Steele is now the man who has overseen the depletion of RNC cash levels, lowering party moral

Lessons for party organizers from the Michael Steele fiasco

By Yomin Postelnik
Sunday, January 10, 2010

A year ago, a bright and energetic voice decided to run for chairman of a national party. He was one of the most likeable characters on the national stage and came with the added experience of being a lieutenant governor.

This candidate’s exciting web based campaign paid off and his election was met, for at least the most part, with cheers. Even those who hadn’t supported him hoped that he would do well, and they seemingly had every reason to believe that he would. Unfortunately for those who elected him, none of this was to pan out. Yet while there was no indication of the magnitude of his unsuitability as chairman at the time, there are still fundamental lessons that all can learn from this episode.

Of course, I’m talking about Michael Steele. Michael Steele, the most energetic, lively and engaging of all of last year’s candidates for chairman of the Republican National Committee. Michael Steele, the most telegenic and inspiring of all candidates for the chairmanship of a national party in a long time.

A funny thing happened on the way to DC. Steele is now the man who has overseen the depletion of RNC cash levels from $22.8 million less than a year ago to a current level of $8.7 million, according to the renowned news magazine, The Week. Steele has recently been accused of lowering party morale for saying that his party would not win in 2010 and for publicly criticizing members of his own party.

As well he should be. The chairmanship of a party is not an invitation to write columns and hypothesize. It’s a position that comes with an entrusted duty to rally members, supporters and build a proactive and winning team.

One can hardly imagine the president of Coca Cola going on the airwaves to publicly espouse the virtues of Pepsi and politics is no different. A chairman is entrusted by people who’ve worked years, if not decades, to advance their party and the values or ideals that their party represents. Those same people should not be forced to fend off attacks by someone who they elected to be their primary spokesperson.

This is not to say that Steele or any other chairman of a political party should put up with politics as usual or sanctify the indefensible. But what a chairman should do is go about eliminating those problems and building a better party, not casting a public eye on every letdown or hyping internal blemishes to the point of insanity. A new chairman of Coca Cola would be right to fire people, take new measures to ensure both increased production and accountability and work to legitimately earn the public confidence. He’d be wrong to take to the airwaves denouncing his entire staff while simultaneously singing the praises of the Pepsi Beverage Company.
When selecting an effective organizer, never choose style over substance

Michael Steele teaches one important lesson to leaders of both parties and to all those responsible for electing party chairs: When selecting an effective organizer, never choose style over substance. Michael Steele is an exceptionally nice man who might have made a good governor of the State of Maryland, but he has no organizational or leadership skills and didn’t even know enough to hire a team that does. As a result, his tenure has been a failure.

Steele’s fundraising stunts were horrendous. Last year, he stopped sending RNC members pictures and other catchy items that entice them to actually donate. When the donations stopped trickling in, “past dueâ€