In his first year as Chairman of the RNC, Michael Steele’s repeated gaffes and controversial comments have made him his own worst enemy. After hearing him speak to a packed audience in McCosh 50 this afternoon, I am also convinced that he is his own best advocate. His gregarious, affable nature, combined with his fierce defense of conservative virtues, makes him a compelling public figure, even when his bombastic style conflicts with the typically behind-the-scenes role of party leader.
Steele’s visit to campus was billed as a discussion between him and Professor Eddie Glaude, head of the Center for African-American Studies. The exchange between the two was occasionally heated, but overall quite friendly. I was struck by the degree to which black members of the audience, including Cornel West, reacted warmly to Steele on a personal level while voicing strong objections to his political positions.
Many elements of Steele’s biography were unknown to me before attending today’s conversation, and they are truly inspiring. He was born to a mother who had initially considered aborting him, and raised in a poor household in Washington D.C. headed by an abusive, alcoholic stepfather. In spite of these challenges, Steele stated, the ethic of hard work instilled in him by his family helped him to achieve success in business, law, and public service.
It is this background, according to Steele, that led him to become a supporter of the Republican Party. He traced the party’s emphasis on civil rights from the era of Abraham Lincoln up until the 1960s, when the Democrats first became defined as the champions of the African-American community. Nevertheless, Steele claimed that Ronald Reagan’s focus on opportunity and American exceptionalism inspired him to join the Republicans.
He noted that the efforts of liberals to ameliorate racial inequality through massive social welfare programs over the course of the past several decades has proven a failure, and rebuffed accusations that conservative policies have benefited the rich at the expense of the rest of society, arguing instead that the wealthy deserve the money that they have earned through their willingness to take risks. The most significant problem contributing to the breakdown of the black community, he charged, is failing schools.
Steele matched his passionate limited government apologia with a blunt acknowledgment of the importance of partisanship in politics, which he described as a “zero-sum game.” The debate among conservatives, he said, should concern not the basic concepts that have defined the movement since its inception, but rather, the proper method of applying those principles to modern political problems. He criticized liberals who dismiss conservatism, calling them narrow-minded, and attested to his own desire to understand the ideas of his opponents, even when he wholeheartedly disagrees.
Altogether, seeing Michael Steele speak was an enjoyable experience. He is clearly an intellectual, demonstrating a deep familiarity with politics and history as well as a love of books (in one of his many hilarious, crowd-pleasing asides, he characterized St. Augustine, a favorite author of his, as “totally street”). Whether or not Steele is the appropriate choice to head the RNC is certainly up for question, but there can be no doubt that his voice is one that deserved to be heard as the Republican Party plots its course in the coming years.
Update: check out the Daily Princetonian’s take on the event.
Sam Norton is a junior from Falmouth, Maine. He is majoring in politics.