STEELE STRUGGLES FOR SUPPORT…. Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele probably didn’t have much in the way of fun last week. A series of humiliating controversies — including one in which donor money was spent at “a bondage-themed nightclub featuring topless women dancers imitating lesbian sex” — knocked him and his party on their heels, and drove RNC donors away.
With renewed questions about Steele’s competence circulating, the embarrassing RNC chair was a topic of conversation on the Sunday shows, and party leaders declined to offer Steele a vote of confidence.
Two top Republicans were not showing the love for party boss Michael Steele on Sunday after two of sex-themed embarrassments rocked the GOP last week. […]
“This kind of thing has got to stop or they won’t get any contributions,” said Arizona Sen. Jon Kyl, the No. 2 Republican in the Senate, on “Fox News Sunday.”
Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) who leads recruitment for the National Republican Congressional Committee, declined to offer Steele a vote of confidence.
“The RNC does have some challenges that they need to correct,” McCarthy said.
For his part, Steele spoke to George Stephanopoulos for ABC’s “Good Morning America,” and the RNC leader said he would not step down from his post. Steele went on to say that race likely plays a factor in his on-the-job difficulties.
“The honest answer is, ‘yes,’” he said on “Good Morning America” today. “Barack Obama has a slimmer margin. A lot of folks do. It’s a different role for me to play and others to play and that’s just the reality of it. But you just take that as a part of the nature of it.”
This has the potential to make matters worse. Steele has plenty of detractors in Republican circles, and if they believe Steele is accusing them of racially-motivated criticism, they’re likely to push back aggressively.
