Ben Cardin
United States Senator from Maryland
Incumbent
Assumed office January 3, 2007 Serving with Barbara Mikulski
Preceded by	Paul Sarbanes
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Maryland's 3rd district
In office January 6, 1987 – January 3, 2007
Preceded by	Barbara Mikulski
Succeeded by	John Sarbanes
103rd Speaker of the Maryland House of Delegates
In office January 6, 1979 – January 6, 1987
Preceded by	John Hanson Briscoe
Succeeded by	Clayton R. Mitchell, Jr.
Member of the Maryland House of Delegates from the 42nd District
In office January 6, 1967 – January 6, 1987
Preceded by	Maurice Cardin
Succeeded by	David Shapiro
Personal details
Born	Benjamin Louis Cardin (1943-10-05) October 5, 1943 (age 68) Baltimore, Maryland
Political party	Democratic
Spouse(s)	Myrna Edelman Cardin
Children	Deborah Cardin Michael Cardin
Residence	Baltimore, Maryland
Alma mater	University of Pittsburgh (B.A.) University of Maryland (J.D.)
Occupation	Attorney
Religion	Judaism[1]
Website	www.cardin.senate.gov

Benjamin Louis "Ben" Cardin (born October 5, 1943) is the junior United States Senator from Maryland and a member of the Democratic Party. Before his election to the Senate, Cardin was a member of the United States House of Representatives, representing Maryland's 3rd congressional district from 1987 to 2007. National Journal rates him as the third most liberal Democrat in the Senate.^[2]

Cardin was elected to succeed Paul Sarbanes in the 2006 U.S. Senate election, defeating Republican challenger Lieutenant Governor Michael Steele by a margin of 54%–44%.

Early life and career[link]

Cardin was born in Baltimore, Maryland, the son of Dora (née Green) and Meyer M. Cardin (1907–2005).^[3] The family name was originally Kardonsky before it was changed to Cardin by Cardin's paternal grandparents, Russian Jewish immigrants. His grandfather operated a neighborhood grocery store that later turned into a wholesale food distribution company.^[4] His father, Meyer Cardin, served in the Maryland House of Delegates from 1935 to 1937, and later sat on the Supreme Bench of Baltimore City from 1961 to 1977.^[5]

Cardin and his family attend the Modern Orthodox Beth Tfiloh Congregation near their home, with which the family has been affiliated for three generations. He graduated from Baltimore City College in 1961 and obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree cum laude in 1964 from the University of Pittsburgh, where he was a member of the Pi Lambda Phi fraternity. He earned a Juris Doctor from the University of Maryland School of Law in 1967, graduating first in his class. Cardin was admitted to the Maryland Bar that same year, and entered a private practice.

Political career[link]

Maryland House of Delegates[link]

Cardin served in the Maryland House of Delegates from 1967 to 1986. First elected while still attending law school,^[4] he served in the seat once held by his uncle, Maurice Cardin, who had decided to not run for reelection so that his nephew could instead pursue the seat. He was chairman of the Ways & Means Committee from 1974 to 1979, then Speaker of the House until he left office. At age 35, he was one of the youngest Speakers in Maryland history.^[4] As Speaker, he was involved with reform efforts involving Maryland's property tax system, school financing formula, and ethical standards for elected officials.^[6]

U.S. House of Representatives[link]

In 1986, with then-Congresswoman Barbara Mikulski running for the U.S. Senate seat vacated by retiring Senator Charles Mathias, Cardin ran for Mikulski’s seat representing the 3rd Congressional District. Cardin won the Democratic nomination with 82 percent of the vote, and became Congressman in the general election with 79 percent of the vote against a perennial candidate, Republican Ross Z. Pierpont.

On the floor of the House, Rep. Cardin calls for the withdrawal of all troops from Iraq by 2007, June 12, 2006.

Cardin was reelected nine times, rarely facing serious opposition. In the 2000 round of redistricting, his district was altered to add significant portions of Anne Arundel County, including the state capital of Annapolis, to his Baltimore-based district. His last two opponents hailed from Anne Arundel and nearly carried the district's portion of that county.

In the House, Cardin was involved with fiscal issues, pension reform, and health care. His legislation to increase the amount individuals can store in their 401k plans and IRAs was passed in 2001. His bill to expand Medicare to include preventive benefits such as colorectal, prostate, mammogram, and osteoporosis screening was also enacted. He also authored legislation to provide a Medicare prescription drug benefit for chronic illnesses; fund graduate medical education; and guarantee coverage for emergency services.^[6]

Cardin has also advocated, via proposed legislation, welfare reform. His bill to increase education and support services for foster children between ages 18 and 21 was signed into law in 1999.^[6] He authored bills to expand child support, improve the welfare-to-work program, and increase the child care tax credit.^[6]

In 1998, Cardin was appointed Chairman of the Special Study Commission on Maryland Public Ethics Law by the Maryland General Assembly. In 1997, he co-chaired the Bipartisan Ethics Task Force in an effort to reform ethics procedures in the House of Representatives. He also held leadership positions on the Organization, Study and Review Committee and the Steering Committee of the House Democratic Caucus, and served as Senior Democratic Whip.

Cardin has been commended for his work with fiscal policy. He has been honored by Worth magazine and by Treasury and Risk Management for his work protecting retirement plans and government-supported medical care for the elderly. He has also received scores of 100% percent from the League of Conservation Voters and the NAACP, indicating stances that are in favor of environmental protection and civil rights. Cardin was also one of 133 members of Congress to vote against the 2002 Iraq Resolution.^[7]

Rep. Cardin (at podium) joins Reps. Roscoe Bartlett (center) (R-MD) and Jo Ann Davis (left) (R-VA) in calling for a study of homeland security needs of the National Capital region, including Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia.

