RNC is calling for STeele to Step Down
Leading The News
RNC member calls on Steele to quit
By Reid Wilson
Posted: 03/05/09 09:44 AM [ET]
Michael Steele should resign as Republican National Committee (RNC) chairman, according to a committee member from North Carolina.
In an e-mail to fellow RNC members obtained by The Hill, Dr. Ada Fisher, North Carolina's national committeewoman, said Steele is "eroding confidence" in the GOP and that members of his transition team should encourage him to step aside. Fisher added Steele's personal e-mail address to the e-mail.
"I don't want to hear anymore [sic] language trying to be cool about the bling in the stimulus package or appealing to D.L. Hughley and blacks in a way that isn't going to win us any votes and makes us frankly appear to many blacks as quite foolish," Fisher wrote.
Fisher, who is one of three black members of the national committee, backed South Carolina GOP Chairman Katon Dawson, whom Steele edged out in the final round of voting to win the chairmanship in late January. She has voiced repeated opposition to Steele, sending dozens of e-mails to committee members even after Steele won election slamming him for any number of chips that have fallen awry.
Fisher’s call for Steele’s resignation comes amid growing frustration in the GOP that the new chairman’s repeated gaffes are hurting the party.
It remains unclear just how much trouble Steele may be in with his own membership. While several RNC members have told The Hill that Steele remains popular with their bases, Washington-based strategists are grumbling, an attitude that is slowly filtering down to the states.
Steele appeared over the weekend on Hughley's CNN show, where he fought back against the assertion that radio host Rush Limbaugh was the "de facto leader" of the Republican Party. Steele said he himself was the de facto leader and called Limbaugh an entertainer whose program's content was "incendiary" and "ugly."
On Monday, Limbaugh shot back, saying on his show that Steele was not the leader of the party and that many conservatives would "hang up" when Steele's RNC came calling for contributions.
"Limbaugh has already promised that 'His Conservatives' won't be giving to the RNC. I would suggest to you that that is a real bet," Fisher wrote. "If we can't raise money and continue to allow the alienation of the few varifiable [sic] red states remaining, we are foolish."
Steele later said he had reached out to Limbaugh to clarify his remarks, insisting he meant no offense. But the incident elicited crowing from Democrats, who for weeks have pursued a strategy seemingly designed to elevate Limbaugh to the front of the GOP line. Democrats would enjoy contrasting themselves with Limbaugh's assertion that he wants to see President Obama's economic policies fail.
Calling the Limbaugh-Steele clash a "Republican Horror Show," Fisher expressed what some other GOP strategists have until now only said privately: "I have never seen such ineptness in our GOP leadership," Fisher wrote. "And I though we handled the 2008 elections very poorly."
Fisher could not be reached for comment Thursday morning, while the RNC did not immediately have comment on her letter.
http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/rnc-member-calls-on-steele-to-q...
RNC member calls on Steele to quit
By Reid Wilson
Posted: 03/05/09 09:44 AM [ET]
Michael Steele should resign as Republican National Committee (RNC) chairman, according to a committee member from North Carolina.
In an e-mail to fellow RNC members obtained by The Hill, Dr. Ada Fisher, North Carolina's national committeewoman, said Steele is "eroding confidence" in the GOP and that members of his transition team should encourage him to step aside. Fisher added Steele's personal e-mail address to the e-mail.
"I don't want to hear anymore [sic] language trying to be cool about the bling in the stimulus package or appealing to D.L. Hughley and blacks in a way that isn't going to win us any votes and makes us frankly appear to many blacks as quite foolish," Fisher wrote.
Fisher, who is one of three black members of the national committee, backed South Carolina GOP Chairman Katon Dawson, whom Steele edged out in the final round of voting to win the chairmanship in late January. She has voiced repeated opposition to Steele, sending dozens of e-mails to committee members even after Steele won election slamming him for any number of chips that have fallen awry.
Fisher’s call for Steele’s resignation comes amid growing frustration in the GOP that the new chairman’s repeated gaffes are hurting the party.
