A number of items are on the agenda — from committee members seeking more oversight into how funds are spent to applying the “socialist” label to the Democrats. RNC Chairman Michael Steele, who has been under fire for early public gaffes and private actions since the day he was elected, also faces challenges at the meeting. He is tasked with turning this party around, and he chose his Tuesday speech to begin that effort.

First, some of the details… At Wednesday’s bylaws meeting, party officials will discuss a resolution which will add the word “socialist” when describing the Democrat Party. As reported by FOXNews.com, Steele commented on the resolution by saying, “My goal was to be smart and strategic. I don’t think we need to get into name-calling, finger-pointing and blaming. … What I’d like to see us do is worry less about resolutions and focus more on solutions.”

In the Associated Press story running on GOPUSA, Florida GOP Chairman James Greer said, “I think it’s stupid. … These are trying times. We need to be serious.”
There are several other resolutions on the table, but the entire meeting is seen as an “in your face” move by some members of the RNC who are unhappy with the way Steele is performing as chairman. The RNC is set to have it regular meeting in July, but provisions in the RNC bylaws allow a special meeting to be called if enough members from enough states agree. This is what happened for this week’s meeting.
In his latest jab at conservatives, Steele is taking heat for comments made during a recent radio program. As noted in Politico.com, Steele said this to a caller about former presidential candidate Mitt Romney: “Remember, it was the base that rejected Mitt because of his switch on pro-life, from pro-choice to pro-life. … It was the base that rejected Mitt because it had issues with Mormonism. It was the base that rejected Mitt because they thought he was back and forth and waffling on those very economic issues you’re talking about.”
Politico.com notes, “Steele, who himself has said that abortion is a matter of ‘individual choice,’ was opening old wounds not only by attacking Romney but also by suggesting the Republican base is bigoted when it comes to Mormons.”
One of the main reasons for the special meeting was to vote on setting up spending guidelines for the chairman. Much of the guidelines was in place prior to Steele becoming chairman, and the move by some RNC members is simply to get the guidelines back. As noted by FOXNews.com, “For now, members are expected to re-establish standards that had already been in place before they lapsed last year. Among them is a requirement that Steele have a co-signer for all expenditures above $100,000 and that a comptroller-treasurer administer funding.”

Steele had already agreed to those standards. What he objected to was the possibility of increasing the powers of the comptroller-treasurer, in turn minimizing his own authority. That issue will probably be pushed off until July, but it’s not going away yet. 
Steele, who delivered a speech Tuesday on the future of the GOP, said some of the animosity is from people in the party who supported other candidates for chairman. But some of his critics are former allies.
“Some of them were supposedly friends that were in some cases, when I was a young state party chairman, were mentors to me and it’s kind of eerie to see them standing on their knives bared,” he said.

Those are the agenda items for Wednesday, but as far as yesterday is concerned, Steele appeared to be doing things right. His speech at the chairmen’s luncheon was about the new direction for the party, and he struck on many good themes.

A full copy of his remarks, as prepared for delivery, can be found here.
Steele speaks best when he draws clear distinction between the Republicans and the Democrats. There is no point in looking backward any longer. We all saw how Republicans went astray. The key is… can the Republicans right the ship and return to the conservative values that brought them into power. And… is Michael Steele the right man to get the job done?
Although his tenure has been rocky so far, his Tuesday speech hit on the themes that are needed to jumpstart the Republican Party. Will it be enough to make up for past gaffes and continued slights? That remains to be seen. But for this day, Steele said the right things at the right time.