This news can't bode well for the reelection hopes of Republican National Committee chairman Bob Duncan.

For the first time in party history, members of the Republican National Committee have called their own unscheduled meeting without the aid of the Washington-based party apparatus.

Organized by North Dakota Republican Party chairman Gary Emineth, the meeting will convene for the specific purpose of hosting a forum for candidates running to chair the national committee. Members will meet at an as-of-yet-undecided location in Washington on January 7.

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Several RNC watchers who did not sign on to the meeting but who support it nonetheless say the meeting is a victory for those running to unseat incumbent chairman Mike Duncan. The meeting will give the other five prominent candidates an opportunity to campaign amongst the 168 voting national committee members in advance of the election, which takes place during the last weekend in January.

Taegan Goddard correctly writes, "It's just another sign that the Republican party lacks a natural leader after getting blown out in two consecutive election cycles." And with Politico reporting that Ken Blackwell, whose candidacy for the Governorship of Ohio two years ago was an unmitigated failure, "appears to be leading in the race to become the next chairman" of the RNC, it looks like the Republican Party could be without a leader -- or at least a meaningful one who has the capacity to connect with the American people -- for some time to come.