C.Y.I.N. Case Study : Who Does Michael Steele Think He Is?!?

Well, Mike Steele's barely had the gig a week, and he's already shaking things up in his own party.



Tell em' where to take their "winning Conservative formula" Mikey!

Top staffers at the Republican National Committee were told to submit their resignations today, with some being told they will not get their jobs back in what insiders call a top-to-bottom review of the entire organization.

The move signals Steele's plan to reshape the party, which was trounced at the polls in 2006 and 2008.

The RNC has about 100 staff members, many of whom have been told that their last day on the job will be Feb. 15, a Republican source told Politico, which reported the story Thursday morning.

Some aides may stay on, the source said, but several senior aides who were expecting the changes voluntarily submitted their resignations soon after Steele's election last week.

State victory directors will be jobless after tomorrow, according to sources inside the RNC, while other staffers in the political and communications departments have been told they may be rehired.

The moves are the first major staffing decisions made under new RNC chairman Michael Steele. Steele ousted former chairman Robert "Mike" Duncan and outlasted four other candidates last Friday to capture the chairmanship.

"You know, the chairman reserves the right to make decisions that reflect his vision and leadership," said one RNC staffer who had to turn in a resignation letter today.

Still, the staffer quipped: "It is starting to feel like the Steele-your-job administration."

"Steele promised significant organizational change which includes significant staff turnover at the RNC and he is going to deliver it," one source close to the new chairman told The Hill on Thursday night.

"There are some changes at the RNC," said Jim Greer, chairman of the Florida Republican Party and a member of Steele's transition team.

"All of the members of the transition team are meeting with people and evaluating each department," Greer continued. "Across the board, the entire organization is having a top-to-bottom look."

Greer said the staff cuts may not be over. "Although there are some that are told today, there may be some that are told tomorrow and some that won't be told at all," he said.

I'm not well versed in party etiquette, so perhaps it's perfectly normal for a new leader to come in and clean house. After all, these guys were a bunch of losers. But tossing folks out on their a$$es in this economy can't be the best look. The unemployment situation is bad enough as-is.

Perhaps House Republicans can offer them some tax breaks to help them find their next gigs.

Again, I don't know what to read into this, so I'll ask ya'll.

Question: Is Steele trying to make a point of flexing his political capital, or did the RNC merely need have its house cleaned anyway?

RNC shake-up: Steele asks for resignations [TheHill]