Posted on 12/14/2010 6:03:10 PM PST by Second Amendment First
Some of the Republican Party’s most prominent donors reacted Tuesday with shock — and then fury — to Michael Steele’s decision to seek re-election, bluntly warning that they would not raise money for the party if the controversial chairman wins another term.
None of the contributors has a vote on the committee, but with worries about the debt-ridden party’s finances hanging over Steele, the unambiguous threats could further undermine the incumbent’s already-dim prospects for victory.
While nothing firm was planned, a number of the contributors said they had been in contact with one another since Steele’s announcement Monday night about what they could do to send a message to the 168 members of the committee who will decide the next chairman in January.
“If Mr. Steele were to prevail, it will further alienate the party’s major financial supporters and most active fundraisers,” said Wayne Berman, a top Washington lobbyist and bundler who served as the McCain presidential campaign’s finance chairman in 2008. “His arrogant style, cult of personality and embarrassing mismanagement are sources of great discontent with the major fundraisers of the party.”
Should Steele return as chairman, Berman added, it will spur many donors to do what they did in 2008 and “support the many successful third-party groups.”
Asked about his email traffic since the announcement, the well-connected Berman cracked: “The phrase I have seen the most of is, is he aware that denial isn’t a river in Egypt?”
Al Hoffman, a longtime GOP contributor in Florida who did two separate stints as RNC finance chairman in President Bush’s first term, was just as withering: “The donor community has virtually no faith or confidence in Michael Steele’s to be the keeper of the keys.”
Originally a supporter of the chairman, Hoffman said he and many of his fellow contributors would sit on their checkbooks in a Steele sequel.
“The long and short of it is I have a hard time finding any major donor who would trust him to straighten out the RNC and run a principled and ethical fundraising operation,” said the Floridian. “Whose going to give to him as long as he’s at the helm? Not me. My own slogan is now, Anybody But Steele.”
Hoffman said that, like Berman, he had been in contact with other fundraisers since Steele announced the news and that there was unanimity that a change was needed.
“I talked to a number of them and to a man they all say that Steele has hurt the party immeasurably,” he said.
Mel Sembler, another Floridian who also once served as the RNC’s Finance Chairman, expressed worry that if Steele continued atop the party it would make it more difficult for donors in the state to raise the $50 million needed for the GOP’s 2012 convention in Tampa.
“They’re spending money like drunken sailors up there,” Sembler said of the RNC, alluding to news accounts of how much the party was already paying to plan the convention. “And because of that major donors are concerned about how [the local organizers] will spend their money.”
If Steele stays in his post, Sembler predicted that contributors would “continue doing what they’ve done – continue going to these other organizations.”
Without the assistance of top donors, who can collect big checks and don’t require the overhead costs that go into raising low-dollar contributions, the party would have difficulty retiring what is at least $15 million in debt.
Even as Steele launched a re-election website and announced a campaign chair Tuesday, there were indications beyond the realm of the GOP’s donor class that the chairman had little support from beyond his core group of supporters on the committee.
Of about a half-dozen interviewed, not a single Republican senator was willing to get behind the incumbent. Most said that they were staying out of the intra-party contest, but all offered cool assessments about the sitting party chairman.
Asked about Steele’s decision to run, Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) allowed that it’s “his prerogative,” before adding that “there are other people already in the race.”
Pressed on whether Steele would be a good leader heading into the 2012 presidential campaign, Thune, a potential White House contender, voiced what is on the mind of many in the GOP.
“There’s a concern about him stepping up the pace on fundraising,” he said. “That’s a valid one, obviously. I think he’ll have to address that or at least come up with a way of addressing that in his argument to continue in the job.”
Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) went a step further, saying he was "looking for alternatives.”
"I appreciate his service, but 2012 is real important,” DeMint said of Steele.
A handful of the nation’s GOP governors, including Mississippi Gov. and former RNC Chairman Haley Barbour, have already indicated a desire for change atop the party.
House GOP leaders declined to discuss Steele, but aides indicated privately that they simply didn’t want their have their bosses seen as big-footing the committee.
So while Steele has a base of support on the 168-member committee, he begins his re-election bid with minimal support and wide opposition from his party’s leading donors and elected officials. To win in the face of such disapproval would be extraordinary.
But few outside Steele’s core group believe he can actually be re-elected.
The more likely scenario, fret Republicans who just want him gone, is that Steele seeks to use the leverage he holds with his base of about 30 loyalists.
If he can hold that bloc together, Steele may be able to cut a deal with one of his challengers in which he would turn over his backers in exchange for something, perhaps a role at the party’s convention.
At a practical level, though, it’s difficult to see how the RNC would function on a day-to-day basis if Steele returns. He’s already gone through a slew of staffers and he’s about to lose more.
