Michigan, the birthplace of the Republican Party, might be the home of the Republican Party's next chairman. Saul Anuzis, who has been state GOP chairman for four years, is part of the crowded field of mediocrities seeking the national party's top job. The Norris Division was never this bad.
What do we know about Saul Anuzis? Follow the elephant dung to the rest of the story...
He's an unabashed admirer of Ronald Reagan. Oh, wait a minute; everyone in the party claims to be. Anuzis rides a Harley-Davidson, which supposedly gives him "outlaw" cachet in Republican circles. It also gives him something in common with Matt Millen. Hang on to that thought for a moment.
Anuzis has a long-time association with Dick Posthumus, who lost statewide races in 1992 (U.S. Senate) and 2002 (governor). He's a fan of Twitter, although some unkind souls insist that he uses the lite version, called "Twit." For years, he's posted an often unintentionally funny blog called "That's Saul.". Evidently he has awful taste in women: one of his favorites is Ann Coulter, of whom he said, "She threw out a lot of red meat and gets the kids fired up." He tried to bounce Ron Paul from last year's Republican debates because of his views on Iraq. And he's made his share of enemies within his state's party.
Oh, and he's had an awful record as head of the Michigan GOP. I'm not a big fan of Michigan Democratic Party chair Mark Brewer, but the devil deserves his due for providing a rundown of Anuzis's record, which he points out is "the worst 4-year record of any Michigan Republican Chair since the GOP was founded in Michigan in the 1850’s."
The Anuzis record includes:
A 16-point blowout Presidential loss in 2008
A 15-point rout in the 2006 Governor’s race
Double-digit U.S. Senate landslide defeats in 2006 and 2008
Loss of control of the Congressional delegation in 2008
Loss of 15 State House seats over 2 cycles, the worst ever 2-cycle record
First ever defeat of a Supreme Court Chief Justice in 2008
Defeat in all 16 education board races in 2006 and 2008
Loss of scores of county offices all across the state over 4 years
Brewer then delivered the ultimate put-down line: "Promoting Anuzis to RNC Chair would be like sending the 0-16 Detroit Lions to the Super Bowl."
In other words, Anuzis is the Matt Millen of the Republican Party.