On the Western Banks of the Shenandoah

Former Maryland Lieutenant Governor Michael Steele won the chairmanship of the Republican National Committee yesterday afternoon with ninty-one votes on the sixth ballot. It was a harrowing contest, though Steele started out in a good position just a few votes behind incumbent Mike Duncan. Duncan ended up being the first to bow out, as by the third ballot eight of his supporters had peeled off and Steele  and in a surprise most of his support shifted to South Carolina Chair Katon Dawson, thrusting him into the lead with sixty-two votes to Steele’s 60 on the fourth ballot.

Conventional wisdom going into the vote was that former Ohio Secretary of State and social conservative activist Kenneth Blackwell would stand the most to gain from Duncan’s departure; however, by the fourth ballot it was clear the Blackwell was losing support, leading to his departure. Blackwell endorsed Steele on his way out (an important move, given that Steele was viewed with skepticism by conservatives from the beginning), giving Steele 79 votes on the fifth ballot, just short of the six votes needed to win. 

At this point, Michigan GOP Saul Anuzis was still in the game but way behind. Standing with twenty votes, he was in a position to be a kingmaker. Twitter updates indicated that both candidates conferred with Anuzis. In the end, though, Anuzis left the race but endorsed neither candidate. At that point, Dawson had sixty-nine votes, meaning he needed over 3/ths of Anuzis’ supporters to break his way. 

Didn’t happen. Steele picked up twelve votes and carried the day with ninety one votes. 

So we have a chair; now what?

Well, first, there’s alot to take away from the race. First and foremost, Twitter is a FANTASTIC tool for events like this. With Twitter, hardcore watchers of this race were able to follow the back and forth between the candidates, while people on the floor were able to dispatch votes and scenes from the vote. Great work and a heartfelt thanks to everyone who twittered the vote, committee member or note. 

Secondly, the grassroots were heard. Well, it seems, anyways. Steele, probably owing to his high media profile during the fall election, seemed to capture the hearts of bloggers and activists once it was realized that there would be no President McCain to handpick the next RNC chair. The other grassroots favorite seemed to be Saul Anuzis. Duncan and Dawson were always insider picks. But while the grassroots leader prevailed, it’s unclear that all those phone calls, emails and tweets led to this outcome. At the end of the day, we’re still a hierarchical party. 

Third, this party is one in conflict. However, the cleavages aren’t necessarily along conservative-moderate lines. In some corners, Steele’s victory will be viewed as one for moderates. By most accounts, however, Steele is largely a textbook conservative. The battle seemed in many ways to be one of tone: are we going to continue to tout socially conservative views and lead ourselves down a path of almost unreachable orthodoxy, or are we going to focus first and foremost on economic issues but allow some leeway on social issues? I’m not saying that I’m a fan on “moderates.” Hardly, because I don’t really see moderates as such. By and large, they tend to be ideologically inconsistent–supporting a nebulous right to privacy in abortion but denying the constitutional right to bear arms (this is one area Arlen Specter is good, but then he’s not that great on taxes and government growth). Instead, I believe that we should be a rallying point for all people that see the purpose of government as to protect the individual’s rights and freedoms. In essence, only to be involved in those areas that are absolutely essential. Now there may be some disagreement on what constitutes essential, mostly on social issues. But we must settle on that core principle, and in my view, its that government’s essential function is to secure our freedoms, liberties, and rights. That is also the position I see the party gravitating back to; at least one can only hope. 

There are two other battles I see brewing in the party, but they weren’t nearly as well covered, perhaps because they aren’t nearly as well defined. The first is the grassroots versus “them”–whether the ones you loathe the most are the consultants or the party leadership. I hesitate to comment on this particular battle because, frankly, I have my foot in both camps. I don’t currently make money off politics, but, yes candidates have signed the front of my check before. Still, the reason I got involved with politics back when I was just a young lad of 14 had nothing to do with dreams of grandeur or money–it had to do with making a difference. Namely, at the time, ousting a corrupted member of the Shenandoah County School Board. As I became further involved and as my values solidified themselves, my reasons to stay involved only grew–however, a natural off-shoot of that was the desire to move up and become more influential, and in turn, make money off the process. Is wanting to be able to make a living doing what you love, defending your beliefs, the worst thing in the world? Well, it depends on if you always maintain the balance.

Just as it is very difficult to maintain that balance, it is hard to see who was who yesterday. Saul Anuzis is a consummate political professional–yet he is also the son of Lithuanaian immigrants, someone who became involved with the party out of fealty to a specific set of ideals about what the party means. Michael Steele slowly evolved into a Republican and then a Republican activist over time and wasn’t on the Committee, leading many to see him as the outsider candidate–yet his campaign was managed by Blaize Hazelwood, a leading GOP consultant. 

It is even more difficult to find out who’s who in the game of the bigwigs versus the little guys. Always remember–we were all little guys once. It only becomes us versus them when they forget why they’re there–which happens far more often in elected officials, but it does happen to party officials. When party officials begin to feel entitled to their spots and have no sense of why they’re there, the little guys they represent–that’s when we have trouble. That’s why there’s a certain joy in seeing Steele win. And yet–it was only on the sixth ballot, after all the insiders were exhausted. Just how would this have turned out if there had been one less candidate in the race for the insiders to split on? 

The fourth takeaway is that there is an amazing diversity in this nation amongst African Americans and even those within the party. Some, such as Ken Blackwell, are most drawn in by socially conservative positions. Others, such as Michael Steele, are more attracted for reasons more related to the principles of individual liberty. At the end of the day, however, they do exist. Thee have already been many to make much of the fact that the RNC has elected its first black chairman. Indeed, this is a historic moment. However, to boil the moment down to just that is to overlook some other factors.

Race was indeed part of Steele’s appeal, but it wasn’t the basis for it. If the election of Michael Steele, a black man, as chair of the Republican National Committee had been a purely political move, would he 1) have faced another black man, 2) have taken til the sixth ballot to prevail, and 3) have faced two candidates with checkered pasts on the history of race. Let’s keep this in perspective: Steele only prevailed by 12 votes over someone who had admitted that he belonged to an all-white golf club just a little over a year ago. If this was all about race, he wouldn’t have gotten that close, and his support would have collapsed. Instead, he almost beat out “the black candidate.” 

So what now? Well, it’s clear that Steele has a great challenge ahead of him. There will be thousands upon thousands of blog posts suggesting what he should do first, and Twitter is already alive with suggestions of who he should keep on-board at the RNC. This blog will actually have its own suggestions. At this point, though, we should have no aspirations of Steele being the man who lead us out of this time of despair. Right now there is no one figure who has all the answers, nor should there be. We need some time to figure out who we are as a party, where we need to be, and how we are going to get there. What Steele will be, however, is a focused and smart leader at the RNC, working to set-up the sort of infrastructure that is sorely needed and , perhaps, start moving in the direction of a unified top to bottom effort. 

So what can you do? Well, read through Steele’s Blueprint for Victory, pledge your support, and do what you can to become involved in your local party and to re-dedicate yourself to politics in the new year. Just always remember: This is not an easy game. You will get hung-up on. You will have the door slammed in your face. Someone will swear at you. If you’re not willing to do that, if you’re not willing to make calls, if you’re not willing to step out of your comfort zone–step aside for the next generation. Just because this is a political party doesn’t mean its a literal one. 

So read, learn, and work. And Mr. Steele–you do the same.