TAMPA, Fla.—At the start of the Obama presidency, Michael Steele was chairman of the Republican National Committee (RNC). After being removed from the party helm, he became a political analyst for NBC. He talked with this reporter at the Republican National Convention.
Q: Mr. Steele, as a former RNC chairman, what’s your reaction to Chris Matthews’ accusing Chairman Priebus and the GOP of “playing the race card”?
Michael Steele: Yeah, Chris and I have been battling on that. I mean, I just thought it was– I understand Chris’s point but I just thought he was off base. I really thought he was off base. He and I, later on that afternoon, had a similar battle, so, you know, you got to push back on that stuff, you got to stand the ground. You can’t let the left get away with the crazy. I just thought it was a little bit harsh, it was a little bit out of bounds, and so we’ll see how it goes from there forward, but that’s the narrative they want to push and I don’t think it’s a legitimate narrative.
Q: What’s your own take on Governor Romney’s joke about his birth certificate?
Steele: Again, this is my point, this is silly. You know, we’re out of the silly season now. This is now the serious part of our program, ladies and gentlemen. And so, yeah, you know, he makes a quip, a joke, and everyone wants to go and start running, “Oh, he’s being a birther.” Governor Romney was talking about his childhood, where he grew up, where he was born. He made a joke, and so just leave it at that. There’s not anything that he’s ever said before or since that would lead you to believe that, you know, all of a sudden he’s reviving birtherism. I just think a lot of that kind of noise right now is just a distraction. Let’s focus on Obama’s agenda for the country going forward–certainly because the agenda he’s had up to now has not worked. And let’s focus on what Governor Romney’s going to do for the country.
Q: Governor Romney polled at zero percent among African Americans in a recent NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll. Can he and Congressman Ryan win without increasing their support among African Americans, Hispanics and —.
Steele: It’s tough. It’s tough. Look, you can’t win elections where you’re getting zero percent support — it’s hard. It makes it harder. And, so, yeah, we’ve got a lot of work to do, and I’ve been saying it for years, ever since I’ve been involved with this party–and that’s been a long time at this point– that we need to get serious about it and stop playing the game of, “Oh, they don’t vote for us” and all of that. You got to engage, you got to be part of the conversation in the community, and you got to identify the African Americans who are already Republicans– elevate them, give them the floor, give them the opportunity to be the voice, to represent the party. That’s the reason why my first trip as National chairman was to Harlem, was to make sure started that dialogue, that conversation. So that’s what we need to do more of. So, yeah, it’s going to be a tough, uphill battle. It’s not to say he’s going to get no African-American support this year, this November, because I think a lot of his message will resonate with the African-American community. Last time I checked, they pay taxes. Our businesses are hurt just like everyone else’s. Certainly we’ve seen, with the unemployment numbers, the Obama policies have been devastating on African Americans. So I think that there’s more than enough opportunity there and certainly more than enough facts and figures to put out on the table about what the Obama administration has done and how going to do it differently.
