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Michael Steele unintentionally said it best himself at a debate for chairman of the Republican National Committee: "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times," he said, incorrectly attributing the line to "War and Peace," which he called his favorite book. (It's from "A Tale of Two Cities.") Today, at a sprawling resort just outside Washington, Steele delivering a speech -- in his capacity as RNC chairman -- was essentially his last pitch to members before today's vote of the 168 committee members who, will determine his fate this afternoon. "You shocked the world," he told...

Anuzis is gaining favor after the assumed frontrunner, Reince Priebus, took heat from Connecticut GOP chairman Chris Healy. Healy suggests Anuzis or Wagner may become Priebus' direct opponent. Read it at: The Weekly StandardConservative bloggers like Dan Riehl and Vassar Bushmills and JadedByPolitics at RedState among others are loudly criticizing Priebus. I have given my two cents in the race, of course, calling for Saul Anuzis as RNC chair. Saul has been a sort of social media wizard and understands the importance of reaching the grassroots. I have also said that Wagner seems out of the loop on why conservatism...

Pennsylvania Republican Party Chairman Rob Gleason is reaching out to members of the Republican National Committee and top GOP operatives in advance of a possible bid for national party chairman, a source close to Gleason told POLITICO. Other RNC insiders whose names have been floated for chairman include former Michigan Chairman Saul Anuzis, Connecticut Chairman Chris Healy, Wisconsin Chairman Reince Priebus, former North Dakota Chairman Gary Emineth, California Chairman Ron Nehring, District of Columbia Committeeman Tony Parker, Texas Committeeman Bill Crocker, former RNC Deputy Chairwoman Maria Cino, RNC Co-Chairwoman Jan Larimer and former RNC Chairman Mike Duncan.

A prominent Michigan Republican is running against party chairman Michael Steele. Saul Anuzis made his plans known Friday in an e-mail in which he says the party can win in 2012 only if the chairman steps out of the limelight and allows the candidates to become the voice and face of Republicans.

You really have to laugh at these Republican establishment types. These “good old boy” characters couldn’t be more pathetic if they tried. As you know, Michael Steele has once again opened mouth and inserted foot. Full disclosure, I like Michael Steele. I don’t have bad feelings for the guy. But he’s proven that being the Chairman of the RNC isn’t the best use of his talents. This latest flap is way overblown, however. He’s said worse. Anyhow, this isn’t about bashing Michael Steele. Nope, this is all about exposing the pathetic milquetoast moderates and their silly notions. With all of...

Wealthy contributors to the GOP are reportedly "shunning" the Republican National Committee over concerns that Chairman Michael Steele may be more focused on promoting his new book and collecting personal speaking fees than on the needs of the party. Since he took over as leader a year ago, the RNC's cash levels have fallen from $22.8 million to just $8.7 million. Steele's response to the wave of censure has been to tell his critics to "shut up" and "get a life." Can he still be an effective leader for the GOP? Time's up, Steele: Michael Steele needs to go, says...

If you recall, doubt that you do, I put forth my support for Michael Steele the second I learned of his interest in running for RNC chair. I believe, although it is difficult to prove, that Duncan screwed the pooch and under his watch the GOP lost tremendous ground. Therefore it was imperative for the GOP to acquire new leadership and this was done today. Although Steele is dubbed centrist (perhaps incorrectly), he is for the most part a very approachable conservative man. His is eloquent, genuine and extremely personable. His task right now is to mobilize the Republican base...

Washington, DC (AHN) - Beating out opponent South Carolina GOP chairman Katon Dawson 91 to 77, Michael Steele, the first African American elected to statewide office in Maryland, has won election as chairman of the Republican National Committee. A former lieutenant governor in Maryland, Steele will replace Mike Duncan, who dropped out of the balloting earlier today. Michigan GOP chairman Saul Anuzis also dropped out of contention for the Republican National Committee chairman because of the rationale, "Can't win. I know how to count." The race was headed into a sixth ballot with 85 votes needed to win. On the...

