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The chief sponsor of a resolution that delineates conservative principles espoused by former President Reagan says the resolution would insulate RNC head Michael Steele from conservative criticism.

Washington (CNN) - Conservative members of the Republican National Committee are circulating a new resolution that calls on party members to stand up to President Obama's "socialist" agenda and would prohibit RNC funds from going to GOP candidates who disagree with elements of a proposed ten plank ideological platform.

The language of the proposal is still being tweaked ahead of January's RNC Winter Meeting in Hawaii, where it could be submitted for a vote before the full committee.

Jim Bopp, Jr., an RNC committee member from Indiana and the chief sponsor of the resolution, said the goal of the resolution is to "re-establish the party's conservative bona fides."

"This would establish standards for candidates and hold them accountable to RNC's conservative platform," he told CNN. "We are open to diverse views, but you do have to agree with us most of the time."

Bopp said such standards would insulate RNC chairman Michael Steele from the kind of conservative criticism he faced last month for supporting a moderate Republican, Dede Scozzafava, in the special election in New York's 23rd congressional district.

"I think he has been unjustly criticized for supporting the Republican candidate in New York," Bopp said of Steele, whom he opposed during the chairman's race last Winter. "This resolution will establish standards so that he wont won't feel obligated to support every Republican and not feel criticized."

RNC spokeswoman Gail Gitcho had no comment on the resolution.

"The deadline for submitting Resolutions for the RNC Winter Meeting is more than 30 days away," Gitcho said in an e-mail.

"At this point, we do not what resolutions will be submitted nor what the final language of any resolution ultimately submitted may be."

If approved in its current form, the resolution would be the second RNC document this year to formally accuse the Obama administration of pushing socialist policies. The committee approved a resolution in May calling on Democrats to "stop pushing our country toward socialism."

Full text of the resolution after the jump:

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RNC official resigns.

Washington (CNN) – A senior aide to Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele has resigned his post less than one month after the GOP scored major victories by winning the governorships of New Jersey and Virginia, CNN has learned.

RNC Communications Director Trevor Francis is leaving his job, Steele confirmed in statement to CNN, but offered no reason for the departure. Francis joined the RNC after Steele was elected chairman at the beginning of the year.

"Trevor took a hiatus from a very successful private sector career to give service to the Republican Party this year," Steele said in the statement. "Trevor's talents will be missed at the RNC. We have accomplished a great deal in the year he was here. He worked tirelessly, as did the whole team, on the victories in Virginia and his home state of New Jersey."

Steele's short time as chairman has been marked by highs and lows, marked by both fundraising success and his own headline-grabbing statements.

–CNN's Mark Preston, Brianna Keilar and Deirdre Walsh

WASHINGTON (CNN) - The Republican National Committee will target a handful of centrist Democrats on Monday with a new Web video and series of conference calls criticizing the Democrats for voting to allow debate to begin on health care reform.

The 60-second video, which will be e-mailed to more than 5 million people, singles out Sens. Evan Bayh of Indiana, Byron Dorgan of North Dakota, Mary Landrieu of Louisiana, Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas and Ben Nelson of Nebraska, as well as Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada, according to an advance copy of the video provided to CNN.

"Rolled by pressure from Barack Obama and Harry Reid, they voted to move forward a government-run health care bill our nation does not want and can't afford," an announcer says before ticking off criticism of each lawmaker.

Reid persuaded all 58 Democrats and the two independent senators who align themselves with the Democrats to vote Saturday evening in favor of allowing debate on the Democratic health care bill to move forward.

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WASHINGTON (CNN) - The Republican National Committee will target a
handful of centrist Democrats on Monday with a new Web video and series of
conference calls criticizing the Democrats for voting to allow debate to begin
on health care reform.

The 60-second video, which will be e-mailed to more than 5 million
people, singles out Sens. Evan Bayh of Indiana, Byron Dorgan of North Dakota,
Mary Landrieu of Louisiana, Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas and Ben Nelson of
Nebraska, as well as Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada, according to
an advance copy of the video provided to CNN.

"Rolled by pressure from Barack Obama and Harry Reid, they voted to move
forward a government-run health care bill our nation does not want and can't
afford," an announcer says before ticking off criticism of each lawmaker.
Reid persuaded all 58 Democrats and the two independent senators who
align themselves with the Democrats to vote Saturday evening in favor of
allowing debate on the Democratic health care bill to move forward.

