Posted on 03/13/2009 10:52:57 AM PDT by DrGop0821
Admittedly, I supported Michael Steele when he was tapped to head the GOP. At the time, I had hoped he would be a voice to articulate conservatism and a leader in expanding the GOP base via making the Republican party more appealing to moderates and independents.
However, it's becoming clear every day that Steele may not be as well qualified as I thought.
First, there was the Rush Limbaugh feud and now his abortion gaffe.
The truth is, the Republican party is still seeking a true leader. Beyond the gaffes and miscues, I think Steele is spending too much time as a talking head on cable news, and not enough behind-the-scenes work actually leading and planning and fund-raising.
At risk of enabling the Liberals and the biased media to attack the GOP for "imploding" and having no real leadership, it may be time for Steele to resign.
WASHINGTON (March 12) - A day after a magazine quoted him as saying abortion was "an individual choice," GOP Chairman Michael Steele said Thursday he opposes abortion and that Roe v. Wade should be overturned.
A leading conservative called Steele's remarks in GQ magazine "cavalier and flippant," underscoring the new chairman's precarious position with party regulars concerned about his off-the-cuff style and penchant for miscues.
Fivethirtyeight reports Steele's fate may be linked to the special election to fill Kristen Gillibrand's open House seat:
According to multiple former high-level RNC staffers familiar with the dynamics involved, Steele is unlikely to survive in the post if favored Republican Jim Tedisco loses his open-seat race to Democrat Scott Murphy.
The special election, scheduled for March 31, is to fill a vacancy left when Kirsten Gillibrand took Hillary Clinton’s Senate seat.
If Tedisco loses, the ex-staffers said, “Steele is done.”
Completely, definitively?
“Absolutely.”
Some reports say Steele may be finished regardless of the outcome of the NY special election.
Republican insiders tell Political Wire that a no confidence vote on RNC Chairman Michael Steele is likely to be called after the NY-20 special election on March 31 -- regardless of whether Republicans win the seat or not.
Katon Dawson, who came in second in the January RNC vote, is said to be quietly organizing a vote and is getting the support of several state party chairmen who want to dump Steele.
College Politico presents this argument:
I half wish these rumors were true. I say half because while Steele’s idiotic performance from an organizational stand point thus far, his increasing liberalism, and his ridiculous and failed attempt to take on Rush Limbaugh it would be disastrous to replace him at this point.
Yes, it true that the party will likely continue to falter under Steele’s “guidance” but the firestorm that would result from an ousting of the head of the RNC (and arguably the face of the party) this early on without some sort of catastrophic failure on his part would be far worse than keeping him on… for the moment.
All of us who want Steele gone before he goes further off the deep end must bide our time. If the current trend continues it wont be long until Steele does something worthy of an ouster. We need to find a way to get rid of him with the smallest amount of “the Republican party is imploding” talk as possible.
Be patient. Let Steele evict himself from the RNC chairmanship. It will come, we only need to be ready when it does.
Perhaps it's too son, but I think it's time to start looking for another leader.
What do you think?
I think at this rate of discord within our party that we can be assured that obama will have a second term, pelosi will keep flying around the world on Air Force planes and harry reid will continue on with his strangle hold on the Senate.
Steele is a good man. That said He is NOT the right man to lead the republican party. We need someone who as well as being articulate EMBODIES the conservative IDEALS. Those being fiscal responsibility, small government, the right to life, national security and free markets. Steele has not stepped up to the plate and slammed those RINO’s who screwed the pooch with the stimulus bill as he should have. There needs to be someone who can take the heat for standing up to the “moderates” in the party and LEADING from the front. I don’t think Steele is capable of pulling it off.
We need a strong, unapologetically conservative voice in the GOP and Steele is not it. Sadly, I am not sure anyone else in the party is either.
I haven’t posted in quite awhile, sick at the state of our union and what has occurred over the past couple of months. But Steele has got me out of my slumber, at least for a moment.
Of course he should resign, now, yesterday. A pro-choice leader of the party? Why is there any question, why don’t the state chairs and our elected officials just walk into his office and remove him and his personal belongings.
Security, just move the man out the door and take away his keys, phone and computer before he uses any of them again.
I just posted a minute ago. Is he gone yet? Not yet? Why not?
I hate affirmative action.
I don’t care if they get a Martian to head the RNC. Steele is no Conservative.
I suggest Duncan Hunter.
Steele still hasn’t given up on pandering to the illegal alien lobby.
Steele was a terrible choice. He is an apologist who is trying to nuance the Republican platform.
He stands for nothing. Why would anyone want to follow his leadership?
We need a conservative voice that actually believes in the principles that have guided this party for the last 30 years.
I can’t wait to see him out on the street as soon as possible.
I disagree. Dems don’t “compromise”, they impose their Marxist agenda. We must stand firm on principles and fight like there’s no tomorrow. Steele has to go.
I was just talking to my wife about this very thing. With the road Conservatism is on, the Dems are virtually guaranteed a majority, forever.
I really hate to say this, but abortion is the issue that is going to destroy any hopes for conservatism in this country. This country will never, ever ban abortion.
I think the best we can realistically hope for is restrictions on late-term abortion. Even a repeal of Roe V. Wade is simply not going to happen.
Heavy focus on social conservatism is going to ruin any chance of getting any real small-government fiscal conservatism.
I know the religious right is the traditional base of the Republican party. Unfortunately, that's why Republicans are destined to remain an ineffective minority, with ineffective leadership, unless we learn to accept that we're not going to get everything we want.
We could have the strongest, most fiscally-conservative small-government leader on the planet and he'd still get tarred and feathered if he didn't toe a hard line on abortion.
I applauded his election to RNC Chief and know him. However he has greatly disappointed me with his gaffes and conduct in the office and should resign. There is too much at stake and we need a better leader to head up the party and reassert conservative values.
Good assessment. Abortion detractors are too easily marginalized by the other side. This somehow needs to be overcome. The message should be intellectualized without carrying the stigma of accusation. It is not impossible to turn a bright mind into an opponent with persistent, rational argument.
Hillary as O’s SOS? That’s compromise.
He needs to stay and prove everyone wrong.
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