Last week, Republican National Committee chairman Michael Steele said, “[The war in Afghanistan] is a war of Obama’s choosing. This is not something the United States had actively prosecuted or wanted to engage in,” even though the war began with widespread approval under President Bush. Now his own party isn’t having it.
On The Week this morning, Arizona senator John McCain called Steele’s statements “wildly inaccurate,” saying “there is no excuse for them,” and “Mr. Steele is going to have to assess as to whether he can still lead the Republican Party.” Over on Face the Nation, Republican senator Lindsey Graham (who, by the way, ain’t gay) called the war in Afghanistan “America’s war,” and called Steele’s comments “uninformed, unnecessary, unwise.” Finally, on Fox News Sunday, Republican senator Jim DeMint said Steele “needs to apologize to our military.”
Texan Senator Ron Paul, on the other hand, is one Republican who not only didn’t distance himself from Steele’s remarks, but vehemently stuck up for Steele: “I would like to congratulate Michael Steele for his leadership on one of the most important issues of today,” he said in a statement. “He is absolutely right: Afghanistan is now Obama’s war.”
’Sen. John McCain slams RNC chairman Michael Steele; calls Afghan war remarks ‘wildly inaccurate” [NYDN]
Previously: Michael Steele Taking Foreign-Policy Cues From The Princess Bride
