GOP’s Steele Touts Four Rising Stars
EmailABC News’ Teddy Davis reports: R.N.C. Chair Michael Steele is touting Govs. Bobby Jindal (La.), Mark Sanford (S.C.), Tim Pawlenty (Minn.), and Sarah Palin (Alaska) as rising stars. Ferdous Al-Faruque/ ABC News
Newly elected GOP chair Michael Steele is touting four Republicans under the age of 50 as rising stars in the party.
"I’d say certainly Bobby Jindal, Governor Sanford, Pawlenty, Palin," Steele said Sunday. "We have a whole host of folks out there who are beginning to emerge on the scene and will over the next couple of years I think redefine this party in a way that will be very good for us long term."
Steele, who was elected chair of the Republican National Committee on Friday, heaped praise on the governors of Louisiana, South Carolina, Minnesota, and Alaska during a Sunday interview with Fox’s Chris Wallace.
The RNC chair was specifically asked to name three Republian leaders under the age of 50 whom he sees as "new faces."
He ended up providing four names, all of them governors.
Jindal, 37, is the youngest Republican on Steele’s list. The Louisiana governor, who is up for re-election in 2011, has signaled that he will not run for president in 2012. But he continues to be a big draw for his party. In March, he is scheduled to headline the National Republican Congressional Committee’s fundraising dinner. Shortly after last year’s election, he popped up in Iowa, prompting pundits to ask if he is the GOP’s version of Barack Obama. A former Rhodes scholar, Jindal is well versed in health care. Before being elected to Congress in 2004, he served as secretary of the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals and later served as executive director of a 17-member panel charged with devising plans to reform Medicare. In 2001, he was appointed Assistant Secretary for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Grover Norquist, the president of the conservative Americans for Tax Reform, lauds Jindal’s work on lowering taxes and government transparency and confidently predicts that the Roman Catholic son of Indian immigrants will one day be president.
Sanford, 48, is a low-tax, low-spending conservative who is not afraid to clash with his own party. In the wake of the GOP’s drubbing at the polls last year, Sanford has been arguing that "America didn’t turn away from conservatism, they turned away from many who faked it." He is an outspoken opponent of the economic stimulus package. "Borrowing from Medicare, Social Security, our grandkids and the Chinese to remedy a problem created by too much borrowing strikes me as odd, and hardly the ‘change’ Americans really want," wrote Sanford in a post-election op-ed for CNN.com. He is using his position as chairman of the Republican Governors Association to increase his visibility around the country. Later this month, he is slated to address California’s Republican Party convention in Sacramento.
Pawlenty, 48, identifies himself as hailing from the "Sam’s Club" wing of the Republican Party. "We want to be the party of Sam’s Club, not jut the country club," Pawlenty is fond of saying. On economics, the son-of-a-truck-driver wraps his proposals under the theme of delivering better "value" for middle-class families. During last year’s campaign, he voiced support for the bailout of the financial industry. He now is taking a more populist tack. "In Washington," Pawlenty said during last month’s State of the State address, "they’re sending billions of dollars to Wall Street. Here in Minnesota, I want us committed to helping Main Street." Pawlenty used his annual speech to urge state lawmakers to cut Minnesota’s corporate tax rate in half.
Palin, 44, is by far the best known on Steele’s list. During her vice presidential run last year, the Alaska governor consistently drew much larger crowds than Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz. She recently launched a federal Political Action Committee, SarahPAC, that she can use to dole out money to candidates around the country. The organization’s mission statement highlights her work on energy independence, an issue she has focused on in Alaska. As the mother of a baby with special needs, she has a strong reservoir of support among abortion rights opponents. The downside of the exposure that Palin received last year is that 60 percent of voters did not believe she was qualified to be president on Election Day 2008, according to the exit poll conducted by a consortium of news organizations. ABC News’ David Chalian and Ferdous Al-Faruque contributed to this report.
