Here’s one of those stories which seems to have slipped through the cracks and not shown up on any of the larger conservative blogs I read. If it had, I’m not sure what sort of reception it would have received. The new chairman of the RNC, Michael Steele, sat down this weekend for a chat with Chris Wallace on Fox News. During his discussion of the future of the GOP, he let slip with a couple of interesting remarks. (Video available at the link above.)
WALLACE: You are one of the co-founders of something called the Republican Leadership Council which supports candidates who favor abortion and gay rights.
STEELE: Yes.
WALLACE: Does the GOP needs to do a better job of reaching out to people who hold those views?
STEELE: I think — I think that’s an important opportunity for us, absolutely. Within our party we do have those who have that view as well as outside and my partnership with Christy Todd Whittman was an effort to build a bridge between moderates and conservatives.
Given that Steele is currently at the helm of a party with a solid majority who want to mold themselves after Sarah Palin, it will be interesting to see how much traction he gains with these ideas. But is it impossible? Not really. A party in power, such as the current edition of the Democrats, tends to fall on their swords and being feeding on themselves. A minority party which has been driven from power will generally find any and all ways to claw their way back. This type of chatter won’t sit very well with a lot of the base, but the position the party currently finds itself in may present an opportunity for moderate Republicans to come back to the fold.