Washington (CNN) - When the Norwegian Nobel Committee announced a year ago this month that President Obama would be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, Michael Steele criticized the decision and pointedly asked what had Obama accomplished to deserve such a high honor?
A predictable response from the Republican National Committee chairman, who is charged with being overtly political on such matters, much in the same way the Democratic National Committee chairman trains his fire daily on GOP lawmakers and policies.
It should come as no surprise then that Obama isn't clearing his schedule to find room for Steele, who would like to meet with the president to discuss what bonds, not what separates, these two political leaders. It is a request that dates to 2005, when Obama was first elected to the Senate.
Las Vegas, Nevada (CNN) – GOP Chairman Michael Steele told a small crowd of Nevada Republican Party activists and candidates that the GOP and the Tea Party are "locked hand in hand"–particularly when it comes to defeating Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.
"What has captured the nation's attention is this little thing called the Senate race," Steele began. "And I'm here to tell you, the people of Nevada, a Senate seat is an awful thing to waste. Do not waste it by re-electing [Senate Majority Leader] Harry Reid. Let's elect Sharron Angle the next senator from this state."
Steele's comments came along his "Fire [House Speaker Nancy] Pelosi" bus tour as it rolled into Las Vegas Sunday afternoon.
Washington (CNN) – Sarah Palin will join forces with Michael Steele and the Republican National Committee next month to hold a pair of fundraising rallies, according to multiple Republican sources.
The former Alaska governor and 2008 GOP vice presidential nominee will team up with the RNC chairman at an event in Anaheim, California, on October 16 and in Orlando, Florida, on October 23.
According to a copy of the invitation acquired by CNN, contributions for the events range from $25 per person to attend one of the rallies to $30,400 per couple for a private meeting and reception with Palin and party leaders.
(CNN) - Days after Republicans blasted Michael Steele's "Fire Pelosi!" bus tour as "a colossal waste of time" and "the Michael Steele re-election tour," the Republican National Committee chairman argued that the road trip is playing a crucial role in energizing grassroots activists - even if the bus is spending plenty of time in congressional districts not in play this fall.
"The RNC is all about rebuilding our grassroots, which had been allowed to wither, by tapping into, and helping fuel, the energy generated at the grassroots level," Steele wrote Monday in a list of "talking points" about the bus tour e-mailed to the 168-member committee. The message was forwarded to CNN by a committee member.
Steele said that while the "immediate goal" of the tour is to elect Republicans in November, "it also is to strengthen the party throughout the entire country."
(CNN) - If all goes according to plan, the Republican National Committee's "Fire Pelosi!" bus tour will carry Chairman Michael Steele to a photo-op at Mount Rushmore, a Denver fundraiser with NFL quarterback Tim Tebow and an event with Arab-Americans in heavily-Democratic Dearborn, Michigan.
The road trip, which kicked off last week to much fanfare at RNC headquarters in Washington and concludes on Oct. 29 in Steele's home state of Maryland, features 143 stops in 117 cities across the continental United States.
In an interview with CNN's Chief National Correspondent John King on John King, USA, Steele said he thinks Gingrich's comment, made to the National Review on Saturday, was not based on the president's race.
"I know probably some folks out there want to, but I don't see that," Steele said. "I know Newt. I know that's not his mindset on that. He's talking about a world view that comes from a different part, whether it's Europe, the African continent."
Washington (CNN) - Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele told CNN Wednesday that he has instructed his staff to devote resources and money to help Christine O'Donnell in Delaware.
Specifically, Steele said that he has emphasized to the RNC's finance staff the need to help set up fundraisers to help stock O'Donnell's campaign war chest. O'Donnell, with the help of Tea Party activists, defeated establishment favorite Mike Castle Tuesday in the Republican Senate primary.
Steele has reached out to O'Donnell, and as of early Wednesday afternoon had not yet connected with her.
Steele began a 48 state bus tour Wednesday heading into the November elections.
Washington (CNN) – Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele kicks off the fall campaign Wednesday with a 117-city bus tour aimed at rallying GOP voters and helping wrest control of the House majority from Democratic hands.
The “Fire Pelosi Bus” tour, named after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, is scheduled to travel to all 48 contiguous states and wrap up right before Election Day in Maryland. The first stops will be in Virginia.
Donning a red “Fire Pelosi” hat last month, Steele unveiled the bus tour at the RNC’s summer meeting in Kansas City.
“We are going to be living on that bus, sleeping on that bus, eating on that bus and bringing that bus to your community,” Steele said to a standing ovation of RNC members. “We’re bringing it to your community. We want your candidates on the bus. We want party leaders on the bus. We’re taking it to the streets. We are taking our message back to America we are the people’s party. We are the people’s party. Get on the bus.”
Washington (CNN) - The No. 2 Republican in the House of Representatives wasted no time in responding to the monthly jobs report.
"Today's jobs report is a clear demonstration that the American economy still has a long way to go," said Rep. Eric Cantor of Virginia, the House Minority Whip.
Cantor's statement was released less than eight minutes after the Labor Department reported that the country's unemployment rate edged up a tenth of a percent in August to 9.6 percent. According to the report, the economy lost 54,000 jobs last month, partially due to a decline in census jobs. But private sector employment was up 67,000 jobs.
"The policies being pursued by the White House and Democrat leaders in Washington continue to create uncertainty and fear that is inhibiting productivity, innovation and job creation," added Cantor.
Washington (CNN) - Why is Michael Steele going to Guam two months before election day?
The trip, announced Monday by Guam Governor Felix Camacho, has some members of the Republican National Committee scratching their heads - and it's a sign to critics that the chairman is more concerned about his own political fortunes than he is about re-taking majorities in Congress this November.
That's because members from the Island Territories - the Northern Mariana Islands, The Virgin Islands, Guam and American Samoa - gave Steele their decisive bloc of votes in January 2009, when he won the chairmanship on the sixth and final ballot in a tight race.
If the chairman is serious about running again, a likely prospect if his rousing address at the RNC summer meeting earlier this month was any indication, he will once again be counting on the same support from the islands, which do not have voting representation in Washington.
From CNN Politics
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