Republican aides in the House and Senate have had enough of RNC chair Michael Steele’s big mouth, according to a new report from inside a closed GOP conference call. Aides on the Hill are upset with Steele’s repeated controversial interviews in the press and his recent comments that Republicans may not be “ready to lead.”
Reid Wilson gets the scoop on a tense daily press call with RNC staff, reporting that one angry aide called Steele a “fool” and another told RNC press staff, “you really need to have him be quiet.” The aides told RNC staff Steele was “ruining what should be several days of glowing press for the GOP” after a string of high-profile Democratic retirements.
The RNC staff response, from Wilson’s report on the call:
A senior RNC press aide admitted the shop had no control over Steele’s interviews as he embarks on a book tour to sell his blueprint for a GOP comeback. Steele has hired a public relations firm, the RNC aide said, and the press shop has no control over when interviews are scheduled.
Steele’s interest in the media spotlight has caused him trouble within the RNC, too. Party communications director Trevor Francis resigned the RNC in November, reportedly due to strife with Steele over the chairman’s freelance media schedule.
