Despite apology to Rush, Steele's still taking GOP hits

Rachel Oswald Despite his apology to Rush Limbaugh, RNC Chairman Michael Steele is still taking fire from other Republicans who are concerned that some of his recent statements are hindering efforts to rebuild the GOP brand. A month into his job leading the Republican National Committee, Steele is building up a repertoire of wince-worthy statements. For starters, there was the "slum love" comment to Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, calling civil unions "crazy," and then a promise of more outreach to "urban-suburban hip-hop settings" with an "off the hook" public relations campaign, reported Politico in an overview article of the situation. Steele also has yet to put in place his office apparatus. Politico notes that he still lacks a chief of staff, a political director, a communications director and a finance director, leaving the RNC's executive suite to be run by two consultants. “There’s frustration that there’s no discipline, no planning,” said a well-known Republican consultant anonymously to Politico. “He’s risking being overexposed by accepting every interview, which makes gaffes more likely.” A perturbed RNC member said “I’m worried that we need someone to manage the chairman.” A "top GOP strategist who has worked for House and Senate Republican leaders" added his voice to the other anonymous sources criticizing Steele, telling U.S. News and World Report's Paul Bedard, "What is amazing is that Steele was elected because of his communications skills, and it is those skills that are damaging the Republican Party." He added, "If his implosion continues, RNC members are likely to call a special session to dump him for an effective chairman. There is not much patience for failure." According to Bedard, some Republicans are concerned that Steele "is dividing the GOP between conservatives who like Limbaugh and moderates who don't and jeopardizing future fundraising efforts, his key responsibility." "The general sentiment of the conference is that Steele needs to step back and get a handle on his role in the party," said another anonymous source, an "influential congressional aide," to Bedard. A senior Republican Party adviser told Bedard,"It is as if [Steele] has a fundamental misunderstanding of the job description. An RNC chairman who attacks Republicans and insults conservative icons is about as counterproductive as any Democrat could hope for." Steele, however, isn't fretting overmuch about the lack of an office staff and the recent public stumbles. He told Politico that the job vacancies are there by design as he looks to streamline the whole structure of his operation. Steele said he plans to have most of his top staff in place by the end of the month. “I know some folks in Washington feel that they’re kind of on the outside of this — that they don’t have the day-to-day blow by blow of what I’m doing,” Steele said to Politico. “And that’s exactly how I like it. I want to be about the business of putting in place a good infrastructure that will enable me to go out and build a better brand, stronger brand, for the GOP. And I won’t get there by tattle-telling every day what I’m doing.”