Today's RNC election may end the illustrious career of Michael Steele

Michael Steele Withdraws As Reince Preibus Accepts RNC Chairmanship
The Michael Steele era of the Republican Party is officially over. The embattled chairman, who was not expected to win Reelection after a tenure marked by a regular stream of gaffes and calls for Resignation, withdrew from the race yesterday, making way for his temperamental opposite, Wisconsin GOP Chairman Reince Preibus, to man the national ship. Combative to the end, Steele left his position reminding the party of the progress Republicans made in the two years he led the party, despite his kn...

GOP rejects Steele
The republican party has finally driven chairman Michael Steele from his post. After the republican made huge gains in the mid-term Elections, many in the party, especially those endorsed by the Tea Party, questioned if the results were a slap in the face to Steele. He had been criticized by many Tea Party supporters who felt he wasn't conservative enough for them.  The party has instead turned to Reince Priebus, a former top lieutenant for Michael Steele, and current chairman of the Wiscon...

Michael Steele loses bid for re-election as RNC chair
Michael Steele is out as RNC chairman. Reince Priebus, former chairman of the Wisconsin GOP, unseated Steele in Friday's vote among GOP memebers and will be taking over the number one spot on the Republican National Committee. Steele withdrew his name from consideration after the fourth round of voting after he realized he had little chance of winning another term. Priebus has aligned himself with the Tea Party movement, which Republicans credit with their recent takeover of the House of Represe...

Steele out as head of GOP, Wisconsin chief in
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 t...

Republican Party dumps Steele, picks Priebus as chief
By Steve Holland OXON HILL, Maryland | Fri Jan 14, 2011 10:11pm EST OXON HILL, Maryland (Reuters) - Republican Party Leaders refused Michael Steele a new term as party chairman on Friday and turned to a low-key insider to erase a $20 million Debt and unify Republicans for the 2012 Presidential Election. Wisconsin Republican Party chairman Reince Priebus, chosen to head the Republican National Committee after Steele fell behind in the voting and then dropped out of the running, takes over an o...

Republican Party dumps Steele, picks Priebus as chief
OXON HILL, Maryland (Reuters) - Republican Party Leaders refused Michael Steele a new term as party chairman on Friday and turned to a low-key insider to erase a $20 million Debt and unify Republicans for the 2012 Presidential Election. Wisconsin Republican Party chairman Reince Priebus, chosen to head the Republican National Committee after Steele fell behind in the voting and then dropped out of the running, takes over an organization in turmoil. On the seventh round of voting, Priebus, who h...

Republican National Committee elects Wisconsin GOP leader as chair
WASHINGTON — Wisconsin Republican Party Chairman Reince Priebus was elected chair of the Republican National Committee (RNC) on Friday after surviving seven contentious rounds of balloting to succeed Michael Steele, who dropped out after the fourth round, as party officials expressed a desire for new leadership to prepare for the 2012 Presidential Election. Priebus (Rinz PREE-bus) never trailed in the voting, slowly building on his tally until he surpassed a majority of the 168 voting me...

Who is Reince Priebus?
After winning the RNC election to replace Michael Steele, Reince Priebus doesn't exactly have big shoes to fill. But he does have experience leading Republicans to big gains, at least in Wisconsin, where he was the chairman of the Wisconsin Republican Party during the 2010 Elections. Priebus, a 38-year-old lawyer who resides in Kenosha, Wisc., helped his party's Candidate, Ron Johnson, defeat longtime Senator Russ Feingold for a Senate seat in November, grabbed the Governor's house for Republi...

Steele Out, Priebus In At RNC
Wisconsin GOP Chairman Reince Priebus has won election as chairman of the Republican National Committee in a drawn-out balloting process Friday, ousting Incumbent Chairman Michael Steele after what can best be described as a rocky two-year tenure. Steele dropped out of the fourth round of voting after seeing his support steadily decline through the process, reports The Hill. His two years as RNC Chair kicked off with an awkward start on degenerate dirtbag Curtis Sliwa’s Talk Radio show, wh...

A Michael Steele thought experiment
A Michael Steele THOUGHT EXPERIMENT.... In June, in an electoral fluke, a man named Alvin Greene somehow managed to win the Democratic primary in South Carolina's U.S. Senate race. When state and national Dems balked, leading far-right voices -- Rush Limbaugh, Laura Ingraham, and others -- insisted it was because the Democratic Party doesn't like African-American Candidates. Five months later, House Democrats were choosing the leadership for the next Congress, and Steny Hoyer, who is white, le...

Ann Wagner falls short in effort to become RNC chair
OXON HILL, Md . • Republicans elected Wisconsin GOP chairman Reince Priebus on Friday to head the Republican National Committee, ousting Michael Steele and rejecting the bids of St. Louisan Ann Wagner and two other Candidates to lead the GOP into the 2012 Presidential Election. On the seventh ballot at the Republican's winter meeting, Priebus, 38, formerly a Steele ally, finally scored the majority of 168 committee members needed to win the contest. He has the task now of digging the natio...

RNC vote shows limits of Boehner's reach
Members of the Republican National Committee sent a clear message Friday to the rest of the GOP when they elected Reince Priebus as their new chairman: There’s at least one corner of the Republican Party that’s beyond House Speaker John Boehner’s reach. Boehner worked hard to prop up the candidacy of longtime operative Maria Cino, a Veteran campaign hand who held senior offices at the RNC and the National Republican Congressional Committee. Continue Reading Text Size - + res...

