Yesterday the RNC chose a new chairman to lead the Republican Party. Being head of a political party is not something that I could ever see myself doing as I like to be an independent minded critic that points out the negatives of all candidates. Blame it on my cynicism, but being a cheerleader for a bunch of politicians is not a job that I could respect myself in. If I ever rose to any level within a political party, I would still remain a vocal critic even of those in my party.
Michael Steele was one of five seeking the head of the RNC. He won on the sixth ballot. I watched most of the action as it happened on CSPAN. I must say that this is really the first time I have watched such an election. I actually have found this to be a superior form of electing a leader as you cannot have several good candidates with split support and a terrible candidate with solid support. If you had 5 good candidates each pulling in 15% each, but the 6th candidate may be a horrible choice but he may have 25%. It kind of makes me think of the Corker, Bryant, Van Hilleary Senate race from a few years back. You had Bryant and Van Hilleary running as conservatives and Corker as a moderate. Had Van Hilleary or Bryant dropped out, I am sure the other would have won. Instead, we got stuck with the moderate.
Steele, himself, is somewhat of a moderate on issues. He is pro-life but believes that Roe v. Wade is settled law that should remain. With civil rights type issues, he is pro-traditional marriage, but he is also pro-affirmitive action. He is also against the death penalty. He is conservative on a host of other issues, however. He is against No Child Left Behind (believe it or not, this is actually a conservative ideal), for guns, against socialized medicine, and against illegal immigration.
Steele also received the endorsement of Newt Gingrich and he led GOPAC, a political action committee that develops candidates for state and local offices.
Steele has some minority appeal as an African-American, but his leadership with GOPAC makes him a prime candidate to lead Republicanism back into the mainstream on a grassroots level. While I would like Steele to be a stronger conservative on some issues, he may have been the best candidate to bring the Republican Party back from the ashes.