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Former Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele told The Daily Caller that it was a “very conservative” decision for 2012 Republican presidential candidate Gov. Rick Perry of Texas to give in-state college tuition rates to illegal immigrant students. “I think it is actually fairly conservative to look at, very conservative, to look at solving the problem in a way that empowers people, gives them opportunities to get out of harms way — fiscally or whatever — and to move the state forward,” he told TheDC during an interview in Washington on Friday.

Former Republican National Committee (RNC) Chairman Michael Steele is in negotiations with MSNBC to be a political analyst, according to sources. Steele would be a prominent Republican voice on a network known for its liberal television hosts. If the deal goes through, he would join the cable network in time to offer commentary on the 2012 elections.

BEGIN TRANSCRIPT RUSH: Ladies and gentlemen, in what I think is a first, let's go audio sound bites 18 and 19, Mike. In what may be a first, we have a formal complaint lodged against the Official Obama Criticizer, Bo Snerdley. Bo Snerdley was recently utilized on this program last week as the Official Obama Criticizer, and it was as though it had happened for the first time. Now, we've been featuring the Official Obama Criticizer for close to a year, if not more on this program, but something about last week's version of the Official Obama Criticizer has rubbed...

Former Republican National Committee chairman Michael Steele has a message for Republicans complaining that they have no traction and bemoaning the way that Donald Trump is dominating 2012 news: Blame yourselves. "You want to be president, get out there and stake your claim--make your mark," Steele said on ABC's "Top Line" Monday. "If you want to let Donald Trump take all the oxygen out of the room, then that's on the guys and gals who let him do that. You can't blame Donald Trump, because he's figured out a way to keep himself in the forefront of the discussion, regardless...

On WAAM today. Doc Steele noted he has formed an exploratory committee to potentially run against Sen. Debbie Stabenow for that Senate Seat here in Michigan. A Facebook page has been formed as well to Draft him. See the link to the facebook page...

The lack of a dominate Senate candidate for Michigan Republicans is opening up a window of opportunity for a wild card contender, such as former congressional candidate Rob Steele.

Whether joking or not, former Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele definitely took a swipe at the GOP, when discussing how he lost his re-election for the post on HBO’s “Real Time with Bill Maher.” When Maher notedon Friday that the GOP had huge congressional victories in 2010 under Steele’s watch, and “your reward for that was that you got fired,” Steele replied: “Republican justice. You know the reality of it is — oops — no I don’t want to walk that back,” Steele said, apparently aware of the implications of what he just said. “Remember two years ago, three...

Outgoing RNC Chairman Michael Steele is not taking his loss sitting down. After losing his bid for a second term, he appears to be firing back at his critics and has laid the blame at the feet of the RNC itself. This comes as Reince Priebus was elected to be the next Chairman. Steele famously (or infamously) was gaffe-prone, calling for a withdrawal from Afghanistan. He also ran the RNC into a massive debt after coming in with a considerable surplus. Steele was interviewed by FrumForum where he laid down the victim line. Apparently he didn't think that his own...

Heh, I’m not sure this is top news … but, well another example of post racial MSNBC. Should I laugh or should I cry? Even Eugene Robinson could not contain his laughter as Matthews poses his feel good racial question to newly deposed RNC Chairman Michael Steele. The man who almost forgot Obama was black … strikes again. It’s Matthews Martin Luther King Day show with three African Americans on the set at the same time: WaPo’s Eugene Robinson, Congresswoman Donna Edwards and of course Michael Steele. I am not sure what possessed Matthews to ask the question but no...

For many Republican National Committee members and GOP activists, the real headline after Friday's defeat of RNC Chairman Michael S. Steele was "Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour defeats House Speaker John Boehner." The newly-elected RNC Chairman, Wisconsin GOP Chairman Reince Priebus, was the behind-the-scenes choice of Mr. Barbour, who is considering a run for the GOP presidential nomination next year and can benefit from having his man heading up the GOP's top fundraising and campaign organization. Mr. Priebus bested Mr. Boehner's choice for the post, former Bush administration official Maria Cino, and two other rivals by the seventh round of voting...

WASHINGTON --Reince Priebus was elected chairman of the Republican National Committee on Friday after Michael Steeledropped his bid to stay atop the party for another two years. Priebus clinched the victory after seven rounds, securing 97 votes, more than the 85 required to win. Steele dropped out of the race after four rounds. "At this time, I will step aside for others to lead," Steele told the168 RNC committee members at the Gaylord Resort in National Harbor, Md. "But in so doing, I hope y'all appreciate the legacy we leave. Despite the noise -- because lord know we had a...

