Lewis Reply on Chairman Steele's Book

Friends,

I have received two phone calls from respected activists expressing concern with Chairman Steele's new book. I ordered the book from Amazon on Monday and am awaiting it to arrive so that I may read what is contained therein.

I think it important to reserve passing judgment on Chairman Steele until reading the book and discerning the intent of the book.

To borrow a phrase from the President, let me be clear, if Chairman Steele has written a book to articulate a clear Republican vision for how a government operated under Republican, Constitutional principles will be different from what we have now, that will be a good and needed step forward in the battle of ideas. The battle to win the confidence in the American People in our ability to govern.

If the book presents a plan-a written commitment to the job ahead, it is a worthy and needed exercise for our Chairman and our Party to establish those clear cut benchmarks and communicate them with the general public.

I remind you that writing a book is still the most respected way to clearly articulate one's ideas and ideals. Speaker Gingrinch, Governor Palin, Rush Limbaugh, Glen Beck, and many other conservative thinkers have written books expressing their view of the future.

I fully believe we must absolutely commit to writing and sharing a clear vision of how our Party will manage the People's government. We must state, in no-nonsense, to the point, easy to understand language what we support and what we will do in office-not just what we are opposed to.

If this book is the Chairman's attempt to do that, let us reserve calling for his head. If this book is an attempt to personally benefit on the trust placed in him and his Office as our Chairman, I will join you in expressing my own outrage.

I do think, however, it is at least worth my time to read the book and make up my own mind.

Chairman Steele was elected, perhaps for the first time in recent memory, as the overwhelming choice of grassroots activists who took time to contact Members of the RNC and lobby for him.

As to Dr. Fisher's other points about the overhead and operating costs of the RNC, I join her in calling for full disclosure and accountability for the hard earned contributions of donors to the RNC.

I also agree with Dr. Fisher that we as citizens and our elected Members of the Congress have a responsibility to continue to work either make health care reform truly about the health of our fellow man and not about a massive expansion of government intrusion into our lives.

As to the fundraising concerns, I will look into this important matter next week. I know only what the quarterly updates provided to Members of the RNC have shown-which to date, is that the RNC fundraising is exceeding expectations. It does appear to me that the RNC is on par{Cash on Hand  Debt} with the DNC (the Party that controls 2 of the 3 Branches of Government). Both are down from prior cycles but I cannot help but think the economy has an impact on that. Again, I do not know but will find out.

I appreciate the opportunity to comment on these matters.

Sincerely,

David Lewis