As we’ve stated ad nauseam, we don’t care who the Republican Party elects as its leaders – at any level.

The party is dead to us. And needs to die in general.

Also, party leaders are (technically) required to stay neutral in GOP primary elections – and then endorse GOP nominees whether they are really “Republican” or not. Which makes them nothing but superfluous decoration as far as we’re concerned.

Still, limited government backers in Charleston, S.C. are ecstatic over the victory of “Fair Tax John” – a.k.a. John Steinberger – who was elected chairman of the Charleston County Republican Party on Monday evening.

By a vote of 51-34, Steinberger defeated the choice of the “Republican” establishment – Mark Smith. That’s significant when you consider less than a year ago Steinberger was running as a petition candidate against S.C. Speaker Bobby Harrell, a “Republican in Name Only” from Charleston who until recently controlled the local party machinery.

“Thanks to the members of the Charleston County Republican Party for electing me Chair,” Steinberger wrote on his Facebook page. “I look forward to working with Mark Smith and the other hard-working activists in the party!”

As we noted in this post, Smith was advised by Jim Hirni – one of the lobbyists convicted in the Jack Abramoff scandal. He also received an endorsement from former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum, who is tight with Hirni.

Did any of that help Steinberger win? Who knows … anybody who’s spent any time whatsoever around Charleston County Republicans knows the lot of ’em are bat sh*t crazy.

Anyway … good luck to “Fair Tax John.” Reformers have been elected to county leadership posts in the South Carolina Republican Party before … with precious little to show for it.

We’d like to think he will be different … but the Republican Party simply doesn’t strike us as a vehicle for the sort of reforms his supporters are clamoring for. To the extent his supporters are even aware of what they’re clamoring for …

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