Posted on 01/11/2005 12:23:12 AM PST by Angry Republican
The national GOP may soon discover something Maryland conservatives have known for years: Michael Steele is a terrible thing to waste.
At around 9 o'clock tonight, Steele — who is lieutenant governor of Maryland — will speak to the Republican delegates gathered at Madison Square Garden. And tomorrow night, he will appear on stage once more, in his role as deputy permanent chairman, to help preside over the roll call of the states.
"I'm going to talk about the history of the party and its importance to the civil-rights movement," says Steele of his speech this evening. "I'm also going to talk about the president's agenda and how he's putting hope into action. I have a lot to squeeze in. They've given me about ten minutes, but I hope to tweak it up a little, maybe to 15 minutes."
It isn't every lieutenant governor who gets so much as the time of day at the convention — in fact, Steele's the only one listed as a speaker on the schedule. Not even his boss, Gov. Bob Ehrlich, is receiving such prime treatment.
"Governor Ehrlich is not jealous," insists Steele. "He's happy about this. We're branding Maryland, and it's nice to see our team recognized."
Indeed, it's hard not to recognize the Ehrlich-Steele team. Two years ago, they defeated a Kennedy — Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, the daughter of RFK — in the gubernatorial race. She was lieutenant governor at the time and, for a while, was much touted as the leader of a new generation of Kennedys who would bring Camelot into the 21st century.
But Ehrlich and Steele beat her, in a state that doesn't often vote for Republicans...
(Excerpt) Read more at nationalreview.com ...
Dream ticket.
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