Committee assignments[link]

As of May 2006, Cardin served on the following House committees:

• Member of the Ways and Means Committee.
  • Ranking member of the Trade Subcommittee.
  • Member of the Human Resources Subcommittee.
• Chairman of the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe.

U.S. Senate[link]

2006 U.S. Senate election[link]

On April 26, 2005, Cardin announced that he would seek the U.S. Senate seat of current long-standing senator Paul Sarbanes (D-MD), following the announcement by Sarbanes that he would not be running for re-election in 2006. On September 12, 2006, Cardin faced a challenging primary battle with other Maryland Democrats, including Kweisi Mfume, Josh Rales, Dennis F. Rasmussen, and Allan Lichtman. Cardin won, however, with 44 percent of the vote, compared to 40 percent for Mfume, five percent for Rales, and two percent for Rasmussen.^[8] He was declared the winner just after two percent of the precincts reporting.

Cardin won election on November 7, 2006, defeating Republican challenger Michael S. Steele 54 percent to 44 percent.^[9] Cardin became the third consecutive Representative from Maryland's 3rd Congressional District to be elected Senator (following Sarbanes and Mikulski).

Committee assignments[link]

Cardin currently serves on the following Senate Committees in the 112th United States Congress:

• Committee on Finance
  • United States Senate Finance Committee Subcommittee on Health Care
  • United States Senate Finance Committee Subcommittee on Taxation & IRS Oversight
  • United States Senate Finance Committee Subcommittee on Social Security, Pensions & Family Policy
• Committee on the Budget
• Committee on Environment and Public Works
  • Subcommittee on Oversight
  • Subcommittee on Clean Air and Nuclear Safety
  • Subcommittee on Transportation and Infrastructure
  • Subcommittee on Water and Wildlife (Chairman)
• Committee on Foreign Relations
  • Subcommittee on International Development and Foreign Assistance, Economic Affairs, and International Environmental Protection (Chairman)
  • Subcommittee on Near East and South and Central Asian Affairs
  • Subcommittee on European Affairs
  • Subcommittee on African Affairs
• Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship
• Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe (Co-Chairman)

Caucus membership[link]

• Senate Oceans Caucus

International experience[link]

Cardin has been a Commissioner on the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe (the U.S. Helsinki Commission) since 1993, serving as Ranking Member from 2003 to 2006. In the 110th Congress, he was appointed co-chairman of the Commission, and is currently Vice President of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Parliamentary Assembly.^[10]

Honors[link]

Cardin testifying before the U.S. House Ways and Means subcommittee on Human Resources.

Cardin holds honorary degrees from several institutions, including the University of Baltimore School of Law (1990); University of Maryland, Baltimore (1993); Baltimore Hebrew University (1994); Goucher College (1996); and Villa Julie College (2007).

From 1988 to 1995, he chaired the Maryland Legal Services Corp. Through much of his political career, he has continued to work with law policy.

From 1988 to 1999, Cardin served on the St. Mary's College of Maryland Board of Trustees, and in 2002, he was appointed to the St. Mary's Advisory Board for the Study of Democracy. In 1999, he was appointed to the Goucher College Board of Trustees.

Policies[link]

On a list by Congressional Quarterly of the members of Congress who were most supportive of President Barack Obama's legislative agenda in 2009, Cardin was tied for fifth most supportive Senator with five other Senators.^[11]

Cardin supports Net Neutrality, as shown by his vote during the 109th Congress in favor of the Markey Amendment to H.R. 5252 which would add Net Neutrality provisions to the federal telecommunications code.^[12] Cardin also supports Combating Online Infringement and Counterfeits Act, which gives DOJ the tools to target those site owners who are engaged in illegal digital piracy.^[13]

In 2007, Cardin supported the United States Public Service Academy Act. The Act would serve to create "an undergraduate institution devoted to developing civilian leaders." Like the Military Academies, this would give students 4 years of tuition-free education in exchange for 5 years of public service upon graduation.^[14]

Cardin is also pro-Israel and pro-India.^[15] He supported civilian nuclear cooperation with India.^[16]

In November 2011, Cardin's intended update of the 1917 Espionage Act upset some public disclosure advocates. They complained that it "would make it harder for federal employees to expose government fraud and abuse."^[17]

Family[link]

Cardin married high school sweetheart Myrna Edelman, a teacher,^[18] on November 24, 1964. They have a daughter, Deborah. Their son Michael committed suicide in 1998 at age 30.^[19] He has two granddaughters.

In 2002, Ben’s 32-year-old nephew, Jon S. Cardin, who graduated from University of Maryland law school in 2001, ran for election as a Delegate representing District 11 of western Baltimore County. With state legislative District 11 overlapping Congressional District 3, there were two Cardins on the ticket in this area in 2002. Present at Jon’s swearing in was the oldest living former member of the House of Delegates at 95 years of age, Meyer Cardin, Jon’s grandfather and Ben’s father. Also in attendance was Ben himself, who stated, "The next generation's taking over."^[20] After Ben announced that he would vacate his Congressional seat to run for the U.S. Senate, Jon Cardin stated that he was exploring a campaign for his uncle's Congressional seat, though he ultimately decided to seek reelection to the House of Delegates.

