Newly-elected Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus is already busy at work, on such issues as fundraising and party organization — and turning the page from predecessor Michael Steele, who he defeated for re-election last week.
“I have no goal to become … some cable TV rock star,” Priebus told USA Today. “I’m the guy from Wisconsin. I’m somebody who is willing to work like a dog.”
And, it seems, part of working like a dog means getting rid of the people who worked for Michael Steele.
• As USA Today reports: “In less than a week on the job, Priebus, 38, has fired Steele aides charged with organizing the GOP’s 2012 national convention in Tampa and appointed two veteran political operatives — Ed Gillespie, a former RNC chairman and adviser to President George W. Bush, and Nick Ayers, who ran the Republican Governors Association — to guide his transition.”
• And as the party announced in a press release today, they have assembled a new Transition Finance Team:
The team is lead by national co-chairs Sam Fox, Ron Weiser and Al Hoffman - veteran Republican fundraisers who will help restore relationships with donors. Just five days into Chairman Priebus’ term, the group has secured a meeting at the RNC next Tuesday with some of the nation’s top Republican fundraisers.
And as National Journal reported earlier this week, the RNC has fired Steele’s coalitions department.
The sharp turns may be paying off, too — as National Journal also notes, they raised $300,000 from big donors, a group that had been dissatisfied with Steele, just on Wednesday.
Eric Kleefeld
Eric Kleefeld joined TPM as an intern for the final months of the 2006 midterm elections, and then kept showing up for work. His other interests include guitars, old comic books and the politics of various English-speaking countries.
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