At Lone Star Times, David Jennings wonders if Gov. Palin and Chairman Steele are forming a political alliance within the GOP.
Jennings cites Steele's support for Alaska's governor as one possibility among the reasons Steele is in hot water with establishment Republicans. Then he offers this:
Palin-Steele 2012? Unlikely but interesting nonetheless.Perhaps not so unlikely. Consider how well-balanced a Palin - Steele ticket would be. She's from a Western state which is the country's #2 major domestic energy producer; he's from an Eastern state which is the nation's #3 biotechnology center. She's a populist conservative with a libertarian streak; he's a moderate who leans conservative. She's a Protestant evangelical with Catholic roots; he's a Catholic who studied three years for the priesthood. She's a Washington, DC outsider; he's a Beltway insider. Her degree is from the University of Idaho; he attended John Hopkins, GWU, and Villanova. She's not an attorney; he is.
Steele's background in law and finance,with international experience complements Sarah Palin's background working in the family's small business and climbing local ranks from PTA to city council to mayor to oil & gas commissioner to governor. She is a reformer who has operated outside of her state party's establishment. Steele has served as a party chairman at the county, state and national levels.
Some have labeled Steele as a RINO, which is unfortunate, because he isn't that far off the conservative mark. A quick check at OnTheIssues.com shows the RNC Chairman to be pro-life, pro-gun and pro-voucher. He supports traditional marriage, allowing private Social Security accounts, mandatory three-strikes sentencing, enforcement of drug laws and cutting taxes for everyone. He is a free trader who is for the Patriot Act and strengthening our military. He is opposed to amnesty for illegal aliens, McCain-Feingold and socialized medicine. Steele has spoken out against runaway government spending and ascribes to the Reagan federalist principle of limited government.
So what are Steele's sins against conservatism? The RNC Chairman has said some things he wishes he had never uttered. Which politician hasn't? He apologized for his hasty remarks about Rush Limbaugh. Rush has forgiven him and moved on. Why can't some conservatives do the same? He supports increased use of alternative fuels. Don't look now, conservative absolutists, but Gov. Palin has called for having 50% of her state's electricity produced by renewable energy by 2025. Steele opposes the death penalty, which for a pro-life Catholic is consistent with what his religion reaches. He also supports affirmative action. On only these latter two issues, neither of which is a hot-button matter at the moment, do Steele and Palin differ. My own opinion is that he is less moderate than many say he is.
Unlike many presidential ticket mates, the two seem to respect and admire each other. That's in stark contrast to some pairings of political convenience we have seen in which one or both of the candidates on the ticket considered the other at best a lightweight. At worst, some ticket mates did little to hide their utter contempt for the other.
The bottom line is the GOP's former vice presidential nominee and its current RNC Chairman are a good fit - a very good fit. I'm not actively campaigning for this ticket, just saying that it isn't as far-fetched an idea as it may appear at first glance.
- JP
RNC chairman isn't such a grand thing for a ticket. Now if he were a senator or a governor, that'd be a different thing. I'd prefer a Palin/Petraeus, Palin/Guiliani, Palin/Hunter or a Palin/Thomson ticket, in that order.
ReplyDeleteIf Rubio wins, Palin/Rubio ticket looks awesome too but the ticket be too young and unbalanced, wouldn't it?
Petraeus has not expressed any interest in electoral politics. Hunter never got more than 1% of the vote in any of the 2008 GOP primaries. Thompson has let it be known that he has no interest in the vice presidency.
ReplyDeleteIt's not like Steele hasn't held electoral office. He ,amaged to get elcted Lt. Gov. in a very blue state. But it's his private sector experience which impresses:
He worked as a corporate securities associate at the Washington, D.C. office of Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilton. From 1991 to 1997, Steele specialized in financial investments for Wall Street underwriters, working at Cleary’s Tokyo, Japan office focusing on major product liability litigation and at its London office on corporate matters. This fills a gap in Gov. Palin's background rather nicely.
He's also been a party chairman at the county, state and national levels. He would bring valuable fund-raising and voter turnout expertise to a Palin campaign.
- JP
Excellent idea. Makes lots of sense. Steele has the advantage of being black and also of being catholic which will help bring in hispanics; and without changing the hispanic, and, to some extent, the black vote there is no chance of winning.
ReplyDeleteb.e., that's an obvious way a Palin-Steele ticket balances, but I didn't include it in the list in my post.
ReplyDeleteIt would be an historic ticket. Firt Republican woman presidential candidate and first GOP black vp candidate, both on the same ticket.
It would be a powerful answer to all of the left's criticism of the GOP as the party of old white guys.
- JP
That would definitely be historic. I've criticized Steele before, but mostly he's right on. He just needs to be careful when he interviews.
ReplyDelete