You realize that your article names him right?

I'd bet that no one who read the post had to google him, or even click on the handy link.

Steele and Gingrich do not represent competing visions of tactics or public relations. They do represent a struggle between the culture-war Republicans (Gingrich) and the tax-war Republicans (Steele), but nothing more. Both are adventures in derogation, and both believe in "go negative first and then complain that your opponent has responded."

From our point of view, it's the same old stuff. Neither is capable or desirous of countering Obama. Gingrich's infamous "Contract with America" is the closest he ever got to a statement of principles, and yet, oddly, no one knows what was on that contract. It's easier for Democrats to beat the tax war Republicans than the culture war Republicans, but the take home message for us is slime and debasement is up against debasement and slime.

His name's in the passage you quoted. Duh.

Read your own posts much?

I have to admit that your challenge would have posed difficulty for me had you not already identified the RNC chair as Mike Duncan earlier in your post ;-)

...want Gingrich to be.

Just get it over with and make Rush the new Chair...

That way it really will be a party of one...well one and then the poor fools who listen and obey...megga dittos and all that.

Would get about as many electoral college votes as Coulter-Malkin or Palin-Whoever.

willingness to admit mistakes and susbstantial changes, the Republican party is stuck in the mud. This reads more like a falling out between thieves. These guys need to accept that most of the electorate has never heard of Norman Rockwell.

Yuk. Look, Daddy, a turd in a suit! The Republicans define themselves completely in opposition. Opposition to Democrats, to abortion, to justice, to progress, to science, to peace, to reason, to trees... Name a topic; Republicans oppose it.

You said the Republicans need new blood. You are right. But they will settle just for blood, any old blood, and I am afraid they will go after Iranian blood and Mexican blood if we give them a chance.

I knew that Ken Mehlman was no longer the chairman, but until you mentioned it, I didn't know who was the new chairman. Personally, I think Mike Huckabee should go for it. Might as well embrace the southern conservative Christian identity all the way instead of pretending they can relate to the whole country.

whoever they pick. it would be dope if they changed their platform to something smart. instead of the dum ish they push.

and not evil. smart poeple pushing an evil agenda to dumb people is not smart.

thats all. it would be nice to have two smart parties that have quality POVs to debate.

Gingrinch already burned his political capitol in the 90s. he fled washington in disgrace. not smart. he's not the quality leadership that this country desrves. the republicans can do better.

This is exactly the GOP's problem: they're lead by their establishment who cynically take advantage of their supporters. No establishment republican has any plans to outlaw abortion, for example. Never gonna happen. Similarly, no establishment republican will vote to reduce the size of government, at least when that government is run by another republican. Again, won't happen.

Something similar happened in Britain. The Tories overreached their power during Thatcher and Major, same as Bush did. The result was some serious soul searching by the Tories, preventing them from running government for over 10 years now. The Republicans can bicker about which establishment whore they're going to put in charge to continue raping the nation, but until they actually listen to what voters want, and give out control of their party to actual human beings, I expect they're going to remain in the wilderness.

Dean has not received a lot of recognition in this election, but he deserves kudos . He was there, riding through small states and large on his bus, talking to folks and revving up the base.

He was also very clear about diversity in state party staffing of local campaign offices, and he showed tremendous leadership in my community when the local and state party (who knows, who cares- it was a mess) began hiring the state house players who all happened to look the same.

Dean saw those of us who were sick and tired of being sick and tired about such tactics, and he had a quick rejoinder for the excuse the state party point man gave for the appalling lack of diversity.

The young man said there was no money available.

Dean shot him a look, and stated " that's not true. We put money in the war chest specificaly for this purpose. You have money. Make this happen." And, it did.

In a few days, we had local people of color hired in staff positions. Important? Yes.

Sometimes you just need someone to say "make it happen."

Thanks Governor Dean.

I really didn't want to keep fighting those guys, although I was ready!

And we delivered for Obama and the party in a very big way.

These guys need to accept that most of the electorate has never heard of Norman Rockwell.

Never met the guy, but I suspect if he was still alive, he'd have voted for Obama.

His name has become synonymous with nostalgia for a "simpler time" in America, but he wasn't all rose-colored glasses. Follow the link at my name for his "The problem we all live with". There's also his powerful and wonderfully inclusive "Do Unto Others". And maybe I'm biased, but I can't see the artist who was inspired to illustrate FDR's "Four Freedoms" speech voting for either Bush or McCain.

Wouldn't putting Gingrich in charge of the RNC be precisely more of the same???

I don't get what his supporters are thinking...?

I can only hope as some columnists have suggested, that the lesson the republicans are taking away from the last two ass kickings at the polls is that they need to move even MORE toward the batshitcrazy right wing of politics. Are they even aware of where that road ultimately leads? This is not new territory, there have been uber right political movements in the twentieth century before and they ultimately didn't work out so well.

I'm not sure what an even more crass, Machiavellian, populist, anti-intellectual republican party would look like but I'm sure it would:

a.) Be grotesque in tone and substance.

b.) Assure a Democratic majority for the rest of my lifetime.

Go Newt Go!