Thomas Sowell has hit the nail on the head in his March 17, 2009 post, "The Republican Civil War.  In particular:

"Steele has since apologized to Rush but you cannot unring the bell.

More important, the mindset it betrays is at the heart of many of the problems of the Republican Party, going back for years, long before Michael Steele appeared on the scene.

There has long been an element of the Republican Party that has felt a need to distance themselves from people who stand up for conservative principles…"

What Sowell didn't mention was Steele's prochoice statements to GQ.  If Mr. Steele is going to remain a Catholic, he should at least refrain from endorsing in public this central issue to which his church is opposed.  By doing so, he places himself in the same category as Pelosi and Kerry.  He has again tried to talk himself out of responsibility for his comments, but, again, the bell cannot be unrung.

Pursuing Republican unity at any cost was already attempted with the John McCain nomination.  If we keep Mr. Steele as Chairman, just to look "unified", we are travelling down that same path to failure.  Sure, it will "look bad", but who are we worried about looking bad to?  No one but liberals, wishy-washy moderates and RINOs.

I always liked Michael Steele as a contributor to Fox News.  He has an engaging personality, and I'm always encouraged when I see more black Republicans in GOP positions.  But the fact that his non-conservative personal convictions flow so freely and unexpectedly from his mouth in the presence of liberals is reason enough to replace him.  We can't continue with this mindset that we need to sound more like liberals to get them to "like" us.

Our country is ready for a Revolution that Michael Steele is not ready for, and is incapable of leading.  Why?  Because it is a revolution that takes place in the heart and mind, and Mr. Steele just isn't there yet.