Great article. I think if Michael Steele really makes his voice heard, he will make any media attack on him look like idiocy.

(That will make things fun!)

Steele is outstanding in debates, so I think he can do it.

Steele gives me hope that the republicans are finally moving in the right direction.

As always your perspective is interesting and terrific!

Sure - Thanks, and I agree with your sentiments, that any attacks on Steele will be meaningless. Solid guy.

And where is the celebration among Blacks for his win?

Dewhead

I just love all of the racist comments coming from the democrats about his nomination. They are the ones that put a token in the White House. Michael Steele has been a front runner for this position for a long time. I am thrilled about his appointment.

supercandy

Mr. Steele is top notch.

Meanwhile?

Mr. Obama has flopped on his FISA claim.
He flipped on his claims for the need to capture Bin Laden.
Banned lobbyists in his Administration...
Only to have 12 Lobbyists working in his Administration?
Bombed Pakistan (after opposing such tactics in his campaign).
The new President offered more PR in regards to 'studying' the closing of GITMO.
(* one would think a Senator could have studied this issue already).
President Obama said we would return to our 'ideals' in another PR move on interrogation - Only to maintain SECRET loopholes for the same US techniques from the past 30 years?
He appointed a tax cheat to run the Treasury and the IRS?
Mr. Obama wastes heat in the Oval Office...
Pushed a massive Pork bill to peddle Democratic Party interests worth 900 Billion.
(* having little stimulus in the effort - while the US has massive debt already...)
Celebrated the passing of this Partisan bribery Bill with $100 pound steak?
(* while telling Americans they are in a terrible economic situation).
All truly ironic, like having a 170 Million Dollar Inaugural - which was an environmental disaster.
The Democrat President gave the keys of the State Dept. to the corrupt Clintons
(* who once made it their policy to lie about genocide in Rwanda).
Offered a weak press conference to the Arab World, sounding like Mr. Carter.
etc.

this is not a good start.

Janinco

Great summary supercandy. Thanks for putting that together, the media sure won't

EMFK

Celebration over, although we're not hung up on those issues like the other party. It is time to get to work Michael. Best of luck and I'm feeling better already.

LeftWingLoonies

The liberals will find a way to take away from this mans achievements.

gbudavid

I Hope that "moderate" is just a tag put on him by the press I listened to him on the Bill Bennet Show when he was guest host and I hope he leans a lot more to the right than he appears to.

Keith James at 9:17pm January 31

The bad news is he will surely be called worse than that by the "tolerant and inclusive" left.

@Keith - Exactly!

I have been reading your "rants" for a while now and really appreciate them. I am a Micheal Steele supporter and your "rant" is right on. He is the best person for the job; he has inspired many of us with his knowledge, his ability to articulate our conservative message, and his use of technology to advance his RNC chair campaign.

Thanks Tiller. I think this is a refreshing evolution to the Republican Party, and I chose that word carefully. The Liberals want us to "change" the party, and I refuse, as the core values are what built this country.

Howard Kempf at 7:13am February 1

Agreed, Michael Steel is a good man. Hopefully he will get the party on track.

Rosemary Bolton at 7:43am February 1

This man is not an empty suit that is certain. He does not have sketchy friends like BHO. Lastly, he knows how to talk without a prompter.

I can't wait to see how Obama tries to demonize Steele, and when they actually get into a debate of ideas.

We can only hope that as these encounters occur, and Steele hands Obama his butt, that the Black community, and the world community take notice.

Jack Rumbaugh at 7:56am February 1

I'm very encouraged by this. We saw a great deal of him during his Senate run in 2006. He's a complete class act and a true conservative.

I do remember Ron Brown and have my doubts about his accidental death myself. Great article and great comments.

Julie - I could have written a lot more on that part, and how Blacks are not celebrating this "historic first", but I have to keep these blogs in "bite size chunks".

However, my book (soon folks) will discuss a lot of these issues, and in the same style as this blog.

thoughtsonthis

Best choice for RNC Chair. He'll make this sick Republican party well again.

Congratulations and good luck, Michael.

I hope Steele can bring the Republicans together, stay pure in our conservative beliefs and not cave to the left.

You have to admit, Republicans are not at good at the timing of this.

It just looks like the republicans are playing catch up. It's like they said "oh crap, we better elect that other black guy or we'll really look bad."

Truth be know, he is the best man for the job. But it still gives the left ammunition to say Steele's a "token".

Why didn't we do this before the election of our first black president?

Michael - There weren't a lot of Black Conservatives stepping up to the plate, that is if you could find them. JC Watts didn't and he is now a RINO.

The good news is that unlike the Dems, we didn't take the first Black guy that came along, just because. So instead of an unqualified hack, who is full of himself, we actually have a highly qualified and deserved PERSON, who happens to be Black.

MoisturePoints

Mr. Steele brings a tingling sensation up my leg - to paraphrase an eloquent and sober unbiased newsman. MS is the real deal dude, there's no way around it. You're not going to find anyone making a big deal about his skin color within the party because unlike Democrats we don't have an inherent obsession with race.

You most certainly won't find any nice or enlightening commentary from TIME magazine (no cover appearances with a halo, a la The One).

No one cared when Justice Thomas was appointed to the Supreme Court. There was the sneaky suspicion that Republicans were doing it to collect more votes, to look more racially attuned. I gather the same whisperings are probably whirling around MS as we speak. A disgusting way for people to look at the world, but such is the life of a Democrat.

Best of luck to Steele, he's my main man.

jimw428

I'm a big fan of Michael Steele and I sincerely hope he can jolt the RNC out of hibernation. His biggest challenge will be to utilize the power of the internet to expand the base, increase minority participation in the party and improve fund raising. I wish him well, he's facing an uphill battle.

Keith James at 1:26pm February 1

Ralph we've got an uphill fight regarding the "token" moniker. My wife, who I consider a 9/11 democrat, already sees him as such. She voted for Bush the second time and was no fan of Clinton.
But BHO can do no wrong in her eyes; at least at this time. And Steele seems more an act of desperation on our part to her.
I tried to give her his credentials but for the moment, "she ain't hearin' it." I still love her 'tho. :-)

I adore Michael steele. He can talk normally with out a teleprompter too.
I am thrilled.
I met him when he was Lt Gov in Maryland, in Annapolis at some thing going on there down town years ago. He is the nicest guy and very calm, not arrogant and cocky like the leader of the dem party: BHO.

Wonderful and funny read today Kevin!
so true lol

I was anxiously waiting yesterday for you to post your rant!

I too have met Steele and I am biased for him despite being a democrat. He's very energetic, has a good heart, and above all, wants to make a positive difference for black americans as a conservative.

Unfortunately, most of my Maryland family and friends did not agree with me. He always managed to have the token stigma appended to his persona.

I remember before the Bush "error" when young black republicans were up and coming and very popular. I think that the Bush "error" made it hard for a lot of blacks to continue having a voice in the party.

The RNC election was interesting. For me seeing that it was carried out in several rounds (6) was unique and definitely showed that he was elected fairly and openly.

I love that Steele seized the opportunity to challenge the status quo and run for the position. I say to all, that Obama, Burris, and Steele are showing black men regardless of party affliation that we are upon a new era of FEARLESSNESS. The doors are open for more black talent desiring a career in politics to show their strength and be encouraged to lead. We are on the precipice of a good momentum, let's ride this one the right way!

Natural Smile, I will forgive your party affiliation because you are cordial. You make a few good points, certainly about Steele. And anybody who feels a man as smart as Steele would be "used", well they are just ignorant.

Jill Warner at 6:31am February 2

Steele is an articulate conservative with fantastic ideas. I personally don't care what color he is. Unfortunately, the left will not judge him on his merits. Much like Condoleeza Rice, Clarence Thomas et al. he will be called just another Uncle Tom by those on the left. How unfortunate that they are not the party of tolerance that they claim to be. They simply cannot tolerate a black conservative and ALWAYS put their attack dogs on alert whoa re happy to say that thos black conservatives in the media must be anomolies! I am so sick of all of this!

crackwassist

We dems want you guys to get your heads out of your asses, if Steele removes God from the top of the republican platform, stands for the rule of law and goes back to economic issues then we'd be all for him. We still won't agree but we'll at least feel that the debate we're having with you might produce some good. As it stands now it's just rampant ignorance. Terry Shivo? Alberto Gonzalos? LITERALLY locking the dems out of congressional meetings when holding the majority? Your slavish embrace of tax cuts regardless of the fiscal rational against them? Are you kidding me?

