GOP Establishment Removes Palin Supporting Steele At Its Peril And Destruction

Michael Steele has not committed to running for reelection as GOP Chair but should he do so it would be an act of gross folly not to reselect him. Steele, as he would be the first to admit, has made errors in his term but who hasn't in their rookie year? The bottom line is that the mid-terms, under his watch, were an huge, as he rightly pointed out, success-61seats and counting in the House plus Senate, Governorships and  the massive 600+ state legislature wins.


To have on your CV the biggest success for the GOP since 1938 is a remarkable achievement.This puts the GOP establishment in a difficult position as they, according to the now notorious Politico article, embark on a mission to negate Sarah Palin's influence and destroy the possibility that she might obtain the presidential nomination should she choose to run.


This is the biggest threat to Steele's chances of reelection. Steele has been vociferous in his support of Palin, visibly so at the California GOP rally they both attended. The forces of self-perpetuation in the GOP establishment, the backers of Romney/Gingrich/Pawlenty, would gain an ally by installing someone like liberal Norm Coleman but that would be a Pyrrhic victory which could lead to the destruction of the Republican Party.


Removing Steele would signal to the Tea Party that it is business as usual now that the mid-terms are over and the establishment is, once again, putting their interests above the rank and file. The Tea Party, Palin and Steele were instrumental in saving the Republicans from the Bush era and delivering the overwhelming result the mid-terms brought. To kick them in the teeth now would be disastrous.


Removing Steele would also signal to the Black community that nothing has changed and their initial steps of support through the election of such remarkable men as Allan West in Florida and Tim Scott in South Carolina was a false start. For these men to choose to stand up for the GOP as true conservatives, to win the support of Blacks and Whites in the deep South through the "content of their character" is a remarkable achievement.

To throw away this nascent revival of Black support by removing Steele, especially under the administration of the deep South face of the White GOP and Steele critic, Haley Barbour, would have significant ramifications which would also spill over into the nascent Hispanic influx into Republican ranks.


Both Palin and Jim DeMint have signalled that if the GOP reverts to the failed policies and management of the recent past then, and deservedly so, they would support the creation of a third party. This would ensure the complete and utter devastation of the Republican Party. Those in the GOP establishment who would remove Steele to stop Palin are walking blindly towards a precipice.