Michael Steele.html



For other persons of the same name, see Michael Steele (disambiguation)

Michael Steele
7th Lieutenant Governor of Maryland
In office January 15, 2003 – January 17, 2007
Governor	Robert Ehrlich
Preceded by	Kathleen Kennedy Townsend
Succeeded by	Anthony G. Brown
Chairman of GOPAC
Incumbent
Assumed office  February 1, 2007
Preceded by	J. C. Watts
Born	October 19, 1958 (1958-10-19) (age 50) Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland
Political party	Republican
Spouse	Andrea Steele
Profession	Lawyer
Religion	Roman Catholic1

Michael S. Steele (born October 19, 1958) is an American politician and lawyer. He is currently the chairman of GOPAC and a partner at the law firm of Dewey & LeBoeuf. He is a former Lieutenant Governor of Maryland, having been elected on the same ticket as Governor Robert Ehrlich in 2002.

Steele was the first African American to serve in a Maryland state-wide office and the first Republican lieutenant governor in the state since the position was created in 1970. At the time he was the highest-ranking elected African American Republican in the United States.

Steele ran for a Maryland United States Senate seat being vacated by retiring senator Paul Sarbanes, but he lost the 2006 election to Democratic Congressman Ben Cardin. In November 2008, the Washington Times reported Steele as a candidate for chairmanship of the Republican National Committee in January 2009.²

Early history

Steele was born on October 19, 1958, at Andrews Air Force Base in Prince George's County. He spent his childhood in the Petworth neighborhood of Northwest Washington, D.C. which Steele has described as a small, stable and racially integrated community that insulated him from some of the problems elsewhere in the city.³ He was one of two children raised by mother Maebell Turner and stepfather John Turner. Steele’s sister Monica later married and divorced former heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson.

Steele attended Archbishop Carroll Roman Catholic High School in Northeast Washington, D.C. While at Carroll, Steele participated in the Glee Club, the National Honor Society and many of the school’s drama productions. During his senior year, 1976-1977, he won the election for student council president.

Steele won a scholarship to Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. In his first year there, Steele was elected class president and was a member of the fencing team. He struggled academically, however, and was nearly kicked out of the university at the end of the year. After garnering A's in summer classes at George Washington University, Steele was able to continue at Johns Hopkins, and he earned a bachelor's degree in international relations in 1981.

After college, Steele spent three years as a seminarian in the Order of St. Augustine in preparation for the priesthood. He entered the Augustinian Friars Seminary at Villanova University in Pennsylvania. As a seminarian, he taught freshman world history and senior economics for one year at Malvern Prep School in Malvern, Pennsylvania, but ultimately decided on a career in law and he left the Seminary prior to taking the vows.

Steele listens during Vice President Dick Cheney's address at the Second Annual African American Leadership Summit in Washington, D.C., Wednesday, April 28, 2004.

Steele then entered the Georgetown University Law Center and in 1991, he received his Juris Doctor degree. He worked as a corporate securities associate at the Washington, D.C. office of Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilton. From 1991 to 1997, Steele specialized in financial investments for Wall Street underwriters, working at Cleary’s Tokyo, Japan office focusing on major product liability litigation and at its London office on corporate matters. Steele left the law firm and founded the Steele Group, a business and legal consulting firm.

Steele and his wife Andrea have two sons, Michael and Drew.

Political development

Steele’s mother was a widowed laundress who, he stated, worked for minimum wage rather than accept public assistance. Steele grew up in a Democratic household. However, as a young man he switched to the Republican Party.

After joining the Republican Party, Steele became chairman of the Prince George's County Republican Central Committee. In 1995, the Maryland Republican Party selected him as Maryland State Republican Man of the Year. He worked on several political campaigns, was an Alternate Delegate to the 1996 Republican National Convention in San Diego and a Delegate to the 2000 Republican National Convention in Philadelphia that ultimately chose the George W. Bush ticket.

In December 2000, Steele was elected chairman of the Maryland Republican Party,⁴ becoming the first African American ever to be elected chairman of any state Republican Party.

Lieutenant Governor of Maryland

Main article: Maryland gubernatorial election, 2002

Steele watches a video and discusses Seaduck Research with Edward Lohnes (left) and Dr Matthew C Perry (right).

