Two years ago Michael Steele became the chairman of the Republican Party. Prior to that, he served as the Lieutenant Governor of the state of Maryland. In 2006 he ran for the U.S. Senate against Democrat, Ben Cardin. Steele was narrowly defeated but in 2009 became the first African- American, chairman of the GOP. The honeymoon between him and the Republican National Committee (RNC) wasn’t terribly long however. In his two year term he proved a particularly controversial and sometimes awkward leader. Months after his election, Steele frustrated and angered grassroots republicans when he relegated commentator Rush Limbaugh to the roll of an entertainer. The comment seemed to many an effort to move himself and the party away from the Conservative host. The chairman apologized to Rush days later and attempted to distance him from his own comments.
But this was not Steele’s only problem. On numerous occasions he made statements which frustrated other members, including predicting his that own party would not take the House last November. Perhaps his biggest failure however was the fact that the GOP currently owes more than twenty million dollars. Many of those in his party blame Steele for turning off major donors. Certainly the average Republican saw Steele as simply a career party man, more interested in chairmanships and brand names, and less concerned with the party’s ideological platform. This in a political era where the electorate is desperate to reboot a political system it sees as rife with corruption. Personally I suspect some of these judgments of Steele’s performance may not be entirely fair, considering the victories last fall.
Replacing Steele is Reince Preibus. Preibus was the chairman of the Wisconsin Republican Party, and is a relatively young man (at thirty- eight) with a name that sounds like a Roman consul. He has promised to work to win back some of the big donors who’ve backed away from the GOP, raise a lot of necessary funds and reestablish the party’s conservative credentials. Truth be told I (and I suspect more Americans), know very little about the new Chairman. But I agree that his party does in fact need to renovate its platform, a process I think started last November. I for one didn’t dislike Steele, but I agree that it is in fact, time for the Republican Party to return to its conservative roots. At the end of the day, only time will tell whether or not Preibus is able to fulfill his promises. If he does he will prove himself a more effective leader then his predecessor.
Arizona Blocks Westboro Baptist Church
January 15th, 2011What is it about the Westboro Baptist Church (WBC) that always captures media attention? They are of course the “church,” (and I use the term beyond loosely) that we all love to hate. Personally every time I see these ghouls on television I marvel that people like this actually exist! They’re like caricatures of real Nazis from the nineteen thirties and forties only thankfully, significantly less intelligent. This past week they announced plans to picket the funerals of the six Arizona shooting victims, including the nine- year old little girl! Fortunately the state government moved quickly to protect the grieving families and prevent this inbred congregation from showing up. How is it that a group of people who presumably call themselves Christians can be so obsessed with death and destruction? What gospels are they reading? A peek at their vile website (something I don’t recommend by the way), reveals their hatred for everyone. They’re anti-Semitic, anti-White, anti-Black, anti-Hispanic, anti-Catholic, anti-gay, anti-Republican, anti-Democrat, anti-American, etc. etc…. Who do you support? The answer is of course no one, except maybe death itself. I’m racking my brain and I can’t think of any place in scripture where Christ treated anyone with this kind of cruelty… even the ones who killed him. Hey WBC, I’m not Baptist, but I am Christian, and I think I can speak for my Baptist friends and say “Change your conduct or change your name!”
The new Arizona law was signed into effect by Governor Jan Brewer on Tuesday. It passed both the state house and senate unanimously and went into effect immediately. The law of course could not address the extremist group directly but applies to all such protests. From what I understand the new law makes it illegal to picket or protest any funeral from within three hundred feet of the cemetery beginning an hour before and ending an hour after the service has concluded. I’m no attorney but this seems like a very reasonable guideline. It’s actually rather insulting that it’s even necessary. Who other than this group would want to protest a funeral for any reason? I would love to see other states including Texas follow suit with similar legislation. Perhaps this is a way we could protect the grieving families of lost soldiers. Until then we can continue to do what citizens of Tucson and other cities have done, namely surround the loved ones with signs and support… and real prayers.
Tags: Arizona Blocks Westboro Baptist Church, Arizona Law, Caricatures, Death And Destruction, Extremist Group, Forties, Funerals, Ghouls, Gospels, Hatred, Little Girl, Media Attention, Nazis, Nineteen Thirties, Peek, Protests, Racking My Brain, State Government, State House, Tyler Texas, Wbc, Westboro Baptist Church
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