Election history[link]

Footnotes[link]

• Ben Cardin at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Congressional Quarterly Voting and Elections Collection

External links[link]

Wikisource has original works written by or about: Ben Cardin

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Ben Cardin

Wikinews has related news: Russian police to 'check' officer allegedly involved in large theft and murder

• United States Senator Ben Cardin official Senate site
• Ben Cardin Senate 2006 official campaign site
• Biography at WhoRunsGov.com at The Washington Post
• Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Voting record maintained by The Washington Post
• Biography, voting record, and interest group ratings at Project Vote Smart
• Congressional profile at GovTrack
• Congressional profile at OpenCongress
• Issue positions and quotes at On the Issues
• Financial information at OpenSecrets.org
• Staff salaries, trips and personal finance at LegiStorm.com
• Campaign finance reports and data at the Federal Election Commission
• Appearances on C-SPAN programs
• Collected news and commentary at The New York Times

v t e United States Senators from Maryland Class 1 Carroll Potts Howard S. Smith Harper Hanson Pinkney S. Smith Kent Merrick Johnson Stewart Pratt Kennedy Johnson Whyte Hamilton Whyte Gorman McComas Rayner Jackson Lee France Bruce P. Goldsborough Radcliffe O'Conor Beall, Sr. J. Tydings Beall, Jr. Sarbanes Cardin Class 3 Henry J. Lloyd Hindman Wright Reed R. Goldsborough E. Lloyd Chambers R. Goldsborough Spence Kerr Pearce Hicks Creswell Vickers Dennis Groome Wilson Gibson Wellington Gorman Whyte J. Smith Weller M. Tydings Butler Brewster Mathias Mikulski

v t e Current statewide political officials of the State of Maryland in the United States U.S. Senators Barbara Mikulski Ben Cardin State government Martin O'Malley, Governor Anthony G. Brown, Lieutenant Governor Doug Gansler, Attorney General John P. McDonough, Secretary of State Peter Franchot, Comptroller Nancy K. Kopp, Treasurer State Senate Thomas V. Miller, Jr., President Robert J. Garagiola, Majority Leader Allan H. Kittleman, Minority Leader House of Delegates Michael E. Busch, Speaker Kumar P. Barve, Majority Leader Anthony J. O'Donnell, Minority Leader Court of Appeals Robert M. Bell, Chief Judge Glenn T. Harrell, Jr. Lynne A. Battaglia Clayton Greene, Jr. Joseph F. Murphy, Jr. Sally D. Adkins Mary Ellen Barbera AL AK AZ AR CA CO CT DE FL GA HI ID IL IN IA KS KY LA ME MD MA MI MN MS MO MT NE NV NH NJ NM NY NC ND OH OK OR PA RI SC SD TN TX UT VT VA WA WV WI WY

Michael Steele
64th Chairman of the Republican National Committee
In office January 30, 2009 – January 14, 2011
Preceded by	Mike Duncan
Succeeded by	Reince Priebus
7th Lieutenant Governor of Maryland
In office January 15, 2003 – January 17, 2007
Governor	Robert Ehrlich
Preceded by	Kathleen Kennedy Townsend
Succeeded by	Anthony G. Brown
Personal details
Born	Michael Stephen Steele (after adoption) (1958-10-19) October 19, 1958 (age 53) Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Andrea Derritt Steele (m. 1985)
Children	Two
Alma mater	Johns Hopkins University (B.A.) Villanova University Georgetown University Law Center (J.D.)
Occupation	Politician
Profession	Lawyer
Religion	Roman Catholic[1]
Signature
Website	Michael Steele's blog

Michael Stephen Steele (born October 19, 1958) is an American politician who served as the first African-American chairman of the Republican National Committee from January 2009 until January 2011.^[2] From 2003 to 2007, he was the seventh Lieutenant Governor of Maryland, the first African American elected to statewide office in Maryland. During his time as Lieutenant Governor, he chaired the Minority Business Enterprise taskforce, actively promoting an expansion of affirmative action in the corporate world.^[3]

In 2006, Steele made an unsuccessful run for the U.S. Senate, losing to Democrat Ben Cardin. He then served as chairman of GOPAC, the political training organization of the Republican party, was a political commentator for Fox News and a partner at the law firm of LeBoeuf, Lamb, Greene & MacRae LLP before making his bid for RNC Chairman. He co-founded the Republican Leadership Council, a "fiscally conservative and socially inclusive" political action committee, in 1993.^[4] On December 13, 2010, he announced his intentions to seek a second term as Republican National Committee Chair.^[5] On January 14, 2011, after four rounds of voting, Steele dropped out of the race and endorsed Maria Cino. Reince Priebus went on to win the election to succeed Steele. He commenced as a columnist for online magazine The Root in May 2011.^[6]

Early life[link]

Steele was born on October 19, 1958 at Andrews Air Force Base in Prince George's County, Maryland^[7][8] and was adopted as an infant^[9] by William and Maebell Steele. William died in 1962.^[10][11] Maebell, who had been born into a sharecropping family in South Carolina,^[12] worked for minimum wage as a laundress to raise her children. After Michael's father died, she ignored her friends' appeals to apply for public assistance, later telling Michael 'I didn't want the government raising my children'.^[12] She later married John Turner, a truck driver. Michael and his sister, Monica Turner, were raised in the Petworth neighborhood of Northwest Washington, D.C. which Steele has described as a small, stable and racially integrated community that insulated him from some of the problems elsewhere in the city.^[12] Steele's sister later married and divorced former heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson.^[13]

Steele attended Archbishop Carroll Roman Catholic High School in Washington, D.C., participating in the Glee Club, the National Honor Society and many of the school's drama productions. During his senior year, he was elected student council president.^[14]

In 1977, Steele enrolled at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore where he received a bachelor's degree in international studies.^[15]

Steele then spent three years preparing for the Catholic priesthood at the Augustinian Friars Seminary at Villanova University,^[16] teaching high school classes in world history and economics for one year at Malvern Preparatory School in Malvern, Pennsylvania.^[17] He left the seminary prior to ordination.^[18]

He then enrolled at the Georgetown University Law Center, attending classes at night and receiving his Juris Doctor in 1991. He failed the Maryland bar exam, but then passed the Pennsylvania bar exam.^[19]

Steele was employed as a corporate securities associate at the Washington, D.C. office of Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilton. From 1991 to 1997, he specialized in financial investments for Wall Street underwriters, working at Cleary's Tokyo, Japan office on major product liability litigation and at its London office on corporate matters. He left the law firm and founded the Steele Group, a business and legal consulting firm.^[8]

Political development[link]

Steele listens during then-Vice President Dick Cheney's address at the Second Annual African American Leadership Summit in Washington, D.C., Wednesday, April 28, 2004.