In 2002, then-Congressman Robert Ehrlich selected Steele as his running mate and nominee for Lieutenant Governor in the campaign against Democrat Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, who was then the Lieutenant Governor (under Governor Parris Glendening). Steele resigned his chairmanship of the Maryland Republican Party to campaign full-time. In endorsing Townsend, the Baltimore Sun praised her running mate, Charles R. Larson, for his experience and expertise, and added: "By contrast, Mr. Ehrlich's running mate, state GOP chairman Michael S. Steele, brings little to the team but the color of his skin."⁵

During a debate, Paul Schurick, Ehrlich's communications manager, claimed that the Townsend campaign handed out Oreo cookies to the audience.⁶ Steele said he saw an oreo cookie at his foot, and thought that it may have been racially motivated. The operations manager of the building where the debate was held, interviewed three years after the event by the Baltimore Sun, disputed Steele's claim and said "I was in on the cleanup, and we found no cookies or anything else abnormal. There were no Oreo cookies thrown."⁷ Some eyewitnesses including AP reporter Tom Stuckey who was at the event have said cookies were handed out.⁸

In the September primary election, Ehrlich and Steele had no serious opposition. In the November 2002 general election, even though Maryland traditionally votes Democratic and had not elected a Republican Governor in almost 40 years, the Townsend campaign was tainted by problems with outgoing governor Glendening's personal life. The Ehrlich-Steele ticket won, 51% to 48%.

Steele’s most prominent efforts for the Ehrlich administration were reforming the state’s Minority Business Enterprise program and chairing Governor Ehrlich’s Commission on Quality Education in Maryland. While opposed to the death penalty, Steele endured criticism for not standing firmly against Ehrlich's support of the punishment, despite claims of racial inequities in its administration.⁹

National prominence

Recently, Steele has attained national prominence due to his stature as a successful elected conservative Republican African American and his public speaking. At the 2004 Republican National Convention, Steele gave the Republican counterpoint to the Democrats' Barack Obama in a keynote address, Steele's first major national exposure. In April 2005, President Bush chose Steele as one of three members of the United States delegation at the investiture of Pope Benedict XVI at the ceremonial mass in St. Peter’s Square in Vatican City. Steele was joined by Florida Governor Jeb Bush and by Knights of Columbus Supreme Knight Carl A. Anderson. Steele has appeared several times on HBO's political show Real Time with Bill Maher, hosted by comedian Bill Maher. He appeared on Comedy Central's talk show The Colbert Report on January 24, 2007.¹⁰ Steele also hosted a PBS Republican Primary debate in Baltimore, Maryland on September 27, 2007 .¹¹

2006 campaign for U.S. Senate

Main article: Maryland U.S. Senate election, 2006

When Paul Sarbanes, Maryland’s longest serving United States Senator, announced in March 2005 that he would not be a candidate for re-election in 2006, top state and national Republican officials began pressing Steele to become their party's nominee for the seat. ⁹ In April 2005 the Baltimore Sun announced the results of a poll it conducted, stating that Steele would run statistically neck and neck against either former NAACP head Kweisi Mfume, or Rep. Benjamin L. Cardin of Baltimore County.

On October 25, 2005, Steele formally announced his candidacy for the U.S. Senate. Polling in February 2006 showed the Lieutenant Governor lost significant ground against Cardin, although he remained statistically even with Mfume.¹² Cardin won the primary election on September 12, 2006.

In early 2006, Steele's campaign had some high-level resignations. Campaign manager, Graham Shafer left in January, and communications director and spokesman Leonardo Alcivar left in February.

Steele lost the general election to Cardin on November 7, 2006, getting 44% of the vote to Cardin's 55%. The Washington Post reported that on election day the Steele campaign arranged for buses of low income people from Philadelphia to distribute fliers at polls. Some claim the flyers had incorrect information, including an implication that Michael Steele was a Democrat and that he was endorsed by prominent black leaders who had not, in fact, endorsed him.¹³

Oreo cookie incident

After a September 26, 2002 gubernatorial debate, which had occurred without reported incident, Paul Schurick, Ehrlich's communications manager, claimed that the Townsend campaign handed out Oreo cookies to the audience.⁶ Five days after the debate, Steele said that one or more Oreo cookies had rolled to his feet during the debate suggesting a racist statement against him. "Maybe it was just someone having their snack, but it was there," Steele said. "If it happened, shame on them if they are that immature and that threatened by me." At the time of the debate, Schurick had not mentioned any such incident, but in November 2005 he claimed "It was raining Oreos... They were thick in the air like locusts. I was there. It was very real. It wasn't subtle."⁷ In a November 2005 Hannity and Colmes appearance, Steele agreed with Hannity that cookies were thrown at him.¹⁴ Neil Duke of the Baltimore NAACP, who moderated the debate, praised the "passionate audience" and noted their "derisive behavior"⁶ but did not see such behavior. "Were there some goofballs sitting in [the] right-hand corner section tossing cookies amongst themselves and acting like sophomores, as the legend has it?" Duke said. "I have no reason to doubt those sources; I just didn't see it."⁷¹⁵¹⁶ The operations manager of the building where the debate was held, interviewed three years after the event by the Baltimore Sun, disputed Steele's claim and said "I was in on the cleanup, and we found no cookies or anything else abnormal. There were no Oreo cookies thrown."⁷ Some eyewitnesses including AP reporter Tom Stuckey who was at the event have said cookies were handed out.¹⁷¹⁸¹⁹ Other eyewitnesses could not corroborate Steele and Schurick's claim.²⁰²¹

After the Senate race

Chris Cillizza of the Washington Post's The Fix blog reported one day after Steele conceded defeat in his Senate election that he was considering a run to succeed Ken Mehlman as the next chairman of the Republican National Committee.²² Instead Senator Mel Martinez of Florida was appointed as Mehlman's replacement.²³ "I have not had any conversations directly with the White House yet on this," Steele said on C-Span's Washington Journal about the job.²⁴

In February 2007, Steele did become chairman of GOPAC, a political action committee that helps fund state and local Republican campaigns around the country. In April 2007, he joined the international law firm of LeBoeuf, Lamb, Greene & MacRae LLP, which is now part of Dewey & LeBoeuf. Steele is a partner in the firm's Washington, D.C. office.²⁵

On May 17, 2007 Steele served as Co-Master of Ceremonies for the 25th Anniversary Celebration of the Washington Times newspaper. Former President George H. W. Bush was the keynote speaker. Steele, in his opening comments, said that he had subscribed to the Times throughout its 25 years of publication.

At the Media Research Center's 2007 DisHonors Awards Gala, Steele concluded a speech with the following: "I get a question all the time, 'Are you going to run again for office?' And I've thought about that, and I've come to realize that there's still some Democrats out there that I haven't ticked off yet. So, yeah, we're gonna do it again. We're gonna do it again, and all I have to say is, they haven't seen anything yet."²⁶ Steele is considered a possible candidate for Governor of Maryland in the future, and has said he's "intrigued by the idea".²⁷ He may also run for the U.S. Senate in 2010.

He currently is a FOX News contributor, and a regular stand-in for Sean Hannity on Hannity & Colmes.

Campaign for RNC Chairman

On November 11, 2008, Jeff Burton launched a political draft website to encourage Steele to run for Republican National Committee Chairman.²⁸ The website allowed visitors to sign a draft petition, and received over 6,000 signatures.²⁹ On November 24, 2008 Steele launched a campaign website,³⁰ and confirmed his intention to run on Hannity and Colmes.³¹ In January 2009, the new chairman will be decided by 168 committee members. Steele is seen as an early frontrunner.³²

Fellow candidate Chip Saltsman distributed a CD containing a racially charged parody song, "Barack the Magic Negro". Steele said Saltsman's "attempt at humor was clearly misplaced" though supported Saltsman's general concern for party work, calling for a focus on the issues.³³

