Michael Steele is finished as chair of the Republican National Committee.
The RNC obviously had no problem with Steele's very thin record of accomplishment. They were not apparently bothered by the Hip Hop outreach to blacks and Hispanics. He even got a second chance after daring to speak a cross word about Massa Limbaugh.
But there are deviations from GOP orthodoxy and then there are deviations from GOP orthodoxy.
Declaring abortion a legitimate choice would be an example of the latter.
How much of your pro-life stance, for you, is informed not just by your Catholic faith but by the fact that you were adopted?Don't get me wrong. I think he's right, and I applaud his willingness to say that as leader of the Republican National Committee.
Oh, a lot. Absolutely. I see the power of life in that—I mean, and the power of choice! The thing to keep in mind about it… Uh, you know, I think as a country we get off on these misguided conversations that throw around terms that really misrepresent truth.
Explain that.
The choice issue cuts two ways. You can choose life, or you can choose abortion. You know, my mother chose life. So, you know, I think the power of the argument of choice boils down to stating a case for one or the other.
Are you saying you think women have the right to choose abortion?
Yeah. I mean, again, I think that’s an individual choice.
You do?
Yeah. Absolutely.
That having been said, there is no amount of walking back that will save Steele from the firestorm that is probably erupting already among the people who really decide what happens in GOP politics. Nobody but nobody in the Republican Party is going to let him get away with one those "I didn't say what I was thinking what I was saying," type of apologies on this one.
Steele went on to say that pro-choicers "absolutely" have a place in the "big-tent" Republican Party. I guess we'll see about that.
I'll be surprised if he still has that job by the end of the day.
