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The Republican National Coalition for Life (RNCL), often stylized as RNC/Life, is an organization formed to maintain the commitment of the Republican Party of the United States to pro-life principles. Its current executive director is Colleen Parro.

History[link]

RNC/Life was founded by Phyllis Schlafly in the autumn of 1990 after two groups, Republicans for Choice and National Republican Coalition for Choice, publicly announced their intention to provoke a floor fight at the 1992 Republican National Convention in Houston, Texas in order to remove the pro-life plank from the convention platform.

The Republican Party has been the pro-life national political party since a resolution in support of efforts to secure a Human Life Amendment to the United States Constitution was adopted at the 1976 Republican National Convention, following the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision.

Mission statement[link]

RNC/Life will continue to work to protect and defend the Republican Party's principled commitment to legal protection for all innocent human beings, from conception until natural death.

In addition, we will work to hold Republican lawmakers accountable to the pro-life principles in our platform. It is our desire to see those principles translated into public policy and law. Further, we encourage Republican Party officials to enthusiastically support pro-life candidates and policies consistent with our platform.

External links[link]

• Official website

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	link

For Life is the second album by Soul for Real, released on September 24, 1996.

Track listing[link]

1. Stay
2. Never Felt This Way
3. You Just Don't Know
4. Love You So
5. Let's Stay Together
6. Good to You
7. Being With You
8. Leavin'
9. Where Do We Go
10. I'm Coming Home
11. Your Love Is Calling
12. I Don't Wanna Say Goodbye
13. Can't You Tell (Acapella)

Singles[link]

• Never Felt This Way
• Love You So

This 1990s R&B/soul album-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v t e

It has been suggested that Phyllis Schlafly's social policies be merged into this article or section. (Discuss) Proposed since January 2012.

Phyllis Schlafly
Phyllis Schlafly in 2011
Born	Phyllis McAlpin Stewart (1924-08-15) August 15, 1924 (age 87) St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.[1]
Occupation	Political activist
Religion	Roman Catholic[citation needed]
Spouse	John Fred Schlafly Jr. (deceased)
Children	John, Bruce, Roger, Liza, Andrew, Anne

Phyllis McAlpin Stewart Schlafly ( /ˈfɪlɨs ˈʃlæfli/; born August 15, 1924) is a Constitutional lawyer, American politically conservative activist and author who founded the Eagle Forum. She is known for her opposition to modern feminism and for her campaign against the proposed Equal Rights Amendment. Her self-published book, A Choice, Not An Echo, was published in 1964 from her home in Alton, Illinois, across the Mississippi River from her native St. Louis. She formed Pere Marquette Publishers company. She has co-authored books on national defense and was highly critical of arms-control agreements with the former Soviet Union.^[2]

Schlafly founded the Eagle Forum in the 1970s and the Eagle Forum Education & Legal Defense Fund, St. Louis. As of 2012^[update], she is still the president of the organizations, and also has a presence on the lecture circuit. Since 1967, she has published a newsletter, the Phyllis Schlafly Report.

Family[link]

Schlafly's great-grandfather Stewart, a Presbyterian, came from Scotland to New York in 1851 and moved westward through Canada before settling in Michigan.^[3] Her grandfather, Andrew F. Stewart, was a master mechanic with the Chesapeake & Ohio Railway.^[4] Schlafly's father, John Bruce Stewart, was a machinist and salesman of industrial equipment, principally for Westinghouse. He became unemployed in 1932 during the Great Depression and could not find permanent work until World War II.^[5] He was granted a patent in 1944 for a rotary engine.^[6]

Schlafly's mother was the daughter of attorney Ernest C. Dodge. She attended college through graduate school and worked as a teacher at Hosmer Hall private school for girls in St. Louis.^[7] With her father’s legal business suffering during the Great Depression and her husband out of work, she worked as a librarian and a school teacher to support her family.

Phyllis Schlafly's son Andrew became a lawyer and founded the website Conservapedia.

