Steele Continues to Slide

I’m actually beginning to feel sorry for RNC Chair Michael Steele.  Rather than taking care of business, Steele wanted to spend his time on radio and television.  The line that Steele would help lead the RNC to a technological makeover was clearly a joke.  A lawyer, not a tech guy, Steele demonstrated during his race for chair that the only candidate with a lesser understanding of social media was then chairman Mike Duncan.  Fortunately for Steele, the people with a vote knew less about tech and social media than he did.

Now Steele has really blown it.  RNC technology chief Cyrus Krohn has left.  Under what terms we don’t know.  I do know this.  It didn’t matter who you supported for chair; it was pretty universal that Krohn needed to stay on.  He is credited with doing a great job to date.

Were there problems with the RNC’s online strategy?  Big time.  Were they Krohn’s fault?  It doesn’t appear so.  The Bush / Rove team seemed more concerned with an online strategy only as it affected them.  We all know who cracked the whip.  The RNC faced a great opportunity to take some unique tools and apply them across the board.

This latest debacle just may be the last straw.  While no one is irreplacable, Krohn’s loss will be deeply felt.  Steele continues to slide.  We’ve got an election coming up in 2010.

  It may be time to cut our losses and replace Steele with someone like Ken Blackwell.  Normally I wouldn’t advocate such rash action.  However, each week goes by and Steele obviously hasn’t learned any lessons from his many past mistakes.  Better now than after blowing myriad opportunities in 2010.

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Our Apologies – We Were Dosed

I apologize for not posting the last couple of days.  Some miscreant found a way onto our server and inserted some nasty javascript which was a trojan horse.

It appears that that the problem is fixed.  Again, our apologies.

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Analysis I – 2009 Salisbury Primary

The preliminary results are in, an Jim Ireton pulled off an impressive primary victory against the field of Ireton, Gary Comegys, Bob Caldwell, and Michael Della Penna.  However, with approximately 200 absentee ballots out, it is possible that Caldwell could gain enough votes to overcome Comegys’ 38 vote advantage.  The first absentee canvass is 10 AM Thursday at the Wicomico Board of Elections.

Several things are evident from yesterday’s results.  First of all, a large number of Ireton’s supporters one shotted.  I don’t blame them.  I would have probably done the same thing; “a bird in the hand” don’t you know.  However, if Ireton’s supporters are the serious change advocates they appear, it would have been far more prudent to vote for both Ireton and Caldwell.

Admittedly, hindsight is always 20/20.  In addition, until we get the final precinct breakouts of the balloting we won’t know to what extent Comegys’ and Caldwell’s voters did the same.  Because of Ireton’s commanding show, detail isn’t needed to see how his folks voted.
Continue Reading …

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RNC Chairman – Why RedState is Wrong

I don’t disagree with the directors of RedState.com very often.  Their endorsement of a candidate for RNC chair is one of those rare occasions.

You might be thinking, “I thought you liked Ken Blackwell?”.  I do.  Up until recently, I was torn in this race.  While I firmly believe that Michigan Chair Saul Anuzis is the right man for the job, I still have the greatest respect for Blackwell.  He’s my second choice.

What’s my problem with the RedState endorsement?  Several things.  We’ll save their second choice pick of incumbent chair Mike Duncan for last.  Perhaps the guys at RedState had a hard partying weekend.  Perhaps they just had an off day.  Whatever the excuse, their reasoning for endorsing Blackwell borders on the absurd.  I repeat, Ken Blackwell is a great candidate.  He’d make a great RNC chair (just not as good as Anuzis – IMHO).  However, if I just used this one piece to make up my mind I would think that RedState is really pushing for Duncan, rather than Blackwell.  I certainly hope that’s not the case. Continue Reading …

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Changes Ahead for Maryland Dems

The Maryland Democrat party appears headed for a shake-up, according to the Baltimore Sun’s Andy Green.  O’Malley acolyte, and state party chair, Michael Cryor is packing his bags so he can take advantage of his connections with high-profile clients (possibly including gambling interests).  ED Quincy Gamble appears ready to take advantage of his Obama campaign contacts.

