Steele Yields Powers To Foes In RNC

From The Washington Times:

EXCLUSIVE: Steele yields powers to foes in RNC
Accepts limits on spending
By Ralph Z. Hallow (Contact) | Wednesday, May 6, 2009

Capitulating to critics on the Republican National Committee, embattled Republican Party Chairman Michael S. Steele has signed a secret pact agreeing to controls and restraints on how he spends hundreds of millions of dollars in party funds and contracts, The Washington Times has learned.

The "good governance" agreement revives checks and balances Mr. Steele resisted implementing for RNC contracts, fees for legal work and other expenditures that were not renewed after the 2008 presidential nominating contest.

The agreement, proposed by several current and former RNC officials, goes further, making 33-year RNC veteran Jay Banning, who was fired by Mr. Steele along with his deputy last month, an on-call adviser to the RNC treasurer. Mr. Banning was seen as a trusted liaison to RNC members critical of Mr. Steele's tenure and financial management.

"I regard them - the Steele administration - bound by it," former Republican National Committee General Counsel David Norcross told The Times on Tuesday.

Mr. Norcross, RNC Treasurer Randy Pullen, chairman of the Arizona Republican Party, and former party budget chiefs Ron Kaufman and Alec Poitevint had fought with Mr. Steele over having the 168-member committee vote on restoring the "good governance" guidelines created in 2004 at a special May 20 meeting.

Trevor Francis, the RNC's new communications director, would not comment on the agreement that several of the dissident members said was reached.

"Everything was already in place," Mr. Francis said.

Rest of article at link above.
---------------------------------------------

Now, I could comment here, but I'll let Shay, from Booker Rising, give the last comment:

I call it as I see it. Ol' boy is letting these dudes symbolically whip his back like a slave. As chairman, he has the power to hire and fire but yet he's required to re-hire someone whom he let go? Every other chairman has controlled the purse strings, but Steele cannot do so?

Steele is clearly politically weak, and not HNIC but in a Tobyesque situation.

For those that don't understand the Roots Reference: