Mr. Steele first resisted the resolution, but then began using the term “socialist” to describe President Obama and the Democrats himself.

In discussing Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter’s abrupt switch from Republican to Democrat, Mr. Steele said on CNN’s “Newsroom” on April 28: “President Obama’s spending package, you know, the $780 billion in the stimulus and the budget, made [Mr. Specter] realize he’s a Democrat.”

“Well, if spending the hard-earned dollars of the American people and redistributing their wealth and moving towards a collectivist socialist approach to government, if that helps you realize you’re a Democrat, then, you know, good riddance,” Mr. Steele concluded.