December 19, 2008

Sorting Out the RNC Chairman's Race

Her'e's what I see in the current field:

First, I've pretty much counted out the four white guys, for the following reasons:

MIKE DUNCAN: Mike Duncan is the current RNC Chairman, and sees no reason why he shouldn't stay right where he is. If you're fairly happy with the way things have been going lately for the GOP, there's no reason whatsoever to change leadership. If you're one of us who are NOT so happy with the way things have been going lately, a leadership change would seem to be in order.

KATON DAWSON: Setting morality aside, Dawson's 12-year membership in a whites-only / gentiles-only country club would seem to evince a SEVERE lack of good judgment. (I.e., W.T.F. were you thinking???) Thanks, but I'll pass. The GOP needs that kind of PR like it needs a hole in the head.

SAUL ANUZIS: Good personal story, appears to understand the GOP's technology gap, but appears to have presided over a fairly massive cratering of the Michigan GOP during his term as chairman there. Seems like a good guy, but I'm thinking he should probably stay in Michigan for now.

CHIP SALTSMAN: Former Tennessee GOP Chairman (good), former campaign manager for Mike Huckabee (ugh). Beyond that, I don't know much about Saltsman, and neither does anyone else, from what I can tell. When most of the hardcore political geeks couldn't pick you out of a police lineup to save their lives, that doesn't say good things about your promotional abilities.

MICHAEL STEELE: We all know Michael Steele as a vibrant and energetic supporter of the GOP and Bush Administration on FOX News. Steele's been a good salesman for the Party in a time of some particularly thin product offerings. Steele's not necessarily a "movement conservative," and he's been somewhat vague on his core political principles. Iffy on guns, but generally considered pro-life and pro-borders. Describes himself as a "Lincoln Republican" (Which means...???) Steele's founding leadership role in Christine Todd Whitman's "centrist" Republican Leadership Council further confuses (or perhaps clears up?) issues of his political philosophy. Steele has a fairly thin political resume--elected once to Maryland Lt. Gov. as part of the Ehrlich-Steele ticket, then lost his Maryland Senate race by over ten points.

KEN BLACKWELL: Started out running for city council in Cincinnati, then mayor, and worked his way up to Ohio Secretary of State. Elected to statewide office 3 times in swing state Ohio. Has won 14 of his 17 elections. Generally considered a "movement conservative" and throughly wired in to core conservative policy groups (CFG, NRA, NTU, FRC). Very pro-life and rock solid on guns. Hated with a passion by the DailyKos crowd. Generally not quite as "good on the stump" as Steele. Despite a very good "win/loss record" overall, Blackwell lost his 2006 run for Ohio Governor by over twenty points--though defenders point out that the 2006 election was in the wake of a particularly bad year for Republicans in Ohio.

1. Do any of the four white guys deserve a second look?

2. As between Steele and Blackwell, did I leave anything particularly important out?