Mike Steele, the troubled RNC chair, stepped down from the RNC in the fourth round of the voting on Friday. Reince Priebus won the RNC chairmanship in the seventh round after being the leader all day. Both [TheHill.com] and [Washingtontimes.com] have the details. Check out our previous post on RINO Steele. Check back for more blog update coverage.

Wisconsin Republican Party Chairman Reince Priebus led after the first ballot in the race for chairman of the Republican National Committee. Needing 85 votes among the 168 members to win, Priebus took 45 votes in the first round. Trailing Priebus after one round is Chairman Michael Steele with 44 votes, former RNC official Maria Cino with 32 votes, Michigan Committeeman Saul Anuzis with 24 votes, and former Missouri GOP Chairwoman Ann Wagner with 23 votes. Several more ballots are expected before someone reaches the 85-vote threshold. Steele won the 2009 race after six rounds, defeating a five-candidate field that included...

From Tritter: Michael Steele drops out of RNC chair race, saying: "It's very clear that the party wants to do something different." - NBC Story developing....

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...

<p>Some supporters of Republican National Committee Chairman Michael S. Steele are privately urging him to consider a graceful exit strategy, sources told The Washington Times, as RNC members prepare for Friday's showdown vote on who will lead the party for the next two years.</p>

While I did not get a chance to watch the whole debate last Monday, I took the time to watch it this morning on youtube. The most applauded answer of the debate was given by Ann Wagner when asked how many guns she owned. She answered that she just got a new gun safe for Christmas, and she has 16 guns in total including a glock and an assault rifle. That was the dumbest answer of the debate. My father-in-law and I do not agree on much. He is a Democrat, I’m a Republican, but he taught me a very...

From NBC's Mark Murray, Ali Weinberg, and Alexandra Moe Today's debate for Republican National Committee chairman was supposed to be all about Michael Steele, especially after he announced he was running for re-election last month.

Michael Steele to debate challengers for RNC chair today Matthew SheffieldJanuary 3, 2010 Later today at 1pm ET, Republican National Committee chairman Michael Steele will be facing off against several challengers at a debate. Under fire for months for spending too much and injecting himself into the public eye, Steele faces an uphill battle. Earlier today, Politico reported that over half of the 168 RNC members it surveyed said they would not vote to re-elect him.Joining Steele at the debate will be lobbyist and former deputy RNC chairwoman Maria Cino; Wisconsin Republican Party Chairman Reince Priebus; Saul Anuzis, an opponent...

Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele faces an all-but-impossible path to reelection this month, as a majority of the RNC’s 168 members indicate that they will not support the controversial chairman for another term. A weeklong canvass of the party’s governing board by POLITICO revealed 88 members who have decided not to vote for Steele, either opting to support one of his opponents or simply ruling out Steele as a choice in the race. Fifty-five members, some of whom have endorsed one of Steele’s challengers, have signaled that they will not support the chairman under any circumstances. An additional 33...

Michael Steele surprised the chattering class of Washington, D.C., by announcing his plans to run for re-election as RNC chairman. Surely, he would resign and move on, right? After all, the Beltway “insiders” tell us that, under Steele’s leadership, the GOP’s donor base withered away; that the prized 72-hour “get-out-the-vote” program was underfunded and ineffective, and that he’s wastefully blown through hundreds of thousands of dollars on a national convention that is still a year-and-a-half away. Word on the block is, “anybody but Steele.” But there are always two sides to every story—especially in the Nation’s Capital, where political knives...

The Republican National Committee will raise and spend in excess of $400 million over the next 2 years. Normally the procedure of picking an RNC Chairman to lead the Republican Party is a closed process. The 168 members of the RNC vote to choose the new chairman in early January 2011. On December 1st FreedomWorks was given unique involvement in the chairman selection process. For the first time in history Americans were involved in the process of vetting candidates for the position. Tea Party organizers and real Americans could view and ask questions while watching online. FreedomWorks and the Republican...

