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Thursday, January 08, 2009
Amanda Carpenter :: Townhall.com Columnist
Blackwell's Case for RNC Chair
by Amanda Carpenter
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In the six-way race for Republican National Committee Chairman every candidate has earned some kind of short-hand description.

There is, in alphabetical order, Saul Anuzis, a tech-enthusiast who never fails to return a phone call or email, the reliably-conservative Ken Blackwell, Katon “the Southern One” Dawson, incumbent Chairman Robert “Mike” Duncan, election expert Chip Saltsman and the charismatic Michael Steele.

Blackwell, however, expanded credentials beyond the conservative endorsements he’s gained in a conversation with some writers in a private suite at the Capital Hill Hyatt Tuesday. What many race-watchers gloss over he argued, is his extensive resume and the persuasiveness of the “shareholder’s revolt” he’s proposed leading among RNC members.

“This is not a corporation, this is a federation I would be running,” Blackwell said, criticizing the current structure of the RNC. “It doesn’t further the notion of groupthink.”

If elected RNC Chairman Blackwell’s mission would be to change the culture of the RNC, which he thinks has become too dependent on Washington connections cultivated with the soon-to-be nonexistent Bush Administration. To help make the break, he’s pitched RNC members on a new revenue sharing program that would kick-back ten percent of net fundraising proceeds to state parties.

“The whole fundraising apparatus is so inside-the-Beltway oriented that I have seen a true responsiveness to my revenue sharing program,” Blackwell said, “No longer are we going to send a staffer to state and then act as if they were my Whip.”

Blackwell is also a strong advocate for opening up the RNC’s “voter vault” database to members, which helps satisfy the outside pressure for all RNC candidates to become more tech-friendly without riling older RNC members who are turned off by complex tech talk.

“Under the present system with the voter vault there are states who will tell you it’s almost inaccessible to them and didn’t help them accomplish their goals,” he lamented. “Through an open-source system you get the buy-in to technology, but you get the human commitment necessary to drive things.”

He’s laid all his ideas in a 38-page “Conservative Resurgance Plan” that also hits on themes of financial transparency and greater coordination with state-based think tanks, as opposed to Chairman Duncan’s new proposal to create a new, DC-based RNC think tank center.

But what sets Blackwell most apart from the crowd is indeed, what he is most well-known for: being a conservative’s conservative.

He spoke frankly about his desire to steer the RNC in a conservative direction, even amid an environment when many politicos say the organization needs to become more moderate in order to compete in future elections.

“We want to know that folks are not going out and embracing candidates who only believe in 20 percent of our platform,” he said adding, however that he recognized “the political realities in Rhode Island are different than Mississippi."

He said the GOP platform is “just a collection of papers if people are not living it.” When asked how he might influence candidates to embracing the full platform he referred to Rule 11 of the party’s rules which prohibits the RNC from contributing money to any candidate who is not formally nominated by the party.

“I might make that a little easier to invoke,” he said.

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About The Author
Amanda Carpenter is the author of “The Vast Right-Wing Conspiracy's Dossier on Hillary Clinton,” published in October 2006.
 
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Blackwell deserves it
Blackwell made his bones in Ohio 2004 by "ensuring" Bush won over Kerry. I think he should be RNC chair because he has risked the most for the GOP cause. He even has two Ohio state cases hanging over him right now alleging he hired an IT expert to manipulate vote totals.

If he proves this all false, he should be given even more control of the direction of the party. If the case is squashed politically, he may remain controversial and will have a hard time bringing the minority vote over from the Dems. If he's found guilty, he'll probably make a plea deal and turn in a larger fish like Rove or even Bush.

But there's no doubt he put it all on the line for Bush in 2004. He is a loyal servant.

Central casting and substance.
Mr. Blackwell's open mindedness to evolutions in how the RNC serves local candidates and electorates would be welcome. We are not the federal mandate requirement in this Party. This is not Hwy. Funds and speed limits or grants and educational standards.

There is also what I’d call the visible intangible with Mr. Blackwell.
He, along with Mr. Steele, is the most telegenic and attractive candidate. It is important to have a spokesperson with ideas that can be imparted with a smile and some presence or a warning and some credibility. The other candidates are not his equal in this area.

