Steele wants states to decide and BIG GOVT OUT.

• Michael Steele..Does he even know what he believes? (sm) - Just the big bad
  • I just wish they ALL could be honest - Mrs. Bridger
  • Steele wants states to decide and BIG GOVT OUT. - You just make fun of ALL conservatives..your gig.n
    • He also said when asked..(sm) - Just the big bad
  • Gee, and we thought with Bush out of office . . . - penny

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By Philip Klein on 3.11.09 @ 10:15PM

In 1983, Woody Allen made the mockumentary film Zelig about a man who longs for approval so badly that he changes to fit the people who are surrounding him. The movie may as well have been written about Michael Steele, who continues to tie himself in knots as part of his effort to reach out to moderates.

Steele already has been ridiculed by all sides of the political spectrum for blasting Rush Limbaugh on CNN only to apologize when he received blowback. But now, via Matt Lewis, I see he told GQ that he believes abortion is an individual choice. Here's the portion of the interview:

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.

So basically, in an effort to seem more inclusive, Steele tried to appropriate the language of the left by saying life is a choice, but then he allowed himself to be backed into a corner in which he said that women have the right to choose abortion -- by definition, a pro-choice postion. Perhaps realizing what he had just said, Steele then tried to add nuance to his point:

Are you saying you don’t want to overturn Roe v. Wade?
I think Roe v. Wade—as a legal matter, Roe v. Wade was a wrongly decided matter.

Okay, but if you overturn Roe v. Wade, how do women have the choice you just said they should have?
The states should make that choice. That’s what the choice is. The individual choice rests in the states. Let them decide.

Do pro-choicers have a place in the Republican Party?
Absolutely!

So, after getting boxed in, he suddenly shifts from "individual choice" meaning "women have the right to choose an abortion" to it meaning that states have an "individual choice" about whether or not to permit women to exercise choice. Liz Mair, charitably, thinks that Steele was trying to express the pro-choice, anti-Roe, position but that he just was clumsy about it. Even if that were the case, however, it wouldn't be consistent with other recent statements he made on the subject.  

In December, when he was under fire during the RNC race for being a member of Christine Todd Whitman's moderate Republican Leadership Council, he portrayed himself as emphatically pro-life to CBN's David Brody, barbing, "I was a monk for goodness sakes ok?" Appearing on Fox News Sunday after his election to serve as RNC chair, Steele declared, "I'm a pro-life Roman Catholic conservative, always have been."

In a debate moderated by Tim Russert during the 2006 U.S. Senate race in Maryland, Steele was all over the place on Roe. Check out the following exchange:

MR. RUSSERT: Would, would you encourage — would you hope the U.S. Supreme Court overturns Roe vs. Wade?

LT. GOV. STEELE: I think that that’s a matter that’s going to rightly belong to the courts to decide ultimately whether or not that, that issue should be addressed. The, the Court has taken a position, which I agree, stare decisis, which means that the law is as it is and, and so this is a matter that’s ultimately going to be adjudicated at the states. We’re seeing that. The states are beginning to decide for themselves on, on this and a host of other issues. And the Supreme Court would ultimately decide that.

MR. RUSSERT: But you hope that the Court keeps Roe v. Wade in place?

LT. GOV. STEELE: I think the Court will evaluate the law as society progresses, as the Court is supposed to do.

MR. RUSSERT: But what’s your position? Do you want them to sustain it or overturn it?

LT. GOV. STEELE: Well, I think, I think, I think Roe vs. Wade, Roe vs. Wade is a, is a matter that

should’ve been left to the states to decide, ultimately. But it, it is where it is today, and the courts will ultimately decide whether or not this, this gets addressed by the states, goes back to the states in some form or they overturn it outright.

MR. RUSSERT: Is is your desire to keep it in place?

LT. GOV. STEELE: My desire is that we follow what stare decisis is at this point, yes.

Huh?

The problem with Steele's defenders is that they like the idea of Steele -- i.e., the idea that Steele is going to reach out to moderates. But the reality of Steele is quite different. He is proving himself to be a shape shifter who is trying to please everybody, but in the end delivering a completely muddled message. Ultimately no pro-choice independent or Democrat is going to be more inclined to become a Republican as a result of that GQ interview, because Steele comes off like a bumbling clown who is trying to have it both ways. The mere fact that we have to have a whole debate over what he means demonstrates that he's doing a terrible job at communicating. And lest we forget, communication was supposed to be his strong suit.

http://spectator.org/blog/2009/03/11/michael-zelig-steele

We haven't even begun to pay the piper - We can't afford it!

If you think it sounds extreme, it is.  But if you do your own research, you'll hear his own words saying he'll literally bankrupt the coal industry.  The MSM somehow "managed" to forget about this way back from January 2008!   He said our electricity bills will "skyrocket!"  This is disturbing!  Right or left, the media has no right to pull this crap.  They aren't even shy about their lovefest over this guy.  This isn't journalism.  There's a big difference between news reporters and commentators.

Our utility rates are already high enough.  Why would anyone want to pay even one dime more?  Someone please tell me their desire to do so.  Google NE coal miners, etc., and you should find more info.

Good luck to you. 

I like Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. Hate snow, afraid of volcanoes, and can't take heat anymore. Hubby has been wanting to move to Canada for years. He likes snow and mountains.

I also like Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia. They're cold but I like the sea.

