Michael Steele is down but he’s not out. Shortly after informing the 168 voting members of the Republican National Committee that he’ll be running for second term as RNC chair, Steele stopped off at Fox News to explain his decision.
Fox host Greta Van Susteren asked Steele why so many of his compatriots in the Republican party don’t want him to run again — even after the GOP’s epic wins on Nov. 2. Steele explained that he’s just a little too real for the establishment figures lining up to replace him at the head of the RNC. (Steele’s opponents might point to the virtually unending series of gaffes and money scandals that have plagued his term at the RNC, but Steele didn’t mention that.)
“My style is a little bit different than most conventional party chairmen,” Steele explained. “My style is more grassroots oriented, I’m much more of a street guy.”
“I love hanging out in boardrooms,” Steele added, seemingly referring to criticisms of his ability to raise big donor cash for the RNC, “but i prefer to be in the neighborhoods and communities.”
Should he be granted a second crack that the head of the RNC, Steele promised to keep bringing that “street guy” style to the committee.
“The party needs to get outside its comfort zone,” Steele said.
Watch Steele sounding like Steele on Van Susteren’s show tonight:
Evan McMorris-Santoro
Evan McMorris-Santoro has covered politics for TPM since 2009. Before that, he was a reporter at National Journal’s Hotline covering election 2008. He started his career covering local politics at newspapers in TN and his native NC.
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