Steele to critics: 'Get over it'

Former RNC Chairman Michael Steele lashed out Saturday night at Republicans grumbling over the party's decision to hold the GOP convention in Florida at the height of hurricane season.

With Tropical Storm Isaac forcing Republicans to cancel the first day of proceedings, some party operatives are privately pointing a finger at Steele, who helmed the GOP when the party settled on Tampa.

"They just need to stop that s---, ok, get over it," Steele told POLITICO. "First off, they act like I did nothing for two years and then something they don't like I did it all."

Steele, frequently a target of criticism for his turbulent two-year stewardship of the RNC, said that he agreed with the decision to pick Tampa but that the call to hold it here was made by first the party's site selection panel and than agreed upon by the full committee.

"I didn't have a vote," he said.

The former chairman said they considered the weather risk of holding a late-August convention in a Gulf Coast city.

"We gamed all that out," Steele said. "It was part of the discussion from day one. I don't know why people are acting all surprised."

Asked why they went forward with Tampa knowing it could be hit by a storm, Steele said: "You have to ask the committee members of the site selection committee."

Republicans considered three cities, Salt Lake City, Phoenix, and Tampa, before choosing Tampa.