I think the power hierarchy is backwards from what you describe. Were I Mr. Steele, Mmes. Snowe, Collins, and Mr. Specter would be informed that, while the GOP values the Big Tent approach and has no litmus tests, it might become necessary to find candidates in the next election who respect fiscal sensibilities of the electorate. The GOP is rebuilding, replacing the country club Rs whose prolifigate spending in part lead to the Current Difficulties.I don't really think Mr. Steele will soon be in the position to inform Mmes. Snowe and Collins and Mr. Specter much of anything. He's not making a particularly good showing of himself of late. And now, this:
I'm actually kind of ambivalent about this. While I rather enjoy seeing the GOP in turmoil, and am happy to see the new chairman lousing things up in an almost balletic fashion, I actually think what he said above is pretty damn sane for a Republican. If the GOP were to move in the direction those comments indicate, I would find it slightly more palatable. (Only just slightly, but still...) So the predictable mau-mauing he's now enjoying is a bit depressing, frankly.In an interview with Lisa DePaulo of GQ, Mr. Steele was asked about his views on abortion and homosexuality, and in both cases gave answers that could give heartburn to conservatives.
On abortion, Mr. Steele said that Roe v. Wade was “wrongly decided” and that states should decide the issue. But he also said that the issue was one of “individual choice” and that women had the right to choose abortion. (The R.N.C.’s platform states the party’s opposition to abortion rights.)
Asked whether homosexuality is a choice, Mr. Steele responded no. “I think that there’s a whole lot that goes into the makeup of an individual that, uh, you just can’t simply say, oh, like, ‘Tomorrow morning I’m gonna stop being gay,’” Mr. Steele said. “It’s like saying, ‘Tomorrow morning I’m gonna stop being black.’”
One way or another, though, John, I'm a-thinkin' my dime is still on Snowe and Collins.
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Here I happen to agree with Mr. Steele. I think abortion should be decided at a State level (I'm a Federalist at heart), and I agree that homosexuality is not a choice, at least in the simplistic sense normally offered by the Bible Thumpers. It seems reasonable to expect a genetic component along with the standard effects of a distribution of human characteristics (such as sexual preference).
ReplyDeleteOTOH, I'm much less optimistic that Mr. Steele will manage to survive as RNC chair. As I said, if I were running the RNC, I'd be darned if I'd let Mms. Snowe and Collins and Mr. Specter dilute the "fiscal responsibility" brand I'd bring to the RNC. Of course, that is one (among many) reasons I'm not RNC chair.