Phyllis' husband, attorney John Fred Schlafly, Jr., came from a well-to-do St. Louis family. His grandfather, August, immigrated in 1854 from Switzerland. In 1876, his older brother married Catharine Hubert, the daughter of a local businessman.^[8] Shortly thereafter, the three brothers founded the firm of Schlafly Bros., which dealt in groceries, Queensware (dishes made by Wedgwood), hardware, and agricultural implements.^[9] They later sold that business and concentrated on banking and other businesses that made them wealthy.^[6]

On October 20, 1949, Phyllis married lawyer John Fred Schlafly, Jr. and remained married until he died in 1993. They moved to Alton, Illinois and had six children: John, Bruce, Roger, Liza, Andrew, and Anne.^[10] In 1992, their eldest son, John, was outed as gay by Queer Week magazine.^[11][12] Schlafly acknowledged that John is gay, but stated that he embraces his mother's views.^[11][13] Their son Andrew founded Conservapedia, a conservative open-source encyclopedia, after voicing concerns that Wikipedia had a liberal bias.^[14] She is the aunt of St. Louis brewery owner Thomas Schlafly. ^[15]

Early life[link]

Schlafly was christened Phyllis McAlpin Stewart and brought up as a Roman Catholic in St. Louis, Missouri, where she was born. According to one report, during the Depression, Schlafly's father went into long-term unemployment, and her mother entered the labor market. Mrs. Stewart was able to keep the family afloat and maintained Phyllis in a Catholic girls' school.^[16]

Schlafly began college early and worked as a model for a time. She earned her A.B. Phi Beta Kappa from Washington University, in St. Louis in 1944. She received a Master of Arts degree in Government from Radcliffe College in Cambridge, Massachusetts in 1945. In one of her books, Strike From Space (1965), Schlafly notes that during WWII she worked briefly as "a ballistics gunner and technician at the largest ammunition plant in the world." In 1978, she earned a J.D. from Washington University Law School in St. Louis.^[5]

Activism and political efforts[link]

Among Schlafly's early experiences in politics was working in the successful 1946 campaign of U.S. Representative Claude I. Bakewell.

In 1946, Schlafly became a researcher for the American Enterprise Institute and worked in the successful United States House of Representatives campaign of Claude I. Bakewell.^[17]

In 1952, Schlafly ran for Congress as a Republican in the majority Democratic 24th congressional district of Illinois but lost to Democrat Charles Melvin Price.^[18] Schlafly's campaign was low-budget and promoted heavily through the local print media, and local entrepreneurs John M. and Spencer Olin as well as Texas oil billionaire H. L. Hunt donated to her campaign.^[19] She also attended her first Republican National Convention that year and continued to attend each following convention.^[11] As part of the Illinois delegation of the 1952 Republican convention, Schlafly endorsed Robert Taft to be the party nominee for the presidential election.^[20] At the 1960 Republican National Convention, Schlafly helped lead a revolt of "moral conservatives" against Richard Nixon's stance (as the New York Times puts it) "against segregation and discrimination."^[21]

She came to national attention when millions of copies of her self-published book, A Choice, Not an Echo, were distributed in support of Goldwater's 1964 presidential campaign. In it, Schlafly denounced the Rockefeller Republicans in the Northeast, accusing them of corruption and globalism. Critics called the book a conspiracy theory about "secret kingmakers" controlling the Republican Party.^[22]

In 1967, Schlafly lost a bid for the presidency of the National Federation of Republican Women against the more moderate candidate Gladys O'Donnell of California. Outgoing NFRW president and future United States Treasurer Dorothy Elston of Delaware worked against Schlafly in the campaign.^[23][24]

Schlafly joined the John Birch Society, but quit because she thought that the main Communist threats to the nation were external rather than internal. In 1970, she ran unsuccessfully for a House of Representatives seat in Illinois against Democratic incumbent George E. Shipley.

