Michael Steele vs RNC

by Amile Wilson

So, once again, Michael Steele is coming under fire for comments.  This time, for reportedly saying that abortion is a personal choice.  Sure, he’s backtracked on the comment, saying that he has always been pro-life, but this shows a grim portent of things to come.

The problems facing the Republican Party in the 2008 elections were because the organization had moved away from its conservative roots.  Liberal Republicans had driven the party into big spending, moral corruption and a public relations nightmare.  The real low point came at the CPAC 2008 when Mitt Romney withdrew from the Presidential race and John McCain became the party’s de facto nominee.  

This did not make conservatives happy.  McCain’s liberal stances and refusal to actually fight the war of ideas made him one of the most lackluster Presidential candidates possible.  Then, after a trouncing in the November election, Republicans regrouped to elect a new RNC Chairman.  At the time, I endorsed Saul Anuzis, not Michael Steele.  Steele seemed too weak, too untried, not the strong leader we need to set the party back on track.  Steele seems to be proving me right.

Since ascending to the chairmanship, Steele has repeatedly run headlong into controversy and set aside conservative principles in order to make the party more appealing to moderates. This is the same thing that caused us to lose in 2006 and 2008.  We do not expand our party by watering down our beliefs but by convincing others that our beliefs are right!

Our “big tent” is that our beliefs are right for everyone!  The Democrat’s policies are detrimental to America, to our founding, and to the principles that have made this country great!  If Republicans want to become a majority party again, this identity crisis must end.  The platform of what is a Conservative has already been laid out for us.  Free Markets, Free Trade, Free People, Free Choice, Free-dom.  A pro-life stance is part of that – preserving the freedom and God-given rights of every person, no matter how small.  To compromise on such an issue is to destroy the very foundation of the party and of the country. In response to Steele, former Ohio Secretary of State and RNC Platform Committee Vice Chairman Ken Blackwell said, “He needs to get to work or get out of the way.”

I’m not calling for Michael Steele to resign.  I’m calling for him to do the job he was elected to do – fight for Conservative principles.  Politics is not about building a consensus or creating a compromise, it is about doing what is right for the people one is elected to serve.  The Republican Party has a duty to do what is right by the American people and Michael Steele needs to realize that.  We will never win by compromising and acting more like the opposition.  We will only win by convincing moderates or the opposition that we are right!  

Steele was elected to communicate the Conservative message more effectively than it has been in the past.  It’s time he started communicating that message and stopped repeating the mistakes of the past few years.