Michael Steele Steps In It, Again

Steele has not had a smooth beginning as RNC chairman.

When the Republican Party was down and out, following Barry Goldwater's disastrous 1964 showing, the GOP turned to Ray Bliss, a nuts-and-bolts kind of guy from Ohio to lead them out of the desert.

And lead them out he did. The party picked up 47 seats in the House and three in the Senate in the 1966 midterms. Ronald Reagan ousted Pat Brown in California that year, one of 10 states where Republicans took over the governorship from Democrats. Two years later, Richard Nixon won the White House.

Ray Bliss is not a household name, nor was he back then. And maybe that's how national party chairmen should be: behind the scenes, letting the candidates get the glory and attention.

Michael Steele is not that kind of chairman.

In fairness, nowadays the folks who head up the RNC or DNC are not shrinking violets. Republicans had larger-than-life figures in Lee Atwater and Haley Barbour. Democrats had theirs in Ron Brown, Terry McAuliffe and Howard Dean. These were powerful men with large egos who loved the limelight.

And Steele was already a well-known public figure. The former lieutenant governor of Maryland and his party's 2006 Senate nominee, Steele is a familiar face on Fox News. And as the party's first African-American chairman, he was never someone destined to disappear into the woodwork.

But as someone thought to be media-savvy, he has not had an easy beginning. Two examples:

-- He suggested that he might back a primary challenge to the three Republican senators who voted for President Obama's economic stimulus package -- Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania (who is up in 2010) and Maine's Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe. A curious message sent by someone who says he wants to bring new faces and voices into the party (and someone whose party is down to just 41 seats in the Senate).

-- He found himself in a famous contretemps with Rush Limbaugh, having called the conservative radio host an "entertainer" who sometimes made "incendiary" and "ugly" remarks, only to back down and apologize -- all to the delight of the White House and Democrats, who said the incident showed America who the real head of the GOP was.

And now, in an interview with GQ magazine that's out this month, Steele had this exchange about abortion rights:

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?

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.

(A post by Politico's Ben Smith today notes that Steele has clarified his views on abortion; the RNC chair said, "I am pro-life, always have been, always will be.")

Has Steele lost the confidence of party insiders? It's too soon to say, but I do know there has been some serious grumbling. My NPR colleague Ron Elving thinks Steele may be gone in a matter of days. I don't think that's the case, but it's certainly not the kind of honeymoon he expected.

In case you were wondering: Matt Cooper writes in Talking Points Memo that the shortest tenure of any RNC chairman was C. Wesley Roberts of Kansas, who served four months in 1953.

At last: Steele today announced the naming of Ken McKay to be the new RNC chief of staff. McKay was the campaign manager for Rhode Island Gov. Don Carcieri in his 2002 and 2006 victories.

(Check out my NPR colleague Liz Halloran's write-up of the latest Steele controversy.)