MTP Transcript for Oct. 29

LT. GOV. STEELE: No, I’m not. I — look, I am Michael Steele. I am, I am, you know, Maybelle’s son and — who was raised in Washington, D.C., and became a Republican, worked in the party, and is now Lieutenant Governor running for the U.S. Senate. I have a lot of Democrat friends in my state who support me, and what I thought was cute about that was they could put that on their bumper sticker and

when you said it, they’re still Democrats, but they’re Steele Democrats.

MR. RUSSERT: What about Steele Republican? Do you have a sticker like that?

LT. GOV. STEELE: Yeah, well, we don’t have that sticker because...

MR. RUSSERT: Because you said the R on — is a...

LT. GOV. STEELE: That’s not a bad idea, actually. Maybe we should get some of those made up.

That’s not a bad idea. I didn’t think of that.

MR. RUSSERT: You said, you said the R is a scarlet letter and that if this is a choice between

Democrats and Republicans, you lose.

LT. GOV. STEELE: Absolutely, Tim.

TEXT: “I’ve got an ‘R’ here, a scarlet letter. ... If this race is about Republicans and Democrats, I lose.”

-- Lt. Gov. Michael Steele (R-MD)
Washington Post
July 25, 2006

LT. GOV. STEELE: Absolutely, absolutely. And that’s exactly what Ben Cardin wants this race to be about. That’s exactly what the Democrats want this race to be about. Because when this race is about Democrats and Republicans in a state like Maryland, which is two to one, all they have to say is “The boogeyman’s Republican and all you guys remember, you’ve got to vote for us D’s.” What I’m trying to do is break through that noise and say I represent something different. I represent, represent, I think, a different challenge for my state and for my country.

MR. RUSSERT: But you will organize with the Republicans if you won. You would vote for a Republican majority leader?

LT. GOV. STEELE: Yeah, yeah, I guess, yeah. That would make sense, wouldn’t it?

MR. RUSSERT: And would you — and would you be...

LT. GOV. STEELE: I wouldn’t vote for Ben.

MR. RUSSERT: Would you be a reliable vote for President Bush?

LT. GOV. STEELE: I would be a reliable vote for the people of Maryland because, at the end of the day, I’m going to evaluate every issue as it comes to me and where my party is wrong, I’m not standing with it, I’m not voting with it. And I’ve been clear on that. I’ve disagreed with my party on the minimum wage. I’ve called for an increase in the minimum wage. I disagreed with my party on No Child Left Behind.

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