Michael Steele wanted to rebuild the Republican Party after two crushing national election losses because he “has a passion for the party I believe in.”
“When the opportunity presented itself,” Steele said in his office just a few blocks from the Capitol, “I saw it as a chance to grab the elephant by the tail and point it in a new direction.”
This direction is not a turn away from the principles and values that have defined the party since 1854, but “in a direction where these principles and values can be relevant in the 21st century.”
At first glance, Steele, 50, may seem an unlikely figure to lead the GOP out of its political frenzy. But his boldness – in life and in politics – may be ideally suited to the task.
Born in Maryland, grew up in Washington, D.C.; his mother worked as a laundress and his stepfather as a truck driver, raising him and his sister.
He graduated in international relations from Johns Hopkins University and then spent three years as a seminarian at Villanova University. He left before taking his vows and instead obtained a law degree from Georgetown University.
He is the first black to hold office in the entire state of Maryland (Lieutenant Governor, 2003–2007). He is the first chairman of the Republican Party and only the second to lead either party.
In January, he defeated five rivals in six rounds of voting to become the 63rd GOP chairman.
In his opinion, he won by reminding the committee members that he started from the foundations of the party as the committee chairman.
“I knocked on doors and licked envelopes. I know from scratch what it takes to win elections,” he said. “I also know what it’s like to have a lot of doors slammed in my face.”
After all, he’s not just joking about the challenge of being a black Republican in the District of Columbia.
Similarities to Democrat
The last four months have brought ups and downs.
Steele raised an impressive $6.7 million in March, significantly more than Democratic Party Chairman Tim Kaine, but a series of mini-media gaffes sent him into a month of self-exile.
Steele’s challenge is no different than that faced by other Democratic chairman: When Howard Dean took over his party in early 2005, it had won no more than 16 states in the last two presidential elections; morale was at its lowest.
Everyone wondered whether the party could ever become a national player again.
These similarities were not lost on Steele: “I feel very sorry for Dean at this point. I remember him going through that purge in 2005 and it wasn’t pretty.”
Dean wrested control from three divisive party factions – the Clintonite establishment, the moderate Democratic Leadership Council, and the far left. His best move was combining the Machiavellian thinking of party activists Rahm Emanuel and James Carville with pro-life, pro-business, and Second Amendment candidates who won in key areas of the country.
“They brought them to our turf, played and won… a place where you weren’t expected to win,” said Steele, a former college fencer who prefers sports metaphors.
Likewise, he intends to “take the party where we haven’t been before… to be present for the citizens of this country where they are. We will not sit idly by and tell them to come to us.”
Democratic strategist Steve McMahon has worked with Dean for years and has known Steele since his days as a Republican committeeman in Maryland. He says the up-to-date GOP chairman must adopt a 50-state agenda, as Dean did, to get his party back on track.
“His challenge is to regain independence without crowding out the base,” he explained. The hardest thing to do is put pressure on party opponents who prefer to win here and there rather than spend time building for the future.
“Steele has to stay focused,” McMahon said. “Do that and the GOP will once again be competitive not just regionally but internationally.”
A wise strategy
In the 2008 election, Democrats expanded their base to include growing demographic groups—teenage voters, Latinos, Blacks, and suburbanites—while Republicans shrank demographically and geographically.
“We have states like Indiana, North Carolina and Ohio where we were competitive and now we’re not, and that’s a big problem,” Steele admitted.
To rebuild, he wants state leaders to think locally: “Everyone needs to pay attention to whether they are recruiting good candidates, building a solid farm team and raising money in their own states. From here we will take care of the national races.”
According to Villanova University political scientist Lara Brown, this is a intelligent strategy.
“Adopting the message of small government, states’ rights and individual freedom would be a great start,” she said. Updating Newt Gingrich’s 1994 “Republican Revolution” agreement would also be helpful, as would recruiting good candidates.
“He should privately go out and win back the moderates on Wall Street and Main Street and raise as much money as possible,” Brown said.
Pennsylvania is the key
Last week, Steele suffered a defeat when Pennsylvania’s Arlen Specter defected to the Democrats, giving them a nearly filibuster-proof majority in the U.S. Senate and leaving the state without a Republican U.S. senator.
State party chairman Robert Gleason says he, like Steele, is focused on winning the 2010 U.S. Senate and governor elections, not Spectre.
“At the beginning of this cycle, we have more staff in the field than ever before,” Gleason said. He is working with Steele to build a solid party staff in preparation for all races, including this year’s state Supreme Court elections.
“Right now we have 10 county executive directors,” he said. “We plan to have 20 of them by the end of the year.”
Steele said Pennsylvania remains very significant to the national party despite Democrats’ shaky leads in voter registration and election victories.
He insists it’s “absolutely” the right time for Republicans to “get back on track” in the Keystone State. “With or without Specter, that was always the plan.”
“In the past, we would have followed the same pattern and not gone any further,” he said. Now Gleason is adapting the state party’s strategy.
Steele believes Democrat-blue Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Virginia offer opportunities to test the GOP’s message and strategy to see if a 50-state agenda has a chance for the future.
“We want to see how effective we can be… in returning, starting with these states,” he said.
Steele won’t predict whether 2010 will be a comeback year, but he insists Republicans will gain seats.
“It’s a long process,” he said, “but done right, it’s a long-lasting process.”