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The Republican National Committee has instructed its insurance company to remove a provision from the committee's health insurance policy that covered elective abortion for employees.

WASHINGTON (CNN) – The Republican National Committee has instructed its insurance company to remove a provision from the committee's health insurance policy that covered elective abortion for employees.

"Money from our loyal donors should not be used for this purpose," RNC Chairman Michael Steele said in a statement released late Thursday. "I don't know why this policy existed in the past, but it will not exist under my administration. Consider this issue settled."

In a note accompanying the statement, the RNC said this type of coverage dated to 1991.
The Politico newspaper first reported the story Thursday.

Follow Mark Preston on Twitter: @prestoncnn

Washington (CNN) – Conservatives declaring victory in New York's 23rd congressional district are way off base - and outsiders like himself shouldn't have any say over the local party's decisions, Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele told reporters the morning after the GOP lost the district for the first time in over a century to Democrat Bill Owens.

Steele, celebrating the GOP's twin gubernatorial wins at RNC headquarters in Washington, was defending his own decision to back Dede Scozzafava - the embattled local Republican pick who drew conservative attacks - until she left the race in the campaign's final weekend.

Of course, plenty of other high-profile Republicans did weigh in on the race, including Fred Thompson, Sarah Palin, and Tim Pawlenty, all of whom backed Conservative Party candidate Doug Hoffman before Scozzafava's exit. The GOP infighting in NY-23 "serves as an important lesson on how we manage an opportunity to win a seat - and how not to..." said Steele, who vowed to "get that seat back" in 2010.

"I don't see a victory in losing seats," said Steele. "…I want more Republicans, I don't buy that we somehow find victory in defeat."

RICHMOND, Virginia (CNN) – Could Republicans be seeing some positive trends tonight in New Jersey?

Republican National Committee chairman Michael Steele will fly to New Jersey on Tuesday night after Bob McDonnell's victory speech in Richmond, an RNC spokesperson tells CNN.

Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele isn't predicting victory yet in the Virginia and New Jersey governor's races.

Washington (CNN) – Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele isn't predicting victory yet in the Virginia and New Jersey governor's races, but in Virginia - a race Republicans look poised to win - he sees a "blueprint" for GOP success in 2010.

"You dont win until the last vote is counted," Steele told CNN by phone during a campaign swing in southern Virginia with Republican candidate Bob McDonnell. "We failed in the past by assuming too much. The only thing I am assuming is there is much more to do."

Steele said that while Virginia and New Jersey are very different states requiring different "messaging styles," the gubernatorial races have provided the RNC with a way to "test the waters" before next year's midterm elections. He said the party has been trying out new strategies in both races "in terms of resources we put on the ground, in providing ground support or air support, on the Internet, on television, phones, things like that."

As McDonnell has surged to a lead in Virginia polls over his Democratic rival Creigh Deeds, national Republicans have described his campaign - in which he focused on job creation and downplayed his conservative positions on social issues - as a blueprint for future GOP victories. Asked what specifically in McDonnell's approach represents a way forward for the party, Steele praised the Republican for focusing on issues relevant to middle-class voters while staying true to conservative economic principles.

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Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele will back the GOP nominee in NY-23.

WASHINGTON (CNN) – After a dizzying few days of prominent Republican endorsements of the Conservative Party's nominee in New York's 23rd congressional district, Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele said he will stand behind the embattled GOP candidate in the upcoming special election.

Steele will back Republican nominee Dede Scozzafava, breaking with some party conservatives - including Sarah Palin, Tim Pawlenty, Fred Thompson and Dick Armey - who are backing third-party candidate Doug Hoffman.

"I support the Republican nominee, as the Republican Party chairman," Steele told MSNBC Wednesday morning. "And that's the way it should go."

Scozzafava has an endorsement from former Republican House Speaker Newt Gingrich and the NRA - but some prominent conservative leaders, activists and groups who view her as too liberal have thrown their weight behind Hoffman.

Scozzafava, Hoffman and Bill Owens are on the ballot in the special election to fill the congressional seat vacated by former GOP Rep. John Hughes, now President Obama's Secretary of the Army. Election Day is November 3.

The White House is denying that top donors got special access to administration officials.

WASHINGTON (CNN) – Republicans are seizing on a new report that suggests the Obama administration has been granting top Democratic donors access to senior administration officials if they commit to raising bundles of cash before the 2010 midterm elections.

