Posted by AzBlueMeanie:
The RNC is electing a new chairman today. Here is a pre-vote analysis. The Results Are Anyone's Guess As RNC Chair Election Kicks Off | TPMDC:
The RNC chairman's election will commence momentarily, and members are expected to pick a replacement for Michael Steele. But the arcane rules of the committee's election process allow Steele to remain in contention as long as he wants.
Here's the intelligence we have so far.
The first couple rounds of balloting are expected to resolve the question of Steele himself — his former ally, Reince Priebus has rounded up over 40 public commitments from the committee's 168 members, and if he comes out on top in rounds one or two, there will be pressure on Steele, as the incumbent, to bow out.
But Steele is thus far vowing to stay on the ballot for as long as it takes — there's no mechanism to force anybody to drop out, and he could stick around, hoping to play kingmaker as the election winds down.
The question is: if Priebus bests Steele, or Steele bests Priebus, who do the loser's votes fall to?
That's where underdogs Saul Anuzis, Maria Cino, and Ann Wagner enter the equation.
* * *
"Ballots 2, 3, and 4 will be a function of whether Reince can get to 85," Anuzis said. "The rest of us will have to wait that out. Our race probably doesn't start until the fifth ballot."
How's it going so far? RNC Chairman's Race, Round One Goes To Priebus:
The tally in descending order:
Priebus: 45
Steele: 44
Cino: 32
Anuzis: 24
Wagner: 23
And RNC Chairman's Race, Round Two Goes To Priebus:
The tally, in descending order:
Priebus: 52
Steele: 37
Cino: 30
Wagner: 27
Anuzis: 22
And RNC Chairman's Race, Round Three Goes To Priebus:
The tally, in descending order:
Priebus: 54
Steele: 33
Wagner: 32
Cino: 28
Anuzis: 21
UPDATE: In round four, Michael Steele withdrew and throws his support to Maria Cino. Michael Steele Steps Aside.
Ruh-roh! Looks like we won't have the comedy stylings of that cool cat Michael Steele around much any longer. Talking Points Memo has a compilation of his best standup acts here. Thanks For All The Gaffes! Michael Steele's Two Years At The RNC | TPMDC.
My personal favorite was Steele's "I'm the cow on the tracks" blocking the Affordable Care Act. It didn't turn out any better for him than it did for the cow. "Moo, moo!," Mikey. (not work safe)