Michael Steele
Michael Stephen Steele (born October 19, 1958) is an American politician, attorney, and political commentator who served as the seventh lieutenant governor of Maryland from 2003 to 2007 and as chair of the Republican National Committee (RNC) from 2009 until 2011; he was the first African-American to hold either office.[1]
For other people named Michael Steele, see Michael Steele (disambiguation).
Michael Steele
Joyce Lyon Tehres
Louis Pope
October 19, 1958
Andrews Field, Maryland, U.S.
2
In the 1990s, Steele worked as a partner at the international law firm of LeBoeuf, Lamb, Greene & MacRae and co-founded the Republican Leadership Council, a "fiscally conservative and socially inclusive" political action committee.[2] Steele also made numerous appearances as a political pundit on Fox News and other media outlets prior to running for public office. As lieutenant governor, Steele chaired the Minority Business Enterprise task force, actively promoting an expansion of affirmative action in the corporate world.[3] He made an unsuccessful run in the 2006 U.S. Senate election in Maryland, losing to Democrat Ben Cardin. From 2007 to 2009, Steele was chairman of GOPAC, a 527 organization that trains and supports Republican candidates in state and local elections. After serving one term as RNC Chair from 2009 to 2011, he lost his bid for a second term and was succeeded by Reince Priebus.[4] Since 2011, Steele has contributed as a regular columnist for online magazine The Root[5] and as a political analyst for MSNBC.[6] In 2018, he became a Senior Fellow at Brown University's Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs.[7]
In 2020, he formally endorsed Joe Biden for the presidency, after previously starring in an advertisement aired by The Lincoln Project.[8][9]
Early life and education
Steele was born on October 19, 1958, at Andrews Air Force Base in Prince George's County, Maryland,[10][11] and was adopted as an infant[12] by William and Maebell Steele. His father died in 1962.[13][14] His mother, who had been born into a sharecropping family in South Carolina,[15] worked for minimum wage as a laundress to raise her children. After Steele's father died, she ignored her friends' appeals to apply for public assistance, later telling Steele, "I didn't want the government raising my children."[15] 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.[15] Steele's sister later married and divorced former heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson.[16]
Steele attended Archbishop Carroll 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.[17]
In 1981, Steele received a BA degree in international studies from the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore City, Maryland.[15]
After graduating from Hopkins, Steele worked for one year as a high school teacher at Malvern Preparatory School in Pennsylvania, teaching classes in world history and economics.[18] He spent three years preparing for the Catholic priesthood at the Augustinian Friars Seminary at Villanova University,[19] which he left prior to ordination to enter civil service.[20]
Steele subsequently attended Georgetown Law School where he graduated with a JD degree in 1991. He failed the Maryland bar exam, but passed the Pennsylvania exam.[21][22]
From 1991 to 1997, Steele worked in Washington, D.C., as a corporate securities associate for the Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilton international law firm, where he specialized in financial investments for Wall Street underwriters. He left the firm to found the Steele Group, a business and legal consulting firm.[11]
Political positions
Economic views
As Lieutenant Governor of Maryland, Steele chaired the Governor's Commission on Minority Business Enterprise Reform.[11]
Steele criticized the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (stimulus bill).[76]
Environment and energy
Steele rejects the scientific consensus on climate change, claiming in 2009 that the Earth is "cooling" rather than "the supposed warming".[77][78][79]
Opposition to President Donald Trump
Steele was openly critical of Donald Trump during his 2016 presidential campaign and has continued to oppose President Trump during his subsequent administration. In a January 2018 interview on MSNBC, in response to an accusation that President Trump had referred to El Salvador and Haiti as "shithole countries", Steele expressed his belief that the President was "racist".[80] Steele reiterated his frustration with Trump and his supporters during the COVID-19 pandemic by saying "I've talked to enough of them over the last few days. I'm exhausted, I'm exasperated. You know, at this point, it's like, save who you can save. Because there's only so much you can do, there's only so much you can say. The fact that we have to literally beg people to wear a mask to save their own dumb ass from getting sick, I'm sorry. To me, it is beyond the imagination... I am just so exhausted with this president."[81]
Social views
