Republicans Increasingly Unhappy With Steele's Leadership

Republican party officials are starting to regret picking Michael Steele to run their national committee. In the wake of Steele's embarrassing scuffle with Rush Limbaugh, the GOP dissatisfaction has become increasingly vocal.

"There's frustration that there's no discipline, no planning," one Republican consultant told Politico. "He's risking being overexposed by accepting every interview, which makes gaffes more likely."

"What is amazing is that Steele was elected because of his communications skills, and it is those skills that are damaging the Republican Party. Before people begin to completely judge him as worthless, Steele needs to focus and knuckle down on building a strong foundation at RNC so we can begin rebuilding our majority," a top GOP strategist told US News & World Report. "If his implosion continues, RNC members are likely to call a special session to dump him for an effective chairman. There is not much patience for failure."

It's not only Steele's awkward TV appearances that are making Republicans nervous. The former Maryland Lieutenant Governor has failed to staff the organization he runs.

"I think it's been a disaster of a first month," a Republican insider tells the DC Examiner. "He needs to disappear for 60 days, go and staff the building, put his personal energy into making sure he has the people he wants, and go from there. That's what people are hoping he will do."

"It's not good," says another. "People feel that it's been very erratic at a time when we really need some sort of stabilizing force."

So far, Steele has responded with defiance. In an interview with Politico, he dismissed GOP critics as "nervous Nellies."

"If I told folks what I really thought, I'd probably be in a lot more trouble," he said. "I think that's what I bring to this job, as a voice of the party: I think it's important to have that kind of newness and rawness to it that grabs folks' attention and hopefully ... take a look at what we're doing."

But if the attacks continue, Steele might want to take this advice from Limbaugh himself: "It's time, Mr. Steele, for you to go behind the scenes and start doing the work that you were elected to do instead of trying to be some talking head media star, which you're having a tough time pulling off."

Comments

[kmich718]

Steele is their Blago! He's just going to keep on talking....What a maroon!

[mistlesuede]

Repugnants are trying so hard to be like the Democrats. First try, put a token woman on the ticket. HAHAHAHAHA, what a disaster. Second, put a token black man in an official job. HAHAHAHAHA, another disaster.
They should just stick with all they are capable of. Rich, white men like Man Coulter.

[troika]

No one ever said that the Republican party is full of new ideas, young energetic members, inclusive of all individuals irrespective of class, color, religion, race and social status. Instead of floating novel ideas, they are all idealogues. No originality but of course this comes only if you have intellect. Don't take me wrong. Here I am speaking of the conservatives. Just take a look at Limbaugh, Anne Coulter, Hannity, Bill O', Mitch McConnel, and all the other white old folks in the Congress. They all are happy at where they are now. The republican party is happy with them. They pale in comparison to the intellect of the democrats.

[realitychecks]

Republican Implosion,priceless.

[barackobama4prez]

duh. elect him so you can say you're NOT a ra cist party, then boot him out. steele is a sheep worth booting!

[ChicagoBlackRainbowWomen]

Wow! They really do eat their own.

[chronic]

And they seem to like dark meat.

Who'd a thunked?

[hortonhearsawho2]

matter of fact ....or maybe he just got right uppity .

[KevinHallShow]

This is predictable. The republicans have been targeting Steele from the beginning. The South didnt want him, but they were afraid to not elect hime because they know how that would have appeared... racial cowards indeed. Either way Steele is on his way out. He thought he actually had a chance at changing the Republican party. Unfortunately for him, they have no desire to change at all. Just wait till the video of him at the State of the Black Union comes out where the other panelists are trashing Reagan and he is just sitting there smiling and not standing up and disagreeing and denouncing the comments (like Obama was supposed to do with Rev. Wright)

[chronic]

LOL Exactly!!

[Klimb]

The other day Rush mentioned that Steele fundraising calls were not being picked up or returned b/c of incompetence. Steele is out! Guess his apology to boss did not work...

[PhDcommonsense]

I hate to say this, but I will say it anyway. Did the Republicans learn anything when they tried to make Palin into a Hillary Clinton for their party and scoop up all of the so called disaffected women whom they thought would jump ship because Hillary did not get the nomination?
Well, here we have Michael Steele who is trying to prove to everyone that "See you have a Barack Obama in your Party also." A BIG FAT NOT!!!!. just to convince, and I mean ONLY A FEW MINORITIES, that the Republicans have a big tent.

As head of the RNC , Steele felt he needed to apologize to Rush is beyond the pale. He should tell Rush to go and pound sand. There's a new Sheriff in Town and that would be me, Michael Steele, and then not make anymore comments to him or about him. Stop giving Rush all of this so call power.

[bascombe]

steele fed the racists some red meat.

[pennyloafer]

So, Michael Steele, it would appear that--Michelle Bachmann notwithstanding--"You DON'T be da man. You DON'T be da man."

[Weirdwriter]

"Communication skills"? Really.

Here I thought it was because the GOP thought a prominent black face would excuse any pile-on on President Obama.

[bascombe]

that worked out real well, huh?

[troika]

Republicans have to search for the word "COMMUNICATION" in the dictionary. Will anyone please let me know the number of black republicans in the congress. With that I rest my case.

[treetracker]

We need to start a pool to make bets on how long he lasts!! I'm in for a buck on April Fool's Day!

[bascombe]

two bucks says next week, maybe this friday.

[ReealOne]

I wager 60 days from Monday, 3/2/09.

[devans00]

I vote Steele will step down sometime before school breaks for the summer. For personal reasons, of course. He'll want to spend more time with is family, don't cha know?

Almost as if Michael Steele knows his days are numbered. So he wants to spend his time on "fun" stuff like interviews. Instead of doing housekeeping like staffing up his office.

[CaliTLC]

Certainly Steele didn't really believe that he would last - did he?

[JonAmmendall]

The site is like the National Enquirer of the net. The DNC is glad that Steele was in line to run against BHO this past year. BHO will be a 1 termer because us blue dogs are tired of the yellow dog poop in the DNC dog house.

[trumpetman]

What are you talking about? You are not a democrat, and second you are a republican hoping for a one term president because you are just anti-obama. Go to a right-wing website because no one cares and the majority of American people don't agree with you !

[chronic]

Isn't thier a train track you can go lay down on?

[chronic]

Isn't there a train track you can go lay down on?

[llozano]

If Steele wanted to be considered the real leader of the Republican Party he should not have apologized to Rush. Instead he should have hit him with the final death blow and left him blowing in the wind. By bowing to Rush he let us see exactly who he was; a weak, inarticulate, indecisive and powerless stooge. He has turned over the remainder of his party to a radio talk show host who will continue to hold everyone captive like McCarthy did in the 50's. This is the end of the Republicans as we know them.

[chronic]

EXACTLY!!!!!!

[nellie]

You mean the GOP doesn't want to be the new hip hop nation?