By the sounds of it, RNC Chairman Michael Steele might have a battle on his hands for re-election.  Let me be blunt - if there is going to be a new RNC Chief, it should be Erick Erickson of Redstate.com fame.

Personally, I was excited at the prospect of Michael Steele as RNC chair at first.  I enjoyed his commentary on Fox News.  He came into office firing a number of people at RNC Headquarters which gave me hope that there would be a change in the way business was done and put the Republicans in a position of retaking Congress.

However, after taking the RNC post, Michael Steele ran into a few problems.  Fundraising was lack luster.  There was that whole expense account fiasco by some employees at an adult club.  Steele is also a moderate and as a moderate, it seems the NRSC and other Republican organizations felt emboldened to pick favorites in various primaries around the country.  And lo and behold, nearly all of the candidates endorsed by NRSC and others were moderates or plain old RINOs.

Then there is the rise of the Tea Party.  Conservatives in action.  The Tea Parties rallied against the ludicrous spending and the enlargement of government.  But they also rallied against Republicans and Democrats alike.  Democrats were a natural enemy since Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid and President Obama were so far left they made FDR seem like a moderate.  Republicans were supposed to be closer ideologically to the Tea Parties but there were plenty of candidates and incumbents that might has well have been Democrats.  These Republicans had no problem spending and they had no problem throwing conservative principles under the bus. 

Enter Erick Erickson.  His website, Redstate, has been around even before the Tea Parties were formed.  His site was keeping the candle lit for conservatism until the day when the fight could be brought back into the streets.  Erickson's site is a vehicle for conservative bloggers to expound of principles, warn others of impending legislation, highlight liberal underhanded tactics, and helps put pressure on legislators to vote the right way. 

In the last election, Redstate was instrumental in helping push for conservative candidates in the primaries, often against the establishment Republican "anointed ones".  Many of Erickson's primary endorsed candidates won (sometimes against GOP incumbents like in Utah), others came very close to winning (Ken Buck).  Then there are those candidates that absolutely scared establishment Republicans whom Erickson helped promote and win - Marco Rubio, Rand Paul, Allen West, and many others.  Erickson and Redstate did more to promote conservative candidates even after they won their respective primaries than the so-called Republican Senate and House groups on The Hill.  In addition, Erickson represents the power of the "new" media and its future.  Word spreads like wildfire on the internet and Erickson was vital in breaking many stories during the last year.

Moderate Republicans helped get us in the mess we are in because they turned their backs on Reagan principles of conservatism.  Michael Steele is among their chosen insiders who are more interested in protecting their own interests than doing what is right.  Even now, there is a fight brewing in Congress over banning earmarks.  DeMint and others of his mindset understand what just happened on November 2nd as a clarion call against the spending policies of the past.  Others see the victories and Republican majorities as an opportunity to continue the same earmarking that Tea Parties and conservatives reject.  I wonder how the political landscape would have looked if Erickson was RNC chair this last election.  I'd be willing to bet that we would have picked up more House seats than what the Republicans did (not to say 60 ain't too shabby), and we would have come closer to winning the Senate.  I speak from some experience as we here in Illinois know all too well the destructiveness of moderate Republicans can have on elections and conservative candidates and the failures of inadequate leadership at the top of the party. 

So if there is going to be a battle between a moderate Republican to chair the RNC or a conservative who has a track record of winning and holds our principles, then let it be Erick Erickson - everyday and twice on Sunday - so that conservatism may act like ice water on a hot summer day to the Republican Party.