Rep. Tom Cole (R-OK) called for the resignation of Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele over the weekend, in the wake of Steele’s comments criticizing the Afghanistan war.
“Frankly, I find Steele’s remarks totally unacceptable,” said Cole, a former chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee, in a statement on Saturday. “He should apologize and resign. He undercut American forces fighting in the field, politicized further a war that two presidents of different parties have deemed in the national interest and embarrassed the party he purports to lead. It is time for him to go — quickly.”
This came after comments by Steele late last week, in which he said: “Keep in mind again, federal candidates, this was a war of Obama’s choosing. This is not something the United States had actively prosecuted or wanted to engage in.” He quickly backed away from his denunciation of the war itself, while sticking to criticism of Obama.
Eric Kleefeld
Eric Kleefeld joined TPM as an intern for the final months of the 2006 midterm elections, and then kept showing up for work. His other interests include guitars, old comic books and the politics of various English-speaking countries.
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