After joining the Republican Party, he became chairman of the Prince George's County Republican Central Committee. He was a founding member of the centrist, fiscally conservative and socially inclusive Republican Leadership Council in 1993 but left in 2008 citing disagreements over endorsing primary candidates,^[4] though detractors contend that his departure was a politically convenient effort to boost his chances of becoming the RNC chair.^[20] In 1995, the Maryland Republican Party selected him as their Republican Man of the Year.^[8] He worked on several political campaigns, was an Alternate Delegate to the 1996 Republican National Convention and a Delegate to the 2000 Republican National Convention.^[9]

In December 2000, he was elected chairman of the Maryland Republican Party, becoming the first African American ever to be elected chairman of any state Republican Party.^[8]

Lieutenant Governor of Maryland[link]

Steele watches a video and discusses Seaduck Research with Edward Lohnes (left) and Dr Matthew C Perry (right)

In 2002, Robert Ehrlich, who was running for Maryland Governor, selected Steele as his running mate for Lieutenant Governor. The campaign was waged against Democrat Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, who was running for Governor and Charles R. Larson who was running for Lieutenant Governor.

Steele resigned his chairmanship of the Maryland Republican Party to campaign full-time. The Baltimore Sun praised Townsend's running mate, Larson, for his experience and expertise, stating that: "state GOP chairman Michael S. Steele, brings little to the team but the color of his skin."^[21]

In the September primary election, Ehrlich and Steele had no serious opposition. In the November 2002 general election, the Republican Ehrlich-Steele ticket won, 51 percent to 48 percent even though Maryland traditionally votes Democratic and had not elected a Republican Governor in almost 40 years. The Townsend-Larson campaign had been tainted by outgoing Democratic governor Parris Glendening's marital problems and backlash due to his strict enforcement of environmental regulations. During the election, Townsend was also criticized for her choice of running mate; she picked retired Admiral Charles R. Larson, a novice politician who had switched parties only a few weeks before.^{[citation needed]}

Steele's most prominent efforts for the Ehrlich administration were reforming the state's Minority Business Enterprise program and chairing the Governor's Commission on Quality Education in Maryland. Steele garnered criticism for his failure to oppose Ehrlich's reinstitution of the death penalty, despite claims of racial inequities in the use of the death penalty, Steele's own religious beliefs and his prior anti-death penalty pronouncements.^[22]

In 2005, Steele was named an Aspen Institute Rodel Fellow in Public Leadership and was awarded the Bethune-DuBois Institute Award for his continuing efforts to improve the quality education in Maryland.^[23]

At the 2004 Republican National Convention, Steele gave the Republican counterpoint to Barack Obama's 2004 Democratic National Convention keynote address; it was Steele's first major national exposure. In April 2005, President Bush chose him to be a member of the U.S. delegation at the investiture of Pope Benedict XVI in Vatican City.^[24]

2006 campaign for U.S. Senate[link]

When Paul Sarbanes, Maryland's longest-serving United States Senator, announced in March 2005 that he would not be a candidate for re-election in 2006, top state and national Republican officials began pressing Steele to become their party's nominee for the seat.^[22] In April 2005, The Baltimore Sun announced the results of a poll it conducted, stating that Steele would run statistically neck and neck against either former NAACP head Kweisi Mfume, or Rep. Benjamin L. Cardin of Baltimore County.^[25] Steele formally announced his candidacy for the U.S. Senate on October 25, 2005.^[26]

Steele lost the general election to Cardin on November 7, 2006,^[27] 44 percent to Cardin's 55 percent. Steele's former campaign finance chairman later alleged improprieties in Steele's handling of campaign funds, which Steele denied.^[28]

After the Senate race[link]

One day after Steele conceded defeat in the Senate election, Chris Cillizza of the Washington Post reported that Steele was hoping to succeed Ken Mehlman as the chairman of the Republican National Committee.^[29] Senator Mel Martinez of Florida, who had the endorsement of President George W. Bush, got the position.

In February 2007, Steele became chairman of GOPAC, a political action committee that helps fund state and local Republican campaigns around the country and is responsible for training future Republican candidates. He succeeded former U.S. Congressman J.C. Watts, a fellow black Republican. In April 2007, Steele joined the international law firm of Dewey & LeBoeuf, as a partner in the firm's Washington, D.C. office.^[30]

At a speech given at the Media Research Center's 2007 DisHonors Awards Gala, Steele said:

Steele is considered a possible candidate for Governor of Maryland in the future and said he was "intrigued by the idea" for 2010.^[32] He has said that he will not run for President in 2012.^[33]

Steele appeared several times on HBO's political show Real Time with Bill Maher, and was on Comedy Central's talk show The Colbert Report on January 23, 2007.^[34] He also hosted a PBS Republican Primary debate in Baltimore, Maryland on September 27, 2007.^[35]

He coined the phrase "Drill Baby Drill" during the 2008 Republican National Convention in Minnesota, where he promoted offshore drilling as an alternative to dependency on foreign oil.^[36]

RNC Chairman[link]

2009 election[link]

