[45]

The budget deficit: "Congress must also enact pro-growth policies that encourage the economy to expand: like making tax relief permanent and repealing the death tax. As we saw with the most recent deficit figures, a growing economy will in fact reduce the size of the budget deficit. In order to achieve optimal economic growth, Congress must adhere to sane spending guidelines while promoting smart policies devoted to growing businesses and creating jobs."

Stem cell research: "We have a lot to gain through furthering stem cell research, but medical breakthroughs should be fundamentally about saving, not destroying, human life. Therefore, I support stem cell research that does not destroy the embryo."[46]

Health care: " We need to increase access to health insurance through Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) and high deductible policies, so individuals and families can purchase the insurance that's best for them and meets their specific needs. . . . I support allowing small businesses to band together and compete for better insurance options. . . . To help increase our nation’s seniors access to affordable care, I have called to extend the sign up period for the Medicare Prescription Drug plan."

Dee said...

Az,
I have nothing against Steele.
Frankly, I am surprised they elected him.
He is an outsider. He is totally outside of the RNC agenda.
This is clearly a sign the RNC is desperate and off their own beaten track.
I am curious about what will happen next. As an outspoken outsider, Steele is sure to ruffle some mainstream feathers. He is not one of the RNC. He is clearly an outsider. Dawson and his supporters will surely be disgruntled. So will most of the ANTIs, especially when they find out Steels will NOT listen to the old schoolers.
This all makes very interesting blogging in the days and months and years ahead for people like me.

I promise I will keep blogging about this.

. said...

I felt he represents the, dare I say it, pre-Bush RNC....

Dee said...

Az,
Pre Bush 1 or 2?

Anonymous said...

I hope Steele will run for president in 2012 and Palin will be his VP.

. said...

I liked Palin until I realized just how out of it she is.

Thinking Africa is a country....

. said...

Bush 1 was kinda of a wash in my eyes. Bush 2 has alot of things not to be too proud of, and some that were actually good (but we've beat that horse already).

I miss Reagan....

Dee said...

Az,
I like Ron Reagan.
I like Brolin accurately portraying Reagan.
I like Ahnold, only not sure how history will portray him as governor.
I like Napolitano for his wise busineess management skills but am waiting to see what she decisions she will make next.

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