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Saturday, January 31, 2009

Welcome Chairman Steele

Posted by: Dwayne Horner at 6:46 PM

History was made Friday with the election of former Maryland Lt. Governor Michael Steele as the new Chairman of the Republican National Committee...the de facto leader of the GOP. Without control of the White House or the Congress, Chairman Steele's work will be cut out for him. There are different groups sprouting out around the country like mushrooms after a spring rain, all trying to be THE one to fix the GOP. To a large extent, that is great for the party. However, moving forward, Michael Steele will have to be the face of the party and do a convincing job of showing the American people that the Republican Party is the home of conservatism...which means smaller government, lower taxes, fighting the war on terror, and the home for pro-life advocates in America. The attacks are already out there as Amanda has pointed out here and here.? Can you imagine a democrat having oreo cookies thrown at him or his credit record being stolen during a campaign? I didn't think so.

Chairman Steele, welcome and good luck. We've got a new start, added to the unity on the bailout bill, and we've got a long way to go to get out of the wilderness...but now we have a man with a compass and let's follow him and help him.

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Saturday, January 31, 2009

What Steele Means for the GOP

Posted by: Matt Lewis at 5:55 PM

Regardless of what you think about Michael Steele, it is clear that his election sends a message that the GOP is, at least, serious about change.

In my estimation, after eight years of George W. Bush, that is an important first step.

Early news coverage has been very positive. Of course, his long-term effectiveness as a leader will be the true test. But there is no doubt the GOP has symbolicly turned the page. This will be very interesting to watch...

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Saturday, January 31, 2009

Popped in the Nose by the "Clenched Fist"

Posted by: Carol Platt Liebau at 1:07 PM

In his inaugural address, Barack Obama famously promised to "extend a hand" to any regime willing to "unclench its fist" -- including, even "who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent."

Iran has responded by characterizing the friendly overture as a sign of weakness.

Is this a surprise? To the extent Barack Obama sends signals that America has become a "weak horse," willing to befriend and negotiate with even the worst tyrants, this is the kind of behavior he can expect from Ahmadinejad and others like him.

It doesn't make anyone in the US safer. Nor does the administration's efforts to cut the Defense Department budget by 10%, even as the Democrats load up a pork bill with wasteful domestic spending.

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Saturday, January 31, 2009

Stimulating the Trial Lawyers

Posted by: Amanda Carpenter at 12:05 PM

The Institute for Legal Reform is questioning a provision in the stimulus bill to boost trial lawyers.

The House-passed stimulus bill gives state AGs power to bring lawsuits for statutory damages for violations of the federal Health Insurance Privacy and Accountability Act (HIPAA) statute. ILR says This means state AG's will be able to contract with outside lawyers to file civil suits, with backing from the state.

“While the emergency economic stimulus package is aimed at turning our economy around and getting Americans back to work, the provision slipped into the House version and included in the Senate proposal is nothing more than a gift to the plaintiffs’ lawyers,” said ILR President Lisa A. Rickard.

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Saturday, January 31, 2009

Buckley to Diss Dad in New Book?

Posted by: Matt Lewis at 9:55 AM

You may recall Christopher Buckley's controversial article last year, "Sorry Dad, I'm Voting for Obama," which promptly ended his writing at National Review.

At the time, several people remarked to me that, prior to the controversy, they had never even heard of Chris Buckley (which is odd, inasmuch as he has written many books, including "Thank You for Smoking.")

Regardless, I am now hearing from two independent and reliable sources that Buckley is writing a new book, which will take some shots at his late famous father, William F. Buckley, Jr.

Conservatives, of course, revere William F. Buckley as a conservative intellectual who founded National Review, and as the man whose ideas and arguments helped pave the way for Reagan.

From what I am hearing, it sounds like the younger Buckley will argue that his father was more interested in fame and self-promotion than in advancing the conservative movement.

Ironically, it may well be that the younger Buckley is stirring up this controversy to get attention himself (and to finally get out from under old man's shadow).

We will have to wait and see how this pans out, but I'm not liking the sounds of it...

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Friday, January 30, 2009

More Thoughts On Steele

Posted by: Amanda Carpenter at 10:51 PM

It's remarkable how much strife Steele has tolerated in his political career. A lot of other people would have called it quits.

Not this guy.

He's had Oreos thrown at him, been called Sambo and endured all kinds of hateful, racist attacks for having the nerve to be black and Republican.

These are things I have known for awhile, but I am guessing the liberal left who already has an eye on destroying this guy, well, they have no idea what he is made of.

If you want to know more about what Steele had to go through while carrying the GOP banner in the true-blue state of Maryland, here's a good place to start reading.

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Friday, January 30, 2009

Clintonista Already Dishing Out Oppo Hit Pieces on Steele

Posted by: Amanda Carpenter at 5:43 PM

Well, that didn't take long.

Hillary Clinton's former research director dished up a nasty hit-piece memo on Michael Steele hours after he was elected the GOP's first black RNC Chairman.

He cites shaky resources like Think Progress, a blog for the lefty Center for American Progress for his research. This would be like me linking to comments on FreeRepublic to back up my facts.

Steele's clearly got the Dems scared.

And, I wonder why Hillary's old research man had oppo sitting around on Steele...?