On November 24, 2008 Steele launched his campaign for the RNC chairmanship with the launching of his website.^[37] On January 30, 2009, Steele won the chairmanship of the RNC in the sixth round, with 91 votes to Dawson's 77.^[38] Steele, the Republican Party's first African American chief, was selected in the aftermath of President Obama's election, when many in the GOP saw him as a charismatic counter to the first black president.^[39]

2008 RNC Chairman Vote

Source: CQPolitics^[40] and Poll Pundit^[41]

     Candidate won that Round of voting

     Candidate withdrew

     Candidate won RNC Chairmanship

In December 2010, Steele declared that he would run for re-election as RNC chair.^[5][42]

Leadership dispute with Rush Limbaugh[link]

On March 1, 2009 in response to a question on CBS's Face the Nation as to who spoke for the Republican Party, President Obama's chief of staff Rahm Emanuel said it was Rush Limbaugh because "whenever a Republican criticizes [Limbaugh], they have to run back and apologize to him, and say they were misunderstood. He is the voice and the intellectual force and energy behind the Republican Party. And he has been upfront about what he views, and hasn't stepped back from that, which is he hopes for [President Obama's] failure. He said it. And I compliment him for his honesty, but that's their philosophy that is enunciated by Rush Limbaugh."^[43][44][45]

In remarks aired by the CNN program D.L. Hughley Breaks the News on March 1, 2009, Steele said he, rather than Limbaugh, is "the de facto leader of the Republican Party. Rush Limbaugh is an entertainer. Rush Limbaugh's whole thing is entertainment. Yes, it is incendiary. Yes, it is ugly." On March 2, 2009 Limbaugh said on his radio show that Steele is not fit to lead the Republican Party, asking of him "Why do you claim to lead the Republican Party when you seem obsessed with seeing to it President Obama succeeds?"^[46] After the show Steele called Limbaugh to apologize, saying "I have enormous respect for Rush Limbaugh. I was maybe a little bit inarticulate. There was no attempt on my part to diminish his voice or his leadership. I went back at that tape and I realized words that I said weren't what I was thinking. It was one of those things where I thinking I was saying one thing, and it came out differently. What I was trying to say was a lot of people want to make Rush the scapegoat, the bogeyman, and he's not."^[47] Steele later issued another statement to say that Limbaugh "is a national conservative leader, and in no way do I want to diminish his voice. I truly apologize."^[48]

Fire Pelosi Bus Tour[link]

In the fall of 2010, Steele launched the "Fire Pelosi Bus Tour,"^[49] with the focus of taking over the United States House of Representatives, and thus "firing" Speaker Pelosi from her position as Speaker of the House of Representatives.^[50] The tour began on September 15 and lasted 6 weeks, visiting 48 states in the Continental U.S., with stops in more than 100 cities while covering 14,000 miles.^{[51][52][53][54]} The tours purpose was to "encourage votes for Republicans in districts across the nation."^[55] The stops in individual districts gave Steele, "known for his bomb-throwing speaking style," an opportunity to fire up local GOP activists.^[56] During the tour, "Steele urged party unity" as the Republicans attempted to take over the House of Representatives and end Representative Pelosi's term as Speaker of the House.^[57]

2011 election[link]

The 2011 Republican National Committee (RNC) chairmanship election was held on January 14, 2011, to determine the next chairman of the RNC, who will serve a two-year term ending in 2013 and will lead the party through the 2012 general elections. After seven rounds of balloting, Reince Priebus was elected chairman over incumbent chair Michael Steele, Saul Anuzis, Ann Wagner and Maria Cino.^[58]

     Candidate won majority of votes in the round

     Candidate secured a plurality of votes in the round

     Candidate withdrew

Political positions[link]

[edit] Right Now

Steele's book, Right Now: A 12-Step Program for Defeating the Obama Agenda, was released on January 4, 2010;^[59] it was published by Regnery Publishing, ISBN 978-1-59698-108-9.^[59] The Associated Press reported that, "Steele focuses much of the book on familiar GOP denunciations of President Barack Obama's overall policies (a roadmap to failure), the $787 billion stimulus bill (a reckless, wasteful, pork-laden spending spree), liberal views on manmade global warming (A threat to life on Earth? Depends on whom you ask) and other issues. To regain the public confidence, Steele says the GOP should, among other things, expose the reign of error inherent in liberal policies, contrast conservative and liberal principles, and highlight the damage caused by Obama's policies while explaining conservative solutions."^[60]

Notes[link]

References[link]

• Green, Andrew A. (April 18, 2005). "Steele attracts strong support in Senate race". The Baltimore Sun. 
• Milbank, Diana (July 26, 2006). "For One Senate Candidate, the 'R' Is a 'Scarlet Letter". Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/24/AR2006072400953.html. 
• Mosk, Matthew (March 28, 2005). "With Sarbanes Retiring, Senate Interest Simmers". Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/03/27/AR2005032700822_pf.html. 
• Mosk, Matthew (July 11, 2006). "Steele's Web Site Parades Democrats: Hoyer Wants Photo Removed; Mfume Also Pictured". Washington Post: p. B05. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/10/AR2006071001222_pf.html. 
• Nitkin, David (July 17, 2005). "Steele calls on club to admit blacks". Baltimore Sun. 
• "Michael Steele Joins Presidential Delegation In Rome" (Reprinted by the Hedgehog Report). Baltimore Sun. April 23, 2005. http://www.hedgehogreport.com/?m=200504&paged=2. 
• State of Maryland Office of Minority Affairs, MBE Commission, Feb. 27, 2004
• "State Party Biography of Lt. Governor Michael S. Steele". Maryland Republican Party. http://www.mdgop.org/site/pp.asp?c=6oIKKZMFF&b=186416. 
• Stratton, LaShell (April 7, 2003). "Mr. Steele goes to Annapolis: A D.C. kid really can grow up to be lieutenant governor". The Common Denominator. http://www.thecommondenominator.com/040703_news1.html. 
• "The Honorable Michael Steele (biographical summary)" (PDF). The Public Forum Institute. http://www.publicforuminstitute.org/activities/2003/dc2/msteele.pdf. 

