Michael Steele

Is Sarah Palin the secret weapon in Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele's reelection campaign? Some members of the RNC think so. They expect her to back the former Maryland lieutenant governor's bid for a second term as party chairman. The two appeared together during Steele's recent coast-to-coast "Fire Pelosi" bus tour. And Steele came to Palin's defense on national television this week, telling critics of the former Alaska governor to "shut up. " Palin's endorsement would be a valuable asset in the coming chairmanship fight and could help counter those who say Steele is the wrong person to head the party going into the 2012 presidential cycle.

Michael Steele's troubled reign as Republican national chairman came to an abrupt end Friday when party leaders rejected him in favor of a former sidekick, Wisconsin party Chairman Reince R. Priebus. Priebus was instrumental in Steele's ascent to the top job two years ago and led his transition team. He was rewarded with the post of general counsel of the Republican National Committee, but he broke with Steele after the November election, saying the party organization had become dysfunctional and had lost the confidence of its major donors.

Steele's remarks on war Re "Steele under fire for comments on war," July 3 Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele not only suffers from McChrystal Syndrome -- a chronic inability to keep one's mouth shut -- but what seems to be an unfamiliarity with facts as well. There may be some merit in what he expressed so awkwardly, but he seems to have forgotten that when Afghanistan was attacked in October 2001, George W. Bush was commander in chief and Barack Obama was still in the Senate.

WASHINGTON ? Wisconsin Republican Party chairman Reince Priebus was elected chair of the Republican National Committee on Friday, defeating four other candidates ? including incumbent Michael Steele ? in the seventh round of voting. Priebus never trailed in the voting, slowly building on his tally until he surpassed a majority of the 168 voting members. State party chair since 2007, Priebus helped Wisconsin Republicans win back the governor's office after eight years, unseat three-term Democratic Sen. Russ Feingold, and pick up two congressional seats in 2010, success the party hopes he can replicate on a national scale.

Michael Steele, a lightning rod for criticism during his chairmanship of the Republican National Committee, on Wednesday sought to claim a measure of credit for the party's titanic congressional wins Tuesday. The former Maryland lieutenant governor told reporters on a conference call that his unorthodox approach to running the committee, often criticized, proved enormously successful. "My goal from the very, very beginning was to devolve activity away from Washington, D.C., away from the Republican National Committee, and put it in the hands of the states," he said.

Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele is facing a new test of his leadership over comments he made that appear to question America's military effort in Afghanistan. Video footage that emerged Friday shows Steele referring to the conflict as "a war of Obama's choosing" and implying that the effort is doomed to fail. "If he's such a student of history," Steele said, referring to President Obama, "has he not understood that, you know, that's the one thing you don't do, is engage in a land war in Afghanistan?

Michael Steele's troubled reign as Republican national chairman came to an abrupt end Friday when party leaders rejected him in favor of a former sidekick, Wisconsin party Chairman Reince R. Priebus. Priebus was instrumental in Steele's ascent to the top job two years ago and led his transition team. He was rewarded with the post of general counsel of the Republican National Committee, but he broke with Steele after the November election, saying the party organization had become dysfunctional and had lost the confidence of its major donors.

Former Minnesota Sen. Norm Coleman, who led the American Action Network, an independent group that spent $25 million on behalf of Republican candidates this year, said Wednesday that he would be interested in chairing the Republican National Committee only if the current chairman, Michael Steele, chooses not to seek a second term. "I am not here to do any battles with our chairman; he is a friend," Coleman said in a C-SPAN interview to be broadcast Sunday. If Steele decides to retire from the post, Coleman said "I would say with humility if there was an opportunity to help the party I would do that.

Republican National Committee Chairman Michael S. Steele said Sunday that he would provide records from his 2006 U.S. Senate campaign to the FBI in an effort to speed an apparent investigation into allegations of improper campaign spending. Steele confirmed that his sister was recently contacted by FBI agents looking into allegations that his campaign paid a company she owned more than $37,000 in 2007 for campaign work that was never performed.

Three top GOP senators on Sunday sharply criticized the chairman of the Republican National Committee, increasing the pressure on him to step down for his recent remarks that the war in Afghanistan was "a lost cause." The Republican senators, led by John McCain of Arizona, the party's presidential nominee in 2008, stopped short of calling for his resignation. But collectively their comments on the Sunday-morning TV talk shows signal a unified agreement that many in the GOP leadership no longer support the embattled chairman.

Michael Steele defended his performance as Republican National Committee chairman under sometimes withering criticism Monday from rivals at a public forum. Several challengers said that two years of what they characterized as mismanagement under Steele had left the national party organization deeply in debt and facing a crisis of credibility, especially with its major donors. Steele, in a rare public appearance since the November election, sidestepped much of the criticism.

Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele launched a fight to keep his job Monday, stunning many in the party who had expected him to step aside. His decision means Republicans will be debating the record of its first African American chairman next month just as the new GOP-controlled House is being sworn in. Steele and Republican congressional leaders have been at odds in the past and a bruising internecine fight could become an unwelcome distraction. Near the close of a sometimes-rambling 33-minute speech, delivered to the Republican National Committee via conference call Monday night, Steele asked members to give him a second term "because I really believe in my heart that our work is not done.

As the GOP focuses on unseating President Obama in 2012, Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele's chances of keeping his job are slipping away, according to present and former party officials. The chairman's main task in the coming year is to provide a strong financial footing for the campaign. But Steele's difficulties with raising and spending money are among the reasons some committee members want new leadership when his term expires next month. "We're a top-down party.

Former U.S. Sen. Norm Coleman of Minnesota said he won't pursue the Republican National Committee chairmanship as long as Michael Steele wants to keep the job. Coleman told the St. Paul Pioneer Press on Friday that part of his decision is based on respect for Steele, despite criticism directed against the current chairman from within the party. Coleman said he doesn't think Steele has gotten enough credit for the work he's done bringing the "tea party" movement and the GOP together.

Is Sarah Palin the secret weapon in Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele's reelection campaign? Some members of the RNC think so. They expect her to back the former Maryland lieutenant governor's bid for a second term as party chairman. The two appeared together during Steele's recent coast-to-coast "Fire Pelosi" bus tour. And Steele came to Palin's defense on national television this week, telling critics of the former Alaska governor to "shut up. " Palin's endorsement would be a valuable asset in the coming chairmanship fight and could help counter those who say Steele is the wrong person to head the party going into the 2012 presidential cycle.

Michael Steele, a lightning rod for criticism during his chairmanship of the Republican National Committee, on Wednesday sought to claim a measure of credit for the party's titanic congressional wins Tuesday. The former Maryland lieutenant governor told reporters on a conference call that his unorthodox approach to running the committee, often criticized, proved enormously successful. "My goal from the very, very beginning was to devolve activity away from Washington, D.C., away from the Republican National Committee, and put it in the hands of the states," he said.

WASHINGTON ? Wisconsin Republican Party chairman Reince Priebus was elected chair of the Republican National Committee on Friday, defeating four other candidates ? including incumbent Michael Steele ? in the seventh round of voting. Priebus never trailed in the voting, slowly building on his tally until he surpassed a majority of the 168 voting members. State party chair since 2007, Priebus helped Wisconsin Republicans win back the governor's office after eight years, unseat three-term Democratic Sen. Russ Feingold, and pick up two congressional seats in 2010, success the party hopes he can replicate on a national scale.

Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele on Sunday predicted an "unprecedented wave" of GOP victories while Democrats saw signs of voters awakening as both sides made arguments in the final week before the midterm election. Democrats said voters were souring on the big money being funneled to outside groups supporting Republican candidates, including one organization co-founded by Karl Rove, a former advisor to President George W. Bush. Rove defended the spending Sunday as part of a campaign finance system in need of reform.