GOPWars: Katon Dawson At The Norquist Meeting, Tina Benkiser?

More dispatches from the coming battle for control of the Republican Party, which is itself the first of many long engagements on the march back to coherence. As always, if John McCain wins the election, he'll appoint his own RNC chairman, but the party will still go to war.

** Katon Dawson, the South Carolina Republican Party chairman, will visit Grover Norquist's Wednesday meeting of conservative activists. He'll also make the rounds of conservative opinion leaders.

** Tina Benkiser, the chair of the Texas Republican Party and an activist  who played a key role in her state party's conservatization five years ago, is beginning to make phone calls. She might be interested in the race. She's identified with the Christian Right, which may be a problem for the some of the party's establishment/Northeastern members, but she's very capable and well regarded.