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The fact that the national GOP still touts Palin as a “rising star” says all that there needs to be said about the party. They exalt in mediocrity…
Posted by: indy_voter | February 3, 2009, 9:24 am 9:24 am
Saw on the News This Morning Joe the Plumber will be meeting with the Republicans to advise them on the Stim Bill. LOL HAHA Since when did the Unlicensed Plumber become an Expert in Foreign affairs running off to the Mideast And the Economy? So Joe the Plumber is now advising the Gop well they Have Joe,Sara Palin, Rush Limbaugh,Sean Hannity and Michael Steele Yeah I would definatley say Joe the Plumber is the Final nail in the coffin GOP IS GONNA GO DOWN IN FLAMES!
Posted by: Angie | February 3, 2009, 9:39 am 9:39 am
Only one of these 4 governor’s may give an appearance that the Republic party is the 21st century party with diversity that represents the modern USA and that is Bobby Jindal. The rest represents a status quo and a party unable to change with the times. As far as Palin, it is very hard to get excited about her candidacy as the surprise element has been lost and we now know too much about her.
Posted by: gjkotw01 | February 3, 2009, 9:50 am 9:50 am
The Republican party is really dieing.
The mediocrity they are spewing is astounding. From Palin as the future to Joe The Plumber as Foreign Expert and Economic Adviser, and Racist Rush Limbaugh as the de facto Conservative leader.
David Dukes now wants the racists in what is left of the GOP (which he estimates at 90%) to leave the party and form a new Whites Only Party (WOP)because the GOP had the effontry to elect darkie Steele as RCN Chair.
The Greedy Old Pigs (GOP) are really finished.
Posted by: Steve_NJ | February 3, 2009, 9:55 am 9:55 am
Maybe, just maybe Michael Steele (the
Well Spoken, Intelligent, some say ‘Chrismatic’, Poster-Boy for the GOP) has the wherewithal to Culturally Re-Train the LIFELONG BIGOTS who populated the PALIN RALLIES who found it so very appropriate to Spout those Incessant Racial Slurs – at those JOYOUS PALIN EVENTS!!!
And as for “Taking the party (the RNC) to every corner and every inch of America”, it’s STRONGLY SUGGESTED Steele have a Seriously Increased LEVEL OF PERSONAL SECURITY as HE proceeds to the outer most limits of the CORE GOP BASE IN THE DEEP SOUTH! (I will certainly keep ‘The Brother’ in my Prayers.)
Posted by: bobj72 | February 3, 2009, 10:06 am 10:06 am
George Washington felt that ordinary people should be the ones that lead the country as they would understand the needs of the people.
I look at our new administration and it’s like a pit of snakes slithering around with each other.
Posted by: Tiffany | February 3, 2009, 10:06 am 10:06 am
“George Washington felt that ordinary people should be the ones that lead the country as they would understand the needs of the people.
I look at our new administration and it’s like a pit of snakes slithering around with each other.”
Which ordinary people would George Washington have been referring to? The slaves he held on his plantation?
Posted by: gammaraygus | February 3, 2009, 10:24 am 10:24 am
Did Joe The Pseudo Plumber’s gig as Pseudo War Correspondent not work out?
Posted by: Denise | February 3, 2009, 10:31 am 10:31 am
It’s very odd, the Democrats move to the center following a disasterous eight years of conservative rule, and the Republicans go further right, choosing Rush Limbaugh as their standard bearer and elevating rightwinger Sarah Palin over Republican women with real clout, like Senators Snowe, Collins and Kay Bailey Hutchinson. Its like the Repugs never want to be the majority party again. Fine with me.
Posted by: Amy | February 3, 2009, 10:49 am 10:49 am
i agree amy they dont get it america is center left and center right but not far right.
Posted by: T | February 3, 2009, 12:02 pm 12:02 pm
If Palin is a rising star and the “best and brightest” the Republicans have to offer, Democrats will be in power for a long time. Apparently, Republicans still don’t get it. When the extremist, lunatic fringe like Rush Limbaugh controls the Republican Party, clearly neo-cons are out of step with America.
Why do Republicans hate America so much? When are they going to learn to put the interests of the Nation first…over their petty, partisan, parochial and provincial interests?
Posted by: Sammy | February 3, 2009, 12:36 pm 12:36 pm
I say give the GOP another chance – it’s obvious that the Dems are not working for the ordinary people in this country!