Additionally, and this is by way of a 'light lunch' digestion of his potential, Mr. Blackwell has been disparaged by Kathleen Parker as the candidate of the evangelical component of our Party. What a badge to wear. When a Christian mocking creature such as Ms. Parker is incensed by your standing, you're likely standing strong with those that count.

Mr. Blackwell appears strong and smart.

Steele
...is the man. Talk about a guy that understands and represents conservatism.

But Blackwell's alright by me...
"He spoke frankly about his desire to steer the RNC in a conservative direction, even amid an environment when many politicos say the organization needs to become more moderate in order to compete in future elections."

...and moderate your way out of every majority, great strategy. Those politicos need correcting.

Reply to WWJD......

"Blackwell made his bones in Ohio 2004 by "ensuring" Bush won over Kerry.".....

Perhaps, but the BIGGEST setback to the Democrats in 2004 in OHIO was the fact that GAY MARRIAGE was on the ballot as well.......this issue ALONE brought out many "bible thumpers" who would have otherwise stayed home and NOT voted for Bush. MANY Ohio votes that year went AGAINST gay marriage...not so much PRO-Bush.

Give Me Ideas - Not McCainyism
I want Mike Steele!!! I hope Bob Barr is wrong and that the northeastern RINO's have not stolen the party. Do not fish for young people, or minorities, broadcast our ideas about how we need to be a nation of individual liberty!! If we could get Rush & Sean to reduce the level of critism and increase the level of promotion of conservative ideas we would be a lot more successful.

What would Jose do???
I love to hear the Dems talk about how Blackwell "ensured" Bush's victory in 2004. As I recall, the only campaign chicanery going on here in '04 was the Democrat activists slashing the tires of any GOP vehicles who had the gall to give rides to the voting locations. I know, there was some magical conspiracy between Blackwell, Bush, Haliburton, Mickey Mouse, and the Marlboro man involving secret data codes and voter suppression. Of course, the voter suppression was more mythical than factual (other than the documented cases of tire slashing mentioned above), as nobody can show that Dems were kept from the polls.

Meanwhile, Franken manages to use a series of obviously manipulated recounts to turn a 700 vote loss into a 250 vote win, and the Dems never bat an eye... Make every vote count...sometimes twice!!!

BY the way..................
Mr. Blackwell served in the same administration under Gov. Taft....who obviously had issues with Coingate.......He seems to do a good job, but still makes me nervous...I just sense alot of routine "establishment" issues with him...follow the party line so to speak...and RINOS aren't the answer for the Repugs........

Blackwell is a total loser
Social Conservative Loser. In 2006, a bad year for Ohio Republicans, Blackwell exceeded all expectations and did twice as bad as any other Republican running that year. Strickland got 60% of the vote to Blackwell's 37%. He couldn't even break 40%. This wasn't just a repudiation of the GOP, it was a total denouncement of Blackwell and what he stands for.

The social conervatives seem to forget that they are one segment of the party and not the majority, even in these lean times. The country is not a revival tent and the American public isn't going to stand for their moralizing busybody ways.

Blackwell is the anointed Dobson and Perkins pick, which is enough to turn off any remaining Independent voters. If by some strange turn of events, Blackwell wins, he will be able to replicate his last time up before the public and REALLY take the GOP down.

Hollywood
Living in Ohio, I can tell you for a fact that the Ohio GOP establishment had sunk the Party long before Blackwell got there. The Party moved away from "the Right" (you know, things like fiscal discipline, balanced budgets, lower taxes, etc.) a decade earlier. Ohio became one of the worst "business friendly" states in the nation under Bob Bennett and the GOP leadership.

Blackwell stood up to this lunacy, even fighting his own Party to eliminate a sales tax increase "his Party" brilliantly enacted. Blackwell's election results were largely a repudiation of the Party not the person. The previous election, there were bumper stickers on cars that said. "Anybody But Taft". That was the campaign's slogan!

Now, I'm not necessarily a Blackwell apologist, but Hollywood, at least get a fact or 2 right. History is important.

MUST have
Whoever gets it, we have to demand that the chairman be aggressive in defending and teaching conservatism. No more bowing to the liberal wings of Republicanism.

http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/we-demand-true-conserva tive-leadership.html

I'm interested in Steele
We need to show the nation that the GOP is not some racist, revenant, neanderthal organization that despises anyone whose origins aren't Great Britain.

