Michael Steele shocked the world when he announced that he would run again for RNC chair.
But, it could be a tough climb for the Maryland Republican. He’s lost the trust of the black RNC members too.
Roll Call reported:
Don’t expect the Republican National Committee’s two black members to support Chairman Michael Steele in his re-election bid in January.
Ada Fisher, the black RNC committeewoman from North Carolina, has been an outspoken critic of Steele since she voted against him and for former South Carolina GOP Chairman Katon Dawson in 2009.
“Nobody asked the black members of the RNC what they felt, and I don’t know that the other people were courted or asked for their votes,” she said of that contest.
Steele, a former Maryland lieutenant governor, Senate candidate and state party chairman, was touted as Republicans’ response to the first black president, Democrat Barack Obama. And even more recently, Republicans see Steele promoting his race as an asset to the party.
When Steele announced his bid for re-election on a conference call, he concluded by saying, “Who you elect as our next chairman will speak volumes about our willingness to truly be the party of Lincoln,” according to the Washington Times. A prominent member of the RNC, James Bopp Jr., complained to the Times that Steele had used “the race card.” Steele responded by calling Bopp “an idiot” and accusing him of bitterness over a consulting contract the RNC canceled.
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