In addition to the departure of Gentry Collins, the former political director who is now challenging Steele, both the RNC Chief of Staff and Communications Director are also likely to soon leave. Neither Mike Leavitt, the chief, nor Doug Heye, the spokesman, are active in Steele’s re-election. Those left in the building say that the chairman has largely isolated himself from his aides and is relying on a handful of personal confidantes with little high-level political experience.
Reviled by the GOP’s consultant and operative class, it’s unclear who in the party would want to work at a committee that, if the donors’ threats hold true, is likely to be even more diminished in 2012 than it was this year.
That the lingering ‘What to do About Steele’ problem still exists is deeply aggravating to Republicans who, after their gains in last month’s elections, believe the party has found its footing and has a real chance to take back the White House in 2012.
Yet even as they express irritation about Steele’s bid for re-election, some top Republicans are already thinking about the challenge they’ll have after he does ultimately leave.
“The damage will be there when he leaves, especially with respect to the major donor program,” said a longtime K Street fixture who has raised Republican money for decades.
Even those who weren’t willing to call for Steele’s ouster, suggested the party was in serious trouble.
"I think the RNC is at a very important inflection point and it’s time, for whomever the elected leader is, that he or she have the capacity and leadership ability to get the party out of the hole and back in the lead in fundraising,” said Lewis Eisenberg, a Wall Street executive and another of the RNC former finance chairmen.
does anyone donate to the RINO National Committee anymore??
Too bad they are too cowardly to come out in the open and run in the primaries. Instead they kvetch to their little friends at Politico and HuffPo.
We need to clean out this type as well. Maybe in the next few minutes some of them will identify themselves on this thread.
I heard him trying to take credit for saving the party. Thing is I can’t recall his being involved in any Tea Party efforts.
I send all my contributions directly to candidates I support.
The RNC will never get another penny of mine.
The GOP has donors??!?!???!
Heard on Fox Radio News last night something to the effect of “why shouldn’t he run, look at all the success with the House election.” OMG, does he (or Fox) really think he was the reason for that???
RNC Chairman: Obama and I Are in the Same Racial Boat"
It just shows Republicans to be racist to try and remove him.
>> Thing is I can’t recall his being involved in any Tea Party efforts.
He was nowhere to be found prior to the elections. Showed up afterward to take credit.
No change here. I only give directly to the candidate!
Never saw that RINO at any Tea Party events I attended. Purge the RINOs GOP or face extintion.
WASHINGTON — In the face of overwhelming criticism about his stewardship of the Republican National Committee, Michael Steele, the party chairman, declared Monday evening that he had no intentions of quietly stepping aside and vowed to seek re-election to lead the party into the 2012 presidential campaign.
Mr. Steele made the announcement in a conference call with members of the Republican committee, some of whom have already pledged their support to one of the half-dozen candidates vying to replace him. He did not take questions in the 40-minute call or address many of the challenges facing his candidacy, including the financial management of the committee that is ending the year $15 million in debt.
“Yes, I have stumbled along the way but have always accounted to you for such shortcomings,” Mr. Steele said, according to participants on the call, who later received a prepared statement. “No excuses. No lies. No hidden agenda.”
“Our work is not done,” he added, “and my commitment has not ended.”
The decision by Mr. Steele was met with anger and astonishment from an array of Republican officials. It was far from clear that his bid for a second term would be successful or that he would emerge as one of the leading contenders on Jan. 14, when the committee elects a chairman to guide the party through an election cycle where the chief goal is defeating President Obama.
The Republican Party, which is often steeped in discipline and order among the ranks of top leaders, has become a cauldron of internal controversy. The announcement by Mr. Steele upended the chairman’s race and ensured that a fight over the party’s direction would play out even as Republicans assume the majority in the House next month.
Henry Barbour, a member of the Republican committee from Mississippi and a nephew of Gov. Haley Barbour, has led an effort to find a new chairman. After listening to Mr. Steele on the call, Mr. Barbour expressed dismay over the announcement and said the 2012 election cycle demanded new party leadership.
“While I like Michael Steele personally, I don’t believe he has earned a second term,” Mr. Barbour said. “We need a chairman who will raise the money, spend it wisely, organize our troops and stay on message.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/14/us/politics/14steele.html?ref=politics&pagewanted=print
Yep, today on Hannity Steele was claiming credit for winning elections and huge fundraising gains.
Surfing the Tea partiers wave!
Not many. Most did to individuals.
Give to candidates only, Not Parties.
absolutely not.
my wife and i made donations to individuals that we believe to be conservatives.
Let me ask you this, if this RINO McCaniac is only complaining that he is not in control of the money because its going to more conservative causes, is that not a GOOD THING?
Not me! When they called last time, I honestly told them I cannot support them with their RINO ways. I want a true conservative. I told them I would, however, send money to individual candidates and leave them out. Just a thought.
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