Opposition to an Equal Rights Amendment[link]

Symbol used on signs and buttons of ERA opponents

Schlafly became an outspoken opponent of the Equal Rights Amendment during the 1970s as the organizer of the "STOP ERA" campaign. STOP is an acronym for "Stop Taking Our Privileges." Schlafly argued that the ERA would take away gender specific privileges currently enjoyed by women, including "dependent wife" benefits under Social Security and the exemption from Selective Service registration.^[25]

In 1972, when Schlafly began her efforts against the Equal Rights Amendment, it had already been ratified by 28 of the necessary 38 states. She organized a campaign to oppose further ratification. Five more states ratified ERA after Schlafly began her opposition campaign; however, five states rescinded their ratifications. The last state to ratify was Indiana, where then State Senator Wayne Townsend cast the tie-breaking vote for ratification in January 1977. Schlafly argued that "the ERA would lead to women being drafted by the military and to public unisex bathrooms."^[26] She was opposed by groups such as, National Organization for Women (NOW) and the ERAmerica coalition.^[27] To counter Schlafly's Stop ERA campaign, the Homemakers' Equal Rights Association was formed.^[28]

The Equal Rights Amendment was narrowly defeated, despite having achieved ratification in 35 of the 38 states needed.^[5]

Critics of Schlafly have emphasized an apparent contradiction between her advocacy against equal rights and her role as a working professional. Gloria Steinem and author Pia de Solenni, among others, have noted what they consider irony in Schlafly's role as an advocate for the full-time mother and wife, while being herself a lawyer, editor of a monthly newsletter, regular speaker at anti-liberal rallies, and political activist.^[23][29][30] In her review of Schlafly's Feminist Fantasies, de Solenni writes that "Schlafly's discussion reveals a paradox. She was able to have it all: family and career. And she did it by fighting those who said they were trying to get it all for her.…Happiness resulted from being a wife and mother and working with her husband to reach their goals," not in helping other women and families reach their own.

Broadcast media[link]

In broadcast media, Schlafly provided commentaries on WBBM radio from 1973 to 1975, the CBS Morning News from 1974 to 1975, and then on CNN from 1980 to 1983. Then in 1983, Schlafly began creating daily 3-minute commentaries for radio and in 1989 began hosting a weekly radio talk show, Eagle Forum Live.^[31]

Viewpoints[link]

Women's issues[link]

Schlafly told Time magazine in 1978, "I have cancelled speeches whenever my husband thought that I had been away from home too much."^[32]

In March 2007, Schlafly said in a speech at Bates College, "By getting married, the woman has consented to sex, and I don't think you can call it rape."^[33]

On March 30, 2006, Schlafly provided an interview for The New York Times in which she attributed improvement in women's lives during the last decades of the 20th century to labor-saving devices such as the indoor clothes dryer and paper diapers.^[34]

She has called Roe v. Wade "the worst decision in the history of the U.S. Supreme Court" and said that it "is responsible for the killing of millions of unborn babies".^[35]

According to an article in the March 28, 2007 edition of the Washington Post, "New Drive Afoot to Pass Equal Rights Amendment," Schlafly was then working towards the defeat of a new version of the Equal Rights Amendment: "Today, she warns lawmakers that its passage would compel courts to approve same-sex marriages and deny Social Security benefits for housewives and widows."^[26]

United Nations and international relations[link]

In college in 1945, Schlafly applauded the establishment of the United Nations. Over the years, however, she has disdained the UN. On the 50th anniversary of the United Nations in 1995, Schlafly referred to "a cause for mourning, not celebration. It is a monument to foolish hopes, embarrassing compromises, betrayal of our servicemen, and a steady stream of insults to our nation. It is a Trojan Horse that carries the enemy into our midst and lures Americans to ride under alien insignia to fight and die in faraway lands." She opposed U.S. President Bill Clinton's decision in 1996 to send 20,000 American troops to Bosnia. Schlafly noted that Balkan nations have fought one another for 500 years and that the U.S. military should not be "policemen" of world trouble spots.^[36]

Prior to the 1994 Congressional elections, Schlafly condemned globalization through the World Trade Organization as a "direct attack on American sovereignty, independence, jobs, and economy . . . any country that must change its laws to obey rulings of a world organization has sacrificed its sovereignty."^[37]

In late 2006, Schlafly collaborated with Jerome Corsi and Howard Phillips to create a website in opposition to the idea of a "North American Union", under which the United States, Mexico, and Canada would share a currency and be integrated in a structure similar to the European Union.^[38]

In 1961, Schlafly wrote that "[arms control] will not stop Red aggression any more than disarming our local police will stop murder, theft, and rape."^[39]

Judicial system[link]