The story - published Wednesday in the Washington Times - revealed an internal Democratic National Committee memo outlining how high-level donors are named members of a "National Finance Committee" that is granted access to "senior members of the administration" in Washington meetings and conference calls. The paper also listed several campaign donors who have been invited to official state functions, used the bowling alley in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, or screened movies inside the president's mansion.

Asked if there was any quid pro quo involved, White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said, "No, of course not."

Gibbs downplayed the report during Wednesday's press briefing, boasting that the president has instituted "the very toughest ethics and transparency rules of any administration." Following up on an earlier pledge to do so, he added that the White House will soon release White House guest logs cataloguing every person who has visited the White House, including details on "who that person is, when they came, how long they were here and who they met with."

"Contributing doesn't guarantee a visit to the White House, nor does it preclude it," Gibbs said. "Hundreds of thousands of people have visited the White House since the president came in." He then referred further questions to the DNC.

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Michael Steele said he's not worried that only 20 percent of Americans describe themselves as Republicans.

WASHINGTON (CNN) – Republican National Committee chairman Michael Steele on Tuesday brushed off a new poll that indicates just 20 percent of the American public are willing to call themselves Republicans.

Questioned on whether he's concerned about the new Washington Post/ABC News poll, Steele responded: "Not really."

"What I'm concerned about is how they vote," he said on CNN's "The Situation Room." Steele insisted that "at end of the day you can call yourself whatever you want" - as long voters ultimately choose candidates who favor small government, business-friendly policies.

"That's at the end of the day where I'm focused as a party chairman," he continued. "On delivering candidates and delivering a message that empowers people and lisfts them up, not puts the government in front of them as the president and Democrats in congress are doing now."

With Election Day just two weeks away, Steele hedged when asked to make a prediction in the New Jersey and Virginia governor's races. "I love the feel of a win, my friend," he declared, before adding a qualifier: "But I'm the chairman. What do you expect?"

Republicans have a decisive lead in Virginia, but the picture is less clear in New Jersey.

"I feel good about where we are right now with both of these races," he said. "We have a lot of work to do. We're ahead slightly, you know how these things can go. But as a national chairman, I feel good about a win."

Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele turned 51 on Monday.

WASHINGTON (CNN) - Monday marks the occasion of Republican National Committee chairman Michael Steele's 51st birthday.

The RNC doesn't appear to have anything special planned.

But Democratic National Committee spokesman Hari Sevugan is celebrating with - what else? - a little snark.

"We're not Facebook friends, so I didn't know it was his birthday," Sevugan e-mailed CNN. "But he's given us so many gifts, I feel like we certainly owe him something."

Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele has been harshly critical of ACORN.

WASHINGTON (CNN) – Like other GOP leaders, Republican National Committee chairman Michael Steele took a harsh tone toward ACORN last month after several of the group's employees were caught on tape offering financial advice to activists posing undercover as a pimp and prostitute.

On September 15, after the Senate voted to defund the community organizing group, Steele released a statement accusing ACORN of "nefarious activities," saying it uses "illegal means to achieve its ends." A few days later, on September 24, Steele called for congressional Democrats to investigate the "corrupt organization" and said damage control efforts by ACORN officials were "insulting."

But during a speaking appearance in the days between issuing those two statements, Steele had kind words for ACORN and its CEO, Bertha Lewis, who happened to be guiding that so-called damage control.

Appearing September 21 at Philander Smith College, a historically black college in Arkansas, the RNC chairman spoke diplomatically of the group and its history of organizing in low-income communities.

"The organization has a problem that it needs to deal with," Steele told the audience in remarks that were recorded and posted on YouTube over the weekend. "I will say that current head of the organization, she has done a phenomenal job of getting out in front of it. I applaud her. I take her at her word that she wants to make sure that the bad apples are thrown out."

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Steele appeared on CNN's American Morning Wednesday.

(CNN) – Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele Wednesday beat back suggestions from some political commentators - most recently from the New York Times' Tom Friedman - that conservative opposition to President Obama is creating a political climate that may foreshadow attempts of violence against the commander-in-chief.

"Where do these nut jobs come from? Come on, stop this," Steele told CNN's John Roberts on American Morning in direct response to a quote from Friedman's column Wednesday equating the current political environment to that which occurred ahead of Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin's assassination in 1995.