Maybe I can find an nice island halfway between the extremes I posted? Any suggestions? LOL

We watched C-span so that we could be assured nothing would be cut out.  Then we went to MSNBC to see their comments and then FOX to hear their comments.  Sure enough MSNBC was filled with a bunch of sour grapes.  What were they saying about her speech?  Nothing.  They were just upset because she called the media on what they've been reporting about her and they didn't like it.  They want to keep bashing and putting her down and have nothing said back to them.  They are so biased it makes me sick.

This is my likes & dislikes about Sarah Palin.  I like that she is not from Washington.  I like that she has been governor of the state, has passed laws, has made Alaska a better state that works for the people.  I like that she got rid of all the wasteful things (fancy jet, personal chef, chauffer).  I like that she can stand tough when she needs to.  She's knows how to get things done and she's not afraid to go up against the "big boys".  I like that she firmly believes in the 2nd ammendment of the constitution, the right to bear arms, and I like the fact that she knows how to use arms.  I like that she cares about America more than she cares about herself.  I like that her husband owns a business and she has helped him work his commercial fishing business.  So I know she is not for more taxes.  I like that she took from the big oil companies and gave the money rightfully back to the people who deserved it (the Alaskan citizens).  I like that she is a mother, has kids in school, has been to the PTA. That means she is aware of the education system and I like that she got involved to make the schools a better place for all kids.  I like the fact that she and her husband decided to have a child knowing he would have down's syndrome and I like the fact that she doesn't wear it on her sleeve and when she talked about her baby tonight she said our newest addition, a beautiful baby boy (not a beautiful Down's syndrome baby).  I like the fact that her daughter is pregnant.  To me it shows she is as real of a person and her family is the same as most all other Americans and facing the same thing all other americans are.  I like the fact that she was not born into a wealthy family, she worked hard to get where she is at.  I like the fact that for all the snips and nasty comments the democrats said against her and John McCain last week she can dish it right back (and with facts! - which by the way is all the liberal media focused on tonight (how much she picked on the other side)).  I like the fact that I know she and her husband sit down at night after their kids go to bed and they talk about real issues (his business, their kids schooling, etc etc).  I think she is a wonderful, hard working person.  Very knowlegeable about issues (has to be to be a governor).  I like the fact that she does have more experience than Obama does, which because he is running for President he should have more experience then someone running for VP.  Tonight after her speech DH & I both said we need to move to Alaska and have someone like her as our governor.

What I don't like...maybe she's a little too "religious" for me and I've heard that she wants to teach creationalism in schools.  BUT (I wanted to make sure I put that in big letters...but) I can't confirm that and I'm not sure if that is a rumor put out by the liberals, so I really can't say I don't like that about her because I don't know if it's true.  Just keep religion out of politics and I'm happy with that.

So far I can't see anything I dislike about her (which is a far cry from 3 days ago when I couldn't stand her because all I was listening to was MSNBC and CNN).  Now I'm researching and reading more about her accomplishments.

I think she's a wonderful person and will make a fine VP.  Also I do have to say I've been learning more about JM over the past couple days and I have a lot more confidence and respect for him as our next president.  I loved R. Guliani's speech and Mike Huckabee's and the Governor of Hawaii (forget her name).  They all gave fine speeches.

So that's my opion.  To the one just blabbing about how our taxes are going to be raised, blah, blah, blah.  It's all scare tactics.  When the democrats are in is always when people pay more in taxes.  Government grows, jobs go overseas, America becomes less secure, military gets cut way back  Remember NAFTA because of Democrat Billy who shipped jobs overseas and people lost good jobs and homes.  Then he turned around and created these "false" jobs where people had to take jobs paying 1/2 of what they were getting paid but because they paid them so low he could create more jobs giving a "false" impression that he created all these jobs (these people still had to go on food stamps).  Remember how your taxes were raised because of Democrat Billy who jumped my tax bracket from 21% to 37% and even then at the end of the year we had to pay an additional $2500 cos we didn't pay enough to support all of his programs.  Remember Kosovo, Somalia, etc.  Remember how Democrat Billy gutted the military which made our country less safe, hence the first attack on the world trade centers.  Remember how Democrat Billy had the chance to capture OBL but he didn't.  Remember the lies.  Remember how Democrat Hillary was trying to socialize health care.  Some people may think Bush is "one fry short of a happy meal" but at least our taxes went down, and we had job security and our military was built up and I once again had faith in the country,  Sure the country is not perfect.  Sure President Bush has made some real "dufus" decisions and mistakes, but it's nothing compared to the mess the country was in the last time the Democrats were in office.

That is why I'm voting for McCain/Palin.  I've got my fire resistant suit on. 

So what are you saying?  That it is fair for them to admit incompetence, whine for help and take the people's money, but its nobody's business what they spend it on?  Corporate welfare has got to stop!

This is no different than if a relative came begging for help making their house payment, you gave it to them, then instead they blew it on caviar and a cruise - and expected/demanded more money from you in the future.  Would you feel you had the right then to tell them what to do with it?  Or would you refuse to give them another cent and let them crash and burn?

In this society, when an individual admits their incompetence and declares (or has concerned others prove) they are unable to handle their affairs, they are made a ward of the court with a guardian or a committee of guardians to tell them what to do with their money and their lives.  This is not a temporary situation (such as individual welfare is supposed to be), the government has more huge payments to AIG scheduled.   Yes, there should be strings attached to the money - BIG ones.