Here's a sampling of some of the disgusting comments already being posted on the Huffington Post regarding Steele's race and new status in the GOP:

I guess the GOP tried to pull a McCain (pandering to women with Palin as his running mate) by trying to pander to the African-American community and possibly other minorities.

How nice for them, they managed to find a African American in their party. I guess they think this is their "Teflon" against Obama now LOL, LOL. "We can say all the racists stuff we want now" we're covered!

Expect a lot more talk like this from the Left. I'd also expect Steele to FIRMLY put them in their place in some of his early interviews.

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Friday, January 30, 2009

Chairman Steele

Posted by: Amanda Carpenter at 4:20 PM

Former Maryland Lt. Governor Michael Steele has WON the race to become RNC Party Chairman on the sixth ballot.

There is a ton for card-trading going on outside the member floor right now...lots of consultants were camped out at the Hilton's 1st floor bar through voting session waiting to see which person they would be issuing contract proposals to for the 2010 and 2012 election cycles.

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Friday, January 30, 2009

Steele Makes Lead on 5th Ballot

Posted by: Amanda Carpenter at 3:31 PM

Steele 79
Dawson 69
Anuzis 20

Steele is now only 6 ballots away from becoming RNC Chair.

Anuzis has conceded and it likely most of his votes will go to Steele.

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Friday, January 30, 2009

Dawson Blowout on 4th Ballot

Posted by: Amanda Carpenter at 2:41 PM

Big shocker on the fourth ballot.

South Carolina GOP Chairman Katon Dawson jumped into the lead with 62 votes, which means he was the beneficiary of Chairman Duncan's, who dropped out after the 3rd ballot, scattered votes

Here's the breakdown:

Dawson 62
Steele 60
Anuzis 31
Blackwell 15

Lots of gasps when Dawon's results were announced. People say this thing is going to take a lot longer now.

Word is that there is a wedding booked in the main ballroom at 5pm, which means if a candidate fails to reach a 85 vote majority by that time, the meeting is going to be moved to the St. Regis Hotel...which presents a ton of logistical problems--for the RNC and the poor bride who is going to be taking over the room after they leave.

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Friday, January 30, 2009

Duncan DROPS

Posted by: Amanda Carpenter at 2:19 PM

Current RNC Chairman Robert "Mike" Duncan just withdrew from the race for RNC Chair.

He received 44 ballots of support in the third round of voting, which means the competition for those ballots is going to be fierce.

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Friday, January 30, 2009

3rd Ballot Count Totals

Posted by: Amanda Carpenter at 1:58 PM

Steele 51
Duncan 44
Dawson 34
Anuzis 24
Blackwell 15

Another big win for Team Steele--he jumped into the lead on the 3rd ballot.

Duncan continues to lose ballots. No movement on Anuzis and Blackwell. Dawson gains 5, which shouldn't be dismissed. 5 ballots is a big deal in a race this close

Now for some updates on the scene here at the RNC Winter Meeting:

As you might expect, there's a lot men in suits running around here. It's a little chaotic in between ballots. People break out of the main room to talk, lobby, smoke cigarettes and everything else that people do at these sorts of things.

Not only is the Winter Meeting a place for important party work, it's a place for members to catch up with each other, figure out future plans and strategize.

There's lots of people watching, too. Fox News's Carl Cameron is chatting with members, CNN's GOP commentator Leslie Sanchez tip-toed out of the main ballroom on her standby heels for a phone conversation.

Press folks stalk the candidates every move. Lots of talk on Twitter about Blackwell chatting with Steele in the hallway. Prompts wild discussion about a potential "alliance."

So, all that said, reporting on the Winter Meeting is exciting, but it's also a little like reporting on a high school prom.

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Friday, January 30, 2009

SHOULD TAXPAYERS FUND ABORTION ABROAD?

Posted by: Michael Medved at 1:28 PM

As one of his first significant decisions as president, Barack Obama lifted what liberals describe as “The Global Gag Rule”—a policy banning taxpayer dollars for organizations abroad that promote abortion as part of their family planning efforts.

The core issue here isn’t free speech or free choice, as the left insists; it’s actually a question of federal spending priorities. At a time of pressing needs at home, why should taxpayers fund birth control programs for distant third world countries that include abortion? If private citizens wish to donate to these services, they are free to do so—and can even get a tax deduction for their contributions. But to use scarce taxpayer dollars to terminate pregnancies abroad is immoral in the eyes of many Americans, and should look wasteful and misguided in the eyes of all.

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Friday, January 30, 2009

Race Tightens on Second Ballot

Posted by: Amanda Carpenter at 12:49 PM

Duncan 48
Steele 48
Dawson 29
Anuzis 24
Blackwell 15

Duncan and Blackwell are the biggest losers in the second round of balloting, Steele is the biggest winner.

Steele gained TWO votes. Dawson gained ONE vote. Anuzis gained TWO..

Duncan lost FOUR, Blackwell lost FIVE.

Biggest question for the third round of balloting is, again, who defectors from Duncan and Blackwell will go to.

Once those two drop, that will leave a whopping 63 votes up for grabs.

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Friday, January 30, 2009

2nd Ballots Being Distributed

Posted by: Amanda Carpenter at 12:38 PM

There's lots of optimistic chatter from Team Steele for the 2nd ballot. They think they might be able to win it on the 2nd or the 3rd.

85 votes required to win.