Ben Stein: Time for Michael Steele to Go

(CBS)  In a speech in New Orleans yesterday, Michael Steele admitted that he made mistakes during his tenure as Republican National Chairman, and vowed to make amends. Too late, says our contributor Ben Stein:


Every single day, including Saturdays and Sundays, the phone rings at the Ben Stein household. On the line is a man or woman raising money for the Republicans:

Republicans running for the Senate. Republicans running for the House of Representatives. The California Republican Party. And, above all, the Republican National Committee.

Every single day.

We very often write checks, and we do it because we have a long history with the party.

But we also give because we have a lingering belief (and a hope) that the GOP is the party of small town, all-American virtues and verities.

I suspect millions of others get these fundraising calls from the GOP and write those checks for the same reason.

I'd like to keep sending in that money, but I really can't with the current Chairman of the RNC in office.

Michael Steele - who I am sure is a fine fellow - was the first African-American Lieutenant Governor of my home state, Maryland. In a pitiful gesture of imitation, the RNC chose him to lead the party after the nation went for its first black President.

The gesture made no sense at the time. The best man or woman for the job should have been selected, regardless of race. There was nothing in Mr. Steele's record to indicate he was that person.

Now, it is clear just how ill-advised a choice he was. Stories are pouring out of the RNC to the effect that Mr. Steele is demanding the Committee get him a private jet, which is a heck of a big bite. (I don't have one!) In the meantime, he rents one fairly often.

Mr. Steele is running up fantastic tabs at super-expensive hotels and restaurants, including some near me in Beverly Hills. Just recently it was revealed that the RNC had been billed nearly two thousand bucks for "entertainment" at a West Hollywood strip club called Voyeur. (Hmmmm, that's near me, too.)

The RNC has asked the staffer who signed the expense chit to pay back the money, but the damage has got to be stopped. This lavishness is happening on Mr. Steele's watch, and he ain't watching.

The GOP is not the party of small town virtues and verities if it has multi-thousand-dollar bills for meals and drinks at The Beverly Hills Hotel and the Voyeur Club.

I am sure Mr. Steele is a fine man, and obviously a party guy in many ways. But he is not the man to lead the charge to get a GOP Congress and a GOP president in the next elections.

It is time for Mr. Steele to go.

Good bye, Mr. Steele. You will find everything you want in Baltimore.

[hakori]

Like I care what a climate change denier like Ben Stein thinks. I question the motives of people who can deny emperical data about climate change. Forget the models and projections and predictions. Climate change is happening faster than predicted. If Ben Stein can look at the data coming from the Artic and still say climate change isn't real, or we have nothig to do with, he can go frack himself.

[ianlou]

Ben Stein: Time for Michael Steele to Go

Time for all GoPers to Go.

Go GoPerGoPerGoPerGoPer...

[ianlou]

Replacing Michael Steele?
Maybe they can get Ken Mehlman back.

[rh55]

Steele may be a Republican, but he is NO conservative. The GOP will get no more of my money with this type of irresponsible,and self-serving spending taking place. Steele must go. Now!

[apostasyusa]

We can all see where this is going.

The Republican Party cynically puts a woman (Sarah Palin) in place as a VP candidate simply to steer back voters who were excited about Hillary's chances of winning the DNC nod.

So after the GOP loses to the Democrats they install an African-American in a similar fashion as if to say, "Look we can have a black leader too".

The GOP is running out of puppets, so naturally when they fail to do anything to show their ever dwindling base that they can lead; they have to start spreading blame around and who better to receive the blame, for failures made a reality a long time ago, than to slowly embrace bringing down your own "failed" African-American.

Talk about cynical. Yikes. I wouldn't want to be a Republican right now; they are eating their own.

[HotSpit]

The Grand Old Party is no good at all. It has become a hornet's nest of bigots. I realize that every individual that agrees with the GOP agenda is not a Bigot, although this does not apply to the current leadership

[HotSpit]

Not only should he resign, He should never been nominated. This is equivalent a chicken voting for Colonel Saunders!

[babooph]

I like Ben ,but where was he when it was so VERY clear that little Bush should have gone 1 year into his first term-had that been done ,I would still be voting for his party...

[lamoyer0]

Ben Stein sullies the good name of Sunday Morning!

Nothing this man says can be taken seriously! For Sunday Morning to have him on AT ALL is a slap in the face of intelligent Americans who have made Sunday Morning part of their family weekend for years and years.

Simply put, Ben Stein is AN IDIOT AND A MEDIA *****, no less ignorant, hateful and opportunistic than Ann Coulter, Sarah Palin, Michelle Malkin, Glen Beck, Rush Limbaugh - and this doesn't even cover the long, long list of hateful, treasonous right wing politicians. ALL I HAVE TO DO IS SEE THEIR FACES, HEAR THEIR NAMES or VOICES -- AND I QUICKLY CHANGE THE CHANNEL!!! And I don't care if it is my favorite program or channel or not. ICK!

It wouldn't surprise me to find, later, that everything Ben Stein says (which is all over the map) is geared to MAKE HIM PROFITS.

Is nothing sacred to the right wing media? OUT DAMNED STEIN!

[ladyang]

What's up Ben, not making enough money from Comcast?