When the WaPo’s Chris Cillizza first reported on Wednesday night that Maryland Lt. Gov. Michael Steele (R), who lost his Senate race by 10 points on Tuesday, is “mulling a bid for the chairmanship of the Republican National Committee,” I honestly thought it was a joke. In its editorial on his Senate race, the WaPo described Steele as a man of “no achievement, no record, no evidence and certainly no command of the issues.” Oddly enough, no one seriously took issue with the description.
But now that Ken Mehlman is stepping down, Steele is reportedly being wooed for the post and has reportedly already been offered the job.
Republican National Committee Chairman Ken Mehlman, whose party just lost both chambers of Congress, will leave his position in January, and the post as party chief has been offered to Maryland Lt. Gov. Michael S. Steele. […]
Republican officials told The Times that Mr. Steele, who lost his bid for the U.S. Senate on Tuesday, has been sought out to succeed Mr. Mehlman as national party chairman. Those Republican officials said Mr. Steele had not made a decision whether to take the post, as of last night.
Other Republican Party officials said some Republican National Committee (RNC) members, including state party chairmen, have mounted a move to have Mr. Steele succeed Mr. Mehlman.
The far-right Washington Times reported that Karl Rove isn’t crazy about the idea, and would prefer to see Steele serve in the president’s Cabinet, perhaps as secretary of Housing and Urban Development.
Though HUD Secretary hardly seems like a more appropriate job, I’m having a hard time imagining why a sizable number of GOP insiders would seriously want Steele for the job of party chairman in the first place.
The Times, which makes no secret of its hard-right agenda, described Steele as “one of the most successful and respected black Republicans in the country.” I suppose there may be some truth to that, but it probably has less to do with Steele and more to do with the very limited number of African-American Republicans holding public office.
Nevertheless, even considering Steele for the RNC post right now seems bizarre. The man was, after all, just caught hiring homeless people to lie to voters on Election Day. It’s hardly the kind of move that deserves a reward from the Republican National Committee (though, given the RNC, perhaps it’s exactly the kind of thing that gets a reward).
Better yet, Paul Kiel noted another incident that should give the Republican establishment pause.
Back in July, Michael Steele granted a briefing to reporters, during which, under the cover of anonymity, he spoke of the burden of running as a Republican this election, famously referring to “R” as “the scarlet letter” and saying that he wouldn’t want Bush campaigning with him. Dana Milbank wrote about Steele’s remarks in his column, dropping a few clues about the identity of the speaker. A fury of speculation followed, and Steele was finally unmasked.
But instead of owning his remarks, Steele furiously backpedaled (saying that Bush, in fact, was his “homeboy”), even lying about the nature of the briefing, accusing Milbank of printing “off the record” remarks. But as an email to Milbank from Steele’s spokesman made clear, the remarks had been “on background” — meaning they could be used anonymously.
Republicans want an unaccomplished and unsuccessful candidate, with dubious ethics and a degree of shame about his party affiliation, to be the head of the Republican National Committee?
I doubt the Dems are this lucky, but keep your fingers crossed.