A follow-up to Ed’s post from earlier today: The Washington Times spies a gathering storm.

Republicans close to each man say they are intent on ousting Mike Duncan when his tenure ends in January and to insert themselves to articulate a counter-agenda to President-elect Barack Obama´s administration.

A bevy of backers for each man, neither of whom is an RNC member, have been burning up the phone lines and firing off e-mails as they try to sway the 168 RNC members in the wake of the second consecutive drubbing of Republicans at the polls.

“The Republican National Committee has to ask itself if it wants someone who has successfully led a revolution,” Randy Evans, Gingrich confidante and personal attorney based in Atlanta, told The Washington Times on Monday…

“Steele is a good guy,” Mr. Gingrich said in an e-mail response to The Washington Times. “There are a number of good guys.”

I’m partial to Newt just because he seems at times to be the only man left in the party with any new policy ideas, but you can’t go wrong either way.

You know what this calls for. Exit question: Is it worth trusting the Wash Times this time when they teased us with a similar story about a Steele chairmanship bid that went nowhere two years ago?

Update: None of the above, says Huck, who’s evidently going the Obama-esque crony route.