American Crossroads: Does It Make Steele Irrelevant?

As Raw Story reports, Ed Rollins says that Michael Steele has been a "disaster" for RNC -- but that outside groups limit the damage:

The reason Rollins says it will not matter is because of the so-called "shadow RNC" formed by former Bush political adviser Karl Rove and former RNC Chairman Ed Gillespie, which has effectively undermined Steele's position, rendering him nothing more than a figurehead.

...

Rove and Gillespie said the American Crossroads groups aim to raise and spend over $50 million to influence the 2010 elections. IRS forms obtained by the media showed the "shadow RNC" groups had raised $4.7 million by the end of July, with just four individual billionaires cited as donating over 97 percent of the total.

Tim Dickenson, writing for Rolling Stone, called the plot nothing less than a "coup of the Republican party".

Steele, who's faced a string of controversies seemingly since he was elected to lead the RNC after President Obama's 2008 victory, has vowed to stay put. He recently caught flack from Republicans for suggesting the Afghan war was one of choice for President Obama, and a prior rhetorical tangle he had with conservative radio host and de-facto GOP mouthpiece Rush Limbaugh ended with Steele apologizing.

Whether Steele stays or not, according to Rollins and other GOP insiders, seems of little significance at this point -- so long as he keeps out of the spotlight.