It remains unclear just how much trouble Steele may be in with his own membership. While several RNC members have told The Hill that Steele remains popular with their bases, Washington-based strategists are grumbling, an attitude that is slowly filtering down to the states.
Steele appeared over the weekend on Hughley's CNN show, where he fought back against the assertion that radio host Rush Limbaugh was the "de facto leader" of the Republican Party. Steele said he himself was the de facto leader and called Limbaugh an entertainer whose program's content was "incendiary" and "ugly."
On Monday, Limbaugh shot back, saying on his show that Steele was not the leader of the party and that many conservatives would "hang up" when Steele's RNC came calling for contributions.
"Limbaugh has already promised that 'His Conservatives' won't be giving to the RNC. I would suggest to you that that is a real bet," Fisher wrote. "If we can't raise money and continue to allow the alienation of the few varifiable [sic] red states remaining, we are foolish."
Steele later said he had reached out to Limbaugh to clarify his remarks, insisting he meant no offense. But the incident elicited crowing from Democrats, who for weeks have pursued a strategy seemingly designed to elevate Limbaugh to the front of the GOP line. Democrats would enjoy contrasting themselves with Limbaugh's assertion that he wants to see President Obama's economic policies fail.
Calling the Limbaugh-Steele clash a "Republican Horror Show," Fisher expressed what some other GOP strategists have until now only said privately: "I have never seen such ineptness in our GOP leadership," Fisher wrote. "And I though we handled the 2008 elections very poorly."
Fisher could not be reached for comment Thursday morning, while the RNC did not immediately have comment on her letter.
http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/rnc-member-calls-on-steele-to-q...
Replies are closed for this discussion.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Terrence Abrams on -
Fisher is the best you can quote? HAHAHHAHAHHAAAHHAAAHHHAAAA
As relevant as all of your other loser sources..... Get to work Mike Steele! Yeah!
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Permalink Reply by Suzanne on -
I predict Steele will be stepping down soon. Drudge Report cites The Hill frequently..nimrod.
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Permalink Reply by Gordon McCleary on -
"and for those of you who wish to obstruct, get ready to get knocked over."
-M. Steele
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Permalink Reply by Jim Rock on -
ROFLMAO Sue, go wash your mind, this is silly as a rabbit with a 12 ft tail
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Permalink Reply by Whitehorse (Robin Ray) on -
Steele shouldn't resign, Fisher simply doesn't like him & is being overly dramatic. Dawson (who could have made a fine Chairman) did not win, & the sour grapes of Ms. Fisher are producing vinegar.
I don't know of "repeated gaffes" by Steele; I think the Hill is mixing him up with Obama.
He is no liberal. He & Rush have moved on & gotten back to work - Steele made a mistake & owned up to it. We should move on also. The other things Steele's doing are quite good; this is no reason to give in to the MSM & the Democrats & do what they want.
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Permalink Reply by Amy Eldred on -
I agree. I don't think Steele is a bad guy and I don't think he's a rino. He's just facing a new environment of media exposure and criticism and he's got to have thick skin and stick to his guns. The last thing we need right now is the MSM making our decisions for us. They gave McCain remember...
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Permalink Reply by Jim Rock on
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he does what he does and does not blow his horn, its pissing the terrorist off cause they dont get to read news articles that they can twist---Sue , why dont you write an article and tell All about Steele so your buddies can bash him
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Permalink Reply by Michael Brennan on -
We all need to calm down, no one is resigning, no one is leaving. We are moving forward and having a growth spurt and that causes some friction so we can just settle down. It will happen again and again as we get closer to our goals and continue to grow except it will be different people, some of them we will support and they are the ones saying the stupid stuff. They are human you know.
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Permalink Reply by Jon from Western Mass on -
The problem with Steele is that he isn't doing the job he is supposed to be doing (administrative). If he wants to be on TV, then leave his current job and become a talk radio host, I'm sure someone will give him a spot.
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Permalink Reply by Michael Brennan on
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No one at the RNC is calling for Steele to step down except for 3 fringe people. To bad the author did not research this post better. ONly the fringe leftists in the party want Steele and Limbaugh to fail.
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