WASHINGTON - Last year, with some fanfare, former Maryland Lt. Gov. Michael S. Steele joined two prominent Republican moderates in announcing the revival of a centrist political organization, the Republican Leadership Council.
Now, Steele's name has mysteriously disappeared from the RLC's Web site.
Until recently, he was prominently listed as one of three co-founders, along with former New Jersey Gov. Christine Todd Whitman and former Missouri Sen. John Danforth. The change apparently happened within the past week, according to an Internet search.
There could be a practical reason for the disappearance of Steele's footprints from the site: His link to the group, critics say, is hurting his campaign for chairman of the Republican National Committee.
Social conservatives remain a potent force inside the Republican Party, and some have sharply criticized Steele's ties to the RLC. Steele, a former Catholic seminarian, is opposed to abortion, but Whitman has long drawn the scorn of activists for her support of abortion rights.
Colleen Parro, executive director of the anti-abortion Republican National Coalition for Life, recently called Steele's involvement with the RLC "deeply troubling."
She broke into laughter yesterday after clicking on the RLC's Web site and learning that the description of Steele's involvement was gone.
Neither officials with the RLC nor Steele responded to requests to discuss the Web alterations, but Parro noted that Steele was listed as a co-founder of the group as recently as last Friday. She saw the change as evidence that "he is trying to get away from it."
"It reflects the fact that it isn't a plus for anyone seeking the Republican National Committee chairmanship to be aligned so closely with the woman who was the most pro-abortion governor in the country and raises money to elect pro-abortion Republicans to Congress," said Parro. "It's unfortunate that, you know, that he chose to join up with them back when."
Co-founding the moderate group with Whitman has "caused Michael Steele quite a bit of problem among members of the RNC," she said. "It points to inconsistency and poor judgment on his part, so that's a problem."
The RLC, with Whitman as its most prominent member, has partnered with a number of moderate Republican organizations, including Log Cabin Republicans, which promotes gay rights within the party, and other groups that recruit Republican candidates who favor abortion rights, that are anathema to many social and religious conservatives.
