My first bylined article at Tucker Carlson’s new online venture, The Daily Caller, spotlights the decline in morale among Steele aides as the beleaguered party chief incites one controversy after the next.

A morsel, though do read it in its entirety:

Defecting to the GOP Hill campaign committees after a series of high-profile blunders by Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele, veteran Republican bundlers and donors are expressing doubt in the Committee’s ability to capitalize on what political handicappers project will be a Democratic-hostile cycle.

Vaulting from one controversy to the next–each more embarrassing than the last for the national party apparatus that elected him last year–the embattled RNC chief may yet be weathering another significant loss to his roadmap for Republican success this fall: the mass exodus of staff who say Steele is “making the job harder” in the wake of his near-constant gaffing.

When Mr. Steele incites controversy, like calling Rush Limbaugh’s radio program “ugly” or suggesting Republicans are not yet ready to retake control of Congress, aides are forced to play interference for the chairman with party faithful and officials, with whom his relationship has been strained in recent months for obvious reasons. We have to “divert attention from getting our message out to placating party officials,” one senior RNC official said of the situation. “It’s all about the 168 [RNC voting members].”

Steele, around whom many rumors of ousting swirl, surprised many last week when he announced he had authored a political manifesto for a Republican renaissance. And he did so without the consultation of Republican officials and operatives on Capitol Hill.

Read the remainder of the article for more insight and musings on the inner-workings of the national party’s head quarters from those who know it best.