Is Karl Rove Setting Up a “Shadow RNC”?

This story has apparently been bouncing around for a few weeks, but has just recently come to my attention. It’s no secret that many old guard, big money Republicans have been less than thrilled with the leadership ability shown by Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele. And while many big donors have been avoiding or threatening to avoid the RNC, Steele’s unique qualification (i.e., he’s black) seems to make him unfireable. So, what’s a big time, power-hungry GOPer to do if he doesn’t want to work with the RNC? Start your own!

Well, that seems to be pretty much what Karl Rove, Mike Duncan (Steele’s predecessor as RNC head), Ed Gillespie (another former RNC Chairman and Bush White House Counselor), and Steve Laws (former general counsel of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce) have done. TPM reports:

There is growing worry that a mysterious new Republican political action committee formed by Bush-era heavyweights including Karl Rove could harm the Republican National Committee down the line. As we’ve been reporting about the RNC’s woes and chairman Michael Steele’s tenure, more and more GOPers tell me that Rove’s new “American Crossroads” group spells trouble.

“That is very destructive to the party,” a former very high-ranking RNC official told me in an interview today. The official said the group, which already has $30 million in donor pledges but does not seem to have an active Web site, will have broad implications for the RNC if it is successful during this election cycle.

The former official told me that my story about Steele sparring with Rove and his allies offers a glimpse at where the new group is headed. “They are gathering the sinews of power and drawing off RNC resources. If they have the power, the party will have to turn back to them for leadership,” he said.

Another TPM story delves into some of the backstory on the split, namely that many Bush-era Republicans are upset at how Steele cleaned them out of the RNC when he took over.

As I was putting this post together, the thought occurred to me, “So what?” We’re all aware that the GOP is being pulled in different directions, with various groups vying for the soul of the Party. I think the most interesting part of this story is how quickly the disgraced Bushies have returned to reclaim their control of the party. They’re the reason the GOP is in such disarray. Now, with Obama-reaction Michael Steele driving the party even deeper into the hole, Rove and his merry band of Bushies are back, mounting credible competition to the “party establishment” after only two years. Did anyone else expect to see someone like Rove back so soon?