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Simmering RNC Chairman's race

Submitted by Soren Dayton on Sun, 08/24/2008 - 12:41
in

There is a lot of talk around DC about who will be the RNC Chairman if John McCain were to lose. I generally hear about four candidates:

  • Saul Anuzis, Chairman of the Michigan GOP
  • Katon Dawson, Chairman of the South Carolina GOP
  • Jim Greer, Chairman of the Florida GOP
  • Shawn Steele, incoming National Committeeman of the California GOP

There is also talk that non-RNC-member elected candidates could run. (note that RNC rules require that the Chairman be a member of the Committee, but that can often be fudged with a supportive state party)

If McCain loses, the RNC Chair would likely be the public leader of the party. It is unlikely that Mitch McConnell or John Boehner, the presumed leaders of the Congressional party, would have the time or the umph to be public leaders like that. (although, I have at times thought that Boehner could do it)

The RNC Chairman's race will also have strong implications for the 2012 Presidential primary. Mitt Romney is widely seen as having a substantial foot up because of the scope of his organization for 2008. It is likely that he would have a preferred candidate in the RNC Chairman's race to keep tabs on the whole process.

We all very sincerely want McCain to win. But the maneuvering over the Chairman's race is going on full-speed ahead and we intend to follow that in addition to the Presidential race, Congressional races, party growth, etc.

Consequently, please share information about this with us. We get a bunch as it is, but the more people reach out, the more we can document what is happening and make a difference in the process.

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Comments

Boehner as RNC Chair

Submitted by sjreidhead on Sun, 08/24/2008 - 16:40.

Considering what an abject disaster John Boehner has been as a GOP leadership roll in the House, let's put him in charge of the whole GOP.  In six months it would be a party no more.  The man needs not only to be removed from any leadership capacity, let alone remain in Congress.

 

SJR

The Pink Flamingo

Dawson would be phenomenal

Submitted by bconc on Sun, 08/24/2008 - 18:48.

Many of us only ever remember South Carolina as a GOP haven, but it has not always been that way.  Through careful, thoughtful work Dawson has absolutely solidified the state for the GOP.

He is an actual businessman who has directly experienced the trial and travails of small business people.  He is a self-made guy, by the way, in a pretty tough retail environment (auto-parts stores). 

I should say that I am speaking out my personal experience with the man and I have not met any of the others.

In my opinion, I think you find in Dawson a true conservative - not a "Christian Coalition" type.  He is for all the traditional things we appreciate, before we got co-opted by the oxymoronic "big government" Conservatives.  He is really engaging and dynamic. 

I hope that he will not be available for the job because I want McCain to win.  However, if it is necessary we would be in good hands with Dawson.

 

California and Michigan are not the places to look for leaders

Submitted by superdestroyer on Sun, 08/24/2008 - 19:27.

Given that California is a solidly blue state and getting bluers by the day and that the Repubicans in Michigan are not capable of fielding good candidates, no one from those two states should have anything to do with trying to save the Repubican Party at the national level until they prove their performance at the state and local level.

How about Mitt Romney for GOP chairman?

Submitted by St. Louis Conse... on Mon, 08/25/2008 - 09:52.

The GOP chairman's primary responsibility is fundraising and building party infrastructure, as far as I can tell.  I can't really think of a better person to head up those functions than Mitt Romney.

If McCain loses, we will likely have some solid candidates running for president that are (to me at least) much preferable to Mitt Romney.  I think Romney can best serve the GOP as chairman of the party.

Did romeny develop a lasting organization in Mass.

Submitted by superdestroyer on Mon, 08/25/2008 - 11:44.

if you look at Mitt Romney's performance in Mass., the Republicans were worse off after he left office than before he started. That is not the type of performance that Republicans should be tolerating.  How about someone with a record of performance instead of retreaded failures?

Much as I like and respect Romney ...

Submitted by Jack Coleman on Mon, 08/25/2008 - 12:54.

... your criticism is valid, superdestroyer. Romney fell short in his attempts to build up the state GOP and the situation only got worse after his departure. He wasn't around long enough as governor to make a difference and quickly turned turned his attention to running for president after the '04 election, when he'd been in office only two years.

JEB would be a good choice for the RNC chair.

Submitted by davidfarrar on Wed, 08/27/2008 - 11:52.

For those who really know JEB, he would be the person who could best bring about real change within the party structure, particularly restructuring the party to function over the Internet as well as its present exeutive committee structure. But the party elites would never allow JEB to come close to this position just for that reason.

ex animo

davidfarrar

How about Jim Greer?

Submitted by Adam Tannenbaum on Wed, 08/27/2008 - 12:08.

The Republican Party of Florida has been doing a tremendous job in a growing, diverse, and pivotal swing state. The party thrives on a harmonious mix of panhandle conservatives and Boca Raton moderates. They do a great job reaching out to minority groups- the GOP has a longstanding majority of Latino voters and reaches out well to black and Jewish voters. There is an abundancy of potential future candidates for statewide and federal office, which highlights RPOF's ability to recruit; among them House Speaker Marco Rubio, Attorney General Bill McCollum, Senate President Jeff Atwater, and House Majority Leader Adam Hasner. The GOP's work in Florida could serve as a national model for party outreach and governance, and the RNC would do well to solidify its growing advantage in the Sunshine State. 

If McCain loses...

Submitted by davidfarrar on Wed, 08/27/2008 - 14:52.

..the party will have to reassess its wholesale sellout of its conservative base as a winning presidential strategy. In order to accomplish this task, the RNC chair pick must first have true conservative credentials. All else is what radio astronomers refer to as static. 

ex animo

davidfarrar