Schlafly has been an outspoken critic of what she terms "activist judges", particularly on the Supreme Court. In 2005, Schlafly made headlines at a conference for the Judeo-Christian Council for Constitutional Restoration by suggesting that "Congress ought to talk about impeachment" of Justice Anthony Kennedy, citing as specific grounds Justice Kennedy's deciding vote to abolish the death penalty for minors.^[40] In April 2010, shortly after John Paul Stevens announced his retirement as an associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, Schlafly called for the appointment of a military veteran to the Court, since Stevens had been a veteran and, with his retirement, the court was "at risk of being left without a single military veteran."^[41]

Presidential elections[link]

Schlafly did not endorse a candidate for the 2008 Republican presidential nomination, but she has spoken out against Mike Huckabee, who, she says, as governor left the Republican Party in Arkansas "in shambles". She has hosted at the Eagle Forum U.S. Representative Tom Tancredo of Colorado, known for his opposition to illegal immigration. Before his election she criticised Barack Obama as "an elitist who worked with words".^[42] She later said in an interview: "Well, I'm a Republican, I'm supporting McCain". When asked about criticism of John McCain from Rush Limbaugh, she said: "Well, there are problems, we are trying to teach him".^[43]

Schlafly endorsed Michele Bachmann in December 2011 for the Iowa primary of the 2012 Republican presidential primaries, citing Bachmann's work against "ObamaCare" and deficit spending and her (Bachmann's) support of "traditional values."^[44]

On February 3 Schlafly announced that she would be voting for Rick Santorum in the upcoming Missouri Republican primary.^[45]

Same-sex marriage[link]

Schlafly opposes same sex marriage and civil unions: "[a]ttacks on the definition of marriage as the union of one man and one woman come from the gay lobby seeking social recognition of their lifestyle."^[46] Linking the Equal Rights Amendment to LGBT rights and same-sex marriage played a role in Schlafly's opposition to the ERA.^[47][48]

Honorary degree and protests[link]

On May 1, 2008, the Board of Trustees of Washington University in St. Louis announced that Schlafly would be presented an honorary degree at the school's 2008 commencement ceremony. This was immediately met with objection by some students and faculty at the university who accused her of being anti-feminist and criticized her work on defeating the equal rights amendment.^[49] Fourteen university law professors wrote in a complaint letter that Schlafly's career demonstrated "anti-intellectualism in pursuit of a political agenda."^[50] While the Board of Trustees' honorary degree committee approved the honorees unanimously, five student members of the committee wrote to complain that they had to vote on the five honorees as a slate, in the final stage of the voting and feel the selection of Schlafly was a mistake.^[51][52] Katha Pollitt of The Nation magazine criticized the decision, decrying Schlafly as a "promoter of innumerable crackpot far-right conspiracy theories" and an opponent of women's rights.^[53]

In the days leading up to the commencement ceremony, Washington University Chancellor Mark S. Wrighton explained the university’s Board of Trustees' decision to award Schlafly’s degree with the following statement:

At the May 16, 2008, commencement ceremony, Schlafly was awarded a Doctor of Humane Letters degree. A protest to rescind Schlafly's honorary degree received support from faculty and students. During the ceremony, hundreds of the 14,000 attendees, including one third of the graduating students and some faculty, silently stood and turned their backs to Schlafly in protest.^[55] In the days leading up to the commencement there were several protests regarding her degree award; Schlafly described these protesters as "a bunch of losers."^[49] In addition, she stated after the ceremony that the protesters were "juvenile" and that, "I'm not sure they're mature enough to graduate."^[55] As planned, Schlafly did not give any speech during the commencement ceremony, nor did any of the other honorees except for commencement speaker Chris Matthews.^[56]

Published Works[link]

Schlafly is the author of 21 books on subjects ranging from child care to phonics education. She writes a syndicated weekly newspaper column.^[57]

Schlafly's published works include:

• Judicial Tyranny: The New Kings of America? - contributing author (Amerisearch, 2005) ISBN 0-9753455-6-7
• The Supremacists: The Tyranny Of Judges And How To Stop It (Spence Publishing Company, 2004) ISBN 1-890626-55-4
• Feminist Fantasies, foreword by Ann Coulter (Spence Publishing Company, 2003) ISBN 1-890626-46-5
• Turbo Reader (Pere Marquette Press, 2001) ISBN 0-934640-16-5
• First Reader (Pere Marquette Press, 1994) ISBN 0-934640-24-6
• Pornography's Victims (Crossway Books, 1987) ISBN 0-89107-423-6
• Child Abuse in the Classroom (Crossway Books, 1984) ISBN 0-89107-365-5
• Equal Pay for UNequal Work (Eagle Forum, 1984) ISBN 99950-3-143-4
• The End of an Era (Regnery Publishing, 1982) ISBN 0-89526-659-8
• The Power of the Christian Woman (Standard Pub, 1981) ISBN B0006E4X12
• The Power of the Positive Woman (Crown Pub, 1977) ISBN 0-87000-373-9
• Ambush at Vladivostok, with Chester Ward (Pere Marquette Press, 1976) ISBN 0-934640-00-9
• Kissinger on the Couch (Arlington House Publishers, 1974) ISBN 0-87000-216-3
• Mindszenty the Man (with Josef Vecsey) (Cardinal Mindszenty Foundation, 1972) ISBN B00005WGD6
• The Betrayers (Pere Marquette Press, 1968) ISBN B0006CY0CQ
• Safe Not Sorry (Pere Marquette Press, 1967) ISBN 0-934640-06-8
• Strike From Space: A Megadeath Mystery (Pere Marquette Press, 1965) ISBN 80-7507-634-6
• Grave Diggers (with Chester Ward) (Pere Marquette Press, 1964) ISBN 0-934640-03-3
• A Choice Not An Echo (Pere Marquette Press, 1964) ISBN 0-686-11486-8

See also[link]

	Biography portal
	Missouri portal
	Conservatism portal

• Phyllis Schlafly's social policies

Notes[link]

Further reading[link]

• Abraham, Yvonne. "At 80, Schlafly is still a conservative force." Boston Globe: September 2, 2004.
• Critchlow, Donald T. Phyllis Schlafly and Grassroots Conservatism: A Woman's Crusade Princeton University Press, 2005. 422 pp. ISBN 0-691-07002-4.
• Ehrenreich, Barbara. 1983. The Hearts of Men: American Dreams and the Flight from Commitment New York: Anchor Books, an attack from the left
• Farber, David. The Rise and Fall of Modern American Conservatism: A Short History (2010) pp 119–58
• Felsenthal, Carol. The Biography of Phyllis Schlafly: The Sweetheart of the Silent Majority Doubleday & Co., 1981. 337pp. ISBN 0-89526-873-6.
• Hallow, Ralph Z. "Conservatives' first lady sparked pro-family effort." The Washington Times: October 7, 2005.
• Kolbert, Elizabeth. "Firebrand: Phyllis Schlafly and the Conservative Revolution." The New Yorker. Nov 7, 2005. pp. 134.
• Warner, Judith. "She changed America". The New York Times: January 29, 2006.

External links[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Phyllis Schlafly

• Phyllis Schlafly official site
• Eagle Forum official site
• Domestic violence law abuses rights of men - by Phyllis Schlafly
• Phyllis Schlafly speaks about feminism at Mount Holyoke College
• Phyllis Schlafly Collection (1972-1982) in the Western Historical Manuscript Collection, University of Missouri-St. Louis
• In Depth interview with Schlafly, January 5, 2003

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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Eric Cantor
House Majority Leader
Incumbent
Assumed office January 3, 2011
Speaker	John Boehner
Deputy	Kevin McCarthy
Preceded by	Steny Hoyer
House Minority Whip
In office January 3, 2009 – January 3, 2011
Speaker	Nancy Pelosi
Leader	John Boehner
Preceded by	Roy Blunt
Succeeded by	Steny Hoyer
House Chief Deputy Whip
In office January 3, 2003 – January 3, 2009
Whip	Roy Blunt
Preceded by	Roy Blunt
Succeeded by	Kevin McCarthy
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Virginia's 7th district
Incumbent
Assumed office January 3, 2001
Preceded by	Thomas Bliley
Member of the Virginia House of Delegates from the 73rd district
In office January 3, 1992 – January 3, 2001
Preceded by	Walter Stosch
Succeeded by	John O'Bannon
Personal details
Born	Eric Ivan Cantor (1963-06-06) June 6, 1963 (age 49) Richmond, Virginia, United States
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Diana Fine
Alma mater	George Washington University William & Mary Law School Columbia University
Profession	Attorney Real estate executive[1]
Religion	Judaism[2]
Website	Rep. Eric Cantor Eric Cantor Majority Leader