The Reince Priebus era begins at the RNC
THE Reince Priebus ERA BEGINS AT THE RNC.... It took seven ballots, but Republican National Committee members chose a new chairman late yesterday afternoon, replacing Michael Steele with Reince Priebus. The 38-year-old Wisconsinite takes over at a difficult time for the RNC -- the committee is $21 million in Debt, is struggling to pay its bills, and is burdened by two years of widespread mismanagement. Priebus, a former Steele ally, appears to have been chosen for the job precisely because he ...

Reince Preibus New is RNC Chair Michael Steele: Now I Exit Stage Right.
In the end, it has all worked out beautifully for the Republican National Committee.   The personally-likable but Scandal-dogged Michael Steele bowed out gracefully during voting.  Replacing him will be someone who was kind and loyal to Steele, but who also served as the listening post for GOP Conservatives who were restive for regime change. Reince Preibus is from Wisconsin, which staged the most amazing blue-to-red transformation of any state this year.  ON WISCONSIN! ...

Reince Priebus: "We Can Defeat Barack Obama in 2012"
The new elected RNC Chairman Reince Priebus holds up a gavel after winning the post, Jan. 14, 2011 in Oxon Hill, MD. (Credit: (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)) The Republican Party will face significant challenges in the 2012 election cycle: A geared-up Democratic electorate excited to see President Obama back on the ballot, a rowdy and somewhat unpredictable Tea Party base, funds flowing through multiple outside organizations. On top of all that, the Republican National Committee must dea...

Ds and Rs to MIX IT UP FOR STATE OF THE UNION SEATING Why Biden chose Bruce Reed -- New RNC chair moving from Kenosha to D.C. -
SIREN -- PAUL KANE: At the House GOP retreat in Baltimore, "Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) delivered a stern message that the Debt ceiling will eventually have to be raised to keep the government from defaulting. But he also promised that Republicans will 'use the leverage' they have to enact at least some of their spending-reduction goals. 'It's a leverage moment for Republicans,' Cantor said in an interview Friday. 'The president needs us. There are things we were elected to do. Let'...

Michael Steele's tarnished tenure | James Antle
Michael Steele won the RNC chairmanship with his talent for crowdpleasing work on the stump, but lost the confidence of his party by failing to secure Donors despite a favourable climate for the GOP. Photograph: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images The Republican party's noble experiment with Michael Steele has come to an end. After a tumultuous single term, Steele was denied re-election as chairman of the Republican national committee (RNC). The RNC turned, instead, to former Steele lieutenant Rei...

Michael Steele out, Reince Priebus in as new head of the RNC
  Today the Republicans voted for the chairmanship of the Republican National Committee and at long last Michael Steele is no longer the chairman, being replaced by Reince Priebus.   A sharply divided Republican Committee finally confirmed Preibus as Committee Chairman on the seventh ballot, while Michael Steele dropped his re-election bid after the fourth ballot. In my opinion, this was a long time in the making as I questioned whether Michael Steele should resign back in March o...

Michael Steele's many blunders led to defeat in RNC chair reelection campaign
Republicans emerged from a 2008 electoral drubbing not only lacking a telegenic spokesman for the party but virtually any major officials who were not white, a major void after the election of the nation's first black president. Michael Steele seemed like the right man at the right time: an African-American Republican who loved going on television. This Story GOP picks Reince Priebus to lead as it regroups New RNC chairman ran as the anti-Steele Michael Steele's many blunders led to defeat in...

Short-lived celebration for new RNC chairman?
WASHINGTON—The new Republican Party chairman's celebration may be short-lived. From the get-go, Reince Priebus faces a ton of tough tasks in the wake of Michael Steele's troubled tenure. Priebus must dig the party out of a $22 million hole. He must prepare the GOP to take on President Barack Obama. He must unite a GOP in the midst of an identity crisis fueled by the Tea Party. He must restore credibility to a national party whose power has diminished over time, and particularly in the pas...

Best Michael Steele Quotes
He's been ousted as RNC Chairman, but it's worth revisiting why Michael Steele's term was so memorable. He was definitely "the gift that keeps on giving." ...

Michael Steele's Greatest Hits
He may have been ousted from the RNC, but these moments will stay with us forever. From comparing health-care reform to armageddon to claiming he was appointed chairman by God, watch six of Michael Steele's most cringe-worthy moments....

Reince Priebus Elected New RNC Chairman
Goodbye Michael Steele, hello Reince Priebus: The Republican National Committee selected a new leader on Friday, with its choice, Reince Priebus of Wisconsin,...

Priebus steps into the spotlight
Reince Priebus, the new low-key chairman of the Republican National Committee, helped lead Michael Steele’s successful 2009 campaign for RNC chairman. He ran Steele’s transition and became General Counsel of the RNC. Then the two had a falling out. On Friday night, in a move few could have foreseen two years ago, the 38-year-old diminutive chairman of the Wisconsin Republicans vanquished Steele to himself become national chairman. Continue Reading Text Size - + reset It was the re...

Election results not enough to save RNC chair
Former chairman of the Republican National Committee (RNC) Michael Steele stepped down today when it became clear he would not win re-election to his position after successive rounds of voting.  The tenure of Mr. Steele, former Lieutenant Governor of MD and the first black man to hold the position of RNC chair, was marked with Controversy even amid Republican electoral successes.  Ironically, Mr. Steele leaves a national committee that is deeply in the red and struggling for Donors, ev...