RNC Chair Steele: 'An Attack On The American Ideal'

Michael Steele, Chair of the Republican National Committee has issued the following statement:

"I am deeply shocked and horrified by the attack on Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, her staff, and her constituents.
"Today’s senseless act of violence is an attack on the American ideal and goes against our country's deeply held democratic values.
"My thoughts and prayers go out to the family of Representative Giffords and the families of all of those who were victims of this national tragedy."

Message From Michael Steele

A special message from Michael Steele, Chair of the Republican National Committee:

No doubt by now you’ve heard the comments made by former President Jimmy Carter and other Democrat leaders injecting charges of racism into important policy debates we are having today. I think the former president, with all due respect, is plain wrong. I have seen racism firsthand, and the current opposition we’re seeing from Republicans, Independents and Democrats alike to the president’s policies is not racism. In fact, baseless accusations like this diminish real incidences of racism.
It is outrageous and troubling the lengths Democrats will go to disparage those who disagree with them. This is not the context in which we should have a debate on health care or any issue facing America. The American people want the Democrats to start working with Republicans on common-sense, incremental health care reform, not resort to tactics such as this that make it harder to solve important challenges facing our nation.
Please join me in taking a stand against this insulting attempt to divide the nation by injecting race into our civil discourse and instead seek ways to unite Americans by forwarding this to your friends and posting it on your profile.

Apology? From Who? When?

From Michael Steele, Chair of the Republican National Committee:
In another stunning example of hypocrisy, congressional Democrats are wasting taxpayers’ time and resources on a legislative measure to censure Congressman Joe Wilson so they don’t have to talk about their exceedingly unpopular health care plan.
Without question, Joe Wilson made a terrible error in judgment and has wasted no time in extending a personal apology to the president. The president has accepted his apology.
If we are going to march Members down to the well of the house to apologize, Joe Wilson is going to have to get in line behind Nancy Pelosi, who attacked the intelligence community who protects us, Charlie Rangel who cheated on his taxes, Jack Murtha – a walking scandal, and we all know how the Democratic leadership tried to protect William Jefferson.
Democrats don’t want an apology.
They want a side show – something to shift the focus away from their government-run experiment on health care.”

Christie In S. Jersey Monday

New Jersey gubernatorial candidate Chris Christie will make three South Jersey campaign stops in Pitman, Vineland, and Ocean City on Monday, June 13th.
Republican National Committee NC Chair Michael Steele and New Jersey Republican State Committee Chair Jay Webber will also attend the stops in Pitman and Vineland.
Be sure to come out and meet Chris Christie. Here is the schedule:

Monday, July 13th
PITMAN
WHO: Chris Christie
RNC Chairman Michael Steele
NJGOP Chairman Jay Webber
WHAT: Meet and Greet
WHEN: Monday, July 13, 2009 at 1:00 p.m.
WHERE: Main Street Financial Group
130 North Woodbury Road
Pitman

VINELAND
WHO: Chris Christie
RNC Chairman Michael Steele
NJGOP Chairman Jay Webber
WHAT: Meet and Greet
WHEN: Monday, July 13, 2009 at 2:45 p.m.
WHERE: Larry's II Restaurant and Diner
907 North Main Road
Vineland

OCEAN CITY
WHO: Chris Christie
WHAT: McCann-Donohue Campaign Headquarters Grand Opening
WHEN: Monday, July 13, 2009 at 5:00 p.m.
WHERE: McCann-Donohue Campaign Headquarters
The Stanton Building
810 Asbury Avenue
Ocean City

Steele: Empathize Your Ass!

From the Associated Press via ABC News:
Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele has a message for President Obama and his stated goal of replacing Supreme Court Justice David Souter with a judge who brings empathy to the bench: "Empathize right on your behind."
Sitting in for host Bill Bennett on the "Morning in America" radio show Friday, Steele, a lawyer, said Obama should be searching for a judge who understands the U.S. Constitution and the rule of law.
"Crazy nonsense empathetic! I'll give you empathy. Empathize right on your behind. Craziness!" Steele told a radio audience. He appeared on the "Morning in America" radio show, substituting for regular host Bill Bennett.
Speaking to reporters last week to announce Souter's retirement, Obama said he would seek a replacement who combines an impeccable legal background with "empathy and understanding" for how the law is applied.
Well: Think about it. What in hell does "empathy" have to do with the interpretation of the Constitution anyway?

GOP Goin Hip-Hop?

From Ralph Z. Hallow at the Washington Times:
Newly elected Republican National Committee Chairman Michael S. Steele plans an “off the hook” public relations offensive to attract younger voters, especially blacks and Hispanics, by applying the party's principles to “urban-suburban hip-hop settings.”
The RNC's first black chairman will “surprise everyone” when updating the party's image using the Internet and advertisements on radio, on television and in print, he told The Washington Times.
Having been elected to the job that the Bush White House and its political guru, Karl Rove, once denied him, Mr. Steele is running the show his way. To those who claimed he can't make the trains run on time, he has this message: “Stuff it.”
He stiff-armed an attempt to get him to elaborate on his public relations effort, saying he would be an idiot to give his opponents too much information, but indicated the Republican Party needs to break out of being considered a regional party.
”There was underlying concerns we had become too regionalized and the party needed to reach beyond our comfort” zones, he said, citing defeats in such states as Virginia and North Carolina. “We need messengers to really capture that region - young, Hispanic, black, a cross section ... We want to convey that the modern-day GOP looks like the conservative party that stands on principles. But we want to apply them to urban-surburban hip-hop settings.”
See related story: GOP surpasses Dems on Twitter

Steele Packs Sunday Punch!

From Ashley Southall at the New York Times:
Michael Steele, the newly appointed chairman of the Republican National Committee, made his first appearance on the Sunday talk shows since becoming the party’s leader, taking on Democrats and defending his own name.
Mr. Steele, who appeared on ABC’s “This Week with George Stephanopoulos,” called the Obama administration’s spending “out of balance” as he continued his brass-knuckles opposition to Democrats and their plans for the economy. After Lawrence H. Summers, the top White House economic adviser, suggested earlier on the program that the Republican party was impotent to handle the economy, Mr. Steele called those comments “laughable.”
“He acts like we have spent the last eight years in the mess that we’re currently in,” Mr. Steele said. “This is about 18 months old. The reality of it is, Bush inherited a recession. He got us through that recession.”
“And I didn’t hear anything from Mr. Summers that assured me or reassured me that this administration gets it when it comes to how you create wealth in this nation,” he added.
I find it amusing that the Times refers to Chairman Steel as the "newly appointed" Chair of the RNC.
Mr. Steele wasn't appointed by anyone. He was duly elected by the national committeepersons of the Republican National Committee representing every state and territory.

Moving Forward!

"We’re going to say to friend and foe alike.We want you to be a part of us, we

want you to work with us.

And for those of you who are ready to obstruct,

get ready to get knocked over."

Michael Stelle, Chair, Republican National Committee