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Tweet #MDcons

If you’re not familiar with Twitter, you should get to know it.  It’s a great social media tool to carry on conversations with people all over the world, or in your own backyard.

One way of tracking conversations on Twitter is through the use of hashtags (#).  If you’re following the race for RNC Chair, there’s #rncchair.  If you’re part of the group Top Conservatives on Twitter, there’s #tcot.  Now, thanks to Brian Boettcher (@BrianBoettcher), we have #MDcons for Free State conservatives.

If you’re engaging in a conversation about that particular subject or as part of that particular group, you just add the hashtags to the message.  This leads to more like minded people to follow, and who may follow you.  You can also search for those particular conversations so that you can keep up with what you missed.

Check #MDcons out.

I’ve been building a list of fellow Marylanders (mostly conservative, but not all) that I’ve been following as a group on Twitter.  If any of you are interested in a copy of the list, let me know.

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Steele Responds to “The Magic Negro”

As was noted the other day on our sibling site – Delmarva Dealings – former Tennessee GOP Chairman Chip Saltsman has effectively disqualified himself as a candidate for RNC Chair.  I also admonished one of my two favorites in the race, former Ohio Secretary of State Ken Blackwell, for defending Saltsman.  I noted that Blackwell should have remained mute on the subject.  Now we have another candidate weighing in – former Maryland Lt. Gov. Michael Steele. 

As Steele told David Nitkin of the Baltimore Sun:

“the leadership necessary to face these turbulent times requires that
we appreciate how our actions and our words are often times used to
define who we are as Republicans.” …”we must be mindful that
self-inflected wounds not only distract us from regaining our strength
as a party, but further diminish our credibility with an increasingly
diverse community of voters.”

Steele is correct.  As with Blackwell, I would have preferrred that Steele remain mute on the subject.  However, Steele diplomatically expressed the fact that Saltsman showed the lack of judgment which we don’t need at the RNC – particularly now.

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Anuzis, Blackwell Lead in Race for RNC Chair

They’re all a far cry from the 85 votes needed to win, but with a month to go Michigan GOP Chairman Saul Anuzis and former Ohio Secretary of State Ken Blackwell lead the pack in public endorsements of their respective candidacies.  According to The Hill, Anuzis has received the public endorsement of 12 voting members of the RNC.  Blackwell trails by one, with 11.  However, Blackwell is expected to receive the endorsement of new Colorado committeeman Mark Hillman.

Surprisingly, former Maryland Lt. Gov. Michael Steele is runing near last with only two publicly committed votes.  Once considered a frontrunner, Steele has been overshadowed by Anuzis grassroots-style campaign and the late entry of Blackwell into the race.

While current chair Mike Duncan is running just ahead of Steele with 3 commits, his candidacy cannot be underestimated.  The very fact that he announced for re-election after the November debacle indicates that he had meaningful support.

We’ve got a month to go!  Get your questions and follow the debate on January 5th.

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Should the RNC Be Independent of Elected Officials?

The Hill recently ran an article about Grover Norquist, head of Americans for Tax Reform, and his involvement in the race for RNC chairman.  While the bulk of the article discusses Norquist pushing himself into the race (including a debate of the RNC chair candidates on January 5th), one interesting bit of substance was discussed – Norquist’s belief that the RNC should be free of elected officials.

While I’m not sure that I agree with it yet, this is an interesting idea.  There is no question that allowing the RNC to be run out of the White House during the last eight years has been a bust.  As I noted previously, the RNC actually came up with some great tools for the grassroots to use.  Unfortunately, is was all about the President.  What could have been part of a resurgence in grassroots organization simply faded away when the President won re-election.

While Norquist may be correct in theory, how would it work in practice?  We are still depending on a relatively small group of people determining the future direction of the RNC.  Who is say that these same folks (like, with all due respect, Norquist) won’t simply be pushing their own agenda rather than what elected officials want.

Yes, it will boil down to trust.  I’m not interested in an RNC that is simply an incumbent protection mechanism.  Nor do I want a party that serves as a fundraising and policy adjunct for a bunch of non-elected guys inside the beltway.  I don’t claim to have the answer.  However, I do know that elected officials have to [at least] stand for re-election every two, four, or six years.

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