Celebrating his 100th day in office, RNC Chairman Michael Steele did his best Thursday morning to present a GOP that was prepared to "turn a corner" from its current doldrums.
The process included what seems to be his first public rebuke of an effort from some in the Republican National Committee to official brand the Democratic Party the "Democrat Socialist Party."
"I'm not for that at all," Steele told "Fox and Friends" Tuesday morning. "And I've mentioned it to folks inside the party and said, you know, I think we should be smart and strategic about that. But a lot of people have passions and the beauty of the Republican Party is you get to express those passions in various ways."
The Fox appearance, and the wrist-slapping of the Socialist branding resolution that came with it, is part of a renewed push on Steele's behalf to bring the Republican Party away from the brink of caricature status.
The Chairman also penned an op-ed in Politico pointing to "three important ways" that "Republicans are turning a corner." The list, however, was rather mundane, including such promises as "the Republican Party will be forward-looking"; the "Republican Party will not shy away from voicing our opposition to the president's policies"; and "the Republican Party will seize upon momentum for a GOP resurgence that is already underway in states and local communities."
Steele planned to speak before RNC officials in a committee meeting in Maryland on Tuesday, in which he would call for an end to the "era of apologizing" in the GOP.
"Ronald Reagan never lived in the past," Steele will reportedly say. "Ronald Reagan was all about the future. If President Reagan were here today he would have no patience for Americans who looked backward."
As for the resolution branding the Democrats the "Democrat Socialists," Steele hasn't always taken such a hard line. Appearing on "Meet the Press" on Sunday, he said that committee members were entitled to their own advocacy. "If they do that, they do that." The chairman did, however, pen a memo last month opposing the resolution.