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Republicans control the U.S. House and cut into the Senate Democrats' majority, so why do some within the party not want Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele around for the 2012 presidential election? Steele, who has been a lightning rod for controversy, is being blamed -- partially -- for the party's failure to make more pick-ups in the Nov. 2 election, particularly in the Senate, where the GOP gained six seats.
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While not tipping his hand about whether he'll seek re-election, the first black to lead the committee is battling a campaign to chase him from his post as the GOP prepares for the 2012 election cycle, with several powerful insiders saying a change in RNC leadership would be good.
Challengers are starting to come out, several media outlets reported, with the Michigan GOP chairman Saul Anuzis saying he would he would challenge Steele in RNC elections set for January. In a letter to senior party officials, Anuzis questioned his ability to organize and raise the cash needed to compete against Democrats preparing for President Barack Obama's presumed re-election bid.
"To be a force, the RNC must change and that requires new leadership at the top," wrote Anuzis, whom Steele battled for the chairmanship in 2009.
"I think at some point someone has to step up and say the emperor has no clothes," Chris Healy, Connecticut GOP chairman and another possible challenger, told Roll Call. "I don't have any confidence that the current management can get it done."
Henry Barbour, nephew of Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour and a committeeman from that state, approached Reince Priebus about challenging Steele, sources told The Washington Post. Priebus, who hasn't revealed his plans, was chairman of Steele's first run for chairman in 2009.
Prominent Republican governors also voice concern about Steele's leadership, evincing a preference for some new blood, Politico said.
Barbour, the outgoing Republican Governors Association chairman, didn't mince words when asked about whether the RNC should have a new leader.
"Yes," he said.
Looking to 2012, Barbour said, "To defeat an incumbent president, even one that's got the political problems of this one, the RNC has to operate at absolutely maximum capacity, and this year they operated far, far, far below that in terms of fundraising, in terms of grass-roots organization and in terms of building strong, self-reliant state parties."
Also voicing a preference for someone other than Steele incoming RGA chairman and Texas Gov. Rick Perry said, "In 2012, the RNC is going to play a very, very important role, so whoever they choose needs to be someone who truly has the ability to represent the party and is a highly capable individual from the standpoint of raising money and organization."
Steele's bold moves played large in the media, The Baltimore Sun noted. He surprised and upset Republican leaders when he chose to augment his $223,000 annual salary (plus benefits) by penning a book and collecting speaking fees. Among his remarks that raised hackles was a prediction the GOP would not win a majority in the House this year and a remark that the war in Afghanistan, which began during a Republican administration and is widely backed by Republicans, was "a war of Obama's choosing."
Republicans gained at least 61 seats in the House of Representatives (several races still are unresolved) and added six in the Senate -- and Steele has no problem taking credit for the GOP wave that crashed on Democrats.
"My goal from the very, very beginning was to devolve activity away from Washington, D.C., away from the Republican National Committee, and put it in the hands of the states," Canada's National Post quoted Steele as saying after the election. "I hope the members who elected me are satisfied with the effort that we've done, and they are the ones who decide what happens next."
Not so fast, critics say: The Republican resurgence occurred despite Steele, not because of him.
They point out the RNC raised $79 million in 2010 -- a healthy $15 million less than Democrats -- which left the party in a pinch.
When he stepped down as RNC political director last week, Gentry Collins ripped Steele's leadership in his letter of resignation, saying the party, under Steele's watch, was deep in debt entering the 2012 election cycle, reported Politico, which obtained the letter.
"In the previous two non-presidential cycles, the RNC carried over $4.8 million and $3.1 million, respectively, in cash reserve balances into the presidential cycles," wrote Collins, who's considering whether to challenge Steele. "In stark contrast, we enter the 2012 presidential cycle with (100 percent) of the RNC's $15 million in lines of credit tapped out, and unpaid bills likely to add millions to that debt."
The unflattering comments don't stop there. Former North Dakota Republican Party Chairman Gary Emineth compared Steele's tenure to Gen. George Custer's Last Stand, Politico reported.
In an e-mail to supporters, Emineth wrote that like Custer in 1876, Steele thought about himself and his own reputation "rather than the strength and position of the enemy."
"Chairman Steele is managing in a style which goes against the grain of everything the Republican Party stands for," wrote Emineth, who hasn't ruled out a challenge. "In short, it is sloppy, expensive and unethical. It is flat out embarrassing. I feel I would be remiss by not asking, 'Where was his inner circle, the executive committee and the budget committee when all this was happening?'"
But Steele has his supporters, with a wait-and-see strategy, believing if no firm consensus forms around a potential challenger, Steele can win a second term, Politico said.
His allies said they think Steele will have 45 to 50 votes when the 168 members of the RNC vote in January and his backers don't think another candidate can draw enough votes to prevent Steele from getting to the magic number of 85 needed to win, especially if the election takes several ballots as it did in 2009.
"He's further ahead than he was two years ago with the numbers," said Michigan Committeewoman Holly Hughes, one of Steele's key lieutenants on the committee. "I can't imagine that we would throw out a chairman at the top of their game."
"Steele has the single largest bloc of votes on the committee until someone else can show you 60 votes and 60 names, which means he's closer to victory than anyone else. And that's formidable," another state party chairman told Politico.
Asked by the Post if he were seeking a second term, Steele said he was thinking of "a whole lot of stuff," including what else he can contribute to the GOP and his vision of where the party should be.
"I tend to be kind of a long-ball thinker," Steele said, "so I kind of look down the road not just to winning this cycle but how do we win going forward, where do we win, what new areas should we be competitive that we're not in right now and whether or not I can bring that to the table and that's something the party wants from me in my leadership."