Eric Ivan Cantor (pronounced /ˈkæntɚ/; born June 6, 1963) is the U.S. Representative for Virginia's 7th congressional district, serving since 2001. A member of the Republican Party, he became House Majority Leader when the 112th Congress convened on January 3, 2011. He previously served as House Minority Whip from 2009 to 2011.

His district includes most of the northern and western sections of Richmond, along with most of Richmond's western suburbs and portions of the Shenandoah Valley. Cantor is the only Jewish Republican currently serving in the U.S. Congress, and the highest-ranking Jewish member of Congress in its history.

Early life, education and career[link]

Cantor, the second of three children, was born in Richmond, Virginia, the son of Mary Lee (née Hudes), a schoolteacher, and Eddie Cantor, who owned a real estate firm. His paternal family immigrated from Eastern Europe in the early 1900s and his maternal grandfather was born in Romania.^[3] His father was the state treasurer for Ronald Reagan's 1980 presidential campaign.^[4] Cantor was raised in Conservative Judaism.^[3] He graduated from the Collegiate School in 1981. He enrolled at George Washington University (GW) in 1981, and as a freshman he worked as an intern for House Republican Tom Bliley of Virginia and was Bliley's driver in the 1982 campaign.^[5] Cantor was a member of Phi Sigma Kappa fraternity while at GW and received his Bachelor of Arts in 1985^[6] He earned a Juris Doctor degree from William & Mary Law School in 1988, and received a Master of Science in Real Estate Development from Columbia University in 1989.^[2]

Cantor worked for over a decade with his family's business doing legal work and real estate development.

Virginia House of Delegates[link]

Cantor served in the Virginia House of Delegates from 1992–January 1, 2001.^[2] At various times he was a member of committees on Science and Technology, Corporation Insurance and Banking, General Laws, Courts of Justice, (co-chairman) Claims.^[7][8] Cantor announced on March 14, 2000 that he would seek the seat in the United States House of Representatives that was being vacated by Tom Bliley. Cantor had chaired Bliley's reelection campaigns for the previous six years, and immediately gained the support of Bliley's political organization, as well as Bliley's endorsement later in the primary.^[9]

U.S. House of Representatives[link]

Committee assignments[link]

During his first term, Cantor was Chairman of the Congressional Task Force on Terrorism and Unconventional Warfare. He has also served on the House Financial Services Committee and on the House International Relations Committee and the House Ways and Means Committee.

Party leadership[link]

In 2002–only a few weeks after winning a second term–Roy Blunt appointed Cantor Chief Deputy Republican Whip, the highest appointed position in the Republican caucus.^[10]

Cantor and other House and Senate leaders meeting with President Barack Obama in November 2010.

On November 19, 2008, Cantor was unanimously elected Republican Whip for the 111th Congress, after serving as Deputy Whip for six years under Blunt. Blunt had decided not to seek reelection to the post after Republican losses in the previous two elections. Cantor was the first member of either party from Virginia to hold the position of Party Whip. As Whip, Cantor was the second-ranking House Republican, behind Minority Leader John Boehner. He was charged with coordinating the votes and messages of Republican House members.^[10][11] Cantor became the Majority Leader when the 112th Congress took office on January 3, 2011.^[12] However, he is still second-in-command to Boehner in the House Republican caucus, as by tradition, the Speaker is considered to be the party leader.