GOP Chair Candidate Cino Explains Helping Pro-Abortion Group Washington, DC - Republican Party chairman candidate Maria Cino became the final candidate for the national party chairman position to interview with the Susan B. Anthony List, a pro-life political group. http://www.lifenews.com/2010/12/31/gop-chair-candidate-cino-explains-helping-pro-abortion-group/

More than one-third of RNC members have publicly stated their intentions. According to The Hotline’s latest whip count, Michael Steele continues to fall behind former Wisconsin GOP chair Reince Priebus in his bid to maintain his position as chair of the Republican National Committee (RNC). Iowan Gentry Collins has picked up one delegate, bringing his total to three and leaving him badly trailing in the race for the RNC’s top spot.As of Monday, Priebus was publicly supported by 22 voting RNC delegates, compared to only 12 behind Steele. Former Michigan Republican chair Saul Anuzis is breathing right down Steele’s neck...

Jesse Lee Peterson Radio Show! Uniting the Races with Truth Instead of Dividing them with Lies! THE JESSE LEE PETERSON RADIO SHOW TUNE INTO JESSE'S SHOW HERE 6 am to 9 am PST, 9 am to 12 pm EST MERRY CHRISTMAS BOND Action, Inc. has been created to educate, motivate and rally Americans to greater involvement in the moral, cultural and political issues that threaten our great country ”Rebuilding the Family by Rebuilding the Man”... BOND Action Inc. PO Box 35586 Los Angeles, CA 90035-0586 T: 1-877-WE ACT77 T: 1-877-932-2877 Buy this bumper sticker and support BOND! Click HERE ARCHIVE...

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...

THE JESSE LEE PETERSON RADIO SHOW TUNE INTO JESSE'S SHOW HERE 6 am to 9 am PST, 9 am to 12 pm EST MERRY CHRISTMAS BOND Action, Inc. has been created to educate, motivate and rally Americans to greater involvement in the moral, cultural and political issues that threaten our great country ”Rebuilding the Family by Rebuilding the Man”... BOND Action Inc. PO Box 35586 Los Angeles, CA 90035-0586 T: 1-877-WE ACT77 T: 1-877-932-2877 Buy this bumper sticker and support BOND! Click HERE Michael Steele Must Go!. Sign the Petition! HERE ARCHIVE RADIO AND SUNDAY SERVICE… HERE

Posted by Jim Hoft on Tuesday, December 7, 2010, 12:09 PM Is this really what the Republican Party needs going into 2012? (Politico) Maria Cino, the former Deputy Secretary of the United States Department of Transportation under President George W. Bush announced her intention of running for the chairmanship of the Republican National Committee in November. She has a distinguished career as a politician in the Republican Party. Maria Cino also worked as an Obamacare lobbyist for Pfizer, the world’s largest research-based pharmaceutical company since 2009. Pfizer CEO Jeffrey kindler was a staunch supporter of Obamacare. According to the Wall...

The Republican National Committee's top outreach official, hired to make help make the party younger and more diverse, hasn't voted in a Republican primary election of any kind since before 2000, The Washington Times has learned. But longtime Washington lobbyist Angela Sailor, 42, and her political consultant husband, Elroy, 41, did vote in the 2008 Virginia Democratic presidential primary, according to Prince William County election records. Mr. Steele, who was expected to talk about his own future at the RNC later Monday, raised eyebrows after his election in January 2009 when he announced the creation of an RNC Department of...

Michael Steele says he goes to Harlem because "that’s where the votes are." Struggling RNC chairman Michael Steele was a late guest on Greta van Susteren’s On the Record last night. Steele has been in the news recently because not only did he announce his intention to run for reelection as RNC chairman, but also because many Republicans and conservatives don’t want him to return, primarily because of his sorry performance. Steele confirmed many doubts people have about him when he blurted out that he liked going to Harlem as RNC chair because "that’s where the votes are." The weird...

<p>Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele stunned friends and foes Monday by launching a fight to keep his job.</p> <p>Steele discussed his decision during a conference call Monday night with members of the Republican National Committee.</p>

Controversial Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele, who last month presided over the GOP's biggest electoral gains since 1938, will announce tonight that he is running for re-election, Fox News has learned from two RNC members. Ending weeks of rumors that he would not seek a second term, Steele plans to throw his hat into the ring during a conference call with RNC members at 7:30 p.m. ET, the sources said. Steele is said to be amused by false reports of his retirement and intentionally kept his plans secret for the last month in order to flush out competitors for...

