Steele's Book Problem: Are Hill Republicans Special?

Interesting - via AmSpec. RNC Chair Steele has been catching flack over his new book. But it seems Haley Barbour did very much the same thing and took no flack at all. AmSpec isn't suggesting it's driven by race, or some such nonsense. But that Steele may not have made Hill Republicans feel special enough in the doing of it. And we all know how Hill Republicans like to be made to feel special. heh!

Branding is branding, folks. Recently, in talking with a conservative blogging colleague, we were trying to understand all the Steele bashing going on. Image wise, we're thinking it has more to do with established Hill Republicans not liking some things very much and that sentiment being pushed out, as opposed to grassroots Republican complaints flowing in to the Hill. I realize there's more to the RNC than image. But Republicans need serious branding help right now. If Steele is helping to craft a looser, more contemporary brand for the GOP and fund raising and other activities can be done productively, as an honest look at reports suggests is happening, this may all be about egos, more than anything. People really need to get over it and focus on attacking Democrats, not one another. It's 2010 people, wake up! The GOP would be foolish to be contemplating major changes right now. They'd have no real impact in 2010, which is what we need most. Read the whole thing.

So what's the difference between a book setting out a GOP agenda by a sitting RNC chair named Haley Barbour and the same kind of book setting out a GOP agenda by a sitting RNC chair named Michael Steele? No, not skin color. This is the Party of Lincoln, bean counting by race a historical non-starter. What's really at issue is the color-blind issue that is called the bruised Washington ego. Not enough "heads up consultation." Yada yada yada. Fine. Duly noted. Next book. Can the rest of us move on now?

Comments

[bishop]

Does one think that a book published after a landslide Republican victory is different than one published before, even though the bloom was off the rose by then, with the subsequent tactics being
employed before the Dole campaign