Republican National Committee Chair Michael Steele should resign from his post immediately, according to the American Family Association’s new online survey.

In light of Steele’s regrettable GQ interview, AFA President Don Wildmon asked members if the beleaguered Republican chief should resign from his post, declaring the former Lieutenant Governor of Maryland believes “abortion is a choice, and homosexuality is not.”

An overwhelming 94% of the more than 74,500 respondents answered Wildmon in the affirmative. 

Likewise making their displeasure known, prominent social conservative luminaries characterized Steele’s mea-culpa as “very troubling.” Ken Blackwell, who formerly endorsed Steele after withdrawing from consideration for chairman on the fifth round of balloting, sternly instructed his former rival to “re-read the Bible, the U.S. Constitution, and the 2008 GOP Platform … or get out of the way.”

Both Chairman Steele and his socially conservative detractors, the number of which are growing by the thousands at AFA’s website, are sorely misinformed: The role of RNC Chairman is not one of a curator of opinion. Steele’s opinions on abortion and gay rights – whenever he settles on one – should have no influence on the implementation of sound strategies in his capacity as chairman.

Speculating perhaps that the “open,” candidate-centered campaign for chairman manufactured Steele’s present predicament by creating the perception that the candidates’ opinions actually mattered, Phil Klein writes, “in the end, it turned the race into more of a personality contest.”

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In what will only serve as additional ammunition for his more socially conservative detractors, RNC chief Michael Steele split with the party faithful and took a decidedly controversial position: That homosexuality was not, in his opinion, a choice.

“I don’t think I’ve ever really subscribed to [the] view [that homosexuality is a choice], that you can turn it on and off like a water tap,” he said in a recent interview with GQ’s Lisa DePaulo. Even going so far as comparing the static nature of sexuality to race, he said, “You just can’t simply say, oh, like, ‘Tomorrow morning I’m gonna’ stop being gay.’ It’s like saying, ‘Tomorrow morning I’m gonna’ stop being black.’”

Steele’s comments, while seemingly refreshing to moderate GOP members, highlight a serious concern among the fledgling chairman’s critics. His proclivity for embarrassing gaffes is forcing the RNC’s skeleton crew to work double-time to salvage what remains of his once sterling reputation as a polished spokesman.

“Lest we forget, communication was supposed to be his strongest suit,” writes an irritated Phil Klein. But why, then, must we be inundated with stories of clearly avoidable mistakes? Klein argues that Steele’s desire to portray a moderate-friendly image at all times, even at the cost of abandoning his own principles, results in the delivery of a “completely muddled message.”

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