Michael Steele and the Victory of Grassroots Over Gatekeepers

My friend Matt Lewis blogs this morning that:

Unlike the Democrats, who in 2005 followed the lead of bloggers and elected Howard Dean chairman, the 168 members of the RNC seemed to pay little attention to the concerns of conservative bloggers, who were among Steele's harshest critics.  But while Steele clearly didn't need the support of bloggers to become RNC chairman, he certainly can not afford to alienate them if he hopes to be deemed a successful chairman (where the support of 168 insiders will matter much less than the support of bloggers).

I found the assessment that Steele had little support among Republican bloggers a little puzzling given that Steele won virtually every straw poll held here at The Next Right (while Ken Blackwell usually ran a strong second). To the extent rank and file Republicans cared around the RNC Chairman's race, Steele was usually their favorite pick -- even amongst many conservative activists. A number of people who were active for Fred Thompson, like Ted Pibil or O.P. Ditch, were also active for Steele.

It's true that a handful of bloggers -- most of whom have worked in and around the conservative establishment -- voiced concerns about Steele, while touting Blackwell. Blackwell had the support of most conservative "leaders" who endorsed, but finished last in the balloting, never cracking more than 20 votes. 

I think this highlights a very real disconnect between the leaders of the conservative establishment in D.C. and the conservative movement in the heartland. Rank-and-file Republican activists had no real problems with Steele -- with his membership in the RLC belied by his strong pro-life stance running in midnight blue Maryland. 

You can also say this divide was on display in last year's Presidential primary, when the conservative establishment failed to derail John McCain. In that case, I thought "the groups" were right but proved themselves ineffective by failing to attack McCain or coalescing around a single candidate when it could have made the difference.

One way of looking at Steele's victory is that it was a victory of the grassroots over the gatekeepers. Both the gatekeepers in the old guard of the RNC who supported Duncan and eventually Dawson. And also the gatekeepers in the conservative movement who supported Blackwell. Part of our role here at The Next Right, I think, is to look with skepticism at all who would fashion themselves as gatekeepers for the grassroots -- in any wing of the party.

For the record, I never made this public because of my involvement in Rebuild, but my own preferences were for Saul Anuzis first, Steele second, and Blackwell third. I felt it was important to have a Chairman who could connect to the grassroots. Steele passed this test with flying colors, and so did Blackwell. It's inaccurate to say that Steele did not have support from the grassroots or from bloggers. In judging these things, I am always more interested in what rank-and-file activists have to say than I am in what self-appointed "leaders" have to say.