In 2008, Steele said he was opposed to abortion and thought Roe v. Wade was "wrongly decided".[82] In a March 2009 interview with GQ, Steele suggested that abortion restrictions should be left to state governments, and stated that he "absolutely" believed there was room for a "pro-choice" candidate in the GOP.[82] This statement prompted criticism from socially conservative Republicans such as Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee and former Ohio Secretary of State Ken Blackwell, as well as the Christian Coalition,[83] and Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council.[84] In response to these critics, Steele suggested that he asked God for patience "so I absolutely don't go out and kick this person's ass".[85]
In 2008, Steele said that he personally opposes a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage, saying that he believes states should decide the issue for themselves. Steele, however, has indicated he would uphold the Republican Party platform and support the amendment. He rates the issue of banning same-sex marriage low in importance.[86][87] In 2009, Steele opposed same-sex civil unions.[88] However, in 2012, Steele said that LGBT couples deserve full privileges and benefits under the law.[89]
In a 2006 interview with The Washington Post, Steele commented on gun control: "Society should draw lines. What do you need an assault weapon for, if you're going hunting? That's overkill. But I don't think that means you go to a total ban for those who want to use guns for skeet shooting or hunting or things like that. But what's the point of passing gun laws if we're not going to enforce them? If you want to talk about gun control, that's where you need to start. We've got 300 gun laws on the books right now. At the end of the day, it's about how we enforce the law."[90]
In 2009, speaking on illegal immigration, Steele called for the U.S. to "secure our borders first", saying, "you cannot begin to address the concerns of the people who are already here unless and until you have made certain that no more are coming in behind them."[91]
During his 2006 campaign, Steele said that he only supported stem cell research if it did not result in the destruction of the embryo.[92] In February 2006, Steele compared embryonic stem cell research to medical experiments performed by the Nazis during the Holocaust, remarks for which he later apologized.[93]
Wars in Afghanistan and Iraq
In July 2010, video footage of Steele was released in which he stated that the Afghan war was "a war of Obama's choosing. If he's such a student of history has he not understood that, you know, that's the one thing you don't do – is engage in a land war in Afghanistan? Everyone who has tried, over a thousand years of history has failed."[94] He also said the war was "not something the United States had actively prosecuted or wanted to engage in".[95] However, the war in Afghanistan was initiated by George W. Bush in October 2001 in retaliation for the September 11 attacks on New York City and Washington D.C.; Barack Obama increased troop levels there.[96]
Steele's comments drew criticism, with neoconservative commentator William Kristol calling for Steele's resignation and former George W. Bush adviser Karl Rove calling Steele's comment "boneheaded."[97] U.S. Senator John McCain of Arizona, the Republican nominee for president in the 2008 election, withdrew his support from Steele, calling Steele's comments "wildly inaccurate ... there is no excuse for them" and saying "I think that Mr. Steele is going to have to assess as to whether he can still lead the Republican Party as chairman of the Republican National Committee."[98] Senator Jim DeMint called upon Steele to apologize and Senator Lindsey Graham said, "It was an uninformed, unnecessary, unwise, untimely comment. This is not President Obama's war, this is America's war. We need to stand behind the president." Former Vice President Dick Cheney's daughter Elizabeth Cheney also called for Steele to resign. However, Congressman Ron Paul, who is known for his generally antiwar stance, in support of Steele said, "Michael Steele has it right, and Republicans should stick by him."[99]
In contrast to his position on Afghanistan, Steele has been a supporter of the Iraq War and President George W. Bush's war strategy.[17] During his 2006 campaign, Steele opposed setting a timetable for U.S. withdrawal from Iraq.[100] Steele criticized President Obama on the issue, complaining that he had "demonized" the Iraq War.[101]
National Popular Vote Interstate Compact
Steele is a supporter of the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact. In a piece co-authored with former Michigan Republican Party Chairman Saul Anuzis, Steele states that "the good news is that under a national popular vote, a Republican could probably survive a narrow popular vote loss in Texas or Florida and still win the presidency, because every GOP vote in those states would still count toward a national popular vote majority."[102]
Right Now
Steele's book, Right Now: A 12-Step Program for Defeating the Obama Agenda, was released on January 4, 2010; it was published by Regnery Publishing, ISBN 978-1-59698-108-9. 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 man-made 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."[103]
Michael Steele has been awarded honors and awards in recognition of his political career. These include: