No wonder the Republicans keep getting their asses handed to them. So many of them give inarticulate people a bad name. Take Michael Steele. Please.
The Growing Republican Unhappiness With Michael Steele
Republican National Committee chairman Michael Steele’s dust-up with Rush Limbaugh has brought to the fore so-far unspoken concerns about Steele’s performance in his early days as head of the GOP. A number of Republican politicos around Washington, many of whom supported Steele’s bid to become party chairman, are worried that key jobs at the RNC are unfilled and the party’s mission is unfocused, while Steele makes appearance after appearance on television, with sometimes controversial results. The result, they say, is a party that is losing its already scant momentum at a critical time.
Uh-oh. There isn’t really much time, in political terms, to get the RNC back on track in time for the 2010 elections.
Adding to the problem, these insiders say, has been Steele’s high profile on television. Steele made headlines for his appearance on CNN last weekend in which he characterized Limbaugh’s program as “incendiary” and “ugly.” Limbaugh hit back hard, and Steele later apologized, saying his words did not reflect his true feelings. But some Republicans who were not particularly upset by Steele’s references to Limbaugh were appalled when Steele, during the same program, sat quietly while CNN host D.L. Hughley said that last year’s Republican National Convention “literally looked like Nazi Germany. It literally did.” GOP insiders who saw the performance unanimously agreed that Steele was seriously, perhaps unforgivably, remiss in not challenging a television host who compared Republicans to Nazis.
This is worse. Some, maybe even many, Republicans take issue with Limbaugh’s take no prisoners attitude, Steele is totally free to disagree with him on any issue. However, characterizing the show as he did gives fuel to the people who want to re-institute the “Fairness Doctrine”. Hughley’s characterization is beyond the pale and Steele stumbled badly by not calling him to task on it. It’s pure liberal dogma to characterize Republicans as Nazis. It’s defamatory and libelous, and Steele should have jumped all over Hughley. If Steele couldn’t articulate his indignation, then he’s going to have a difficult time leading the RNC.
This is a critical time for the Republic. The opposition party needs a leader who can state it’s philosphy articulately. It also needs a leader who can organize and lead the party back to the majority. Steele needs to prove that he is that leader quickly or he needs to step down.
Maybe he figures that no Republican will leave the party, but he might win some converts by being seen as warm and fuzzy.
He should have said “I’m not going to sit here with someone who thinks I’m a Nazi,” got up, and left.It would have focused everything on the idiot reporter, and embarrassed him, and you’d get less of it in the future.Now the reporters will think that Steele’s a pushover, and that they can say anything that they want, and they may get a story out of it.Press Relations 101: You have to control the situation, because otherwise they will.
RM, that tactic hasn’t worked yet, no reason to think it will now. Ted, I agree with you.
Ted’s point is dead nuts: Steele (in the name of the RNC) made both a tactical and a judgement error. And whatever Limbaugh said, unfortunately, doesn’t really matter. All of the focus will be on Steele and what will be regarded as his ineptitude in leading the RNC.A news report I heard today (it was either on Fox or CNN, not sure which) made a comment about Limbaugh’s being the de facto leader of the Republican party. That’s been said before by some. Whether or not it’s true is ultimately up to the Party, I think.
Walt, Limbaugh has never made an pretense of being a leader of the Republican Party. He’s an entertainer and pundit. I don’t know if you’ve seen it, but Limbaugh has asked Pres. Obama to come on his show and debate him face to face, point by point. If Obama and his people are trying to paint Limbaugh as the leader of the Republican’s then he shouldn’t be afraid to have the debate.
waitaminute…you lost me a little early in the post. CNN hired D.L. Hughley as a news show host?The man’s a comedian, and a mediocre one at that. I mean, it’s one thing for the people of Minnesota to (possibly–who knows yet?) elect a comedian to represent them in the Senate. The cold makes them do stupid things (see “Body, Jesse the”). But CNN? D.L. Hughley?What. The. Eff. This is why I don’t watch any TV new anymore.
PJ, you’re at least one up on me. I had to look him up on Google to find out who he is. Here is a link to the CNN announcement. Comedian D.L. Hughley to host CNN show I guess CNN now stands for Comedian News Network. Or maybe Clown News Network. Another reason that the Lame Stream News is dying out.