Sebelius nomination and the RNC

I haven't been following the Sebelius nomination too closely, as I assumed that it would be with minimal issues. Michael Steele's comments (RNC Chairman who has been more scared of Rush Limbaugh than the American public) that Sebelius should be blocked unless she discloses more about her position on late-term abortions is ridiculous.
First off - the problems of the American health care system has nothing to do with the abortion debate
Secondly - isn't abortion now just a legal issue that will be decided in the Supreme Court? I'm sure there's probably some minor, arcane stuff that HHS could do, but in the end this is a legal issue.

So frustrating. Can't imagine that michael steele will be around much longer.

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24 April 2009
The Boston Globe

The head of the GOP called on President Obama yesterday to withdraw Kathleen Sebelius's nomination as health secretary unless she answers more questions on abortion, after Republicans blocked immediate action on Sebelius's confirmation in the Senate, probably pushing a final vote to next week at the earliest.

Michael Steele, Republican National Committee chairman, said Sebelius, the Democratic governor of Kansas who would complete Obama's Cabinet if confirmed, has not been forthcoming about her ties to a Kansas abortion doctor, George Tiller.

"Significant questions remain about Governor Kathleen Sebelius's evolving relationship with a late-term abortion doctor as well as about her position on the practice of late-term abortions," Steele said in a statement. "If Governor Sebelius and the Obama administration are unwilling to answer these questions, President Obama should withdraw her nomination."

The White House declined to comment. A spokesman for the Senate majority leader, Harry Reid dismissed Steele's complaints.

"This is nothing more than a baseless attack from someone desperate to stake a claim as the leader of the leaderless Republicans and get right with the right-wing of his party," said Jim Manley, spokesman for Reid.

The Senate Finance Committee approved Sebelius this week with 2 of 10 GOP votes. Several Republicans - including the top committee Republican, Chuck Grassley of Iowa - raised concerns about her initial failure to tell senators how much campaign money she got from Tiller.

When the discrepancy became public, Sebelius acknowledged getting an additional $23,000 from Tiller and his abortion clinic beyond the $12,450 she initially reported. She apologized and said it was an inadvertent error.

Sebelius told the Finance Committee that she personally opposes abortion, but she also has a long record in Kansas politics of supporting abortion rights. She has drawn the ire of antiabortion groups for repeatedly vetoing legislation sought by antiabortion groups to impose more regulations on abortion clinics and rewrite the state's restrictions on late-term abortions, including yesterday blocking a bill to require doctors to provide more information to the state.