The Redhunter

The issue is this: You simply cannot have a chairman who is constantly embroiled in controversy. It almost does not matter whether all of the charges are true or not, because one of the jobs of chairman is to control the agenda, get out in front of stories, and push the stories you want in the news. Instead, Steele is reacting to stories about him, his management abilities, and the last silly thing he said.

Add to that the fact that he's now resorted to playing the race card, and he's gone one offense too far.

We had some experience with a chairman gone bad here in Virginia last year. Jeff Frederick, a delegate to the statehouse, was elected chairman of the Republican Party of Virginia in May of 2008 over the wishes of the party establishment, including then-Attorney General and now Governor Bob McDonnell. It didn't take long for him to become embroiled in controversy, and calls for his resignation soon followed. He refused, and was ousted by a lopsided vote of 57-18 by the state Central Committee in April 2009.

The charges surrounding Frederick were complicated, and although I read both them and his response the truth is that it was all more than I had time to decipher. But I did know a few trustworthy people on the RPV Central Committee, and it was their opinion that the charges had merit. Frederick was the hero of the uber-conservatives, who in my opinion continued to support him mostly because of ideological reasons.

Anyway, the point is that Frederick had become a serious liability because he was constantly in the news for all of the wrong reasons. I decided at the beginning of 2009 that he had to go because the last thing I wanted was to go into the campaign season with him hanging around our necks. At the time we could not know that the Democrats would field such weak candidates and that ours would be so strong, and so a continued chairmanship of Jeff Frederick seemed like it might cost us the election.

We're at the same point with Michael Steele. We may or may not do well in 2010 and 2012, but he has become a liability, and as such a risk that we do not need.

Mona Charen echos my thoughts when she urges him to go quietly:

How to put this politely? Michael Steele is a man of considerable talents -- it's just that he conspicuously lacks those required for his present position. He's energetic, personable, and articulate. But those are not the qualities most required of a party chairman. The job demands an administrator, a behind-the-scenes schmoozer, and a tactician. Showboating is a hindrance. It's a job that requires the talents of a stage manager, whereas Steele likes to be the star.

At a time when the Republican party is the indispensable vehicle for thwarting the disastrous policies of the Obamaites, Steele is a costly distraction in more ways than one.
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Political parties are not college seminars, and leaders needn't be saints. But the Republican party is just clawing back to respectability after the irresponsible spending of the Republican congressional majorities, the Foley scandal, and the perceived weaknesses of the Bush presidency. More importantly, the country is faced with a profound challenge from the Left. If the (Social) Democrats under Obama/Pelosi/Reid are not stopped, and if the Republican party is unable to attract the energy and passion of the tea-party movement, the country will be irreversibly changed for the worse.

At this moment, the Republican party needs more than ever to present a sober, serious, and ethical face to the public. Voyeur was the last straw. It would be an unselfish gesture for Steele to step aside.