New GOP direction
On Friday, the Republican National Committee elected former Maryland Lt. Gov. Michael Steele as their new chairman.
This marked a great day for the Republican Party, not only because he is its first African-American chairman, but also because he is an all-around great man leading the charge for the party.
Steele brings a lot of experience to his new position. As lieutenant governor, Steele gained experience as an executive officer, as well as on the campaign trail. His bid for the Maryland U.S. Senate seat in 2006, while unsuccessful, gave him additional campaign knowledge.
But where Steele gained his most important knowledge was in chairing the political action committee GOPAC. Here Steele learned valuable lessons in fundraising techniques, something that the Republican National Committee, and the Republican Party as a whole, has struggled with the past few years.
Steele also is a fantastic communicator and has shown that he is committed to the conservative cause.
He always has been able get his message across, and right now that is exactly what the Republican Party needs. The party needs to reshape and then perfect its message of conservatism.
In his acceptance speech, he emphasized that he wants to reach out to everybody and to make the Republican Party more inviting to all Americans. Former chairman Mike Duncan had expressed a desire to appeal more to African-Americans but never really achieved that goal.
Steele, an African-American, is committed to reaching out to African-Americans and all other Americans.
He said in his speech, "We stand proud as the conservative party of the United States, and we will make sure we work hard to make sure those principles, those values, that have made us the party of Lincoln, are part of the issues, are part of the policies, are part of helping set a new direction for this party."
That is exactly what the Republican Party needs. As I have said before, the party has lost its way and needs to recreate its image. The GOP needs to show that it is the conservative party, and Steele is the man the party needs to convey this message to the American people.
In a speech to House Republicans, Steele commended Republicans for voting against the latest economic "stimulus" package, saying, "The goose egg that you laid on the president's desk was just beautiful - absolutely beautiful." He went on to say that it is important that we stand with the American people and not "redistribute the wealth" through bailout bills.
Even though he did it humorously, he showed that he desires a change in the attitude of the Republican leadership - a change from the moderately liberal economic policies of former President George W. Bush to conservative principles of tax cuts and spending cuts in this time of economic peril.
The party needs to appeal to all Americans, and putting an emphasis on economic conservatism will help appeal to the libertarian wing of the party, many of whom felt abandoned by Bush's policies.
Under chairman Steele, I see the Republican Party making great strides, not only for Republican candidates in upcoming elections, but for Americans all over the country, restoring conservative principles and bringing America back to its prime.
Nathan Inks is chairman of the College Republicans. He can be reached at n.d.inks@gmail.com.
