Ken Blackwell | RNC Chairman

Great article from The American Spectator:

Nobody in the race for chairman of the Republican National Committee has attracted as many high-profile conservative movement supporters as has former Ohio Secretary of State Ken Blackwell. And it’s true that conservatives have a host of good reasons to be high on Blackwell. But while Blackwell clearly would re-energize the movement, he is not rightly seen as appealing only to conservatives. This is a man with a history of winning elections and a comprehensive plan for helping his party win plenty more of them, at all levels of government.

First, to be clear: The list of conservatives who have endorsed Blackwell’s campaign is more than impressive. Former Reagan Attorney General Ed Meese. American Conservative Union Chairman David Keene. Former presidential candidate and supply-side economic champion Steve Forbes. Focus on the Family Chairman James Dobson. Legendary conservative direct-mail guru Richard Viguerie. Former Reagan Budget Director James C. Miller. Eagle Forum President Phyllis Schlafly. Club for Growth President Pat Toomey. American Spectator Publisher Al Regnery. Family Research Council President Tony Perkins. Media Research Center President Brent Bozell. Virginia National Committeeman and conservative youth trainer extraordinaire Morton Blackwell (no relation to the candidate)….

And on and on the list goes.

Even longer than the list of prominent conservative backers is the list of impressive items on Blackwell’s résumé. In elective office, he has been mayor of Cincinnati, Ohio State Treasurer, and two-term Ohio Secretary of State. In appointive office he has been U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Human Rights Commission, an undersecretary (under Jack Kemp) of HUD, and on official commissions for the Department of Labor, on retirement savings, and on tax reform. He has won awards for his work in government finance and in technology. And he has served on more boards and been given more honorary degrees than most people would do in several lifetimes.

Blackwell is quite good on TV. He’s even better on a podium, and even better yet in a large roundtable discussion. He has every bit of “presence” you would expect from a college football linebacker who was invited to training camp by the Dallas Cowboys — which is what he was, before getting a graduate degree and teaching for 17 years at his alma mater, Xavier University. He speaks forcefully, with a real directness. He speaks with the authority of a man who knows his facts and knows his mind.

The complete article is online at The American Spectator.

Highlights of the endorsement from The Directors at RedState.com:

“We make no secret that we are conservatives before we are Republicans. Ken Blackwell is a conservative. He is not just a conservative, but of all the men in the race, Ken Blackwell has run and won elected office on his own….

“In addition, Ken Blackwell got into the race for Chairman by surrounding himself with extremely competent, principled people. This is a sign both of his understanding the needs of the RNC and of his commitment to the cause….

“Ken Blackwell is fundamentally a conservative first and knows the party grassroots extremely well….

“We believe Ken Blackwell would be an excellent, innovative choice for Chairman of the RNC who would run the party competently and conservatively. We encourage the 168 members of the RNC to vote for him.”

Star Parker agrees that we need a “shareholder’s revolt” at the RNC. Thanks Star!

“In this sense, I like what Ken Blackwell is proposing in his run for RNC Chairman. Blackwell is calling for a “shareholder revolt” within the Republican Party and to move power, money, and influence to State organizations.

We do need a shareholder revolt in the Republican Party followed by one in the country as a whole.”

Read her complete article at TownHall.com.

Our announcement has caught the attention of media outlets across the country.

From Reid Wilson on THE HILL:

The race for Republican National Committee chairman got more crowded Friday as a prominent conservative made a splashy entrance.

Former Ohio Secretary of State Ken Blackwell, who has strong ties to the party’s conservative wing, is the latest candidate to declare for the position, doing so Friday in an email to RNC members.

Touting himself as a strong fundraiser with electoral experience and a vision for the future of the party (as well as a part-owner of the Cincinnati Reds baseball team), Blackwell promised to pull no punches.

Complete article is at http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/blackwell-enters-gop-chairman-race-2008-12-05.html

From Alexander Burns on POLITICO:

The race for Republican National Committee chairman, still unsettled with just six weeks to go until the party’s leadership election, got another jolt Friday when former Ohio Secretary of State Ken Blackwell threw his hat into the ring.

In a letter to RNC members, Blackwell touted his experience as an elected official, as well as his strength as a fundraiser and television communicator.

“I have run for public office 17 times, winning on 13 of those occasions,” the former Cincinnati mayor wrote. “I have been a frequent guest on Fox News, CNN, MSNBC and network news programs.”

Blackwell also noted that he raised $12 million for his unsuccessful 2006 gubernatorial campaign, and pledged to “completely remake the Republican Party by returning to our core philosophy (limited government, traditional values and a strong defense), reaching voters more effectively (by better utilization of technology, targeting and voter identification and turnout), and reorganizing the RNC itself (spending smarter, replacing staff and consultants and modernizing our fundraising infrastructure).”

Complete article is at http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1208/16247.html