Former RNC Chairman Michael Steele‘s tumultuous tenure as head of the national GOP was marked by his tendency toward outspokenness, a tendency that earned him little reward. Since he become a contributor for MSNBC almost a year ago, however, that tendency has become an asset. Although still a strong critic of President Obama, the Chairman isn’t afraid to tell uncomfortable truths about his own party. In part two of our exclusive interview, Chairman Steele discusses one such truth: the Republican Party’s rocky relationship with racial politics.
One of the more remarkable moments of Michael Steele’s stint as RNC chairman was his stunning admission that, by virtue of the decades-long, race-based Southern Strategy, his party had given black voters very little reason to vote for them.
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Michael Steele Photo HereRecovering PoliticianTHEN: Chairman, Republican National Committee, 2009-2011, Lieutenant Governor (MD) 2004-2008 NOW: Attorney, Political Analyst Full Biography: link   
[Krystal Ball’s Provocation; Artur Davis’ Rebuttal #1; Jeff Smith’s Rebuttal #2; Ron Granieri’s Rebuttal #3; The RP’s Rebuttal #4; Ron Granieri’s First Response; Rod Jetton’s Rebuttal #5; The RP’s First Response:; Jimmy Dahroug’s Rebuttal #6; Artur Davis’ First Defense; Krystal Ball’s First Defense; Ron Granieri’s Second Response] To Ron Granieri’s Star Trek- and Muppet-alluding Second Response, Krystal says: “Touché” Michael says: “They’ll take the “Fabulous Prizes” every time! That’s just logical!!”
[The RP’s Provocation; Artur Davis’ Rebuttal #1; Rod Jetton’s Rebuttal #2; John Y. Brown, III’s Rebuttal #3; Ron Granieri’s Rebuttal #4; Robert Kahne’s Rebuttal #5; Artur Davis’ First Response] I’ve always been fascinated by the symmetry between football and faith. Every great football saga ever told (or at least made for TV) has this underlying storyline about faith: faith in one’s self, faith in God, faith in your team. So I find it particularly curious and somewhat appealing that Tim Tebow has been able to bring this connection into focus better than any other football player in recent memory. But of course, folks act like this is something new. Players have been “giving thanks to God” and “taking a knee” in prayer long before Tebow stepped on the field or made a commercial. Read the rest of… So it was supposed to end in South Carolina. In fact, it is just beginning. For some time now many in the GOP Ivory Tower have whined, moaned and sighed heavily about the candidates, the process and the fact that they weren’t getting their way. From wishing for some super hero to climb into the ring to fantasizing about a brokered convention (word is some of the political intelligentsia are at this moment trying to figure out how that might work) those who fancy themselves smarter than the rest of us just knew South Carolina would be the perfect beach head on which to end the charade that anyone other than Romney would be the nominee. While Romney may still become the nominee, it was clear the base wanted all to know that this primary was less about who would (or should) win and all about sending the clear and unmistakeable message: “we got this.” It appears that’s exactly what they did. The fight for the nomination now turns to Florida and with each passing day, the Establishment will get more restless and the base more empowered to assert control over this nominating process. For them, “We the People” still means something.
So, as we reflect on this man of history, I hope we appreciate Dr. King’s courage, vision, strength, humanity, but most importantly, his perseverance. Dr. King’s perseverance transformed him; it made him not just a legendary leader, it signals to us in these times the challenge remains to “take up the cause of freedom”. Perseverance enabled Dr. King not only to achieve success, but to achieve his dream; a that dream that draws us even today; a dream that embodied the civil rights movement but importantly, a dream that created a legacy for future generations; Dr. King’s efforts helped close a chapter in America’s history, a chapter which chronicled the burden of slavery and institutionalized discrimination. A chapter which imprinted segregated public accommodations and schools on the very soul of African American life. A chapter in which the foundation of America—freedom and equality—was rocked by water hoses, police dogs and racism. However, Dr. King also knew that this movement towards civil rights would open a new chapter for America—a chapter we are still writing today; a chapter steeped in hope, opportunity and true equality. But, for many this new chapter, which reflects America’s journey from slavery to emancipation; from Jim Crow to affirmative action also, belies an accomplished agenda. The illiterate, the suffering, the addicted, the homeless—they demand more from our generation than nice words or one more government program. What they demand, and what you and I must provide is an opportunity to heal and to teach, to turn dreams into reality and hope into action for the kid growing up on the streets instead of in a home; for the family struggling to make ends meet; for the teacher mired in paperwork while her students are mired in a failing school. Thurgood Marshall once said, that “none of us has gotten where we are solely by pulling ourselves up from our bootstraps. We got here because somebody bent down and helped us.” Read the rest of… Did you see what happened last night?! My oh my! How close can you get? Back and forth, tension building with every tick of the clock, running late into the evening. But in the end, Michigan won! Oh, you thought I meant the Iowa caucuses? Michigan vs. Virginia Tech was to be expected. Romney vs. The Field was just exasperating! How is it Romney’s team spends the last two years playing down his Iowa chances, then undoes it all over the weekend by declaring they expect a win, effectively turning what should have been a solid victory into a perceived loss? That is a massive strategic blunder that handed Santorum added momentum heading into NH, and makes Newt effectively Santorum’s straw man. This is NOT how one defeats Obama in the fall. After two years of campaign, hundreds of pundit prognostications, and thousands of cable news sound bites, at long last, what you’ve been waiting for… Our fearless contributors — Contributing RPs, Friends of RP and RP Staff — offer their predictions for tonight’s Iowa caucuses. And you can too — please give us your predictions in the Comments section below. Without further ado…(Click on their name to find out their background)… The RP: Paul 30%; Romney 25%; Santorum 21%; Gingrich 7%; Perry 6%; Bachmann 4%, Huntsman 1%. I don’t think