Mike Steele offers the Repubolicans a different image. We need the JC Watts and Condi Rices of America to show that fiscal discipline, strong foreign policy, free trade, and personal responsibility are what makes the US great and not "bailouts" and "stimulus" pork barrels.

Steele will help Repubicans reinvent their roots and make themselves a majority party, again. After all, when people voted in 1994 for the Contract With America, they were not voting for the Ted Stephens and other earmark porkers of the party.

The surplus Clinton brags was a Repuboican surplus. Unfortunately, the party lost its way in DC among all that "free" (mine and yours)money and couldn't keep their hands off it.

Steele can help Reps. just say, *NO* to all the extravagance and balogney that Big Bro O and his enablers want to impose on us.

I Support Michael Steele
I have read his "Blueprint for Tomorrow" and believe he is the one to lead the RNC. He has a handle on what it is going to take to draw in young people and re-energize the rest.

Blackwell, people's choice
I agree, Blackwell is a great candidate for any position in RNC.
Lone, in Ohio, the phrase you used was originally taken from a liberal Black author, printed in a Liberal paper and then put into a parody by a conservative talk-radio host. Why liberals can always get away with using all forbidden or non-PC words?

Mary Stella
The 'Magic Negro' was penned as serious social commentary by an opinion columnist.

The parody was created by a talk show host who makes clear his program is entertainment oriented.

Saltsman is a GOP official vying for leader of the party's public face. His actions further the impression of the GOP as narrow minded and racially insensitive.

Spin it as you wish, the damage is done.

Core values are key
Americans young and old are looking for conviction, not a please-all-the-people approach as a party platform. People understand inherently that you can’t please all people so the position that the party can be all things to all people is both preposterous and intellectually insulting. The Republican party needs to get back to conservatism instead of the big-tent BS it's been floundering under for years. People don't support conservative values in the electorate for a very simple reason -- the Party stopped clearly articulating those values in relation to societal impact and the prosperity of the nation. Without a vision the people parish (or move toward empty charisma)! The party, in creating a vacuum in leadership, has allowed the left to define conservatism as archaic and the source of the problems we are facing today when, in fact, true conservative values are the answer to those problems. The electorate supported an ambiguous platform of “hope” (or smoke) and “change” (into what?) because the Republican Party failed to clearly articulate an inspiring plan based upon conservative values. The next leader of the RNC should understand these factors and provide a platform for the Committee that will get the party back on track.

Qualified as "Conservative-while-Black".
There's no doubt that Ken Blackwell has support in his run for RNC chair because of one key qualification: He's Conservative while Black...When compared to the field, Blackwell comes off as the gruff, no-nonsense CONSERVATIVE. It's the same Thomas Sowell-like "inpiration" that makes him soooo attractive to the white males that dominate the GOP...Here's the reality: Blackwell brings nothing to the table that a host of other candidates would offer. He can't "expand" the party. It's VERY doubtful that Blackwell would bring any measureable attraction to "minorities". Black people would not give Kenny the time of day. They know that he owes his very success to coddling to those same "traditional" Republicans that are so "proud to call him a Friend"..At least Mike Steele can reach out and bring the GOP a chance to have something that it lacks ---- MORE DIVERSITY... Ol' Kenny will talk about the "principals" and continue to run "cover" for any of the obvious GOP shortcomings with non-white voters and the media....There are 2 sad outcomes to Blackwell being RNC head: 1. Dems would rejoice and know that 'ol Kenny won't bring about anything that they're not already known for. Blackwell does not have the people skills to convince his own neighbors and family to join the GOP!.. 2. The GOP will show the minority community how little they think of them, when trot out Kenny as the "face" of the GOP. It's just a "show", just like Steele said in that debate.

Please read
Sent this to Duncan, Anuzis,, and Blackwell. Don't know that I'll get a response,but hoping so.