Posted by: jill | February 3, 2009, 2:02 pm 2:02 pm
David Duke, Rush Limbaugh, Sarah Palin, Shawn Hannity, hurt the Rep. party. It exclude a large part of American. By elected a black chair does not help when you have people like them speaking on behalf of the party.
Posted by: Tonya | February 3, 2009, 3:33 pm 3:33 pm
I guess the GOP is really serious about their ‘diversification’ efforts. First there was Palin, thrown into the presidential race (and under the bus) to counter the appeal of Hillary. Now, because we have a black President, they’ve gone and said ‘We’ve got a black leader too!’. This laughably transparent and strikingly ignorant effort to ‘prove’ that they are diverse, and pander to the African-American community, is simply going to drive them further and further from the hearts and minds of America. Kudos to you, GOP!
Posted by: SearamblerOne | February 3, 2009, 4:06 pm 4:06 pm
It’s ironic that Steele was picked to head the GOP and is mentioning their new “stars.” When Steele ran for the Senate in 2006, he used flyers that implied he was a Democrat and falsely alleged support from several Democrats. Such actions should have been a crime and should have been prosecuted. Now he’s running the GOP and we’ll see what disreputable acts he does to support his stars.
Posted by: Elkan | February 3, 2009, 4:47 pm 4:47 pm
“Since when did the Unlicensed Plumber become an Expert in Foreign affairs running off to the Mideast And the Economy?”
Washington is full of politicians from elite educational institutions and look where we are.
Posted by: Stacy | February 3, 2009, 6:43 pm 6:43 pm
“It’s very odd, the Democrats move to the center following a disasterous eight years of conservative rule…”
The last eight years were hardly indicative of “conservative” anything. Republicans spent like liberals. And they paid the price for abandoning their principles. They got the message.
Posted by: Stacy | February 3, 2009, 6:47 pm 6:47 pm
lib-tard writes:
“Only one of these 4 governor’s may give an appearance that the Republic party is the 21st century party with diversity that represents the modern USA and that is Bobby Jindal.”
Wow what a shallow and small minded thing for someone to say. To act as though diversity is the only thing that matters really shows the depth of your intellect. I guess I should expect nothing less from a lib.
As for me, I’m happy to have Lt. Gov Steele as the party chairman. He’s a great conservative that happens to be black. What I like is the conservative part, the color of his skin doesnt matter squat to me.
As for the 4 rising stars, give me Sanford any day! As a resident of SC, I can personally vouch for this guy. He is a rock-hard conservative that stands up for his principles and will fight for them against anyone no matter what party the opponent is from. Unlike the past 8 years (especially the last 2), Sanford will not tolerate any kind of wasteful spending. He even told the Feds they can keep their money that they were trying to send to our state so they could gain more influence. Sanford knows that state autonomy is FAR more preferable over dirty fed money ANY DAY!!!
America is looking for the next great conservative President and Mark Sanford is it!
Posted by: Dan In SC | February 3, 2009, 7:05 pm 7:05 pm
Jindal is Governor of a state that is filled with illegal aliens and he does nothing to remedy the situation. He was one of the first to state that “Americans have to recognize the changing demographics….embrace others…” all code words for amnesty.
I have been paying particular attention to Gov Mark Sanford of S.C. How the RNC could nominate someone like John McCain when a Republican the caliber of Mark Sanford was in the wings is beyond me. To date I have not seen one Republican (or Democrat!) who possesses one-tenth the qualities, ethics, and morals of Mark Sanford. Sanford is the only politician that would prompt me to once again get active in a political campaign.
Posted by: Kathleen | February 3, 2009, 7:53 pm 7:53 pm
It always amazes me when I read a
post from what I can only assume is a
democrat who criticizes Palins quick
rise to stardom when the superstar of
their party won the White House.
Talk about sore winners! Or is it
whiners?
Then they criticize Palin for her
“lack of experience” as reason why
she’s not ready/qualified to be
President. I didn’t want Palin as
the VP nominee, but I can’t help think
that her executive experience ( which
is longer than BOs ) would’ve picked
her Cabinet choices a little more
WISELY. Or at least “vetted” them
as much as the “mainstream” media
vetted her & Joe the plumber.
