Michael Steele, it seems, can’t go home again. His former partner in government, ex-Maryland Governror Bob Ehrlich, took a whack at RNC spending yesterday, the day he formally announced his next campaign for governor.
“The burn rate has been pretty quick,” Ehrlich told DC’s NewsChannel8 in an interview yesterday. Spending was at the center of the controversy that led to the resignation of RNC chief of staff Ken McKay this week. Critics from inside and outside the GOP have condemned Steele’s RNC for spending thousands on questionable purchases like parties at topless bars. Ehrlich said there’s merits to the criticisms.
“I don’t want to sugar-coat this,” Ehrlich, who claimed to be a regular RNC donor, said. “When you’re asking someone for their hard-earned dollars, in a recession, they don’t want to see headlines about some bar.”
Erlich is walking a delicate line. For most Republicans on the ballot this year, Steele is a distant embarrassment, a figure they can likely avoid without too much trouble. But for Ehrlich, keeping Steele at arm’s length will be more difficult. He introduced the country to Steele back in 2002 when he chose him as his running mate the first time he ran for Governor, launching Steele right into the RNC HQ.
After Ehrlich won, Steele was installed a heartbeat away from the top job in Maryland. He translated that into a failed run for Senate in 2006. And the rest, as they say, is history. That is unless you’re running for Governor again in the midst of Steele’s tumultuous term at the head of the RNC. Then, if the Democrats have anything to say about it, it’s all still very much the present. How Ehrlich handles the Steele problem is the first real storyline of the gubernatorial bid he announced yesterday. And, so far, it appears Ehrlich’s strategy is to defend Steele — but only for what he did as Lt Gov. Beyond that, Steele’s on his own.
In the NewsChannel8 interview following his campaign announcement yesterday, Ehrlich tiptoed through the Steele minefield.
“He remains a net plus, but with controversy,” Ehrlich said when asked about Steele’s tenure at the RNC. “Regardless of the merits of the criticisms [against him], Michael will be judged on wins and losses.”
Ehrlich called Steele a “personal friend” but also said he has nothing to do with how things are being run at the RNC.
“I’m not looking out for Mike everyday,” Ehrlich said. “He clearly has his own staff and makes his own decisions.”
Ehrlich praised Steele’s fundraising skills, saying that money is “pouring in” to Republican coffers — even if some of those coffers aren’t at the RNC itself. He suggested that increased fundraising totals at the RGA and other committees shows the Republicans are still giving, despite what they might think about Steele.
He didn’t steer clear of the scandals, though, taking a shot at Steele at the way Steele is handling the RNC’s money.
“The burn rate has been pretty quick,” he said, referring to the amount of money the RNC has spent since Steele took over. Spending was at the center of the controversy that led to the resignation of RNC chief of staff Ken McKay this week. Critics from inside and outside the GOP have condemned Steele’s RNC for spending thousands on questionable purchases like parties at topless bars.
“I don’t want to sugar-coat this,” Ehrlich, who claimed to be a regular RNC donor, said. “When you’re asking someone for their hard-earned dollars, in a recession, they don’t want to see headlines about some bar.”
Regardless of the critcisms, however, Ehrlich said that Steele will be judged on whether or not Republicans like him win campaigns this year. He ticked off the list of GOP wins in Virginia, New Jersey and Massachusetts since Steele took over at the RNC and suggested by that metric, Steele was doing a good job.
“The ultimate job description is to win seats,” he said.
Ehrlich’s take on Steele is a bit different from that of his wife and radio show co-host, who’s taken a harder line on the RNC. According to the Baltimore Sun Kendel Ehrlich told a Baltimore radio station last month that RNC needs to “get on track,” though when asked if Steele needs to resign she said the scandals so far don’t “rise to to that type of level.”
On the campaign trail, Democrats plan to make Steele in to an issue for Ehrlich. They say that putting a man like Steele in the Lt. Gov. suggests questionable judgment. Ehrlich rejected that notion in the interview, claiming that Steele was one of the most “relevant” Lt. Govs MD ever had.
Besides, Ehrlich told NewsChannel8, Democrats should watch their step when it comes to Steele. He claimed that when Steele was Lt. Gov., some Democrats used his race against him — an issue that Ehrlich suggested he’ll bring up if Democrats continue to push him on Steele.
“He was called names, he was called ‘token,'” Ehrlich said. “For the Democratic party, a party that has used race in ugly ways against Mike in the past, to issue these calls [against Steele now] I think lacks credibility.”