"To make those equations, examples and put that out there that way, to me is just crazy and yeah, I'm sorry, but if you're going to approach this discussion, approach it from a rational position," Steele continued. "[They're] saying, because you disagree with the president on policy, that all of the sudden we're going to make this leap into, you know, assassinations and all this other stuff. I mean, at the height of all this stuff on Bush and people complaining and protesting, and jumping up and down, you didn't have this kind of conversation."

"There are passions that run deep and long on both sides of the aisle," Steele also said. "Don't necessarily jump to the conclusion that, because someone says something vitriolic or hot that's necessarily from the right or the left. It's reflecting deep-seeded frustrations people have."

Steele also criticized accusations that many of the president's critics are driven by race, rather than pure policy disagreements.

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Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele is sharply criticizing President Obama's planned trip to Denmark.

(CNN) – Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele is sharply criticizing President Obama's planned trip to Denmark to promote Chicago's bid for the 2016 Olympics, characterizing the 24-hour trek as an unnecessary distraction.

"I think at a time of war, I think at a time of recession, at time where Americans have expressed rather significantly their concerns and frustrations over the course of the spring and summer …this trip, while nice, is not necessary for the president," Steele said in a conference call with reporters Tuesday.

Steele is the latest Republican to take aim at Obama's decision to accompany his wife Thursday night to the International Olympic Committee meeting in Copenhagen where representatives from the four finalist cities will make pitches ahead of the IOC vote in a few weeks. It is the first time a U.S. president has attended an IOC meeting.

"I think the first lady would have been and should have been the lead here, and let her go and sell Chicago," Steele also said. "The goal should be creating not job opportunities seven years from now, but job opportunities today."

Sen. Kit Bond, R-Missouri, and Rep. Peter Hoekstra, R-Michigan, both leveled similar criticisms at the president Monday.

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Michael Steele admonished Democratic critics Wednesday on CNN.

WASHINGTON (CNN) – Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele on Wednesday sharply criticized a statement made by prominent Democrats - including Former President Jimmy Carter - that members of his party hold negative views of President Obama solely because he is black.

Steele accused Carter of being "dead wrong" and said he thinks the former Democratic president "was out of line."

"I think that he takes this to a point - to a level that is not reflective of what's been transpiring" in the current health care debate, Steele said. "When you go down this road and you start to just willy-nilly - as I believe President Carter has - throwing race out there, you diminish real instances of racism that needs to be addressed."

Carter on Tuesday said that he believes an inclination toward racism still exists in parts of the country and that it has "bubbled up to surface because of the belief by many white people not just in the south but around the country that African Americans are not qualified to lead this great country."

Carter made similar comments Wednesday night at a Town Hall in Atlanta, where he said that carrying signs equating Obama with Adolf Hitler and or urging that the president be buried with the late Sen. Ted Kennedy “are beyond the bounds” of how presidents have been treated in the past.

“And I think people who are guilty of that kind of personal attack against Obama have been influenced to a major degree by a belief that he should not be president because he happens to be African American,” Carter said. “ ... And my hope is, and my expectation is, that in the future both Democratic leaders and Republican leaders will take the initiative in condemning that kind of uprecendented attack on the president of the United States.”

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The RNC continued its push to reach out to senior citizens on Tuesday with a new television ad.

WASHINGTON (CNN) – The Republican National Committee is intensifying its push to reach seniors skeptical of President Obama's health care proposal, releasing a new television ad Tuesday that targets the powerful voter bloc.

In the one-minute ad, RNC Chairman Michael Steele outlines the RNC's new "Seniors' Bill of Rights" - six policies the party says will serve as "protections" for senior citizens.

"When you disagree with Washington, how come they act like it's your problem?" Steele says. "That's what the Democrats have done with health care. They say you're the problem."

"How about a different way? A focus on things we can all agree on? I'm Michael Steele, Chairman of the Republican Party. Join us in supporting a new Seniors' Bill of Rights."

The GOP's plan repeats recent Republican calls for zero cuts to Medicare, a rule barring health care rationing based on age, and a measure that would prevent the government from playing any role in end-of-life care.

The White House has said any cuts to Medicare would target government waste, and would not affect the level of care for seniors, and independent fact-checking organizations have said claims that the proposed plan includes any provision for rationing are inaccurate.

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