It's official. The new face of the National Republican Party is Michael Steele, a 50-year-old African American, the first in the history of Abraham Lincoln's party.At a time when Barack Obama is serving as the first African American president in history, the move is an interesting play to corral minority voters who will be crucial to a Republican comeback.
But Steele is actually a Republican. A foe of abortion, the former lieutenant governor of Maryland and native of that state regaled the Republican Convention in St. Paul, Minn., last year with his calls for offshore drilling. He got the whole convention floor to chant, "Drill, baby, drill," a call that echoed on the campaign trail whenever vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin referred to it.
Michael Steele, who has argued the party needs to broaden its reach, won 91-77, in the sixth round of voting during the session in Washington after the three other candidates had dropped out. The last guy standing was Katon Dawson, chairman of the South Carolina Republican Party, who belonged to a whites-only country club for years.
"As a little boy growing up in this town," a beaming Steele said in accepting the appointment, "this is awesome." We have a complete video and transcript of Steele's full remarks on the jump; scroll down or click on the "Read more" line below.
Promising to bring the party to every corner and every group in the nation's geography and warning obstructionists to "get ready to get knocked over," Steele said the party of Abraham Lincoln is a conservative party and "we will cede no ground to anyone on principles."
