Exit, Stage Right

Big day at the RNC today, as they have elected themselves a new chairman. In the early hours, the common reaction among some of my Republican friends and the blogosphere is "Who?"

To answer their question, Reince Priebus is an attorney, the former head of the Wisconsin GOP and the former lead counsel of the RNC. He also is the youngest RNC Chair and has strong TEA Party Backing. To become chair, Priebus prevailed against current Chairman Michael Steele (who pulled out when it seemed like he would not win out in the votes), Maria Cino, who had the backing of John Boehner and many "ruling class Republicans," Saul Anuzis and Ann Wagner.

In the Republican Party, there is mixed reaction on Michael Steele. Even though Republicans won the House (with a net gain of 63) and a bulk of the Governorships, his critics believe Steele's leadership should have also netted the Senate. They have also accused him of/been bothered by his acts of self-promotion/profiteering and his spending at the RNC. Conservatives were annoyed that he and the RNC didn't readily and immediately back the more conservative candidate during the Midterm Elections of 2010 and as a result, held back financially, giving directly to the candidates. I have met Chairman Steele on a couple of occasions and found him to be honest, energetic, down to earth and passionate about why Republicans should be leading the nation. He has also been successful at recruiting young people to be tomorrow's leaders in the Republican Party. Furthermore, under his leadership, the House had its biggest net gains in years! Because of the good things he has done at the helm of the RNC, "The 'Right' Solutions" would like to give a big thank you and tip of the cap to Michael Steele.

Now that he is the new chairman, Reince Priebus has a challenging road ahead. As the chairman, he needs to head up the RNC's fundraising effort and also recoup the party's debt. With Obama and the Democrats in 2012 wanting to raise and spend spend $1 billion on the 2012 campaign, there can be one and only one solution to this quandary: consistently back and support the candidate who best articulates and espouses the tenets of Conservatism! When we look back in history at the modern presidential races, candidates such as Nixon, Reagan, George HW Bush in 1988, and George W. Bush have defined themselves as conservatives and as a result, have won; sometimes by a couple of touchdowns! Ford, George HW Bush in 1992, and McCain have defined themselves as more moderate, and therefore, lost.

This is a given and sadly, the RNC has missed the boat over the years. It is for this reason that Americans who consider themselves "Conservative" have closed their wallets to the RNC. If Reiner Preibus follows through on his promises to Conservatives and the TEA Party, in the same way Chris Christie did to New Jersey Conservatives in 2009, this could mean good things for the two years ahead in the Republican National Committee!