Uh oh -- RNC's Steele may lose control of party purse strings

Oh snap. This is humiliating for Michael "MC" Steele. Since all the talk has been about when he was getting the boot, it looks like the insiders would prefer a death by a thousand cuts, in this case, don't trust the money with the negro.

A battle over control of the party's purse strings has erupted at the troubled Republican National Committee, with defenders of Chairman Michael S. Steele accusing dissident RNC members of trying to "embarrass and neuter" the party's new leader.

Randy Pullen, the RNC's elected treasurer, former RNC General Counsel David Norcross and three other former top RNC officers have presented Mr. Steele with a resolution, calling for a new set of checks and balances on the chairman's power to dole out money. The powers include new controls on awarding contracts and spending money on outside legal and other services.

Mr. Steele could not be reached, and a spokesman for the RNC chairman declined to comment on the move.

Needless to say, it's not surprising that they are going for public flogging of Steele, who was seen as a figurehead color cover for the color-aroused, retro GOP. What's sad is that I'm sure Steele really thought he was going to break some serious new ground, and take the party in another direction -- perhaps feebly -- but even meager steps were met with the wrath of Rushbo and his party wingnuts. A Steele supporter, however, gets right to the point -- it's cutting the balls of head of the party out for all to see.

"I urge you to reject this hostile attempt to embarrass and neuter the chairman of the RNC," Wisconsin Republican Party Chairman Reince Priebus wrote in an e-mail to the 168-member national committee.

Honestly, this kind of scapegoating of Steele is pathetic. The bigoted, know-nothings running the party know the political death spiral the GOP is in is unstoppable. The GOP had its chance to rule the roost for years and it spectacularly blew it and nearly destroyed the country. And now they have to blame someone for their failed policies and stubborn denial of the changing demographics of this nation. Steele's ambition and naivete got the best of him -- and now he's being made to look like a Republican lawn jockey more than ever.