Wednesday, March 11, 2009

RNC leader Michael Steele is pro-choice.

Michael Steele, the leader of the Republican Party, has stated that he is pro-choice on abortion rights in this interview with GQ magazine:

[Steele:] 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.

[GQ:] Are you saying you think women have the right to choose abortion?

[Steele:] Yeah. I mean, again, I think that’s an individual choice.


[GQ:] You do?

[Steele:] Yeah. Absolutely.
Well, I admire the fact that he's so open-minded about what kind of positions on abortion are acceptable in the Republican party. I'm not saying that to tweak him -- he explicitly makes this point:
[GQ:] Do pro-choicers have a place in the Republican Party?

[Steele:] Absolutely!

[GQ:] How so?

[Steele:] You know, Lee Atwater said it best: We are a big-tent party. We recognize that there are views that may be divergent on some issues, but our goal is to correspond, or try to respond, to some core values and principles that we can agree on.

[GQ:] Do you think you’re more welcoming to pro-choice people than Democrats are to pro-lifers?

[Steele:] Now that’s a good question. I would say we are. Because the Democrats wouldn’t allow a pro-lifer to speak at their convention. We’ve had many a pro-choicer speak at ours—long before Rudy Giuliani. So yeah, that’s something I’ve been trying to get our party to appreciate.
Kathryn Jean Lopez at National Review says: "Steele might just want to take a media break."

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