Michael Steele's Bad Times Keep On Rolling

Posted by Steve Benen, Washington Monthly at 4:23 AM on March 13, 2009.

As expected, conservatives aren't at all pleased with RNC Chairman Michael Steele's comments about gay and abortion rights to GQ.

* Mike Huckabee: "For Chairman Steele to even infer that taking a life is totally left up to the individual is not only a reversal of Republican policy and principle, but it's a violation of the most basic of human rights -- the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. His statement today helps, but doesn't explain why he would ever say what he did in the first place."

* Former Ohio Secretary of State and former RNC rival Ken Blackwell: "Chairman Steele, as the leader of America's Pro-Life conservative party, needs to re-read the Bible, the U.S. Constitution, and the 2008 GOP Platform. He then needs to get to work -- or get out of the way."

* Family Research Council: "I read the article last night so I am familiar not only with his comments about the life issue but also about the efforts to redefine marriage and 'mucking' up the constitution. I expressed my concerns to the chairman earlier this week about previous statements that were very similar in nature. He assured me as chairman his views did not matter and that he would be upholding and promoting the Party platform, which is very clear on these issues. It is very difficult to reconcile the GQ interview with the chairman's pledge."

GOP dirty trickster Roger Stone said the GQ interview was "one more nail in the coffin" for Steele. National Review's Kathryn Jean Lopez wonders whether Steele "might be in over his head."

Given all of this, I found this parody video, sent in by reader K.M., to be hilarious:

I argued two days ago that Steele would probably be able to weather the storm, because the party wouldn't want the embarrassment that would come with firing him. But that was before I saw the GQ interview and the reaction it generated. Now, I'd put his odds at 50-50.

Tagged as: conservatives, rnc, michael steele, gop civil war

Steve Benen is "blogger in chief" of the popular Washington Monthly online blog, Political Animal. His background includes publishing The Carpetbagger Report, and writing for a variety of publications, including Talking Points Memo, The American Prospect, the Huffington Post, and The Guardian. He has also appeared on NPR's "Talk of the Nation," MSNBC's "Rachel Maddow Show," Air America Radio's "Sam Seder Show," and XM Radio's "POTUS '08."