Right now, today, the republican party is broken and that's bad for the country. Get your shit together and you might win and if not at least you'll lose with some dignity.

@crackaddict - We are getting out stuff together, so don't you worry my delusional friend.

MoisturePoints

Mr. Steele brings a tingling sensation up my leg - to paraphrase an eloquent and sober unbiased newsman. MS is the real deal dude, there's no way around it. You're not going to find anyone making a big deal about his skin color within the party because unlike Democrats we don't have an inherent obsession with race.

You most certainly won't find any nice or enlightening commentary from TIME magazine (no cover appearances with a halo, a la The One).

No one cared when Justice Thomas was appointed to the Supreme Court. There was the sneaky suspicion that Republicans were doing it to collect more votes, to look more racially attuned. I gather the same whisperings are probably whirling around MS as we speak. A disgusting way for people to look at the world, but such is the life of a Democrat.

Best of luck to Steele, he's my main man.

jimw428

I'm a big fan of Michael Steele and I sincerely hope he can jolt the RNC out of hibernation. His biggest challenge will be to utilize the power of the internet to expand the base, increase minority participation in the party and improve fund raising. I wish him well, he's facing an uphill battle

WoofThis

We know where most racism comes from and it ain't the GOP. Mr. Steele is man of class and vigor. He will turn this party around.

Rikety

Michael Steele knows the weaknesses of the party. His support was semi-lukewarm when he was running ofor office in MD. I think he'll do better than what has been there since 1988.

I am in total agreement with your article about Michael Steele. I love him and think he is a wise and profound choice. Maybe now the RNC will grow a backbone and get some integrity and build a party that us conservatives can truly embrace.

Dominique - Well said!

Bravo on this post, Kevin! This is the best piece that I've read so far about Steele and about the racist Democrats. I really appreciate your perspective!

(NJ-Woman)

I'm am very glad that Michael Steele was chosen to head up the Republican Party. His resume is impressive and, as you said, he comes to the job clean unlike a number of Obama appointments of late.

I never understood when fellow, conservative (black) Americans who shared many of the core beliefs that I do, went with the Democrat Party. I've long felt that the Jesse Jacksons and Al Sharptons of their world were sell outs, never looking at building up their communities, rather making them all the more dependent on the government.

I'm proud that Mr. Steele is now heading up the Party of Lincoln.

That makes two of us Matthew!

G'day, Kev!

As I mentioned via email, I brought this post of yours up for discussion in yesterday's (Thursday's) Forum post on Andrew Bolt's blog here in Australia, and the reaction was generally positive - I think you have a few new fans.

There was only one negative response, so for interest's sake I'll re-print the comment in question but because my response was so long and I don't want to blow your pixel budget, you can read the exchange with my response here, and I wouldn't be surprised if it doesn't continue on in today's (Friday's) Forum here.]

Oh, and feel free to jump in, anyone who's interested. The blog gets over a million page views per month and although Aussies in general aren't actually racist for the most part, some are pretty naive and in need of a little schooling from time to time. And it's a lively and fairly intelligent group to chat with, and usually open to fresh viewpoints.

Anyway, here's the one negative comment I got back:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
TGordon, i’m NOT happy to see the Republicans pick Steele for their Chairman.

Doesn’t it seem just a tad cynical and shallow to give such an important post to a black - at the very time that a black Democratic President has been elected ?

You say he was selected because he was judged the best person for the job. I read nothing in the links to support that claim.

Spencer de Vere of Brisbane
Thu 05 Feb 09 (01:29pm)

My response here, possibly carried on here.

Thanks again for all the work you all put into this blog, Kevin & Co. So many of the things you write are of the "Now THAT needed saying!" quality.

Cheers,

spot_the_dog aka TGordon of Perth

Just as a follow-up to my last comment, Spencer who wrote the comment I quoted here earlier responded quite positively today to my rebuttal and to the other links I gave him.

With your site here to use as a resource and jumping-off point for other good and factual resources, I almost come off looking smart ;~)

Heh.

@Spot - I'm always happy to help fellow Conservatives look smarter!