Steele is kickin' elephant arse: Saul Anuzis_________5% (93 votes) Ken Blackwell_______6% (117 votes) Katon Dawson______2% (36 votes) Mike Duncan_______1% (24 votes) Chip Saltsman______12% (218 votes) Michael Steele______74% (1360 votes) Total votes: 1848

There are 168 members who will be voting to decide the next RNC Chairman at the RNC Winter Meeting on January 20, 2009. There are three members from each state who are able to vote, the state Chairman, the state National Committeeman and the state National Committeewoman. To locate the names of who your local state members are, perform the following steps: Go to the National GOP Website - State Parties page: and select the state in which you live, which will bring up all three voting member names for the state selected. You can pick a new state by...

In the aftermath of the 2008 election, the Republican Party has begun going through the litany of reasons that they lost. While the GOP must do many things better, the one thing that it must do if it wants to win back power is to put forward powerful ideas that persuade today's voters. President-elect Barack Obama won a decisive victory over Sen. John McCain. Despite Mr. McCain's extraordinary record and his centrist credentials, Mr. Obama's twin themes of change and hope caught fire with American voters, and will now take him to the White House. Recriminations are naturally flying around...

JUST MAYBE. Maybe this "draft Sununu for Republican National Chairman" thing isn't a waste of time. It's not something we'd expect Sen. John Sununu to want to get into. Sure, he lost his reelection bid, but he's young, he has a growing family and, politically speaking, he still has a bright future and, with his independent streak, he isn't someone we'd think would want to become the face of the establishment Republican Party, not to mention take part in the very inside baseball game of running for the post. But, surprisingly, Sununu didn't close the door to it yesterday. Sununu...

Many in the GOP establishment are trying to blame the Democratic takeover of Congress on the patriotic Republicans who want to secure our borders. The truth is that many voters associated the GOP with President Bush's Amnesty and his antiand his Amnesty, guest worker scheme, and punished the party accordingly. This strategy was embraced by the outgoing RNC chairman Ken Mehlman who resigned his position after the party's dismal performance in November. Rather than learn their lesson and support a tough border policy that the vast majority of the American people want, the President Bush nominated Senator Mel Martinez...

Why the media loves the disastrous Howard Dean and doesn't understand the greatness of Ken Mehlman.THERE ARE THREE MEDIA ANALYSTS who command wide readership and deserve their influence--Jay Rosen of NYU, who writes PressThink, Jeff Jarvis of BuzzMachine and now the New York Times, and Howard Kurtz of the Washington Post.Of the three, Kurtz commands the largest audience because he has managed the old media-new media divide admirably, writing for both audiences with humor and spark. But even the best stumble, and Kurtz did so on Tuesday in his Media Notes column, and in a very telling way. Wrote Kurtz...

T.S. Eliot once wrote that politics is too important to be left only to politicians. Last year, 1.4 million Americans from all 50 states resoundingly agreed and volunteered their time on behalf of President Bush's re-election campaign. Voters were evenly divided going into the election, but mobilizing an unprecedented number of volunteers enabled Mr. Bush to receive more popular votes than any candidate in American history. Democrats exceeded even their own expectations in spending more than $100 million more than Republicans, but were swamped by the millions of Americans who contacted their friends, neighbors, relatives and colleagues and explained what...

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Brian Jones 202-863-8614President George W. Bush: “Ken Mehlman Has Served The Republican Party And The Administration With Honor And Distinction. As Campaign Manager, He Helped Us Achieve Our Historic 2004 Election Night Gains.” (Republican National Committee, “President Bush To Ask Republican National Committee To Pick Ken Mehlman As New Chair,” Press Release, 11/15/04) President George W. Bush: “Ken Has A Clear Vision For Making Our Gains Durable While Continuing To Help Expand The Message And Reach Of The Republican Party. He’ll Be A Great Success At The RNC With His Boundless Energy And Commitment To Continue...

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Brian Jones 202-863-8614RNC Chairman Ken Mehlman Remarks To Winter MeetingRNC Unanimously Elects Jo Ann Davidson Co-ChairmanRNC Winter Meeting Press Kit WASHINGTON – The Republican National Committee (RNC) today unanimously elected Bush-Cheney ‘04 Campaign Manager Ken Mehlman as its new Chairman at the RNC Winter Meeting in Washington, DC. In his acceptance speech, Mehlman presented four goals for his term as Chairman: “Enact and articulate our reform agenda. Deepen and broaden the GOP so we’re growing our party. Work to elect the best candidates in 2005, 2006 and 2008. Institutionalize the grassroots focus. If we can accomplish...