Report: RNC members sandbagged by Martinez pick
Allahpundit

Rove allegedly leaked his name before any formal decision had been made. Why? Just maybe to head off any grassroots groundswell for Michael Steele among the membership before it got started and assure that their fair-haired boy, Senator Mel, would be in a position of authority to campaign on behalf of the amnesty bill Bush is so hot for.

Or maybe it’s all a lie. Maybe the Times’s source is a Steele supporter who concocted a false allegation of cronyism in a fit of pique.

I know which way I’m betting.

Some RNC members, already dismayed by last week’s election that swept Republicans from control of Congress, expressed anger at the way Mr. Rove leaked his choice of Mr. Martinez immediately after a conference call in which the Florida senator’s name was floated for the first time. ...

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RNC Poll Results: Steele wins in a landslide
Ian Schwartz

The results of yesterday’s poll speaks for itself:

[graphic]

About 93% of the vote went to Michael Steele.

When will the RNC try to keep it’s diminishing base instead of looking for new members?

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Video: Welcome new RNC chairman Mel Martinez!
Allahpundit

[video link]

Speaking of chairmen, the cretinous wretch who once responded to Americans swinging from a bridge in Fallujah with the words “screw them” breaks down what this is really all about:

Also, doesn’t half the Republican base currently have a rage on for brown people from south of the border? Those little xenophobic bigots should have a field day with this call.

Crochet that onto a pillow and lay your weary head upon it the next time the nutroots starts shrieking about Republicans using racial demagoguery to win elections.

Update: Choke on it.

Update: ...

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RNC chair won't be an "attack dog"
Michelle Malkin

Great. Just great:

Sen. Mel Martinez, who will become the new general chairman of the Republican Party after it lost control of Congress, said on Tuesday he would not be an "attack dog" in the 2008 White House race.  ...

Okay, we get it. You won't be an "attack dog." You'll be a roll over-and-fetch dog. Just what we need going up against Howard Dean. ...