Sources: RNC Chairman Steele to Announce He Won't Run for Second Term Published December 12, 2010 | FoxNews.com Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele is expected to announce he will drop out of the highly contested race to keep his post, multiple RNC sources told FoxNews.com on Sunday. Fox News has confirmed Steele sent an e-mail to committee members Saturday night with the subject line, “conference call.” In the note, he asked members to join him "for a private conference call" Monday evening.

Black Conservative Group Launches Petition Drive To Remove RNC Chairman Michael Steele Rev. Jesse Lee Peterson, Founder and President of BOND Action, a national 501 (c) (4) nonprofit organization created to educate, motivate, and rally Americans to greater involvement in the moral and political issues that threaten America, announced today that his group is launching a “Michael Steele Must Go!” petition drive. Rev. Peterson was one of the first Republicans to publicly call for embattled RNC Chairman Michael Steele to step down last January, citing his financial mismanagement and lack of conservative convictions to lead the committee. “I am encouraging...

Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele is expected to announce he will drop out of the highly contested race to keep his post, sources told FoxNews.com on Sunday. Fox News has confirmed Steele sent an e-mail to committee members Saturday night with the subject line, “conference call.” In the note, he asked members to join him "for a private conference call" Monday evening. Republicans picked up 63 seats in the House, narrowed the gap in the Senate and picked up 19 state legislative bodies in the November midterm election, but pressure has been mounting all year for Steele to step...

The Republican elephant in the room wasn't in the room, but a group of contenders were already promising big changes Wednesday if they win the race to replace embattled Republican National Committee Chairman Michael S. Steele next month.Mr. Steele chose to skip the first forum of candidates for the RNC chairman's post, which did attract two declared candidates and two others considering entering the race. The absence of the incumbent, who has faced heavy internal criticism during his tenure as party chairman, led to some speculation he might not seek a second two-year term."I don't know if it's a...

The era of Michael Steele’s chairmanship of the Republican National Committee appears to be nearing its end. At least some of the men and women who aspire to Steele’s job will meet Wednesday for a debate before conservative activists and some RNC members sponsored by FreedomWorks and the Conservative Steering Committee, a group of RNC members who are worried about ideological drift in the national party organization. At least one more debate will be held in January, sponsored by Americans for Tax Reform. The first oddity in the crowded field is how many former allies of the current RNC chairman...

A member of the Republican National Committee's top panel will call for an investigation of RNC Chairman Michael S. Steele's spending, warning that "cronyism" dried up big-donor fundraising this year and now is jeopardizing major-donor fundraising for the 2012 GOP presidential nominating convention in Tampa, Fla. Oregon RNC member Solomon Yue will call on the group's executive committee to freeze hiring and spending and review all RNC contracts. "We know the RNC's big donors left us in this election cycle because Steele pocketed speaking fees and book royalties, and because he hired aides and friends - and paid them two...

Michael Steele’s tenure as chairman of the Republican National Committee has been marked by some stunning verbal gaffes, and serious criticism of his management decisions.  Two weeks ago, Gentry Collins resigned as political director of the RNC with a bombshell memo detailing fundraising and voter-turnout failures on Steele’s watch.  Now the Daily Caller reports that Solomon Yue, a member of the RNC executive committee, is calling for an investigation into “tens of thousands of dollars” paid to Steele’s former personal assistant, her son, and her sister. The Washington Times points out that RNC members have been uncomfortable with the...

Heavy spending for the 2008 national convention did not start until the summer and fall of 2007. By end of September 2006, the party had spent $35,500 on convention arrangements. That compares with the more than $636,000 spent to date. The total spent on preparations prior to July 2007 was $411,000. The arrangements committee is on pace to spend $2 million to $3 million by summer. "They're hamstringing the next presidential nominee," said an official familiar with past convention arrangements. He said money spent now cannot be replaced, potentially limiting the choices the next nominee will have in staging the...

By PHILIP ELLIOTT, Associated Press Philip Elliott, Associated Press – 1 hr 12 mins ago WASHINGTON – A significant bloc of Republican National Committee members wants embattled chairman Michael Steele to step aside, but the rank and file have failed to settle on a clear alternative, according to Associated Press interviews with committee members. More than four dozen interviews with members of the 168-member central committee found fear that a badly damaged Steele could emerge from the wreckage of a knockdown, drag-out fight to head the party as it challenges President Barack Obama in 2012. While most agree that Steele's...

Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele, fighting to salvage his reputation and possibly another term, is arguing that he saved the GOP from a schism by reaching out to the Tea Party over the last two years. “The RNC welcomed the energy and limited government principles of Tea Party voters and grassroots conservatives, and worked hard to ensure that their views found expression within the Republican party, and not in a potentially ruinous third-party movement,” Steele said in a five-page memo sent to committee members Thursday. “While President Obama and the Washington crowd treated the Tea Party with disdain or...

Former personal assistant paid $15,000 a month SAN DIEGO | Republican National Committee Chairman Michael S. Steele hired his former personal assistant to manage the 2012 Republican National Convention in Tampa, Fla., for $15,000 a month plus a $25,000 signing bonus, The Washington Times has learned. The contract, signed by Mr. Steele on the RNC's Committee on Arrangements (COA) letterhead, calls for Belinda Cook to serve "as RNC liaison to the convention." The Tampa press has been identifying Mrs. Cook as "convention manager" - a position invariably filled in the past by Republicans of considerable federal-level experience in negotiating many...

In the wake of Republican National Committee political director Gentry Collins' spectacular departure from the RNC yesterday, chairman Michael Steele has tapped two veterans of the last two presidential cycles to replace him. Collins left in a very public huff, dropping a letter on the RNC's executive committee that all but declared Steele incompetent to run the committee heading into the 2012 cycle. The RNC reacted by defending Steele's results and pulling in two new people to take over where Collins left off. Jon Seaton, former John McCain campaign director in Ohio and Pennsylvania, and John Peschong, a former official...

They fear that alienating Steele could cause headaches for the party’s attempt to win back the White House in 2012. Republican leaders have started to clamor for change atop the RNC while acknowledging that if Steele wages a tough fight for a second term as chairman, it could evolve into a politically messy spectacle. “There’s widespread concern about the appearance of dumping the chairman of the RNC for the wrong reasons — particularly the first African-American chairman of the RNC when we have the first African-American president,” said former Rep. Vin Weber (R-Minn.). Weber added, “In politics, perception is everything.”...

Top RNC aide quits, blasts Steele By: Jonathan Martin November 16, 2010 01:06 PM EST Republican National Committee political director Gentry Collins resigned from his post Tuesday morning with a stinging indictment of Chairman Michael Steele’s two-year tenure at the committee. In a four-page letter to Steele and the RNC’s executive committee obtained by POLITICO, Collins lays out inside details, previously only whispered, about the disorganization that plagues the party. He asserts that the RNC’s financial shortcomings limited GOP gains this year and reveals that the committee is deeply in debt entering the 2012 presidential election cycle. “In the previous...

Republican Governors Association Chairman Haley Barbour expressed strong disappointment Tuesday in Michael Steele's performance as RNC chairman, saying that other GOP groups have been forced "to scramble around" because Steele's organization haley,barbour,michael,steele,rncproved "not able to do what they've often done in the past." Barbour [pictured], the governor of Mississippi, also pushed back against rumors that he might be interested in the RNC chairman's job, however. "In order to be chairman of the RNC I would have to step down as governor under Mississippi law, which of course I'm not going to do," Barbour told Fox News host Neil Cavuto on...

Former Gov. Sarah Palin (R-AK) last night defended embattled RNC Chairman Michael Steele as "doing a great job" and just a victim of the Washington establishment. "Michael Steele is an outsider, the machine is tough to penetrate," Palin told Sean Hannity on Fox News. "It's been good to have an independent outsider trying to create some change in the Republican Party."

Shortcomings in Republican efforts during the elections are a reason Michael Steele should not continue as chairman of the Republican National Committee (RNC), a senator said in an interview Sunday. "Our ground game, was not as strong as it could've been. We were outmanned on the ground," Sen. Jim DeMint said on Fox New Sunday. Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) said Steele should be ousted because Republicans could have done a better job reaching voters.

Now that the midterm elections are over, Tea Party energy is at risk of dissipating due to the lack of a pressing goal to work towards. If the Tea Partiers are going to become a long-term, serious force, they must be willing to tackle serious problems without an immediate payoff like an election, else they risk going home and becoming a flash in the pan. This is exactly what the establishment hopes will happen. The election results point to several areas needing our attention. Tea Party favorites Marco Rubio, Rand Paul, and Ron Johnson won despite predictions to the contrary....