Free Republic

Former Republican National Committee chairman Michael Steele is the latest GOPer to weigh in on the Occupy Wall Street protests. “I think it’s an incredible movement” Steele told The Daily Caller. “I think, quite frankly, it will be something for Republicans to really begin to appreciate a little more, and connect itself to a little bit more, in terms of understanding the root cause of their frustration.” Watch Michael Steele talk about Occupy Wall Street, the GOP presidential candidates, and Donald Trump.

It's becoming a familiar scene: Republicans gather for strategy sessions against Democrats, but Michael Steele, the brash chairman of the Republican National Committee, is out dealing with some spending, verbal or managerial gaffe. Fed-up Republican leaders are now quietly working around their party chairman as they prepare for the fall midterm elections. This is considered a big year for Republicans. Steele warned at a conference Saturday that his party can't make the mistake of losing in November. And his fellow Republicans agree. Behind the scenes, they have deliberately begun to rely less on Republican headquarters with Steele at the helm....

Embattled Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele said he won't resign despite calls for him to step down amid reports of the group's excessive spending, adding that he and other African-American leaders such as President Obama have a slimmer margin of error because of their race. "The honest answer is, 'yes,'" he said on "Good Morning America" today. "Barack Obama has a slimmer margin. A lot of folks do. It's a different role for me to play and others to play and that's just the reality of it. But you just take that as a part of the nature of...

RNC Chairman Michael Steele on if he will resign: "No, and I understand that. Of course they've been saying that since the day I got the job."

Critics of Michael Steele's tenure as RNC chairman are motivated by racism, Steele suggested in an interview published today. Speaking to the Washingtonian Magazine (no online version), Steele wondered why his DNC counterpart doesn't get the same criticism he does. "I don’t see stories about the internal operations of the DNC that I see about this operation," Steele said. "Why? Is it because Michael Steele is the chairman, or is it because a black man is chairman?” The RNC has experienced significant staff turnover since Steele became chairman, especially in the communcations shop. That has prompted speculation about Steele's management...