Michael Steele Elected RNC Chairman

Today, history was made, as the Republican Party chose the first black national chairman in history: Michael Steele. Steele won on the 6th and final ballot over Katon Dawson. Bush's handpicked chairman, Mike Duncan, dropped out before the 4th vote, noting that the "winds of change were blowing."



Steele became the first black candidate elected to statewide office in Maryland in 2002 when we became Lt. Governor.



I am glad Michael Steele won. I believe he is the best choice to lead the Republican Party for the next two years, to define the agenda, to be the voice to answer the attacks from Pelosi, Reid and the President. He is a very nice man. I had the chance to meet him a couple of years ago.



Here is his acceptance speech. This is from the Weekly Standard Blog.



http://www.weeklystandard.com/Weblogs/TWSFP/TWSFPView.asp#10329

Steele Wins RNC Chair Election, 91-77 over Katon Dawson
Here is my real-time transcript of his speech. I may have missed a few sentences, but it's almost all there:

As a litte boy growing up in this town—this is awesome.

It is with a great deal of humility and a sense of service that I accept and appreciate and thank all of you for the opportunity to serve as the next chairman of our very proud, very strong, and our very, very hard-working Republican National Committee.

To our friends, to those who support us, to those who believe in the ideals, those conservative ideals that make us the strong, proud party that we are. To Americans who believe in the future of this country. To those who stand in difference with us, it's time for something completely different, and we're gonna bring it to them.

We're gonna bring this party to every corner, every boardroom, every neighborhood, every community and we're gonna say to friend and foe alike: We want you to be a part of this, we want you to worth with us, and for those of you who wish to obstruct, get ready to get knocked over.

So, I want to thank all of you, especially. I remember sitting in this body in 2000 and 2002, and I never thought this day would come. I want to thank especially my friend in the territories, who I can assure all of you will be a part of building this party in a way we have never seen before.
To my friends in the Northeast: get ready, baby. It's time to turn it on, and work to do what we always do well, and that is win. We're gonna win again in the Northeast. We're gonna continue to win in the South. We're gonna win with a new storm in the Midwest and we're gonna get to the West and lock it down there, too.

This is our opportunity. I cannot do this by myself. This is about empowering you, our chairmen, our national committee men and national committee women to grow our party.

We stand proud as the conservative party of the United States, and we will make sure that the values that have made our party the Party of Lincoln, are part of the issues, part of the policies that are reshaping this country.

We will cede no ground to anyone on matters of principle, on matters than matter to the people of this country.

My first official act as your chairman is to end this speech right now because we have a few more races to do to fill out the leadership team to lead you the next two years. I look forward to visiting you all in your towns, in your neighborhoods as we grow and build our party.

Thank you again for this honor. God bless you. God bless our party.