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Michael Steele

• Chairman Steele official blog at the Republican National Committee site
• Biography at WhoRunsGov.com at The Washington Post
• Issue positions and quotes at On the Issues
• Campaign finance reports and data at the Federal Election Commission
• Campaign contributions at the National Institute for Money in State Politics
• Appearances on C-SPAN programs
• Collected news and commentary at The New York Times
• Works by or about Michael Steele in libraries (WorldCat catalog)

Interviews and statements

• Interview with The Daily Show's Jon Stewart, February 1, 2011
• Q&A Interview with C-SPAN's Brian Lamb, February 27, 2005
• Interview with Michael Steele on Fox News with Chris Wallace, December 22, 2009
• Interview with Michael Steele by The American View, audio
• Michael Steele's Blueprint for Tomorrow
• GOP's Steele Tells Party To Look Forward, Not Backward by Michael Steele

Articles

• 10 Things You Didn't Know About Michael Steele from U.S. News and World Report, April 7, 2008

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Asian Americans are Americans of Asian descent. The U.S. Census Bureau definition of Asians refers to a person having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, or the Indian subcontinent. It includes people who indicated their race(s) as "Asian" or reported entries such as "Asian Indian," "Chinese," "Filipino," "Korean," "Japanese," "Vietnamese," and "Other Asian" or provided other detailed Asian responses. They comprise 4.8% of the U.S. population alone, while people who are Asian combined with at least one other race make up 5.6%.^[1]

The term Asian American was used informally by activists in the 1960s who sought an alternative to the term Oriental, arguing that the latter was derogatory and colonialist. Formal usage was introduced by academics in the early 1970s, notably by historian Yuji Ichioka, who is credited with popularizing the term.^[3] Today, Asian American is the accepted term for most formal purposes, such as government and academic research, although it is often shortened to Asian in common usage.

As with other racial and ethnicity based terms, formal and common usage have changed markedly through the short history of this term. The most significant change occurred when the Hart-Celler Act of 1965 eliminated highly restrictive "national origins" quotas, designed, among other things, to restrict immigration of those of Asian racial background.^[4] The new system, based on skills and family connections to U.S. residents, enabled significant immigration from every nation in Asia, which led to dramatic and ongoing changes in the Asian American population. As a result of these population changes, the formal and common understandings of what defines Asian American have expanded to include more of the peoples with ancestry from various parts of Asia. Because of their more recent immigration, new Asian immigrants also have had different educational, economic and other characteristics than early 20th century immigrants. They also tend to have different employment and settlement patterns in the United States.

As of 2008^[update], Asian Americans had the highest educational attainment level and median household income of any racial demographic in the country, and they attained the highest median personal income overall.^[5][6]

Terminology[link]

The most commonly used definition of Asian American is the US Census Bureau definition of Asian,^[7] chiefly because the Census definitions determine many government classifications, notably for equal opportunity programs and measurements. People with origins in the Far East, Southeast Asia and the Indian Subcontinent are included in the Census definition of Asia.^[8] The use of a separate "Asian" category in the Census is a recent addition, beginning in 1990. Since then, the Census definitions have varied. The 2000 census divided the Asian-Pacific Islander group and created Pacific Islander ethnicities as a separate category.

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, "Asian person" in the United States is sometimes thought of as a person of East Asian descent.^[9][10] In vernacular usage, "Asian" is often used to refer to those of East Asian descent or anyone else of Asian descent with epicanthic eyefolds.^[11][12] This differs from the U.S. Census definition^[7][13] and the Asian American Studies departments of many universities consider those of East, South or Southeast Asian descent with or without epicanthic eyefolds to be "Asian".^{[14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21]} In the US Census, people who originate from the original peoples of the East Asia, South Asia, and Southeast Asia are classified as part of the Asian race; while peoples from Siberia, Central Asia, and Western Asia are classified as "White".^[22]

Before 1980, Census forms listed particular Asian ancestries as separate groups, along with White and Black or Negro.^[23] Asian Americans had also been classified as "other".^[24] In 1977, the federal Office of Management and Budget issued a directive requiring government agencies to maintain statistics on racial groups, including on "Asian or Pacific Islander".^[25] The 1980 census marked the first classification of Asians as a large group, combining several individual ancestry groups into "Asian or Pacific Islander." By the 1990 census, Asian or Pacific Islander (API) was included as an explicit category, although respondents had to select one particular ancestry.^[26][27] In the 2000 census, people reporting Middle Eastern ancestry but not reporting race are presumed to be in the white race category rather than Asian.^[8]

The definition of Asian American has variations that derive from the use of the word American in different contexts. Immigration status, citizenship (by birthright and by naturalization), acculturation, and language ability are some variables that are used to define American for various purposes and may vary in formal and everyday usage.^[28] For example, restricting American to include only U.S. citizens conflicts with discussions of Asian American businesses, which generally refer both to citizen and non-citizen owners.^[29]

In a recent PBS interview, a panel of Asian American writers discussed how some groups include people from the Middle East in the Asian American category.^[30] Asian American author Stewart Ikeda has noted, "The definition of "Asian American" also frequently depends on who's asking, who's defining, in what context, and why... the possible definitions of "Asian-Pacific American" are many, complex, and shifting... some scholars in Asian American Studies conferences suggest that Russians, Iranians, and Israelis all might fit the field’s subject of study."^[31]

Demographics[link]

The demographics of Asian Americans describe a heterogeneous group of people in the United States who can trace their ancestry to one or more countries in Asia. Because Asian Americans total less than 6% of the entire U.S. population, the diversity of the group is often disregarded in media and news discussions of "Asians" or of "Asian Americans." While there are some commonalities across ethnic sub-groups, there are significant differences among different Asian ethnicities that are related to each group's history.