Political positions

• On the war in Iraq: "It is imperative we improve conditions on the ground so we can bring our troops home as quickly as possible and have the Iraqi people take control of their own destiny. At the same time, we should not publicly state a timetable for implementation. I do not support a 'cut and run strategy.' Any politician out there talking about timetables and timelines is playing into the hands of our enemies who have an enormous capacity to wait. It would be a disaster for us to cut and run, as it would destroy our credibility in the region for at least a generation. At the same time, it is the Iraqi’s themselves that will ultimately have to make democracy work in their country. We should stay there only long enough to give the Iraqi people the tools they need to secure the very democracy they voted for three times. After that, it’s up to them."³⁴
• Energy policy: "To provide immediate relief for Marylanders, I have called on President Bush and Congress to enact an immediate moratorium on the federal gas tax - more than 18 cents per gallon - and an immediate moratorium on the 24 cents per gallon diesel tax. Moreover, Congress should approve legislation to suspend the tariff on ethanol imports. But those actions are designed to deal with our immediate crisis. Congress must roll up its sleeves and work to solve the underlying problem - our dependence on foreign sources of energy. To do that, I’ve called on Congress to double President Bush’s budget request for biomass and bio-refinery research, and create market and tax incentives for E85 fuels, hybrid technologies and alternative energy sources. Tax credits for hybrid and alternative fuel vehicles need to be renewed and expanded. Additionally, we must increase fuel efficiency standards for automobiles – not just this year, but over the next several years."³⁵
• Affirmative action: "Studies show enormous disparities still exist in education, healthcare, employment and economic opportunities along racial lines in the United States. I believe programs are still necessary to help close these divides. I support giving people opportunities. Programs must be fair to all Marylanders – of every color – and they should focus on economic empowerment."³⁶
• The budget deficit: "Congress must also enact pro-growth policies that encourage the economy to expand: like making tax relief permanent and repealing the death tax. As we saw with the most recent deficit figures, a growing economy will in fact reduce the size of the budget deficit. In order to achieve optimal economic growth, Congress must adhere to sane spending guidelines while promoting smart policies devoted to growing businesses and creating jobs."
• Stem cell research: "We have a lot to gain through furthering stem cell research, but medical breakthroughs should be fundamentally about saving, not destroying, human life. Therefore, I support stem cell research that does not destroy the embryo."³⁷
• Health care: " We need to increase access to health insurance through Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) and high deductible policies, so individuals and families can purchase the insurance that's best for them and meets their specific needs. . . . I support allowing small businesses to band together and compete for better insurance options. . . . To help increase our nation’s seniors access to affordable care, I have called to extend the sign up period for the Medicare Prescription Drug plan."

See also

• Maryland U.S. Senate election, 2006
• Government of Maryland
• Drill, baby, drill

Sources

• Mosk, Matthew, Washington Post, With Sarbanes Retiring, Senate Interest Simmers, March 28, 2005 ³⁸.
• Green, Andrew A., The Baltimore Sun, Steele attracts strong support in Senate race, April 18, 2005 ³⁹.
• The Baltimore Sun, Michael Steele Joins Presidential Delegation In Rome, April 23, 2005 ⁴⁰.
• State of Maryland Office of Minority Affairs, MBE Commission, Feb. 27, 2004
• Ebrown, Russell Simmons and Michael Steele, April 24, 2005 ⁴¹.
• Maryland Republican Party, State Party Biography of Lt. Governor Michael S. Steele ⁴²
• The Public Forum Institute⁴³
• Stratton, LaShell, The Common Denominator, Mr. Steele goes to Annapolis: A D.C. kid really can grow up to be lieutenant governor, April 7, 2003 ⁴⁴.
• Abruzzese, Sarah, Capital News Service, Steele joins U.S. papal delegation, April 23, 2005⁴⁵.
• Nitkin, David, The Baltimore Sun, Steele calls on club to admit blacks, July 17, 2005
• Mosk, Matthew Washington Post Steele's Web Site Parades Democrats: Hoyer Wants Photo Removed; Mfume Also Pictured, July 11, 2006; B05 ⁴⁶

References

External links

• The coalition to draft and support Michael Steele for RNC Chairman, created Nov. 2008
• FEC Campaign finance information for Michael Steele
• Steele's U.S. Senate campaign site
• Local Democratic Party response site
• Maryland state bio
• Maryland GOP bio
• Michael Steele on the Issues
• Text of Steele's speech to the 2004 GOP convention
• Text of a Feb. 2005 GOP interview with Steele
• Another February 2005 interview with C-SPAN's Brian Lamb.
• 17 Things about Michael S. Steele (from U.S. News and World Report).
• "Milking a story for all it's worth, media uncritically report crumbling allegation that Democrats threw Oreos at Steele", Media Matters for America, Nov 21, 2005.
• "Michael Steele Oreo Incident Eyewitness Report", Amy Ridenour, National Center for Public Policy Research blog
• Newsbusters.org Coverage of the coverage.
• "A botched hit piece"
• "GOP Fliers Apparently Were Part Of Strategy"
• Mother Jones article on campaign scandal
• GOPAC BIO of Michael Steele

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