I have seen numerous attempts to make Steele look like a lib here. None convince. I haven’t made up my mind about him, but if all those who oppose him have is his attempts to not let Tim Russert and other MSM types paint him into a corner so his Dem opponents can have a “Gotcha!” then it just shows how many conservatives have fallen into the MSM trap and don’t know it.
I first met Mr. Steele back in 1994 or 1995, when he first became Chairman of the Republican Party of Prince George's County. I was instantly impressed, and have always thought he was a great guy.
But his October 2006 performance on Meet the Press was disappointing and disheartening. His comments regarding Roe v. Wade were somewhat internally contradictory (Roe should stand, but Roe should be decided by the states - that's just gibberish). But in the end, he affirmed that Roe should stand.
That's not a pro-life position.
Perhaps he didn't mean it, perhaps he misspoke, perhaps he was trimming, fudging, trying to do the dance (none too successfully), but in the end, on that day he DID NOT defend the rights of the unborn with his words, but rather acted like a sniveling, compromising, fearful tool. It was very, very disappointing.
All that being said, I'd still be willing to give Mr. Steele a pass if he were to clarify that ROE MUST GO (whether by court decision, constitutional amendment, federal legislation removing jurisdiction from the courts, or what-have-you).
But without that, he appears to me to be unfit to lead the party. His words and actions that October day mark him out to be someone willing to contradict his own principles for political gain, as someone who is more of a follower than a leader. Leaders are forthright, and say what they believe, even if most folks disagree with them.
Everyone makes mistakes, but at least for the really public ones (and Meet the Press is a pretty public place to make a mistake) you gotta own up to them and correct them before you can successfully move on.
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