Posted by: Dale | February 3, 2009, 8:21 pm 8:21 pm
A plumber can work under the license of his boss. Sarah Palin is an honest hardworking American. Hearing the irrational hate spewing from the liberal/socialist is disgusting. I have been pushed by the far left hate mongers to back solid conservative principles. Congratulations to all the liberal/socialist for showing working class America what your all about. :) Reap What You Sow.
Posted by: jon | February 4, 2009, 2:28 am 2:28 am
I’ve got my fingers crossed that President Obama has the right idea for how to fix the country without slaving us to inflation, hiked taxes, entitlement programs spiraling out of control, and a massive national debt and budget deficit. I’m hoping Obama is the right guy, and I hope he gets the job done.
But in the case that big government spending doesn’t erase the economic problem – I don’t think that it will – I would absolutely get involved in a campaign to elect Mark Sanford as President of the United States. Palin is an airhead and a phony, and Jindal is borderline crazy and way too socially repressive. Sanford would represent change for the Republican Party because he’s socially permissive and doesn’t get hung up on crusading against gay rights, birth control, marijuana, and abortion – and he’s also an actual, honest-to-God fiscal conservative.
Posted by: Mark | February 4, 2009, 8:25 pm 8:25 pm
Keep an eye on Peter Schiff http://www.schiff2010.com/ , these are the kinds of stars the Republican party needs.
Posted by: Matt | February 4, 2009, 11:11 pm 11:11 pm
Hey “Sammy”, the last time I checked it was mostly Republicans who were fighting for and Defending this Nation against the very Murderers, Rapists, and Terrorists whom you lack the Fortitude to even confront, much less take down. It is individuals like YOU who “Hate America”.
As for you “GammaRayGus” (Did you receive too high of a Dosage?), you know full well what George Washington meant within the sentiment presented to you. No on needs to hear your ignorant, illogical attempt at a witty reply. As for the Slaves, they were a fact of life 232 Years Ago. If the Founding Fathers could not even find a Solution towards Abolishing the Practice, while still keeping the States United, and our Economy Functioning, then you can rest assured that you yourself could never Accomplish the same, much less even contemplate it with such a Narrow Mind as your own.
So much Ignorance on here, and so little Intellect. Pity.
Posted by: JAK | February 5, 2009, 3:46 am 3:46 am
The republican party is turning into a party of liberal democrats.Putting a black guy up as the chairman isnt going to help the GOP. Touting the lefts mulitcultural agenda by throwing more left leaning and racially mixed faces isnt going to fix anything.What the GOP committee has done is turned into the enemy which we are fighting the ”socialist left”. Get back to basics of conservative values and forget the racial face change, the new gop is a carbon copy of the leftwing socialist democrat party.
The GOP in congress and the senate seem to be remembering they are republicans while the national committee has become the new democrats…..We conservatives that actually make up the GOP will not go along with the new party mantra of socialism and face changes……..we dont need moderates we need hard right conservatives to do battle in washington……..compromise doesnt work nor does becoming the enemy.
Posted by: harleyrider1978 | February 5, 2009, 5:50 am 5:50 am
Four more Neo-Cons. Just what the US doesn’t need!
Not a dimes worth of difference between the Dems And Reps. They both want bigger govt, with more power, more spending, and more involvement in the affairs of other countries.
Both parties and their administrations are full of Council on Foreign Relations hacks. Get more on them by reading James Perloff’s “Shadows of Power”
http://www.shopjbs.org/magento/index.php/shadows-of-power.html
Anyone who doesn’t agree with them can be assured of ridicule, slander, and bullying.
Steele poo poo’d the only real and electable candidate the GOP had, Ron Paul.
But then, they don’t want to return to their core values of limited govt, less spending, minding our own business!
They don’t get my vote anymore.
Posted by: navy1980 | February 5, 2009, 8:08 am 8:08 am
Wow! I guess there’s hope for me as I’m still astonished at the depths you government welfare slaves will go to support your government boss! Too bad that its so late for many of you. I’m my own person and won’t live any other way. Something that you government slaves have no ‘hope’ of ‘changing’
Posted by: Wandabfree | February 5, 2009, 8:09 am 8:09 am
Hey Democrats! You don’t have to like Gov. Palin, but it would be nice if you respected her enough, to stop putting words in her mouth, that came from Tina Fey and the MSM, in the first place!