Mr. Chairman I write to you as but an ordinary citizen who of late has become concerned, greatly concerned about the decline in our government, and need to know what the intent of this Party is, and please bear with me in this letter as I attempt to get something of what I see as being very important across. I say this because in looking at the 2008 platform it appears schizophrenic in statements contained therein. To wit;Republicans will uphold and defend our party’s core principles: Constrain the federal government to its legitimate constitutional functions. Yet, you also have this"The job of modernizing Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid calls for bipartisanship, not political posturing. Now knowing that I lack any credentials that would carry weight, and am not a man of any importance, influence or any such, I am inserting something from Thomas Jefferson, a link actually

http://avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/bank-tj.asp

to his opinion on a national bank. Sir please contrast that to your statement on bipartisanship above. I merely ask you to reconcile this statements, No, I lie; I also ask you to consider whether or not this is why many are either withering in their support of this Party, or will not support it at all. To also consider, will this Party have the integrity to stand firm in seeking Constitutionality regardless. As one who is hoping for better things in the realm of governance, I thank you for any time and consideration you give me here.

Still Liking Steele...
Blackwell has some good ideas and would be a good Chair, but Michael Steele is just that extra zest - the extra bit of icing on the cake. His charisma and style and intellect is just what our party needs. Read his blueprint for change - it's on the money. http://www.steeleforchairman.com

Qualified Conservative and Savvy
Kenneth Blackwell lost the race in Ohio because he did an incredible job as the Ohio Secretary of State in preventing voter fraud Ohio in the 2004 election. He frustrated the democrats to the point they abhorred him. When he ran as governor in 2006, African Americans considered him an enemy because he was perceived as a big factor in the defeat of Kerry in Ohio. He also lost the governor 2006 election because of the liberal media's mendacious drum beat of the "failed policies of the Bush administration."

The Republican Party does not need Kenneth Blackwell because he is African American. The Republican Party needs Kenneth Blackwell because he is a strong savvy strategic leader and a true conservative. He will get things done right...pun intended.



Blackwell is my choice...
Steele might also do a good job but if anyone is banking on him bringing blacks into the party they are sadly mistaken. Black republicans get trashed by the press and the left just as easily as white republicans.

Hey! It's equality!

I was pleased to see that most of the candidates now recognize what they could have found out just from blogging on TH, which is, that you can't win elections without conservatives.

You can lose a close one but you'll still lose.

Great article`
I like Anuzis, Steele and Blackwell, and certainly Amanda makes a great case for Blackwell. First time I read his vision for the future - and I like it.

While I like some of the things Duncan has shared, this is a guy who did not hold his water. He's gotta go! In fact, to even dare to run for Chairman again, is the height of arrogance when he needs to go meekly into the night, repentant and humbled. But no, he's got a new vision for the RNC, but why now? Why not a few years back? How come he gets this vision now with his job on the line after failing so miserably.

No, pack it up Duncan, you have to go or the RNC goes down with you.

Michael Steele
My choice is Michael Steele. While I profess an ignorance of Mr. Blackwell's oratorial skills --- what the Conservatives need is a strong public voice to counter the Obama-Media Cabal.

I also would ask that all candidates come together and eliminate the divisiveness.

Unity among Conservatives is what we need.

Catholics, not Bible thumpers
I suported Blackwell for gov. He went to a Jesuit high school. I'll take the jebees over Kathleen Parker any day. Steele also has an RC background. It is not correct to derogatively lump these rigorously rational thinkers with negative connotations. In fact, you don't see the dems disparaging the gospel churches and we just fall into a trap they laid re evangelicals and social conservatives. You better believe they will take them in a minute, if they get a chance.

I think the Republiocan party relies too much on its professional staff. It needs to reinvigorate the grassroots by giving us something to do and a sense of belonging. All I ever get is solicitations by direct mail. I feel that they treat me like an ATM. After ten years I expected to make some like-minded friends. No such luck, and I don't feel like I belong to anything, really.


We need a leader who will lead-not fold
I don't know Mr. Blackwell, but if he is a true conservative with balls to stand up to RINOs in our party, then I am for him. We need a leader who will call together leaders down to the county level and say, OK folks here is the plan. You identify a problem, you set a goal, plan interventions needed to meet that goal, and evaluate if you are reaching that goal. Then you send everyone home and ask the folks to add to and implement the plan. It's not that hard. We have good conservatives out here who want to put some plans in to action, but we have no leader who will send out a plan. Talk, Talk, Talk--and Excuses. That's all we got from the current chairman. So he needs to get out of the way and let someone else do the job.

leaders of what ?
I ask a simple question..this article hints at the word leadership...... a leader is being sought! A leader of what?
elvis
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