Cantor is a member of the Republican Jewish Coalition and the Republican National Committee. He is one of the Republican Party's top fundraisers, having raised over $30 million for the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC).^[13] He is also one of the three founding members of the GOP Young Guns Program. In the fall of 2010, Cantor wrote a New York Times bestselling book, Young Guns: A New Generation of Conservative Leaders, with the other two founding members of Young Guns.^[14] They describe the vision outlined in the book as "a clear agenda based on common sense for the common good." ^[15] Cantor said in 2010 that he worked with the Tea Party movement in his district.^[16]

Campaign office incident[link]

After the passage of the health care reform bill in March 2010, Cantor reported that somebody had shot a bullet through a window of his campaign office in Richmond, Virginia. A spokesman for the Richmond Police later stated that the bullet was not intentionally fired at Cantor's office, saying that it was instead random gunfire, as there were no signs outside the office identifying the office as being Cantor's.^[17] A preliminary investigation indicated that the bullet was fired into the air and hit the office window going down. The bullet landed within a foot of the window.^[18] Cantor responded to this by saying that Democratic leaders in the House should stop "dangerously fanning the flames" by blaming Republicans for threats against House Democrats who voted for the health care legislation.^[19]

Cantor also reported that he had received threatening e-mails related to the passage of the bill, but he declined to hand over copies of the e-mails, saying that doing so would encourage similar activity.^[20]

Political positions[link]

Israel[link]

As of December 2010, Cantor is the only Jewish Republican in the United States Congress.^[2][11][21] He supports strong United States-Israel relations.^[2][6] He cosponsored legislation to cut off all U.S. taxpayer aid to the Palestinian Authority and another bill calling for an end to taxpayer aid to the Palestinians until they stop unauthorized excavations on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem.^[22] Responding to a claim by the State Department that the United States provides no direct aid to the Palestinian Authority, Cantor claimed that United States sends about US$75 million in aid annually to the Palestinian Authority, which is administered by the U.S. Agency for International Development. He opposed a Congressionally approved three-year package of US$400 million in aid for the Palestinian Authority in 2000 and has also introduced legislation to end aid to Palestinians.^[23]

In May 2008, Cantor said that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is not a "constant sore" but rather "a constant reminder of the greatness of America",^[24] and following Barack Obama's election as President in November 2008, Cantor stated that a “stronger U.S.-Israel relationship” remains a top priority for him and that he would be “very outspoken” if Obama "did anything to undermine those ties."^[11][25] Shortly after the 2010 midterm elections, Cantor met privately with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, just before Netanyahu was to meet with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. According to Cantor's office, he "stressed that the new Republican majority will serve as a check on the Administration" and "made clear that the Republican majority understands the special relationship between Israel and the United States."^[26] Cantor was criticized for engaging in foreign policy;^[27] one basis for the criticism was that in 2007, after Nancy Pelosi met with the President of Syria, Cantor himself had raised the possibility "that her recent diplomatic overtures ran afoul of the Logan Act, which makes it a felony for any American 'without authority of the United States' to communicate with a foreign government to influence that government’s behavior on any disputes with the United States."^[28]

Social issues[link]

Cantor opposes public funding of embryonic stem cell research and opposes elective abortion. He is rated 100% by the National Right to Life Committee (NRLC) and 0% by NARAL Pro-Choice America, indicating a pro-life voting record. He is also opposed to same-sex marriage, voting to Constitutionally define marriage as between a male and a female in 2006. In November 2007 he voted against prohibiting job discrimination based on sexual orientation. He also supports making flag burning illegal. The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) rated him 19% in 2006, indicating an anti-affirmative action voting record. He is opposed to Gun Control, voting to ban product misuse lawsuits on gun manufacturers in 2005, and he voted not to require gun registration and trigger-lock laws in the District of Columbia. He has a rating of "A" from the National Rifle Association (NRA).^[29] On Nov. 2, 2010, Cantor told Wolf Blitzer of CNN that he would try to trim the federal deficit by reducing welfare.

Economy, budgeting, and trade[link]

Cantor is a supporter of free trade, voting to promote trade with Peru, Chile, Singapore, and Australia. He also voted for the Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA). He voted against raising the minimum wage to US$ 7.25 in 2007. The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO), the largest federation of trade unions in the United States, rates Cantor 0%, indicating an anti-Union voting record.

