Michael Steele is a man people would do well not to underestimate. He’s risen from being an obscure small businessman on the verge of personal bankruptcy to become Republican state party chairman in Maryland, then Lt. Governor of Maryland, a candidate for the United States Senate and finally to the pinnacle of success as the first black GOP national party chairman.
In the past 48 hours there was a great deal of speculation that Steele would not seek re-election as chairman given the calls for his ouster by GOP heavyweights like Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour.
But Steele stunned political observers when he announced earlier this evening on a GOP state party call that he would be running for a second term. theGrio was able to secure an exclusive first interview with Steele about an hour after his announcement. He was focused, positive, passionate and ready to win the fight of his political life.
theGrio: What made you decide to run against what many see as very challenging odds?
Michael Steele: I have to admit I was somewhat amused by news reports that suggested I was not going to run. No one asked me. You know, in Washington there is always chatter around these types of political situations, but I was the decision maker here, and I made the decision after much consideration and counsel with my team. To say I was going to step aside was speculation on the part of those who want this job.
I am running again because we have a great team here at the RNC that has worked very hard and done a great job over the past two years taking us from a minority party to now the majority party in the House of Representatives, but the most important reason I am going to run again is because I believe passionately in the opportunities that lay ahead of us as a country. I believe the Republican party has something to offer the American people. We have an opportunity to be a part of their lives in a way that is impactful and positive. The fight ahead is about the direction of this country. Will we be a nation that replaces ingenuity with government programs and bureaucracy or will we free the American people to thrive and build a better future for their families.
There are a lot of people who apparently do not want to see you re-elected as chairman — do you have the votes to win at the winter meeting in January?
I am very confident in and comfortable with the vote count we have right now. We had a good call tonight and I think we may have added to that vote tally some who were undecided. I feel good about where we are and where we will be next month.
Gov. Haley Barbour and others have been pretty vocal about their desire to see you ousted as Chairman. Why do you think that is — and why did high profile Republicans like Karl Rove, Ed Gillespie and Haley Barbour direct people not to give money to the RNC and give to their PACS instead?
To answer your first question you would have to ask them. I cannot answer that for you. But look there are people who want this job. And it has very little do with their vision for the party and more to do about who controls dollars, vendors, and favors at the national level. That is my political reality.
There was an active effort from the day I became chairman to steer dollars away from the RNC. Supposedly this was out of concern. But if these individuals were concerned why didn’t they call me, or offer to help? And when I called them, why didn’t they step up? This has never happened before to an RNC chairman. Let’s talk about the finances of the RNC—where are you and how does it look for 2011?
We raised $179 million in the past two years — that is 37 percent more than the Democrats raised in 2006 when they were in our same position before taking over the Congress. Yes, we have debt. All committees have debt — about $14 million worth and the Democrats had about the same, even though they had all three branches of government they only out raised us by $12 million. We have an aggressive plan to retire the debt in 2011 and we will get it done. This stuff you hear about financial mismanagement is just a talking point from my political opponents.
I do not fly around in jets. Nor do I stay in 5 star hotels — I stay at the Marriott. That rogue employee who used $2,000 to go to a gentlemen’s club was fired immediately and the money was repaid to the committee. Now, some of our finance events have been held at very exclusive venues because they prefer that type of atmosphere for big donors, but there has been no mismanagement of funds. We are in exactly the same position debt-wise we were in during the 1996 cycle when we had about $10 million in debt — and that was a bad cycle for us — we had a very successful cycle so the line of credit we borrowed (at the urging of committee members) was a good investment in our future as a party.
Last night on 60 Minutes speaker-elect John Boehner was interviewed and asked about the Republican ‘compromise’ on the tax cut issue — and is he willing to “compromise.” Boehner said he was interested in finding “common ground.” What do you think about this as the RNC chairman and as the man who wants that job again in January? Are you willing to compromise with the White House and Democrats?
That is not my role as chairman anymore. We now have a governing majority in one body of the Congress, and we have a closer margin in the Senate. It is up to Speaker Boehner and others to set the tone and direction of what the GOP will do now.
My job is different. My job is to support and prepare the party for 2012 and victories at the presidential and Senate level. What many do not grasp is that for the past two years as RNC Chairman I had to play a different role — as the leader — as the head of the Republican Party. That was my job. Now my job is to not be as visible on TV, radio (although I will certainly do my part to communicate our message well), etc. My job is to provide support and counsel when asked by the Congressional leadership to do so. My job is to help us win the White House back in 2012 and we are going to do that.
What are you proud of as chairman and how different will a second Michael Steele administration at the RNC look like in 2011-2012?
I believe we laid the groundwork. Good seeds were planted. We started building “farm teams.” This party is living up to its potential as a big tent party. We had historic gains with women, minorities in the governorships, in the Congress and in state legislatures. I plan to win, but if I am unsuccessful I hope that my successor will have the courage to speak to all people in all places of this nation and bring our message to them.
I did this as chairman with my great team at the RNC. I started my chairmanship in Harlem. The Republican party has to step outside of its comfort zone and learn to talk with all people, everywhere. We did this very well and I am proud.
To answer your 2nd question, I am focused on what I like to call “turning the elephant”— which is that the party has to confront its own shortcomings. We have started to do that slowly but steadily and I don’t want to see us go back. I want to leave a 2nd term legacy of having built a great farm team — a bench if you will, and having helped us as a party return to our core principles.
The elephant [Republicans] must face its future. We have some hard days ahead of us as Americans if we don’t return to our core principles of smaller government and freedom of the people. We have to reconnect with those principles and I think we are headed in that direction. I want the republicans at the state and local levels to be financially independent of us here in Washington.
We can help augment their needs and campaigns, but 527s can help with that, too. I don’t want people waiting in line to serve their nation in political office. If I can achieve these simple things I will have served my purpose well.