That’s one of the reasons I haven’t made up my mind about him, but I do put some more credence in this statement than the one clip repeated over and over (do a search) from the MTP interview. Those looking to completely reject the man have only this in their arsenal. I’m looking for more before I support or reject him. But his quote is perfectly in keeping with a prolife view.
Actually, he apparently made comments not dissimilar to the Meet the Press in a newspaper interview in the spring of 2006, as well. I'm working off memory, but it's been quoted several times in the last few days here at FR.
So, it isn't just the Meet the Press segment.
But without his repudiating it, even indirectly, the Meet the Press comments were enough to move Mr. Steele from the “adamantly pro-life” column to the “not sure whether he's really pro-life after all” column. And the second column is an unacceptable place for the Chairman of the Republican Party.
In my own judgment, the Meet the Press comments made him unacceptable as chairman, provided he didn't retract those remarks.
I'm glad you found the LifeSiteNews piece. But I still find it distressing that he so softens and conditions his statement about Roe with “in my personal view.” Part of my problem with that is that it is so darned close to the formula of “I'm personally opposed, but...”
We all say that Mr. Steele is a bright and articulate chap. But that leads to the conclusion that he's playing games here. We could alternatively think that perhaps he's just fumbling with his words, and that on both occasions, this last one and the Meet the Press segment, that he just didn't do a good job of articulating what he really believes.
But that sorta vitiates a big part of the reason many of us thought he'd otherwise be a good party chairman.
So, we wind up either accepting the theory that he's not too bright or articulate after all, or the theory that he's playing games and trying to straddle the fence (which to me is extremely unacceptable on this issue).
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