Posted on 03/14/2009 8:10:45 PM PDT by james.richardson
Republican National Committee Chair Michael Steele should resign from his post immediately, according to the American Family Association’s new online survey.
In light of Steele’s regrettable GQ interview, AFA President Don Wildmon asked members if the beleaguered Republican chief should resign from his post, declaring the former Lieutenant Governor of Maryland believes “abortion is a choice, and homosexuality is not.”
An overwhelming 94% of the more than 74,500 respondents answered Wildmon in the affirmative.
Likewise making their displeasure known, prominent social conservative luminaries characterized Steele’s mea-culpa as “very troubling.” Ken Blackwell, who formerly endorsed Steele after withdrawing from consideration for chairman on the fifth round of balloting, sternly instructed his former rival to “re-read the Bible, the U.S. Constitution, and the 2008 GOP Platform … or get out of the way.”
Both Chairman Steele and his socially conservative detractors, the number of which are growing by the thousands at AFA’s website, are sorely misinformed: The role of RNC Chairman is not one of a curator of opinion. Steele’s opinions on abortion and gay rights – whenever he settles on one – should have no influence on the implementation of sound strategies in his capacity as chairman.
Speculating perhaps that the “open,” candidate-centered campaign for chairman manufactured Steele’s present predicament by creating the perception that the candidates’ opinions actually mattered, Phil Klein writes, “in the end, it turned the race into more of a personality contest."
The premature calls for the forcible ejection of the first African American chairman of the RNC – like those by the AFA’s tunnel-visioned membership – only offer credibility to the maddening circular firing squad meme.
Steele assumed office January 30th, 2008 with the hope he could unite a fractured party and make sense of the current political climate. Rome, as they say, wasn’t built in a day, and similarly, the Republican Party will not be re-built in three short months.
In addition to besting Blackwell, darling of the social conservative movement, Steele also wrestled former RNC Chairman Mike Duncan out of the running.
Despite his ability to mediate intra-party disputes with ease and his reputation as a prolific and unrivaled fundraiser, critics of Duncan often cited his scanty public appearances and interviews as motivation to elect a more polished, camera-friendly communicator. To them I say: Eat your words. In fact, have a second helping.
Cross-posted at www.Skepticians.com.
That just sounds too “Muslim” to me...
Steele has already lost the conservatives with his recent comments. He might as well go before it gets too much closer to the next major elections.
Wildmon is the last person that Conservatives and Republicans should listen to.
I figured that out years ago.
We lost the last election without the Religious Right.
We can win the next one without them.
I wish Ken Blackwell had won.
Yeah, sure you can...
Steele’s comments make fundraising very difficult.
A change in leadership and a committment to oppose Arlen Specter in the GOP Primary in PA next year might help.
But who wants to give to an organization whose leader has made comments like Steele has.
How did he get this high in the GOP? Who are the people behind him? I would love to know more about that.
Welcome to Free Republic!
I’ll settle for his resignation.
“We can win the next one without them.”
Don’t count on it Marine.
He did lose the people who sneak around reading soft-core porn like GQ and lapping up all the cr*p their Leftwingtard reporters write there.
Best if folks who read American Family Association materials just dropped their subscriptions to GQ if you ask me. That stuff'll rot your brain.
He should be fired because he fell into the abortion trap like a green rookie. The GOP needs a smart professional politician, not a doofus like Steele.
Don't lead us to believe you are more naive than you really are. It doesn't help anyone.
OK. Guess I’m out then.
You know who should have been RNC Chairman? Jeri Thompson, Fred Thompson’s wife. She’s attractive, sharp, and doesn’t back down from anybody. But she does have a youngster, so that may impact things a little.
I don’t read GQ, but he lost me (after reading threads here quoting his comments).
That is about the stupidest thing I ever heard. The problem with the last 4 or 5 heads of the RNC is that they were too liberal. And they expressed that liberalism by the way they organized the party, chose which candidates to back, how to distribute the money, and how to organize the primaries and the convention.
At this point, I don't give a damn whether Steele apologizes for all his stupid remarks. He has made it clear that he is a RINO abortion lover. We don't need that in this key position. He will only use his position to ensure that we get more Juan McCains and Lincoln Chaffees and Arnold Schwarzennegers.
He must go.
Steele is welcome to say anything he wants, and I like the guy, as a person. But he should never, as the leader of the RNC, say anything that is against party platform. And he should know better than that. Sadly, he has put himself in the position of mistrust.
But don't snipe at people or call them names for standing up for their values and principles, ok? I refuse to bash Steele, but I did expect better of him. Still, no matter I personally feel, the party platform is what it is, and the chairman should not speak against it. Reality is what it is.
The democrats brought in Obama with voter fraud reaching from ACORN to Soros to Saudi Arabia and he is seen as a black president.
The GOP have been following the democrats lead for years (supporting illegal aliens, soft on abortion, running liberals, fighting off conservatives) and they did the same here.
The brought in a black man because Obama is black.
Period.
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