She fought her own Party and Oil CEO’s, on corruption and has a high approval rating from Alaskans.
Right now, I’d love to see a politician in Washington DC, fight their own party on corruption..but it’s not happening!
Posted by: bobc | February 5, 2009, 8:34 am 8:34 am
It’s way past time for a viable Third Party alternative to the corrupt two-party system we presently are forced to endure.
How the GOP could nominate a mental midget like McCain, who in his first major decision, chooses an intellectual airhead like Palin is way beyond me. Even that warmongering neocon Charles Krauthammer said McCain threw away the “experience card” when he pick Palin as VP. Add to the mix the sad spectacle of Joe the Plumber being groomed as a spokesman for the GOP.
Bush, McCain, and Karl Rove have destroyed the GOP as a political party. Add to that the changing demographics of America with Whites as 67% of the population and declining. All that sucking up to the Hispanics didn’t get McCain anywhere.
Hey, why isn’t Rush Limbaugh off the air this week? Did his GOP masters put him in the kennel to shut him up for awhile?
Posted by: Vito Danelli | February 5, 2009, 8:41 am 8:41 am
No Vito
Rush announced last week he would be on vacation this week.
You are one of those George Soros Democrats, eh?
Posted by: bobc | February 5, 2009, 8:45 am 8:45 am
Wow, you voted for a “community organizer” for president and then you’re going to make fun of a plumber and a governor and say they are “inexperienced”?? Delusional much?
Posted by: Val | February 5, 2009, 8:52 am 8:52 am
I’d be a lot more concerned if Steve_NJ knew how to spell dying.
He has a lot of nerve accusing US of mediocrity.
Posted by: wemo | February 5, 2009, 8:58 am 8:58 am
Dear Mr. Steele: It appears you have already fallen into the trap. The Dems won with a young candidate so now the Republicans have to find a young candidate for 2012. What the Republican party needs is a real conservative regardless of age. I have done an enormous amount of research and concluded that the man we needed to be president at this time was Mr. Ron Paul. He didn’t stand a chance because all the media but especially in my opinion talk radio made him out to be a ‘nut’ He is the only one who has stated the global agenda and its detriment to the viability of these United States. While ‘talk’ radio blathers on and on about Obama they have ignored the pursuit of the North American Union (docs signed 2005 by GWB) thereby ending the sovereignty of this great country. My point is this: select a true conservative that is extremely aware of the dangers our country faces and the solutions to protect us from the agenda of the elitists regardless of the age of the candidate
Posted by: Mary from Illinois, USA | February 5, 2009, 10:20 am 10:20 am
I am very interested in finding out just what Sarah Palin has done to cause the anti-palin bloggers to come out in droves? wouldn’t be that she was a distinct, viable threat to B.Obama? Oh no – couldn’t be that. Had the McCain campaign pulled her in 2 months earlier, we would not be having the problems in Washington that we have today.
Is it because she was successful as a mayor of a small town, Wacissa, AK, for two terms? Is it because she is successful as Governor of Alaska and has successfully taken on her own party in that state when they weren’t playing the game as it should be played?
Is it because she won’t tolerate the liberal press corp who fawns and slobbers over BO and the rest of the liberals? Is it because she saw through the pathetic efforts of Gibson, et al, to trick her into harming herself with their actions. I’m sure these liberal losers consider themselves as very superior to her or anyone else for that matter but they also recognized someone who is a danger to their tricks and their manipulation of the media.
Just what was it that these liberals and pseudo-conservatives dislike about her? Is it because the 30+ investigators the BO campaign sent to Alaska to find someone who would make statements AGAINST Palin? Didn’t work did it.
Or is it because this nation is so accustomed to the slimebag politicians that when someone comes along who is NOT a slimebag, they just can’t cope with it – primarily because Gov. Palin does not play their sleezy games and that, as all who have a single brain cell knows, is a true danger to the slimeball political forces who likewise cater to their slimeball constituents.
