Steele: Democrats Should "Chill Out" on Sotomayor
Sotomayor "is getting a much fairer shot at explaining her case" than previous nominees appearing before a Democratic Congress, Steele told CBSNews.com in an exclusive interview.
"All the histrionics and the noisemaking by the Democratic members of the committee -- just chill out," he said. "Because we know what you did with Judge Alito, and Judge Roberts, and Lord knows we know what you did with Justice Thomas. So I don't want to hear that."
Speaking after his address to the NAACP convention in New York, Steele said Republicans do not need to walk a tightrope in their questioning of Sotomayor for fear of alienating Hispanics. He said Sotomayor must be "appropriately vetted" and that the nominee has made troubling statements in the past. (Watch the full interview at left.)
"I don't think the country is best served by having an activist jurist on the bench who in the president's words is empathetic to the person standing in front of him, blind to the fact that the law or the Constitution says this is the appropriate outcome," Steele said.
"That is a real concern for a lot of Republicans," he said. "It is not anti-Hispanic, it is not anti-Sotomayor."
Steele also responded to a question about whether he would invite soon-to-be-former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin to head a GOP fundraiser. Some Republican candidates have expressed reservations about having her campaign for them.
"If Sarah Palin wishes to be a part of what I am doing in any way, shape or form: Sarah, you are more than welcome," Steele said.
"I consider Sarah Palin a friend," he added. "I admire the courage it took for her to do what she's done. She's looking out for her state and her family and I think we should all respect that and not try to second guess her decisions."