Michael S. Steele

Michael S. Steele was the Republican National Committee chairman from 2009 to 2011, the party's first-ever black chairman.

Maryland Lt. Gov. January 15, 2003 to 2007, Steele was the Republican candidate for U.S. Senate in the U.S. congressional elections in 2006. Steele was defeated by Democratic Congressman Ben Cardin in the November general elections. Steele -- a devout Catholic but co-founder of the moderate Republican Leadership Council, which has endorsed pro-choice Republicans -- "wasn't the religious right's top choice for party head."

Fundraising: Swift Boat Connection
The web address for donations to Mike Steele is that for Donation Report.com (plus an extension code for Michael S. Steele).

The connection for DonationReport.com website arrives at a Login page&mdash;requiring both a User ID and Password&mdash;which belongs to eDonation.com, a member of The Donatelli Group, a fundraising company that has raised campaign funds for the Republican National Committee, Republican National Convention, Bush-Cheney '04 Inc., John McCain, the NRA, and an exhaustive list of Republican members of the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives, as well as other political organizations. 

The Donatelli Group, using its "primary segment" Campaign Solutions, is associated with Creative Response Concepts, the public relations firm that advised Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, the "organization that accused Kerry of inflating his Vietnam War record" during the 2004 presidential campaign. 

The Donatelli Group, which produced the RNC website, also created the SWIFTBOATVETSFORTRUTH.ORG website July 30, 2004, with Connell Donatelli Inc. (a.k.a. The Donatelli Group) as Registrant. Connell Donatelli Inc. was also listed as both Administrator and the Tech Organization for the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth website. 

Committees and Affiliations
Whitehouse will be assigned committees if and when he is elected to Congress.

2011 Chairman selection
In January 2011, Reince Priebus was selected as the Republican National Committee chairman.

Related SourceWatch articles

 * Black Republican Freedom Fund
 * Republican Leadership Council
 * Republican National Committee
 * Rightroots
 * stem cell research

External resources

 * Michael Steele for Maryland.com.
 * Lt. Gov. Michael S. Steele, Official Maryland State website.
 * TheRealSteele.com a.k.a. The Fudge Report. Scroll down righthand side of front page for link.
 * See how you compare to Michael S. Steele

Profiles

 * Michael S. Steele in the Wikipedia.
 * Lt. Gov. Michael S. Steele, Maryland Archives.

External articles

 * John J. Miller, "What a Steele. Meet Maryland’s lieutenant governor," National Review Online, August 31, 2004.
 * DeWayne Hickman, "Analysis: Political Reality Check for Md. Lt. Gov. Michael Steele," BlackAmericaWeb.com, September 1, 2004.
 * Bob Brigham, "MD-Sen: Michael Steele Blasted as Traitor," Swing State Project, October 28, 2005.
 * S.A. Miller, "'Party trumps race' for Steele foes," Washington Times, November 2, 2005.
 * Jennifer Skalka, "Senate hopefuls differ on cell bill. Bush veto raises questions on views of Md. candidates," Baltimore Sun, July 21, 2006.
 * Teddy Davis and Daniel Wenger, "After Bashing Bush, Steele Backs Down," ABC News, July 25, 2006.
 * Paul Kiel, "Senate Candidate Steele Caught in New Bush Fib," TPM Muckraker, August 26, 2006.
 * Paul Kiel, "MD Dems Bash Steele's 'Premeditated Stunt'," TPM Muckraker, August 27, 2006.
 * John Wagner and Matthew Mosk, "Schaefer to Unveil Public Service Ads Starring Other Party," Washington Post, August 3, 2006. Scroll down to "Feeling Heat on Global Warming".
 * "Political Notes — Michael Steele: The outtakes," Frederick News-Post (MD), August 11, 2006.
 * Matthew Mosk, "Steele's Remarks On Success in Iraq Draw Criticism From Democrats," Washington Post, August 13, 2006.
 * Press Release: "The Shifty Mr. Steele. Steele’s Top Ten Lies, Ducks, Flip Flops, No Shows, and Empty Promises," Maryland Democratic Party, August 16, 2006.
 * Laura Vozzella, "Forget Bob Ehrlich -- try Faux Ehrlich," Baltimore Sun, September 1, 2006. Scroll down to "The GOP is a big tent."
 * Philip Rucker, "Ehrlich, Steele Absent From President's Md. Visit," Washington Post, September 5, 2006.
 * Jennifer Skalka, "On trail, Steele changes his GOP tune," Baltimore Sun, September 7, 2006.
 * Ron Brynaert, "Black Republican group's ad accuses Dems of starting KKK, claims MLK was Republican," The Raw Story, September 21, 2006: "Although it doesn't mention any candidates, the advertisement is being aired to support Lt. Gov. Michael S. Steele as he runs against 10-term Congressman Benjamin L. Cardin for the first open Maryland Senate seat in two decades." Includes link to radio ad.
 * Joe Sudbay, "Michael Steele really is just a GOP hypocrite," AMERICAblog, October 7, 2006.
 * Penny Starr, "Q&A with Michael Steele, Candidate for RNC Chairman," CNSNews.com, December 16, 2008.