Michael Steele: 'We Could Have Used A Few More Brothers In The House.' (VIDEO)

Days after losing his bid for a second term as RNC Chairman, Michael Steele reflected on his time as leader on Monday night.

In a special Martin Luther King Day edition of MSNBC's Hardball, Steele said, "What I tried to do [as chairman] was to broaden the landscape over which we could play, go into neighborhoods where we needed to be in, but hadn't been in generations, and I think it made a difference."

In another part of the segment, host Chris Matthews claimed he never saw a group of blacks together at Republican conventions and asked if blacks felt at home within the party. With a laugh Steele responded, "We could have used a few more brothers in the house, there's no doubt about that."

On whether House Republicans will cooperate with the president, Steele was optimistic: "I really believe they will run with him on certain issues."

But the former chairman also said the president must set the tone for a constructive relationship: "He doesn't have Nancy Pelosi in the House driving the agenda the way she did over the last two years. Now it's a different drumbeat. The real question is whether or not the president has the mind set to be the kind of leader that people are looking for."

Matthews ended the interview with an endorsement, "Michael Steele, sir. I would have voted for you."

Watch the interview here:

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Comments

[haval2]

05:11 PM on 01/28/2011

Unca Tom, don't look for too many other brothers in the House.

[phillip finley]

11:51 AM on 01/28/2011

What happened to that 12 step hip -hop program you was talking about?......

[MARTYB]

02:32 PM on 01/19/2011

Well he, Mr. Steele, did test the waters, and probably found it shallow and cold like most of the bretheren already suspected, if not knew outright. I cannot say he was the best representative for a Black GOPer, could'nt they find one with some "gravitas"? Goodbye and good luck Brother, your going to need it i suspect because employment offers from the right will not be as forth coming as they might be.

[1johnf]

02:15 PM on 01/19/2011

Dude! My Man! You finally get it!!! You could jibble your pabibble on this. The point that has been made for over a year is that the republicans could have used a few more brothers in the party. The tea baggers could have used a few brothers in the mix (not a few more, because that would have meant that there were some there already). An what about Latinos/as? Well maybe that's a bit radical to suggest. Flubibble on, brother mon.

[den1953]

12:19 PM on 01/19/2011

All you had to do Mr Steele is switch parties!

[bmike]

11:58 AM on 01/19/2011

Steele didn't realize they only needed and wanted one.

[JRsNana]

02:19 PM on 01/19/2011

Well, they actually have 3. Steele, Ken Blackwell and Ron Christie. A very diverse party they have.

[phillip finley]

11:49 AM on 01/28/2011

Not 2 but 1.....of them!

[hobo62]

11:53 AM on 01/19/2011

I doubt many "bothers" identify with this man or what he represents.

[ghs246]

11:28 AM on 01/19/2011

we need more blks in the senate, thats for sure

[JRsNana]

02:20 PM on 01/19/2011

More? How about one?

[melobster78]

10:20 AM on 01/19/2011

Enough with the "cool' talk Mike,just GO-AWAY!!!

[Andythelawyer]

09:32 AM on 01/19/2011

Hey Mike -- There's plenty of brothers in the House. But they're not in your party -- the one that just threw you under the bus.

[Eileenla]

08:58 AM on 01/19/2011

Perhaps if tge Republicsn party didn't alienate most people of color, most thinking women or those whose beliefs don't match up with fundamentalist Christianity, there would have been a few more brothers - and SISTERS - in the house. You picked 'em for playmates...you shouldn't be surprised they tossed you aside when their need for a "token" diminished.

[DrBlunt]

06:17 AM on 01/19/2011

It's too bad he didn't see the light two years ago...

[steelej]

06:14 AM on 01/19/2011

Christian brothers?

[1differentdrummer]

06:03 AM on 01/19/2011

"Hip-hop" makeover? Did you get the job done, Mr. Steele? I don't think so. At base, the R party is the enemy of people of minorities and color. Why do I say that? Read what they say. It's the party of us real Americans against those others.

[quedog]

05:58 AM on 01/19/2011

mike can now get his rap career started
there is no place for a black repub
any time repubs encounter a black person they want to take their country back
ding ding ding, blacks dont have their country, mexicans have it
arriba arriba

qd