Dick Cheney Lines Up Behind Likely Steele Challenger Maria Cino

Dick Cheney and other GOP heavyweights are setting up a fundraiser for Maria Cino, a former Bush Commerce Department official and Deputy Transportation Secretary who may soon be announcing her intent to challenge Michael Steele for the RNC chair position.

According to CNN the event will be held at GOP strategist Mary Matalin's Virginia home and feature guests such as Ed Gillespie, former New York Rep. Bill Paxon and former Bush aides Melissa Bennett and Emily Lampkin. It is reportedly designed to channel donations into Cino's recently created 527 group.

According to CNN's report:

But as the fundraiser makes clear, Cino is all but certain to jump in the race and could formally announce her bid at the end of next week. She is slated to participate in a closed-door interview session Thursday with the bloc of RNC conservatives.

The lining up of powerful Bush-era officials, including the administration's vice president, against Michael Steele is the latest sign of bad news for the RNC Chairman, who was recently hit with a poll that suggested Republican voters were strongly supportive of his departure. And that was before he was tripped up yet again by news that he'd allegedly showered large amounts of RNC money on a longtime aide.

Saul Anuzis, former GOP chairman of Michigan, has already officially announced his plans to take on Steele for the RNC leadership role, as has former Luxembourg ambassador Anne Wagner. More challengers are still expected to throw their hats into the ring in the lead-up to the mid-January selection process.

Comments

[cutesky]

02:00 PM on 12/02/2010

Maria, my adivce is "run for the hills!"

[Forrestabbey]

01:24 PM on 12/02/2010

I'm sorry, was Steele too "Urban" for the "Party of Lincoln"? Didn't know the difference between a salad fork and a fish fork? Maybe the top 2% can put out an etiquette book so their sources of revenue can learn some social skills.

[Libgirl746]

11:51 AM on 12/02/2010

Mike, do you regret all the times you defended Cheney and his cohorts? No good deed goes unpunished. Buh bye.

[logic63]

11:36 AM on 12/02/2010

Steele was under investigation for the same thing when they rushed to get a black man in charge of the rnc and they knew it so they did this themselves

[wikwox]

10:00 AM on 12/02/2010

Dick Cheyney still alive and on TV? Christians! Where is thy god?

[Raymond Dangerous]

09:05 AM on 12/02/2010

A word to the wise Mike;

If D!ck suggests a hunting trip... Oh never mind. You go for it baby.

[alvin12]

09:57 PM on 12/01/2010

Surprised Michael?

[jemdad99]

07:15 PM on 12/01/2010

Well there is 1 good thing about Michael Steele. Dick Cheney does not like him.

[euromarkusx]

07:10 PM on 12/01/2010

Let's see...

GOP Game Plan
==========­========
1) America votes for black President
2) GOP quickly throws in a br-u-tha to lead RNC.
3) GOP blockes anything the black President does.
4) America fails for it
5) GOP kicks out the br-u-tha from RNC leadership
6) GOP fakely supports Palin, because she gets airtime, t-baggies support.
7) GOP quickly throws in a woman to lead the RNC.
8) In 2012 GOP leadership will throw Palin under the bus, for a white guy
9) GOP kicks out RNC woman leader
10) GOP throws in white guy to lead the RNC

All is well with the world.

[p456]

11:36 PM on 12/01/2010

The GOP takes control of the government appoints new supreme court judges and executes the middle class once and for all.

[LMPE]

06:48 PM on 12/01/2010

The point is, Steele is going to be a joke for decades to come.

[zetacplus]

05:40 PM on 12/01/2010

Come on....keep Steel, he's da man rofl.

[MrBoots]

05:03 PM on 12/01/2010

Not to worry. Jeb will run as a party uniter and the Bush/Carlyle machine will dig up enough dirt to bury her figuratively, . . . if they don't bury her literally.

[Javalation]

04:17 PM on 12/01/2010

Were Steele the Democratic chair, Limbaugh would claim that he was being kicked to the back of the bus, or off the bus. But since Steele is Republican, good ol' boy Rush will look to the progress of having a female chair for the party. That's how he operates. Just as with the other hundreds of radio stations dedicated to attacking liberals, Democrats and all progressive views. They pervert the entire notion of fairness in elections with their 24/7 propagandizing and electioneering. If this doesn't get stopped then we are headed to a one party system, and some of us have studied enough history to know how that usually turns out.

[MThomasNC]

03:44 PM on 12/01/2010

Michael, how does it feel to be use as pawn against President Obama. They are telling you 'go sit in the corner we don't need you no more.'

[LMPE]

06:46 PM on 12/01/2010

You mean that they're telling Mike to sit in the back of the bus (especially since today is the anniversary of Rosa Parks not giving up her seat).

[lachihuahua]

07:08 PM on 12/01/2010

Funny isn't it? Weren't these folks his bff's?! (nn)

[meena140]

03:44 PM on 12/01/2010

Yeh where is Palin now? She was all for Steele few weeks ago.

[MichelleB]

12:26 AM on 12/02/2010

She was told to do the same:)-