GOP Donors: Away from RNC, Toward Independent Group?

After breaking the Voyeur nightclub story that became an instant headache for the GOP, the Daily Caller follows up with the next logical step in the arena of Michael Steele's troubles: that a few big-time RNC donors have not given to the Republican National Committee since 2008, while they have given to the National Republican Senatorial Committee and the National Republican Congressional Committee--the party's Senate and House campaign arms.

This is where stories like the Voyeur incident start to become a problem for the RNC: if donors shy away from giving money, then the committee is encountering a difficulty in its main objective--to raise money for the party.

But it's also important to note that it doesn't actually hurt the Republican Party if donors have a problem with Steele, as the Daily Caller's story suggests they do, quoting an anonymous donor and noting the giving patterns of other donors who wouldn't comment on the record. The RNC would have used that money to get Republican candidates elected anyway, so it's not as if the party nets a loss if Steele has a hiccup with big-time GOP donors.

Another interesting story of note: National Journal's Peter H. Stone reports that GOP donors are turning toward American Crossroads, the 527 soft-money group headed up by that GOP super-strategists Karl Rove and Ed Gillespie have been raising millions of dollars to launch.