Look at BO now? Ratings? Tanking daily – how come his preacher rantings hasn’t cured the problem in DC? How come now he keeps harping on ‘it’s gonna get worse before it gets better..’. How come the ‘messiah’ (gag me) can’t cure the problems worldwide as he claimed to be able to do?
How come the rest of the world leaders are already having second thoughts as to his intelligence – his ability – and we won’t even talk about any experience other than half-baked attempts to clean up an Illinois slum. Half baked – never finished the job – never submitted a bill in the Senate – voted present most of the time to avoid angering anyone should he vote NAY against their bills.
Compared to Sarah Palin, he’s an ant alongside a giant. Her experience far outranks anything BO has ever done. Were he white he would never have made it thru the primaries. His claim to be black (67% Arab) is what got him elected.
And how come the black caucus can get millions of the Black population to Washington for the inauguration yet they couldn’t get 200,000 blacks out of New Orleans FOUR DAYS AHEAD OF KATRINA?
Sit back and scorn Gov. Palin – anyone who doesn’t see her potential and capability is truly a liberal… Sit and wait for BO to pay your gas bill, your mortgage. Just sit and wait and wait and wait….
Posted by: frostyredbird | February 5, 2009, 12:26 pm 12:26 pm
Sara Palin drew large crowds every time she spoke. Larger crowds than McCain. And now all of you on this board knock her.
Seems to me that Sara scares you pepole on the left. I know she scares the republican hierarchy.
I can’t wait until the next four disastrous years are over. Then Sara will have her chance and she will get my vote!
Posted by: Paul fron Cashiers, NC | February 5, 2009, 1:57 pm 1:57 pm
Well if Steele says so, then it must be so. What a joke. If he is promoting these people, this just means more of the same. He did nothing but badmouth the only TRUE conservative running in the last election-Ron Paul, and his supporters. They want a “big tent,” as long as it doesn’t mean actually living up to their rhetoric, and holding people accountable. They refused, and so the voters held them accountable. Prepare for more losses “big tent” GOP. The GOP has had many chances to live up to their rhetoric, and actually decrease the size of Gubbinment. Did they? NO, THEY INCREASED THE SIZE OF GUBBINMENT. WAKE UP PEOPLE!!! The two party system is a sham. The lobbyists don’t play both sides for nothing. They know that both sides are so corrupt, that it doesn’t matter which party is in office-the Republicrats or the Democommies. Gubbinment is a parasite, and you are the host. The host either dies off, or fights back. I choose to fight. When do the Republicrats ever talk about the Constitiution? Never! Obombya can’t produce a birth certificate, and what do they do? Nothing! Hillary is not eligible to be Secretary of State-see Article I, section 6, paragraph 2 (that’s the Constitution I’m referring to folks, you should become familiar with it)-and what do they do? Nothing! The Supreme court is a joke. They don’t do a damn thing either. They just take care of the crooks that put them in office, and hold no one accountable. This country is out of control, and headed over a cliff. Prepare yourselves people. The Gubbinment can’t save you. They aren’t committing 10,000 troops to Amerikan soil for nothing-oh yeah, it’s for emergencies.
RON PAUL IS MY PRESIDENT!!!
Posted by: DavidR | February 5, 2009, 4:16 pm 4:16 pm
Palin will be the nominee. Palin/Pawlenty most likely and it could be BIG.
When Obama the fearless leader capitulates himself to the lefties over the next four years it should be rather easy to win. There just might not a country to govern by that time.
Check our site for more.
Posted by: Jason | February 5, 2009, 4:52 pm 4:52 pm
The Democrat party was dying 15 years ago and the rats were jumping off that ship into the Republican one. The cycle will continue. The Democrats are full of idiots who know nothing about economics and liberty. They will inevitably crater. I would like it if both parties croaked and the Federal Government folded up! I think that’s about the only way we’d really get our freedom back. Any takers on this idea?
Posted by: Darren | February 5, 2009, 11:20 pm 11:20 pm
Darren,
I’ll bring the torches if you’ll
bring the pitchforks.
Posted by: Dale | February 8, 2009, 5:29 pm 5:29 pm