Despite numerous humiliating, hilarious, and hideous flubs by Michael Steele, the figurehead of the Republican National Committee, he has been able to ride out each embarrassing event because each time, the powers that be couldn’t quite figure out how to fire his *ss without looking like racists.

After all, it was Steele himself who said the GOP needed a “hip hop makeover” and he was the man to do the job. So when the sh*t repeatedly hit the fan, Steele tried to toss out the race card, most prominently when he was under fire for all of the financial shenanigans and mismanagement at the RNC. The angry naysayers backed down.

Not surprisingly, Steele has again opened his piehole without checking with the GOP men in the Big House. This time it is about the war in Afghanistan that has Republicans going on the record to call for Steele to pack it in. He said this at a fundraiser in Connecticut:

“The McChrystal incident, to me, was very comical,” Steele said. “I think it’s a reflection of the frustration that a lot of our military leaders has with this Administration and their prosecution of the war in Afghanistan. Keep in mind again, federal candidates, this was a war of Obama’s choosing. This was not something that the United States had actively prosecuted or wanted to engage in.

“But it was the President who was trying to be cute by half by building a script demonizing Iraq, while saying the battle really should in Afghanistan. Well, if he is such a student of history, has he not understood that you know that’s the one thing you don’t do, is engage in a land war in Afghanistan? Alright, because everyone who has tried over a thousand years of history has failed, and there are reasons for that. There are other ways to engage in Afghanistan.”

The reaction on the right was swift and unforgiving.

“You are, I know, a patriot,” Kristol, editor of the Weekly Standard, wrote in an open letter to Steele. “So I ask you to consider, over this July 4 weekend, doing an act of service for the country you love: Resign as chairman of the Republican party.”

Kristol added: “Needless to say, the war in Afghanistan was not ‘a war of Obama’s choosing.’ It has been prosecuted by the United States under Presidents Bush and Obama. Republicans have consistently supported the effort…There are, of course, those who think we should pull out of Afghanistan, and they’re certainly entitled to make their case. But one of them shouldn’t be the chairman of the Republican party.”

Activist Erick Erickson wrote on his influential RedState blog: “Michael Steele must resign. He has lost all moral authority to lead the GOP.”

Pam: Former all-white country club member Katon Dawson, who competed with Steele for the chairman’s job last year, told CNN: “The RNC should do the responsible thing and show Steele the door. Enough is enough.” Several other conservatives said in blog and Twitter posts that they agreed.

And more …

“The chairman of the Republican party must be unwavering in his support for American victory in the war on terror — a victory that cannot be accomplished if we do not prevail in Afghanistan,” [Keep America Safe Chairman Liz] Cheney said. “I endorse fully Bill Kristol’s letter to Chairman Steele. It is time for Chairman Steele to step down.”

Former Bush administration official Dan Senor told POLITICO that “a leader of the national Republican Party should not be popping off with half-cocked, neo-isolationist ideas on serious national security issues.”

Senor, who served as a White House and Pentagon adviser in Iraq, added that “Steele’s comments smack of hypocrisy, given the Republican Party’s strong support for President Bush’s post-9/11 policies.”

UPDATE: GOProud says give Steele the heave-ho.

Christopher R. Barron, Chairman of the Board:

“Michael Steele’s comments regarding the war in Afghanistan are inexcusable.  These comments are not just another gaffe that can be explained away, they represent a fundamental failure to understand the importance of winning the war on global extremism.

“Chairman Steele shouldn’t need to be reminded that the war in Afghanistan was not a ‘war of Obama’s choosing.’  The Chairman of the RNC shouldn’t need to be reminded that it was terrorists operating from bases in Afghanistan who started this war on September 11, 2001.

“Michael Steele is dead wrong; the war in Afghanistan is not lost.  What is lost, however, is any shred of confidence that conservatives can have in his leadership at the RNC.  This election cycle is simply too important to the future of the conservative movement and to the future of this country to be trusted to someone like Michael Steele.”

Past Steele-related classics:

* Michael Steele agrees to be neutered by his masters at the RNC

* Steele: yeah, the GOP screwed up the economy

* Game over, man 2 – Steele: same-sex couples deserve legal recognition; being gay isn’t a choice

* Asked if he’s stepping down, Steele says ‘Not me Baby! Nuh-uh. Not happening.’

* North Carolina RNC member calls for Steele’s head – plus a hip-hop humiliation video