The Republican National Convention has cut ties with a well-respected GOP operative whose name was connected to a super PAC proposal to run commercials reminding voters about President Barack Obama’s bombastic old preacher, Rev. Jeremiah Wright.
An official with the convention confirmed that Becki Donatelli and her firm, Campaign Solutions, are no longer helping with planning for the convention in Tampa this summer.
“Campaign Solutions was retained to help develop our convention website and digital strategy, but they are no longer involved in convention planning,” spokesman James Davis told The Daily Caller in a statement on Tuesday.
While her name was listed in proposal documents, Donatelli says she had nothing to do with the origin of the Wright plan.
The New York Times first reported the news about Republicans cutting ties with Donatelli on Monday.
Last week, the paper reported that millionaire Joe Ricketts was considering giving $10 million to the Ending Spending Action Fund for ads exploring Wright’s relationship with the president. The plan said 2008 Republican presidential nominee John McCain missed an opportunity by opting against making Wright a campaign issue.
Ricketts distanced himself from the plan after it went public, saying it was just a proposal and he did not approve of it.
Likewise, Dontelli said she had no involvement in the design of the plan. She has, however, served as an adviser to the Ending Spending Action Fund.
“Anyone who knows me knows that John McCain is my political North Star and I would never participate in anything that denigrated my political hero or in anyway distracted from or undermined the ultimate success of the Romney for President Campaign,” Donatelli said in a statement provided to TheDC.
Donatelli told TheDC that she is “not commenting further on the story.”
A knowledgeable Republican source estimated to TheDC on Tuesday that Donatelli and her firm are likely losing out on hundreds of thousands of dollars by no longer having the contract with the Republican National Convention.
A takeaway for conservatives, the source said, of Mitt Romney repudiating the plan to revive Wright as a campaign issue — and distancing himself from those associated with it — is that the presumptive nominee is hypersensitive to criticism from the media.
“This shows that he’s going to be milquetoast just like McCain was when it comes to taking on Obama,” the Republican said. “That’s the biggest concern.”
A spokesman for Romney’s presidential campaign didn’t return a request for comment.
Follow Alex on Twitter