The Fix: Michael Steele bows out of RNC Chair race, endorses Maria Cino

By Chris Cillizza

Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele bowed out of his longshot bid for a second term, bringing an end to a two-year tenure more defined by gaffes than the electoral victories his party wracked up.

"I will step aside because I think the party is ready for something different," said Steele before the fifth ballot for chairman began. He immediately threw his support to former RNC official Maria Cino's candidacy.

Even in defeat, however Steele was unapologetic about his time in office. "I hope you all appreciate the legacy we leave," he told the 168 members of the RNC. "Despite the noise, despite the difficulties, we won."

Steele finished second on the first ballot, a single vote behind Wisconsin Republican party chairman Reince Priebus. But he progressively lost support as the balloting went on as the 168 committee members made clear that they have decided to move past his stormy time in office.

Nearly two years ago to the day, Steele was triumphant -- scoring a somewhat surprising victory over a crowded field to become the first African American chairman of the Republican party. Steele was touted by many within the GOP as a foil to the newly elected President Obama -- a well spoken, fresh face for a party decimated in the 2008 election.

But Steele turned into something far less than what many had hoped -- a gaffe-prone public speaker who struggled to court the high dollar donors that form the financial foundation of the RNC.

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First Tally at RNC Winter Meeting has Priebus ahead by one vote.

First tally of of RNC Chair votes at the RNC Winter Meeting shows Priebus with 45 and Steele with 44, the other three candidates garnered the other 79 votes. 85 needed to win. Let the lobbying begin!

Stick a fork in Steele, he's done!

The articles I posted in April and July of this year should have been a pretty good indication of what was to come. More proof that Affirmative Action is a bad idea!

Top RNC Aide Slams Steele For Failed Fundraising


Republican National Committee political director Gentry Collins offered an abrupt resignation Tuesday, coupled with a stinging rebuke of Chairman Michael Steele and the committee's fundraising efforts in the midterm elections.

In a five-page letter to Steele and members of the RNC's executive committee, Collins said the party's lackluster fundraising effort contributed just a fraction of the amount of money to state parties that it had in previous cycles. That financial downturn, Collins said, prevented Republicans from capitalizing on an historic wave election and allowed Democrats to hold on in key races.

Collins' public rebuke of Steele's tenure is the latest indication that there are serious divisions within the RNC and that Steele, who is seeking a second term, will face a tough battle to hang on to the job.

Steele hired Collins, a top Republican operative who worked for former Gov. Mitt Romney in the 2008 cycle, in an effort to reassure donors and committee members that he was building an effective operation with seasoned and competent people in key roles. Collins is the latest staffer to leave disgruntled, but the first to have done so in such a public manner.

"Sadly, if left on its current path, the RNC will not be a productive force in the 2012 campaign," wrote Collins. "During the 2010 cycle, the RNC allowed its major donor base to wither."

Collins said the fundraising operation was ineffective, handing out a relative pittance to state parties and candidates while spending more money to raise less. Big donors who gave more than $1,000 contributed just 10.5 percent of the committee's fundraising, an incredible drop-off from recent years.

Meanwhile, Collins revealed the RNC has drawn down $15 million it had secured in lines of credit, and that unpaid bills owed by the committee are "likely to add millions to that debt." The money went to expenses other than the political department, which for the first time since the McCain-Feingold campaign finance reform bill was passed did not fund an independent expenditure program.

What's more, even standard programs developed over decades failed to materialize. The RNC's 72-hour program of turning out voters "was left largely un-funded," Collins wrote, as RNC chief of staff Mike Leavitt withheld funding from states until October 22, a week before those funds were to be implemented.

The lack of funds had a real impact, Collins argued, contributing to Republican losses in Democratic-held seats the party might otherwise have contested. Collins points to 21 House races, stretching from Washington State to Arizona to New York and North Carolina, that the party left on the table, as well as to Senate races in Washington and Colorado and governorships in Vermont, Minnesota and Connecticut.

The 2012 elections represent "huge opportunities requiring massive obligations," Collins wrote. "And this Committee can meet them. But to meet them, we must dig out from huge debts, be focused and disciplined about spending wisely, only spend to win elections, and adopt a laser-like focus on the hard work of reviving our major donor fundraising network."

Collins' public rebuke is stunning in that he has shied away from ever commenting about the internal workings of the party. While staffers, former staffers and committee members have complained, Collins refused to speak with the press except on a handful of occasions while briefing reporters at committee meetings.

HL

Despite declining support, Steele keeps digging the hole.

Peter Flaherty of the conservative National Legal And Policy Center relays a conversation with Angela Sailor, the Republican National Committee's director of coalitions:

RNC Chair Steele Refuses to Cancel Speech at Sharpton Event

"Angela Sailor, the Republican National Committee’s Director of Coalitions, called me today to inform me that Michael Steele will speak as scheduled at the annual conference of Al Sharpton’s group, the National Action Network (NAN). On April 4, NLPC asked Steele to withdraw from the event, which takes place tomorrow through Friday in New York City. When I went through each of our objections, Ms. Sailor gave me some permutation of the following: 'Chairman Steele is going to New York to speak to 500-1,000 people in a ballroom to ask them to support Republican candidates.' When I asked if Steele might have better luck elsewhere, she claimed that many of the attendees are 'independent,' who she characterized as 'swing voters'. When I queried whether most attendees, who are paying for travel and New York hotel rooms, were more likely activists committed to Sharpton’s message, Sailor stuck to the script. She responded: 'If we take time to talk to folks in a ballroom, they will support our candidates if we go and ask them.'"

On Feb. 26, 2009, the 41-year-old Sailor was named director of the RNC’s coalitions department, an office charged with evaluating “every outside constituent organization in the country at the local, state and national levels.” The department is integral to fulfilling Steele’s goal to reach out to minority voting groups on a full-time basis, not just during election season. It also strives to connect to young voters through social media, and trains grassroots activists about using new media to advance the GOP's agenda.

To show he meant business, Steele made the coalitions group an independent departmentwithin the RNC, complete with its own budget and a handsome salary for Sailor.

Is this starting to sound like a Chairman playing loose and goosey with RNC money? It should, because he is.