Rick “Man On Dog” Santorum’s organization is strong enough to take advantage of his surge. I also think Paul’s support is underestimated in the polls because his grassroots support is so fervant, and the tin foil hat crowd among his followers are fearful of pollsters. Remember Pat Robertson? Michael Steele: Click here for his exclusive-to-The-RP report from Iowa. Jeff Smith: Santorum 27; Romney 23; Paul 23; Perry 11; Gingrich 9; Bachmann 6. I think some Bachmann/Gingrich/Perry folks walk in to their caucus, see how outnumbered they are by Sant-mentum, and get on the bandwagon. Jason Grill: Romney, Paul, and Santorum will finish first, second, and third. The order though is more “up in the air” than George Clooney was in his recent Oscar nominated movie. Organization and friends twisting other friends arms at the caucuses will decide the order of the top three. If Romney finishes third that WILL be news and change the race somewhat moving forward. He will be seen as an even weaker front runner if this happens. Also, it will be interesting to see where Perry and Gingrich finish tonight. Keep a lookout for their percentages at the end of the night. A fourth place finish for Perry over Gingrich will signal a potential showdown with Romney in South Carolina. Lastly, I am anxious to see how Huntsman finishes in next week’s New Hampshire primary after skipping Iowa. Mark Nickolas: Paul (25%); Romney (23%); Santorum (22%); Gingrich (11%); Perry (10%); Bachmann (6%). Iowa requires a level of commitment from supporters unlike anywhere else. Those with the best state organization and strongest levels of commitment do especially well (Paul and Paul). Also, since Independents and Dems can participate if they want to cross over — as Indies did for Obama in ’08 — that’s likely to help Paul the most. Nefarious (aka loyal) Dems are going to support anyone but Romney to ensure a protracted GOP race, with Paul and Santorum benefitting most. Rod Jetton: I think Ron Paul will just nip Romney and Rick Santorum will get third. Newt probably finishes in 4th. The Ron Paul forces are dedicated and with his numbers going up they and their friends have started believing he can win. They will turn out and surprise all the experts. Greg Harris: Santorum – 26%; Romney – 25%; Paul – 21%; Gingrich – 12%; Bachman – 8%; Perry – 7%; Huntsman – 1%. Santorum’s diligent grassroots work throughout the State this past year will pay off, resulting in more ardent caucus warriors advocating his case, and moving some on-the-fence Bachman and Perry supporters. Ron Paul’s fanatical base will still assure him over an over 20% showing. The minority moderate voters will hold their noses and back Romney. Read the rest of…
Sitting atop some rather interesting scaffolding above the Polk Convention Center floor I got to thinking about the next 36 hours or so and how the worm has turned during this GOP primary. After recent, but brief rides on the Cain Train and the Gingrich bus is everyone now in the back of the Santorum pick-up truck? From what it sounds like on the ground, I think Rick is going to need a bigger truck.
From hanging out with folks at Java Joe’s (great coffee BTW) to a ride in an elevator, everyday Iowans have been offering up their thoughts on this race and Rick Santorum has become (at least for the moment) their kind of candidate.
So what does this mean for Romney? It’s all good as long as Rick remembers his place. Meaning: He shouldn’t let any success he may have on Tuesday night go to his head. If he does, the Romney Team and their 527s will make an “adjustment” for him. For now at least, Romney loves how Santorum has filled in the gaps for conservatives after the masterful filleting of Gingrich over the past two weeks. But trust me, if Santorum comes out of Iowa with a close 2nd or heaven forbid, outright wins the caucuses, then watch for those filet knives to come out for Santorum.
Why? Because a Santorum win in Iowa translates into an opportunity for the 75% of the GOP base which still can’t seem to bring themselves to support Romney to coalesce behind Rick (much like they started to do with Newt) and THAT won’t work for Romney. But, Rick has an advantage the other “anti-Romney” candidates did not have: it’s only one week until the next contest which will require some quick work in order to soften up support for Santorum and to make the ugly stuff stick.
One other thought, as the New Hampshire sun rises on Wednesday morning, watch for a different type of engagement from Gingrich (and Perry?) as attention shifts to the Nation’s first Primary. Yesterday in a back and forth with Chris Matthews, the former Speaker let it be known he had had enough of taking it on the chin from the Romney camp. Grab your popcorn. This is going to get good. Happy New Year! I hope 2012 brings you joy, laughter, love, happiness, and many pints of tasty hummus. Here at The Recovering Politician, we plan some exciting new features that we will share with you in the weeks ahead. For now, as you rest and recover from your New Year’s Eve celebration — and recharge your batteries for a busy January — I wanted to share with you some good reading material. The first nine months at The Recovering Politician have seen more than 1200 posts from over three dozen contributors. I share my favorites below; please let me know what I missed in the comments section:
Thanks for joining us in 2011. Stay tuned for a wild and wonderful 2012.
Most recently I was honored and pleased to find myself in the green room at MSNBC with Harry E. Johnson, president and CEO of the Washington, D.C. Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial Project Foundation, Inc. He was about to go on TV to talk about the dedication of the memorial — a stunning accomplishment and testament to perseverance — and what it means to the nation, but most especially to African Americans. Johnson shared with me that many who walked through that narrow entrance to the memorial have just stopped and wept when they came face-to-face with the towering figure of King. As Johnson and I parted, it got me to thinking about how gifted we are to have individuals who rise from within our nation’s experience to define and to set in stone (figuratively and, in King’s case, literally) a uniquely American story born out of success and failure, pride and prejudice. Political fights between red and blue, right and left, may roil about us, and we may experience tough economic times, but we don’t have to reach too deep into history to see that this great nation still has unlimited potential. Indeed, our history teaches us that today’s hardships can build the character of one person or an entire people.
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