History[link]

In 1763, Filipinos established the small settlement of Saint Malo, Louisiana, after fleeing mistreatment aboard Spanish ships.^[32] Since there were no Filipino women with them, the Manilamen, as they were known, married Cajun and Native American women.^[33]

Chinese sailors first came to Hawaii in 1778,^[34][35] the same year that Captain James Cook came upon the island. Many settled and married Hawaiian women. Some Island-born Chinese can claim to be 7th generation. Most Chinese, Korean and Japanese immigrants in Hawaii arrived in the 19th century as laborers to work on sugar plantations. Later, Filipinos also came to work as laborers, attracted by the job opportunities, although they were limited.^[36][37]

Numerous Chinese and Japanese began immigrating to the U.S. in the mid-19th century for work, because of poor economic conditions in their home nations. Many of the immigrants worked as laborers on the transcontinental railroad. Although the absolute numbers of Asian immigrants in the late 19th century were small compared to that of immigrants from other regions, much of it was concentrated in the West, and the increase caused some Americans to fear the change represented by the growing number of Asians. This fear was referred to as the "yellow peril". The United States passed laws such as Asian Exclusion Act and Chinese Exclusion Act to sharply restrict Asian immigration.^[38]

Immigration trends[link]

Filipinos have been in the territories that would become the United States since the 16th century.^[39]

There were thousands of Asians in Hawaii when it was annexed to the United States in 1898, and they all gained full US citizenship at that time.^[40] The United States Supreme Court in United States v. Wong Kim Ark (1898) interpreted the 14th amendment to mean that every person born in the United States, regardless of race or ancestry is a citizen of the United States.^[41]

Congress passed restrictive legislation to nearly all Chinese immigration in the 1880s, which was in effect until the 1940s.^[42] Japanese immigration was sharply curtailed by a gentleman's agreement brokered by President Theodore Roosevelt. The immigration restriction laws of the 1920s produced quotas for all countries, with Asian countries getting a zero quota.^[43]

After World War II legislation was passed, and judicial rulings gradually increased the ability of Asian Americans to immigrate and become naturalized citizens. Immigration rapidly increased following the enactment of the Immigration and Nationality Act Amendments of 1965 as well as naturalization of refugees from conflicts that occurred in the late 20th century in Southeast Asia. Asian American immigrants have a significant percentage of individuals who have already achieved professional status, a first among immigration groups.^[44]

Notable contributions[link]

Arts and entertainment[link]

Asian Americans have been involved in the entertainment industry since the first half of the 19th century, when Chang and Eng Bunker (the original "Siamese Twins") became naturalized citizens.^[45] Acting roles in television, film, and theater were relatively few, and many available roles were for narrow, stereotypical characters. More recently, young Asian American comedians and film-makers have found an outlet on Youtube allowing them to gain a strong and loyal fanbase among their fellow Asian Americans.

Business[link]

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Co-founder of Yahoo! Jerry Yang

When Asian Americans were largely excluded from labor markets in the 19th century, they started their own businesses. They have started convenience and grocery stores, professional offices such as medical and law practices, laundries, restaurants, beauty-related ventures, hi-tech companies, and many other kinds of enterprises, becoming very successful and influential in American society. They have dramatically expanded their involvement across the American economy. Asian Americans have been disproportionately successful in the hi-tech sectors of California's Silicon Valley, as evidenced by the Goldsea 100 Compilation of America's Most Successful Asian Entrepreneurs.^[46]

Compared to their population base, Asian Americans today are well represented in the professional sector and tend to earn higher wages.^[47] The Goldsea compilation of Notable Asian American Professionals show that many have come to occupy high positions at leading U.S. corporations, including a surprising number as Chief Marketing Officers.^[48]

Asian Americans have made major contributions to the American economy. Fashion designer and mogul Vera Wang, who is famous for designing dresses for high-profile celebrities, started a clothing company, named after herself, which now offers a broad range of luxury fashion products. An Wang founded Wang Laboratories in June 1951. Amar Bose founded the Bose Corporation in 1964. Charles Wang founded Computer Associates, later became its CEO and chairman. Jen-Hsun Huang co-founded the NVIDIA corporation in 1993. Jerry Yang co-founded Yahoo! Inc. in 1994 and became its CEO later. Andrea Jung serves as Chairman and CEO of Avon Products. Vinod Khosla was a founding CEO of Sun Microsystems and is a general partner of the prominent venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers. Steve Chen and Jawed Karim were co-creators of YouTube, and were beneficiaries of Google's $1.65 billion acquisition of that company in 2006. In addition to contributing greatly to other fields, Asian Americans have made considerable contributions in science and technology in the United States, in such prominent innovative R&D regions as Silicon Valley and The Triangle.

Government and politics[link]

Daniel Inouye's Official Photo in 2009.

Asian Americans have a high level of political incorporation in terms of their actual voting population. Since 1907, Asian Americans have been active at the national level and have had multiple officeholders at local, state and national levels. As of February 2011^[update] the highest ranking Asian American is Senator and President Pro Tempore Daniel Inouye.

Journalism[link]

Connie Chung, First Asian American national news anchor.

