doctordog
04-06-2010, 12:12 AM
Republican National Committee Chief of Staff Ken McKay resigned Monday, becoming the highest-ranking official to depart the committee after revelations that the national party spent nearly $2,000 at California sex club.
McKay’s departure in turn prompted one of RNC Chairman Michael Steele’s closest advisers to cut ties to the party – an indication that a full-scale bloodletting is under way at the troubled committee.
Doug Heye, communications director for the RNC, declined to say if McKay was forced out but indicated the move was directly related to the money spent at the now-infamous Voyeur Club and broader concerns about the party’s fundraising and the performance of Steele.
"This is about ensuring that we have the tightest financial controls in place and to ensure that every nickel we spend is done with the goal of winning in November,” said Heye.
Steele was more explicit in an email message sent Monday night to committee members and donors, many of whom were caught by surprise about the decision.
“Leadership requires that I can safely assure you, our donors, and the American people that our mission is what drives every dollar we spend, every phone call we make, every email we send and every event we organize,” Steele wrote in the email, obtained by POLITICO. “Recent events have called that assurance into question and the buck stops with me. That is why I have made this change in my management team and why I am confident about going forward to November with renewed focus and energy.”
McKay didn’t immediately respond to an email requesting comment.
But his apparent firing has roiled the close-knit world of GOP operatives and Monday night longtime Republican strategist and Steele adviser Curt Anderson said his consulting firm would no longer be working with the RNC.
“Ken McKay’s departure is a huge loss for the Republican Party,” Anderson said in a statement to POLITICO. “Ken steered the party through very successful elections last fall that have given us tremendous momentum. He’s a great talent. Given our firm’s commitments to campaigns all over the country we have concluded it is best for us to step away from our advisory role at the RNC. We have high personal regard for the Chairman and always have; we wish him well.”
Anderson, who brought McKay in to run the committee’s day-to-day operations last year, said he was not consulted on the decision to replace the chief of staff.
The departure of the duo suggests Monday’s moves represent the culmination of a power struggle within the committee.
Steele is “circling the wagons,” said a GOP operative close to the committee.”
“He’s putting loyalists in to run things,” the operative said, noting that both Leavitt and Heye, who joined the committee earlier this year, both worked on Steele’s Senate campaign.
McKay was Rhode Island Gov. Don Carcieri's campaign manager in 2002 and 2006 and previously served as the governor's chief of staff.
Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0410/35414.html#ixzz0kI2oHVOC
McKay’s departure in turn prompted one of RNC Chairman Michael Steele’s closest advisers to cut ties to the party – an indication that a full-scale bloodletting is under way at the troubled committee.
Doug Heye, communications director for the RNC, declined to say if McKay was forced out but indicated the move was directly related to the money spent at the now-infamous Voyeur Club and broader concerns about the party’s fundraising and the performance of Steele.
"This is about ensuring that we have the tightest financial controls in place and to ensure that every nickel we spend is done with the goal of winning in November,” said Heye.
Steele was more explicit in an email message sent Monday night to committee members and donors, many of whom were caught by surprise about the decision.
“Leadership requires that I can safely assure you, our donors, and the American people that our mission is what drives every dollar we spend, every phone call we make, every email we send and every event we organize,” Steele wrote in the email, obtained by POLITICO. “Recent events have called that assurance into question and the buck stops with me. That is why I have made this change in my management team and why I am confident about going forward to November with renewed focus and energy.”
McKay didn’t immediately respond to an email requesting comment.
But his apparent firing has roiled the close-knit world of GOP operatives and Monday night longtime Republican strategist and Steele adviser Curt Anderson said his consulting firm would no longer be working with the RNC.
“Ken McKay’s departure is a huge loss for the Republican Party,” Anderson said in a statement to POLITICO. “Ken steered the party through very successful elections last fall that have given us tremendous momentum. He’s a great talent. Given our firm’s commitments to campaigns all over the country we have concluded it is best for us to step away from our advisory role at the RNC. We have high personal regard for the Chairman and always have; we wish him well.”
Anderson, who brought McKay in to run the committee’s day-to-day operations last year, said he was not consulted on the decision to replace the chief of staff.
The departure of the duo suggests Monday’s moves represent the culmination of a power struggle within the committee.
Steele is “circling the wagons,” said a GOP operative close to the committee.”
“He’s putting loyalists in to run things,” the operative said, noting that both Leavitt and Heye, who joined the committee earlier this year, both worked on Steele’s Senate campaign.
McKay was Rhode Island Gov. Don Carcieri's campaign manager in 2002 and 2006 and previously served as the governor's chief of staff.
Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0410/35414.html#ixzz0kI2oHVOC