In October 2008, Cantor advocated and voted for the TARP program which aided distressed banks.^[30]

On September 29, 2008 Cantor blamed Pelosi for what he felt was the failure of the $700 billion economic bailout bill. He noted that 94 Democrats voted against the measure, as well as 133 Republicans.^[31] Though supporting the Federal bailout of the nation's largest private banks, he referred to Pelosi's proposal to appoint a Car czar to run the U.S. Automobile Industry Bailout as a "bureaucratic" imposition on private business.^[32]

The following February, Cantor led Republicans in the House of Representatives in voting against the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009^[33] and was a prominent spokesman in voicing the many issues he and his fellow Republicans had with the legislation. Cantor voted in favor of a 90% marginal tax rate increase on taxpayer financed bonuses,^[34] despite receiving campaign contributions from TARP recipient Citigroup.^[35]

In his book Young Guns, Cantor summarized Keynesian economics with the following opinion, "The idea is that the government can be counted on to spend more wisely than the people."^[36]

As Majority Leader, Cantor steered the STOCK Act through the House, which requires Congressmen to disclose their stock investments more regularly and in a more transparent manner.^[37] The legislation passed the House in a 417-2 bipartisan vote on February 9, 2012. It was ultimately signed by President Obama on April 4, 2012.^[38]

Cantor has proposed intiatives which purport to help small businesses grow, including a 20 percent tax cut for businesses that employ fewer than 500 people.^[39]

Other foreign affairs[link]

In an article he wrote for the National Review in 2007, he condemned Nancy Pelosi's diplomatic visit to Syria, and her subsequent meeting with President Bashar al-Assad, whom he referred to as a "dictator and terror-sponsor"; saying that if "Speaker Pelosi’s diplomatic foray into Syria weren’t so harmful to U.S. interests in the Middle East, it would have been laughable".^[40]

Political campaigns[link]

Cantor currently represents Virginia's 7th congressional district, which stretches from the western end of Richmond, through its suburbs, and northward to Page, Rappahannock and Culpeper counties. It also includes the towns of Mechanicsville and Laurel. The district is strongly Republican; it has been in Republican hands since 1971 (it was numbered as the 3rd District prior to 1993).^[41]

2000[link]

Cantor was first elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2000, filling the seat from which Tom Bliley was retiring. He defeated the Democratic nominee, by nearly 100,000 votes.^[42] Cantor had won the closely contested Republican primary over state Senator Stephen Martin by only 263 votes. During his first term, he was one of only two Jewish Republicans in the House of Representatives, the other being Benjamin A. Gilman of New York, who had been the only Jewish Republican since the departure of S. William Green in 1992. Gilman retired in 2002 and Cantor has been the only Jewish Republican since.

2002[link]

In 2002 Cantor was opposed by Democrat Ben L. Jones, former Congressman from Georgia, who had played "Cooter Davenport" in the TV Series The Dukes of Hazard.

2008 Vice Presidential speculation[link]

In August 2008 news reports surfaced that Cantor was being considered as John McCain's Vice Presidential running mate, with McCain's representatives seeking documents from Cantor as part of its vetting process.^[43][44][45] However, in May 2009, a source who claimed affiliation with the McCain campaign denied those reports, calling them "a complete and total joke", and blaming "Cantor’s PR people" for being responsible for the false reports.^[46] Additionally, a book by Washington Post reporters Dan Balz and Haynes Johnson outlining the McCain campaign does not mention Cantor as one of the possible running mates considered by McCain.^[47] The idea for Cantor to be McCain's running mate was supported by conservative leader Richard Land.^[48]

2008[link]

Cantor won against Democratic nominee Anita Hartke.

2010[link]

Cantor won against Democratic challenger Rick Waugh, and Independent Green Party^[49] candidate Floyd C. Bayne. Although he won with 59% of the vote, Cantor received his lowest vote percentage since taking the hill in 2000.

Electoral history[link]

Personal life[link]

Cantor met his wife, Diana Marcy Fine, on a blind date; they were married in 1989.^[7][21][53] They have three children: Evan, Jenna, and Michael. Prior to meeting her husband, Fine was a life-long liberal Democrat; contrary to her husband's positions, she is pro-choice and supports marriage equality.^[54]

Diana Cantor is a lawyer and certified public accountant. She founded, and from 1996 until 2008 was executive director of, the Virginia College Savings Plan (an agency of the Commonwealth of Virginia). She was also chairman of the board of the College Savings Plans Network.^[53][55][56] Mrs. Cantor is a Managing Director in a division of Emigrant Bank, a subsidiary of New York Private Bank & Trust Corp. ^[57]

References[link]