Michael Steele – “This Is Not The Republican Party I Want To Be A Part Of…”

Former Chairman of the RNC Michael Steele and David Corn went on MSNBC’s The Ed Show on Wednesday and spoke about the unbelievable position Republicans and their leaders are taking in the gun debate. Responding to a statement from David Corn where he said that he was “looking for a Republican who will call out this portion of the Republican party who have gone over the edge,” Michael began by saying that he is a supporter of the Second Amendment. And he reassured the audience that he supports the NRA, although he was not a member.

He went on;

“It is time for Republicans across the spectrum and particular on issues like this to stop doing stupid. This is one of those moments where, yea, be concerned about a power grab by the government to come after your guns. I understand that argument completely. But at the same time Ed and David, in the front of your mind are the images of twenty caskets of six year old kids. And you’ve got to say at some point this is not about emotionalism, this is about that reality.

And the leaders of the party have to recognize that we have 85, 90% of the American people solidified behind an issue to begin an honest discussion, not a debate necessarily, a discussion about how do we proceed to keep our kids safe. We should be at the forefront of that.”

When Ed pointed out that the Republican party is not at the forefront of that discussion, Michael Steele chimed in, “I agree with that!”

Ed then spoke about a fund-raising letter that the NRA sent out claiming that they are prepared to do “the battle of the century.” He read from the letter where the NRA told its supporters that “Barack Obama, Joe Biden, and their gun ban allies in Congress only want to blame you, vilify you, bully you and strip you of your Second Amendment freedoms.” Ed then asked Michael if “this is where the Republican party want to go.”

Michael Steele responded that this is not where the party wanted to go. He then said, “this is certainly not the party I joined when I was a young man and it is certainly not the party I want to be a part of in the future if that’s where the party is going.”

Steele ended the segment by saying that he believes there are Republicans in Congress who will vote for sensible gun laws because that is what a majority of Americans want.

David Corn concluded that the only GOP voices being heard now on this issue are the crazy ones. He said that they are the ones framing the case for the Republican leaders in Congress.