The Story Behind Steele: No One Offered RNC Chair to Marylander

Human Events ^ | 1/18/07 | John Gizzi

[BillyBoy]

Steele was already elected to statewide office -- he was the state's Lt. Governor and a heartbeat away from the Governorship. He was the first Republican Lt. Governor in about 40 years and the first black person to hold statewide office in Maryland. He stepped aside to agree to an uphill campaign for the U.S. Senate.

Steele has more leadership skills than Amnesty Mel will ever had. If Mel had to run in Democrat Maryland intead of Republican Florida, his campaign would have been DOA from the start.

[chimera]

Yeah, I think Glendening stole that election the first time around. Same as Fraudoire in WA State. That was an even more brazen theft. I mean, a margin of 128 votes with King County "finding" so-called "lost" or "overlooked" ballots something like 10 or 12 different times during the course of two "recounts". Sheesh. But, that's the nature of 'Rat politics: if you can't win, cheat your way in.

Rossi has a shot at Fraudoire but I think it's a long one. He'll be going up against an incumbent 'Rat, unlike '04 when it was an open seat. And '08 is shaping up to be another tough year for 'Pubs (unless something dramatic happens with Iraq, which I'm not counting on). So the Rossi-Fraudoire rematch, if it happens at all (Rossi might take a look at the board and decide to opt out, just as he did, wisely, in a contest last year against NeerDoWell for the Senate) could be a replay of the Glendening-Sauerbrey rematch. Yes, Rossi has bided his time better than Sauerbrey did, and he seems to have some sympathy factor among the WA state electorate that still might be intact come '08, but if there is another blue tsunami like '06, it might not be enough.

[fieldmarshaldj]

Rossi passed on the Senate race because he's committed to taking the job to which the electorate voted him to. I can't imagine him taking a pass by any stretch. As to '08 being another Red 'Rat (I refuse to use the bullcrap media color scheme switcheroos) year, I think that would only happen if the GOP FUBAR. The rodents have only held power for several weeks, and I fully expect their disastrous tenure to scare the public back to the Blue GOP. ;-)

[chimera]

That and the fact that Rossi didn't want to move a young family across the country to the cesspool that DC has become. I know he wants to help his state, and the best way to do that is to stay home and compete for important state offices. Being a back bencher in DC from a state with little political clout is a kind of dead-end job. I always thought people were talking Rossi up for that Senate race like it was some kind of consolation prize for being gyped out of the Governor's Mansion. Well, like Steele, Rossi is no loser, and consolation prizes are for losers. He deserves better.