RNC’s Michael Steele plots quiet comeback

Michael Steele used a stealth campaign outside the Beltway to quiet critics of his tenure as Republican National Committee chairman, but even as allies claim the controversial GOP chief has turned a corner, those critics remain ready to pounce.

Two months into his term as RNC chairman, Steele is slowly raising his profile after a series of early mistakes raised concerns among fellow GOPers.

{mosads}Fundraising, the party’s bread and butter, has picked up. In March, the RNC raised an impressive $6.7 million, significantly more than its Democratic rivals and enough to assuage some who were concerned about a drop-off.

And Steele himself has begun to re-emerge from his self-imposed media exile, sticking to his talking points and touting a new message slapping down Democrats. An appearance on Fox News on Tax Day won praise, even from those who once criticized Steele’s early appearances.

Last week, Steele sent out a fundraising letter to about 12 million potential donors auditioning a new attack line — he called President Obama “arrogant.” Even critics acknowledge the new rollout has featured a chairman who sticks to the message much more than he did in February and early March.

Steele’s travel, too, has generated positive coverage. Stops in Chicago — where he spent Tax Day — Portland, Ore., Miami and New York City each helped local parties raise money. Steele also introduced Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R) at a fundraiser for an anti-abortion group in Indiana — a move that could ingratiate him with his harshest critics: the party’s socially conservative base.

Finally, meetings held around the country with state party chairmen are going a long way toward rebuilding some bridges that the tough contest for the top spot at the national committee had burnt or damaged.

“Chairman Steele ran and was elected on a platform of expanding the party, forging partnerships with state parties and raising the funds necessary to win elections. His actions prove that he is successfully delivering on his promises,” said RNC communications director Trevor Francis.

But clouds still loom for the national party. Steele repeatedly labeled the special election to fill Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand’s (D-N.Y.) House seat as the key to Republican hopes of mounting a comeback. But venture capitalist Scott Murphy (D) appears set to claim a victory over Assemblyman Jim Tedisco (R) after all the absentee votes are counted.

And then there is the recount in the Minnesota Senate race. Steele has used the recount to raise money, characterizing Democratic legal maneuvers as attempts to steal the race for entertainer Al Franken (D). But court rulings last week dealt Norm Coleman (R) a serious blow and severely limited Republican efforts to keep Franken out of the Senate.

Steele’s April actions represent a marked change from his first 75 days as chairman, which consisted of embarrassing errors, ranging from suggesting he would punish Republicans who voted for the stimulus package to commenting in an interview with GQ that women have a right to choose an abortion.

Other interviews, even with friendly anchors on Fox News, made Republicans cringe. In one early appearance with conservative anchor Glenn Beck, Steele said there was “absolutely no reason, none, to trust our word or our actions at this point.”

In internal committee matters, Steele’s early going was little better. He fired most of the national committee’s staff, and though many were promised a chance to reapply for their positions, few have been hired. Among the committee that elected him chairman in late January, discontent continued to simmer, with one member even calling on him to resign in a well-circulated e-mail.

More than a month into his time at the committee, Steele still had not hired senior staff, including staff for the finance department. And though Steele took over a party in healthy financial shape, those who follow party business voiced concern that the RNC would suffer from a serious fundraising drop-off.

Following the GQ interview, Steele went into a self-imposed exile, ostensibly to focus on hiring top-level staff and calm the party’s rattled nerves.

The chairman tapped Ken McKay, a political strategist who had won races in heavily Democratic Rhode Island, to take over as chief of staff; Francis, a former Bush administration Commerce Department official, to head the communications department; and Gentry Collins, a veteran of Sen. John McCain’s (R-Ariz.) and ex-Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney’s (R) presidential campaigns, as political director.