Examine the Record, not the Rhetoric
I certainly admire the fervent, almost Andrew Sullivan-like cheerleading among many conservative bloggers and pundits on behalf of former Ohio Secretary of State Ken Blackwell’s candidacy, but it’s important to give serious consideration to the facts, particularly when debating the future of the Party and the next Chairman of the Republican National Committee, and sadly, few have.
Two narratives, with a staggering deference to the candidates’ records, have emerged in recent weeks as the clearest obstacles in Michael Steele’s path to securing the top Republican post, the first of which being his association with the centrist Republican Leadership Council, and second, of course, the notion, that while serving as its Chairman, GOPAC underperformed in fundraising, messaging, and candidate recruitment.
Republicans, believe it or not, have an opportunity to build a broad coalition, one unified under the basic tenants of conservatism – strong national defense, limited government interference, and greater personal liberties – but if we’re to survive, let alone build that coalition, the Party must allow for a diversity of opinion. And correct me if I’m wrong, but I’m unaware of any other method of building coalitions aside from reaching out to those with whom you have disagreements. After losing independents and moderates to the Obama campaign by a margin of 8 percent, Republicans simply can no longer afford to be tone deaf, and Steele, I dare say, understands this. His vision of a revitalized the Party is not one where we’ve sacrificed our conservative principles, but rather one where we’ve effectively advocated for them, even to unfriendly audiences, an act some have wrongly characterized as “tratorious.”
With Senator John Danforth and Governor Christine Todd Whitman, Steele, who won the endorsement of the National Right to Life organization in his bid for US Senate, worked to establish the RLC, a moderate group whose stated purpose is to advocate for “fiscally conservative, socially inclusive” policies and Republican candidates nationwide. However, when the rubber met the road, the RLC proved more successful at marginalizing social conservatives than in offering an “inclusive” agenda for Republicans. After resigning from the RLC’s executive board in July, Steele told the Washington Times that, despite working to make a more inclusive, productive, and vibrant Republican Party, he could not, in good conscious, further “alienate people” from the movement.
While I both greatly admire and respect Rob Bluey and Matt Lewis, the implicit allegation that Steele, who hired Blaise Hazelwood – a well-known Republican politico – to run his campaign, would interfere in GOP primaries is downright absurd and, to be frank, nothing short of a lie. Steele’s record actually suggests something quite contrary to the narrative the two attempted to build: His resignation from the RLC, while multi-faceted, came amid frustration the organization had begun endorsing incumbent candidates in GOPprimaries. “I have a fundamental issue with organizations getting involved in primaries,” he said in a recent interview. Adding, “the organization was endorsing candidates in primaries,” something he saw as dangerous and unhealthy for any Republican organization.
To say the least, Steele’s fundraising record, who many conveniently gloss over, is impressive. GOPAC, under his leadership, gave more to state parties and local candidates than at any other time in the organization’s 29 year history. As Chairman of the Maryland Republican Party, Steele tripled individual contributions, and as Chairman of GOPAC, the committee raised more than $8 million dollars for Republican candidates nationwide – neither figures warrant scoffing.
As Bluey dutifully notes, ‘political celebrity’ should be low in conservatives’ check-list when deciding who to support for the next Chairman of the RNC, but that is not to say that political celebrity and a life-long commitment to advancing the conservative cause are mutually exclusive. Passionately advocating for a candidate, or in this case, kneecapping one, is one thing when you employ un-filtered facts, it’s another when you entirely forgo your responsibility to present those facts.
Cross-posted at Skepticians.com.
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