We already know that the Michael Steele’s RNC has shed big donors over wild spending even before the racy nightclubs and Steele’s own private jet expenditures and that his all-Steele-all-the-time approach has driven away experienced staffers.
Brody Mullins reports that the Republican elders are joining together in what could be a way to work around Steele and the imploding RNC.
A new group, American Crossroads, is trying to raise $50 million to help Republicans this fall. And with the new Supreme Court decision allowing independent expenditures, they could make that money stick.
From Mullins:
“The new American Crossroads organization will be run by former RNC Chairman Mike Duncan and Joanne Davidson, a onetime RNC co-chair. Former RNC Chairman Ed Gillespie and former White House adviser Karl Rove are informally advising the organization.
The day-to-day operations will be handled by Steven Law, who is leaving a top role at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Republican consultant Jim Dyke will also be involved.”
The inclusion of Dyke, Gillespie, and Rove suggest strategic know how. The presence of Duncan and Davidson suggest fundraising juice.
I suspect many big donors who are sick of the RNC drama will take advantage of the chance to work with the old pros.
UPDATE:
RNC Communications Director Doug Heye emailed to say that the new group led by Steele’s predecessor is not a concern for the party.
“It is absolutely a good thing. Groups that help to organize and energize conservatives to get to the polls in November will play a critical role in GOP successes in November.”
Maybe. But there has to be some ego bruising when two former party chairmen start a new group at just the moment when the current chairman is in a serious downdraft.
The sting may be softened, though, by the fact that even though the Supreme Court denied the RNC’s bid to overturn the ban on soft money contributions to parties, those dollars will still have someplace to go.
National Journal’s Peter Stone has more on the group here.
