EXCLUSIVE: Steele chastises 'country club' GOP

A good man !!!

Mr. Steele needs to get out of Washington D.C., maybe a trip to Alaska. Country clubs are an archaic term for the rich. What the Republicans didn't do is convince the "cafe/Starbucks" crowd business generates wealth, not the government. It is an urban transition. Somehow they think by turning their welfare over to the government that the government will take care of them as good as themselves. Bush didn't help by turning the U.S. free market to a regulated market economy opening the door the new special interest groups in Washington (lawyers, environmentalists and organized labor) to practice regulatory capture. For every lawyer, environmentalist and organized labor lobbyist, there needs to be a counter lobbyist from the Republicans. Drop the Country Club crap it will lead in the wrong direction.

Mr. Steele is articulate and has courage to stand by his conservative beliefs. While the term country club mentality may be archaic, I see it as the party elite failing to reach out. Of course there are many insinuations in that, but primarily, in my view, the party elite and mouthpieces have been content to be isolated and not partiuclarly vocal as conservative values are becoming assulted more now than ever. It is as if talk radio is the only outlet over the past years. Mike and others need to step out of the shadows and effectively confront the virus like scarecrows of the ultra liberal faction of the democrat party head on. I mean elites like Nancy Pelosi, Harry the stiff Reid, Barney Franks, Christopher Dodd, Jackson of Louisiana and all of the obvious crack pots espousing ideas that ultimately take our country off the road to becoming a better world leader that includes wholesome moral virtues (these are universal and cross cultural), military strength, market lead economy and democracy leadership, etc. Of course espousing and expressing such thing in and of itself in today's America where one has to be exceptional agile in using words for fear of "offending" a minority, be it racial, sexual oriented, or whatever takes polished verbal skills, courage and a strong network of conservatives ready to come to the defense. Without that, forget about it all. Mike has stepped up and he should be supported by joining in to speak out in unison.

No country club here. Just a high regard for the Constitution and all it has provided. Its good to see Republicans and conservatives are having a good, healthy debate. Keep the heat on. Token? Google "Shelby Steele author".

So some of you think "country club" is not the best description of the Republican elite? I disagree. Those folks are so removed that many who are concerned about the Republican Party can't even recognize the true mentality of those who have been pulling the strings. The country club needs to be shut down.

Michael Steele is right about the lack of recruiting but the biggest problem is the lack of a clear, unambigous, identifiable national position from which it will not be moved--the Party of the Constitution. If it takes on such an identity, it must back it up by day-in and day-out reenforcement of what the constitution is and says and what it is not and does not say...with unswavering conviction. It must reach down into the classroom of the grade school and stay there through grad school. Americans, in general, are ignorant of America's history, it's uniqueness and the uniqueness of the full range of rights granted to the citizens and why all of these are important to each citizen of America. Americans must be made to understand that Republicans stand behind all of the Articles of the Constitution not just the really obvious ones...1st and 2nd Amendments. The conservative message must be conveyed daily at all levels of government and in all environments--they must be firm, stand strong and be wiling to regularly fight for the conservative message. They must be willing to yell,call out weak conservatives and liberals on issues and lose the wet noodle look it has when it gets into a fight. The few the proud who stayed behind in the capitol this fall to fight for open drilling made the conservatives proud--those that went home should have stayed there. The message of the republican candidates never got to the masses for some obvious reasons: failure to say the message clearly and forcefully (forgeting the smirk and smile and hoping people get what you mean when you wink); take on the media head-on and without feigning life like a opposum; hinting that a reporter or article is slanted isn't enough--say it straight out and to the reporter right in the news conference; go on the attack against yellow journalism.

Who CARES whether its called "country club-ism" or "elite-ism"? Who CARES about the words he's using to describe the problem? We all know what he means when he says it. Come on, yall! You sound like a bunch of libs parsing & overthinking words when their meaning is clear. "Out of touch." There. That's it. He even said THAT, too. Relax, guys. Forget the minutae. Steele will do right by us. He's got what it takes to lead this party into the future with our conservative values closely in tow. The Poster Formerly Known As DTFrankel

Michael Steele is a good man

At last, there seems to be someone, Steele, vying for party leadership who really gets it. The Republican Party started going country club and wishy-washy when it departed from the Contract with America.

Well from my view of the repubs is that there is this country club mentality. Ur party is supposed to represent the country but whenu look at the repubs i see all old white men. Ur ideas r old and its a different world out there. U cant be consrvative on everything. Being principle does not mean ignoring the masses and bringing people. Not every dem thinks the same and nor should every repub think the same. Its called concensus. common goal. Not demonizing people because they dont fall in lock step or have a difference of opinion. U will never get younger folks in ur party because of the old white conservative thinking. Not happening. Steel has it right. Keeping thinkiing the way ur party does and it will stay the same. Old and stuck in the Reagan era. Thats long gone. Its a new generation. adapt!

STEELE YOU ARE RIGHT ON.. THE WASHINGTON CLUB INSIDE THE BELTWAY SUPPRTED BY THE NON-MEMBERS/TAX PAYERS OUTSIDE THE BELTWAY. WASHINGTON WHAT IS YOUR MISSION STATEMENT? 1) SECURITY FIRST AND FOREMOST PROVIDING THE UMBRELLA OF FREEDOM TO CHART MY OWN COURSE 2) A SAFETY NET FOR THOSE IN DIRE NEED NOT THOSE WHO WORK THE SYSTEM. ASIDE FROM THE ABOVE STAY OUT OF MY POCKET

Mr. Steele is correct in his analysis of why the Republicans have done poorly in communicating with the citizens. However, as others have commented, the Republicans must have something to communicate. So far, I see little willingness among them to articulate the positon advocated by others on this thread: emphasize the Constitution! We the people have just elected a President who has expressed disdain for the Constitution. Conservatives (and Republicans) must start now to hold his feet to the Constitutional fire.

Steele makes a good point about the GOP leadership being out of touch. But I'm suspicious when he talks about 'outreach'. If by that Steele means set asides and give aways for minorities and young people, then that is most definitely not the republican way. Most republicans I know are livid about the party's slide into big government and socialism in recent years, and especially with these 'bailouts'. McCain and the GOP lost this last election because they tried to be Democrats, not just because some kids weren't attracted to old white men. Palin was a breath of fresh air and very popular mostly because she WAS NOT a member of our socialist, out of touch, 14% approval rated congress. Because in her home state she kept spending down and taxes low, despite the pressure from both Dems and Republicans to expand govt. and raise taxes. The GOP was aboslutely clueless thinking they could win with a RINO like McCain, I don't think it had much to do with his age or color. Reagan won with the same 'handicaps' because he stuck to convervative principles. Not so much socially conservative ideals, no one really cares about gay marraige or abortion. But WE DO care ALOT about small govt, low taxes, reduced spending, and a strong defense, including support for our true allies like Israel.

Want to fix 80% of the problems with this country? Two words: TERM LIMITS!

They might want to start by reaching out to American workers and taxpayers by dealing with the ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION problem. There are millions of votes in that basket. They (McCain) should take a look at these current videos taken by hidden cameras showing illegal aliens flooding across the border in massive numbers. http://www.borderinvasionpics.com