Connie Chung was one of the first Asian American national correspondents for a major TV news network, reporting for CBS in 1971. She later co-anchored the CBS Evening News from 1993 to 1995, becoming the first Asian American national news anchor.^[49] At ABC, Ken Kashiwahara began reporting nationally in 1974. In 1990, Sheryl WuDunn, a foreign correspondent in the Beijing Bureau of The New York Times, became the first Asian American to win a Pulitzer Prize. Ann Curry joined NBC News as a reporter in 1990, later becoming prominently associated with The Today Show in 1997. Carol Lin is perhaps best known for being the first to break the news of 9-11 on CNN. Dr. Sanjay Gupta is currently CNN's chief health correspondent. Lisa Ling, a former co-host on The View, now provides special reports for CNN and The Oprah Winfrey Show, as well as hosting National Geographic Channel's Explorer. Fareed Zakaria, a naturalised Indian-born immigrant, is a prominent journalist, and author specialising in international affairs. He is the editor-at-large of Time magazine, and the host of Fareed Zakaria GPS on CNN. Juju Chang, James Hatori, John Yang, Veronica De La Cruz, Michelle Malkin, Betty Nguyen, and Julie Chen have become familiar faces on television news. John Yang won a Peabody Award. Alex Tizon, a Seattle Times staff writer, won a Pulitzer Prize in 1997.

Military[link]

Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric Shinseki; previously, as the 4-star Chief of Staff of the United States Army, Shinseki became the highest ranked Asian American ever in the military.

Since the War of 1812 Asian Americans have served and fought on behalf of the United States. Serving in both segregated and non-segregated units until the desegregation of the US Military in 1948, 31 have been awarded the nation's highest award for combat valor, the Medal of Honor. Twenty-one of these were conferred upon members of the mostly Japanese American 100th Infantry Battalion of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team of World War II, the most highly decorated unit of its size in the history of the United States Armed Forces.^[50]

Science and technology[link]

Asian Americans have made many prominent and notable contributions to Science and Technology. Chien-Shiung Wu was known to many scientists as the "First Lady of Physics" and played a pivotal role in experimentally demonstrating the violation of the law of conservation of parity in the field of particle physics. Tsung-Dao Lee and Chen Ning Yang received the 1957 Nobel Prize in Physics for theoretical work demonstrating that the conservation of parity did not always hold and later became American citizens. Har Gobind Khorana shared the 1968 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his work in genetics and protein synthesis. Samuel Chao Chung Ting received the 1976 Nobel Prize in physics for discovery of the subatomic particle J/ψ. The mathematician Shing-Tung Yau won the Fields Medal in 1982 and Terence Tao won the Fields Medal in 2006. The geometer Shiing-Shen Chern received the Wolf Prize in Mathematics in 1983. Andrew Yao was awarded the Turing Award in 2000. Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar shared the 1983 Nobel Prize in Physics and had the Chandra X-ray Observatory named after him. In 1984, Dr. David D. Ho first reported the "healthy carrier state" of HIV infection, which identified HIV-positive individuals who showed no physical signs of AIDS. Charles J. Pedersen shared the 1987 Nobel Prize in chemistry for his methods of synthesizing crown ethers. Steven Chu shared the 1997 Nobel Prize in Physics for his research in cooling and trapping atoms using laser light. Daniel Tsui shared the 1998 Nobel Prize in Physics in 1998 for helping discover the fractional Quantum Hall effect. In 2008, biochemist Roger Tsien won the Nobel in Chemistry for his work on engineering and improving the green fluorescent protein (GFP) that has become a standard tool of modern molecular biology and biochemistry. Yoichiro Nambu received the 2008 Nobel Prize in Physics for his work on the consequences of spontaneously broken symmetries in field theories. In 2009, Charles K. Kao was awarded Nobel Prize in Physics "for groundbreaking achievements concerning the transmission of light in fibres for optical communication" and Venkatraman Ramakrishnan won the prize in Chemistry "for studies of the structure and function of the ribosome". Ching W. Tang was the inventor of the Organic light-emitting diode and Organic solar cell and was awarded the 2011 Wolf Prize in Chemistry for this achievement. Min Chueh Chang was the co-inventor of the combined oral contraceptive pill and contributed significantly to the development of in vitro fertilisation at the Worcester Foundation for Experimental Biology. Michio Kaku has popularized science and has appeared on multiple programs on television and radio.

Space[link]

Lieutenant Colonel Ellison Onizuka, the first Asian American, and third Asian, in space.

This section requires expansion with: examples and additional citations.

LTC Ellison Onizuka became the first Asian American (and third person of Asian descent) when he made his first space flight aboard STS-51-C in 1985. Onizuka later died aboard the Space Shuttle Challenger in 1986. Taylor Gun-Jin Wang became the first person of Chinese ethnicity and first Chinese American, in space in 1985; he has since been followed by Leroy Chiao in 1994, and Ed Lu in 1997. In 1986, Franklin Chang-Diaz became the first Asian Latin American in space. Eugene H. Trinh became the first Vietnamese American in space in 1992. In 2001, Mark L. Polansky, a Jewish Korean American, made his first of three flights into space. In 2003, Kalpana Chawla became the first Indian American in space, but died aboard the ill fated Space Shuttle Columbia. She has since been followed by CDR Sunita Williams in 2006.

Sports[link]

Basketball[link]

Basketball player Jeremy Lin

Wataru Misaka broke the NBA color barrier when he played for the New York Knicks in the 1947–48 season.^[51] The next Asian American NBA player was Raymond Townsend, who played for the Golden State Warriors and Indiana Pacers from 1978 to 1982.^[51] Rex Walters, played from 1993 to 2000 with the Nets, Philadelphia 76ers and Miami Heat;^[51] he is presently the head coach for the University of San Francisco basketball team.^[52] After playing basketball at Harvard University, point guard Jeremy Lin signed with the NBA's Golden State Warriors in 2010^[51] and now plays for the New York Knicks.