Let’s get this out there. Bashers and ne’er do wells want to make this man a subject of conversation. GO FOR IT. I WELCOME IT.
Best political stance, in my opinion?
“You can have all the gun control laws in the country, but if you don’t enforce them, people are going to find a way to protect themselves. We need to recognize that bad people are doing bad things with these weapons. It’s not the law-abiding citizens, it’s not the person who uses it as a hobby…Society should draw lines. What do you need an assault weapon for, if you’re going hunting? That’s overkill. But I don’t think that means you go to a total ban for those who want to use gun for skeet shooting or hunting or things like that But what’s the point of passing gun laws if we’re not going to enforce them? If you want to talk about gun control, that’s where you need to start. We’ve got 300 gun laws on the books right now. At the end of the day, it’s about how we enforce the law.”
1. Michael Steele, who was adopted as an infant, was born at Andrews Air Force Base in Prince George’s County, Md., on Oct. 19, 1958.
2. He grew up in a family of Democrats. Steele credits his mother, Maebell, and Ronald Reagan with turning him toward the Republican Party. Reagan’s pull-yourself-up-by-your-bootstraps message recalled a trait Steele’s mother exhibited after her first husband, Steele’s father, died in 1962 of alcoholism-related liver disease. She refused to go on welfare. Instead, she went to work as a laundress earning minimum wage to support Michael and his sister.
3. One of the first in his family to go to college, he earned a bachelor’s degree in international relations from Johns Hopkins University and a law degree from Georgetown University Law Center. Steele also spent a few years at the Augustinian Friars Seminary at Villanova University, in preparation for the priesthood, before deciding instead on a career in civil service.
4. After graduating from law school in 1991, Steele joined Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilton, an international law firm, based in Washington, D.C. In 1997, he left and worked briefly at the Mills Corp., a real estate development firm based in Virginia, as in-house counsel. He then went out on his own, starting a consulting firm, the Steele Group.
5. Steele rose quickly in the Republican Party, beginning at the local level in Prince George’s County as chair of the Prince George’s County Republican Central Committee from 1994 to 2000. Then, he was elected chairman of the Maryland Republican Party in December 2000.
6. Steele became the first African-American elected to statewide office in Maryland, taking office as lieutenant governor in January 2003.
7. In 2004, Steele was tapped to speak at the Republican National Convention, eliciting comparisons with Barack Obama’s keynote address at the Democratic convention.
8. When Sen. Paul Sarbanes, a Democrat, announced he would not seek re-election, several prominent Republicans, including President Bush, persuaded Steele to run for the Senate seat. In November 2006, Steele lost the election to Democrat Ben Cardin.
9. On Feb. 1, 2007, Steele was named the chairman of GOPAC, a political action committee working to elect Republicans to office (Newt Gingrich once held the same position).
10. A devout Catholic, Steele is a member of St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Landover Hills, Md. He regularly attends services with his wife, Andrea, and their sons, Michael and Drew.
With the economy in the tank, and our foreign policy in tatters, you think focusing on gun rights is a winning political strategy?
Welcome to the ranks of the out-of-touch.
Talking about a tanking ticket…
If the Reeps are so eager to lose again, sure, why not? The Dems will laugh all the way to the White House, again.
If the Reeps want to have a chance, they need to enter the 21st Century, and actually start addressing issues people care about. Gun rights is not an important topic if you don’t have food due to the bad economy…
the Reeps need to focus on the real issues, not on what the talking heads at Fox think.
Who says that Michael Steele or anyone is focusing on gun rights?
It is one issue – an issue which he, seemingly, has dealt with in an acceptable manner. And I am a long time member of the NRA.
You dems sound a little nervous – possibly hearing footsteps?
We have roughly 20,000+ firearms laws in this nation. How many laws do you need?
Sport utility rifles are just that, they are not fully automatic military weapons as the media and liberals have made them out to be. He seems to have bought in to that lie.
I have to wonder what else he’s factualy challanged on at this rate, sorry but he screwed up BIG TIME on this subject. 300 laws, I wish!
“Society should draw lines. What do you need an assault weapon for, if you’re going hunting? That’s overkill.”
Notice he says that “society” should draw lines – not that he would necessarily seek to have the lines redrawn.
“But what’s the point of passing gun laws if we’re not going to enforce them?”
That is the “action” statement – and this is the position of the NRA regarding most existing gun laws. As an NRA member, I do not see a problem with Steele’s position on citizen gun ownership.
You might call this a “nuanced” position on gun ownership.
“You dems sound a little nervous – possibly hearing footsteps?”
For once, junior, you’re right–we ARE hearing footsteps. And it’s the sound of hoards leaving the Republican party and its failed policies.
You should at least give credit to the person who wrote the top ten list.Here is the link to Danielle Burton’s article.
http://www.usnews.com/articles/news/campaign-2008/2008/04/07/10-things-you-didnt-know-about-michael-steele.html
Terry, per your link on Palin/Steele:
A new Rasmussen poll further demonstrates that the GOP could be in for a long stretch in the wilderness: A majority of GOP voters now say that the party should be more like Sarah Palin.
The numbers: 55% of Republicans say the party should be like Palin, compared to 24% who say they should be like John McCain.
As I’ve previously noted, poll data like this could indicate that the Republican Party is getting ready to relive the classic cycle of ruling parties who get turned out of power in a landslide: With the party base itself shrunk down, the people who are still around are the most hard-line members, and are really the least fit people to fix the situation.