The front page of the New York Times has a profile of new Republican Party Chairman Michael Steele.
Its title: New Chairman Boos G.O.P. When He’s Not Cheerleading.
Here's a key paragraph:
"Most chairmen wave the party flag; Mr. Steele smiles and shreds it. A man of constantly colliding analogies, he compares Republicans to drunks in need of a 12-step program and to the mentally ill. He has insulted Rush Limbaugh and moderate Republican senators alike, and he has promised a “hip-hop makeover” that would attract even “one-armed midgets” to his party."
Earlier in the week Mr Steele appeared to agree with an interviewer who said last year's Republican Convention reminded him of a Nazi Party rally.
All this reminded me of Theresa May's "nasty party" remarks when she was our own party chairman. Some modernising Tories have always wanted to declare war on their party. Former leadership candidate Michael Portillo once wrote this:
"The Tory benches are full of repellent figures whose faces, demeanour and speech turn voters from the party. They have to be dealt with. Cameron’s success will not be judged by whether he can lead a quiet life. It will be measured by the blood that he spills. If he is brutal enough, the silly questioning about his policies will go away."
Fortunately David Cameron ignored Mr Portillo's bloodthirsty advice. David Cameron's success owes a lot to the fact that (with one or two rare exceptions) he has shunned attacks on his own ranks. His fire has been rightly directed at Labour and his real opponents.
Michael Steele should follow the Cameron rather than the Portillo model. Attacking the Republican brand will not only exacerbate the brand's problem but will worse still, add disunity to the Republican Party's problems and all electorates hate fractious, disunited parties.
