RNC Chair Angers Republicans...Again

by: Colorado Pols

Fri Mar 13, 2009 at 11:19:05 AM MDT

Republican National Committee Chairman Michael S. Steele was on the receiving end of a fresh round of criticism from prominent party members yesterday after an interview was released in which he referred to abortion as an "individual choice."

His comments to GQ magazine inflamed abortion opponents, one of the GOP's core constituencies, and further complicated an already difficult first month on the job for Steele.

Former Ohio secretary of state J. Kenneth Blackwell, who endorsed Steele in the RNC chairman's race, harshly condemned the remark. "Chairman Steele needs to reread the Bible, the U.S. Constitution and the 2008 GOP Platform," Blackwell said. "He then needs to get to work or get out of the way."

Mike Huckabee, a former Arkansas governor and 2008 presidential candidate, called Steele's comments "very troubling" in a post on his Huck PAC Web site. Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, condemned Steele's comments as "cavalier" and "flippant," adding that the chairman's remarks "reinforce the belief by many social conservatives that one major party is unfriendly while the other gives only lip service to core moral issues."

Steele probably screwed up in his comments, but it doesn't help the GOP in general to keep sniping at their own leader - particularly when the average voter already considers the Republican Party leaderless.