Steele To GOP: "We Lost Our Minds"
LITTLETON, Colo. - Republicans better stop whining and start thinking of new electoral strategies to return to prominence, the new head of the Republican National Committee said Friday.
"I'm tired of seeing the same old, same old," RNC Chairman Michael Steele told about 750 Republicans at a party dinner in suburban Denver. "I'm tired of hearing the same old arguments. I'm tired of hearing the complaining."
Steele, who took the helm of the GOP at the beginning of the year, said Republicans must stop complaining about ruling Democrats if they are to recover with voters.
"If you want to complain and moan and groan about everything going on," Steele said, "there's the door."
Steele was frank about why Republicans did so badly in elections nationwide last fall.
"We started drinking from that wonderful Potomac River" when in charge of Congress and the White House, Steele joked. "We got that Potomac fever, and we lost our minds."
The results were punishing losses nationwide last year.
"They have every level of government," Steele said of the Democrats. "They control it all."
The crowd Friday chuckled when Steele poked fun at the GOP, and they gave him a standing ovation after the tough words. Not all of Steele's remarks have gone over so well with his party.
Steele told a magazine earlier this month that abortion is a personal choice, then a day later the Catholic backtracked and said he opposes abortion rights.
Steele also compared Republicans to alcoholics on a 12-step program and called Rush Limbaugh "incendiary and ugly," though he has apologized to the conservative radio host.
So far, the gaffes appear not to have cost the party. Earlier Friday, Republicans reported raising more than their Democratic counterparts in February.
And the RNC is in better fiscal shape than the Democratic National Committee. The DNC reported $8.6 million on hand and $7 million in debt, while the RNC reported $24 million in the bank and no debt.
In Colorado, where the GOP lost the presidential race for the first time since 1992, in addition to losing a Senate and House seat, party leaders were blunt about the need for a pep talk.
"Now more than ever, we have to get up, dust ourselves off," said state Senate Minority Leader Josh Penry, R-Fruita.
The unity talk was an antidote for internal bickering that has plagued the state party since the elections. On Saturday, party members were to vote on whether to re-elect Colorado GOP Chairman Dick Wadhams.
Wadhams was seeking another term as chairman, but some in the party have said it's time for a change. Former Eagle County Commissioner Tom Stone was challenging Wadhams for the post, though Stone's prospects appeared dim on the eve of the election.
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AP | March 23, 2009 09:10 AM