Reince Priebus the Machiavellian in, Michael Steele Out As GOP Chair

After a controversial two-year run as Chairman of The Republican Party, Michael Steele is out as its chairman, and Wisconsin lawyer Reince Priebus is in.

Trouble is, after seven voting rounds and some anxiety on the part of Tea Party types who wanted , the Republicans have picked a person who's name they can't even say and many aren't pleased with.

Erick Erickson, who seems to have cleaned up his racist act over at RedState, wrote "I wish Reince Priebus well, look forward to learning how to say his name, and am excited to work with him." To which some of his readers commented on how they can't say his name:

pronunciation guide.

Does Reince rhyme with rinse? Or is it a long i sound? Or long e?

How about the last name?

Who is this Reince Priebus, anyway? Well, a quick look says the Chairman of The Republican Party of Wisconsin is "a partner in our Litigation Practice Group," according to Michael Best & Friedrich law firm in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and they continue...

"Co-Chair of the Construction Group and Government and Public Policy Group. Currently, Mr. Priebus handles all aspects of corporate litigation...Before entering law school, Mr. Priebus worked in the Wisconsin legislature. During that time, Mr. Priebus also served as the Committee Clerk for the State Assembly Education Committee. During law school, Mr. Priebus clerked for the Wisconsin Court of Appeals, the Supreme Court of Wisconsin, the United States District Court, Southern District of Florida and the NAACP Legal Defense Fund in Los Angeles, California."

Priebus may be young and accomplished, but also a bit of a back-stabber.  According to Riehl World View, Priebus, in going for the chairmanship of the GOP, may have pulled off a Machiavellian snatch worthy of politician Francis Urquhart.

Who?

Francis Urquhart is the fictional Tory Whip portrayed by the late Ian Richardson in the critically acclaimed TV Drama House of Cards. Urquhart used his proximity to the Prime Minster as a weapon to eventually cause the PM to resign under scandal.

Riehl World View reports that "Preibus, in addition to being party chair in WI, is the former right-hand man to Steele. He served has the campaign manager for Steele’s run for Chair and then took a staff job as General Counsel at the RNC, which would position him to approve all of Steele’s contracts with outside consultants or friends. Which he did, apparently."

Aside from backstabbing, er gaining votes from Steele's friends like gathering nuts for the winter, he's also known for this slip, calling Osama Bin Ladin, Obama. And...



Well, from the frying pan (Steele) to the fire (Priebus) go the GOP.

Stay tuned. Some extremist GOPers hate that Priebus was picked, saying he wrecked the donor base. A number of blogs have called for Conservatives to give their money to other organizations and not the GOP.