One of the storylines emerging from the Republican Governors Association meeting in San Diego this week is growing opposition among some prominent GOP governors to the party’s national chairman, Michael Steele, who has had a rocky tenure as head of the Republican National Committee. With the 2012 presidential election approaching, several governors believe it is time for a change.
Asked directly whether Steele should go, Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour told Politico , “Yes.”
“To defeat an incumbent president, even one that’s got the political problems of this one, the RNC has to operate at absolutely maximum capacity, and this year they operated far, far, far below that in terms of fundraising, in terms of grass-roots organization and in terms of building strong, self-reliant state parties,” Barbour said.
Texas Governor Rick Perry is already thinking aloud about replacements for Steele, volunteering that Nick Ayers – the RGA head – “is a very capable young man,” Politico reported. Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell also took to the airwaves and suggested strongly that it is time for Steele to go, according to the Richmond Times-Dispatch.
“Michael Steele is a good person; he helped me tremendously last year when I ran for governor,” McDonnell said. “But I can tell you, many of us have great concern about the fiscal state of the RNC, about the lack of effort and effectiveness at the grass-roots ground game during this last election.”
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