Category Archives: RNC

January 25, 2013 · 10:53 AM

G.O.P. Seeks To Crib Obama’s Campaign Playbook

Alan Colmes’ Liberaland

The extent of the party’s 2012 failure has finally sunk in:

The Republican National Committee is reviewing the party’s deficiencies, particularly in technology and grass-roots organizing, that contributed to Mitt Romney’s sound defeat last year. The excuses and grievances that several top Republicans offered up after the election have been supplanted by pledges to strengthen the party.

“We need to get people organized and learn from what Obama did,” said Mike Duncan, a former national party chairman who now represents Kentucky on the committee. “ We’ve got to reverse engineer what they did and leapfrog to the next cycle.”building-obamacare.jpeg3-460x307

… Republican leaders acknowledged the urgent need to make the party more welcoming to a broader cross-section of Americans, particularly women, Hispanics and blacks.

The consensus is that this was a failure at the top of the Republican Party:

Republican officials from across the country said a new tone is needed, and they called on the party to take cues from its 30 governors rather than become consumed by Republicans’ differences in Washington.

But, as Joan Walsh points out in a new analysis at Salon, using LA Gov. Bobby Jindal as an example, this strategy reveals a new Achilles’ heel or two for the Party of Reagan:

The man hailed by the Washington Post’s Chris Cillizza for his readiness to “speak truth to GOP power” in a tedious speech to the Republican National Committee Thursday night is anything but a rebel or renegade. One night before his big 2016 star turn, Jindal was forced by national outrage to reverse himself on what is one of the ugliest GOP policy decisions in an ugly decade: cutting Medicaid funding for hospice care. His health secretary actually announced the decision Wednesday night as hospice backers gathered for a mournful candlelight vigil.

Good timing; continued attention to Jindal’s hospice cruelty might have made it tough for him to be the new public face of what he hopes will be the diversity-friendly GOP.

Yet Jindal’s other cruel cuts are set to stand – cuts to battered women’s shelter programs, to higher education, preschool programs, anti-truancy efforts and a range of other efforts to make life better for low-income people. Meanwhile Jindal wants to replace the state’s income tax with more regressive sales taxes.

Meet the new GOP, just the same as the old GOP…

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July 18, 2011 · 9:12 PM

RNC Goes After Obama For Using White House In Campaign Ad Like Everybody Else

This is getting so old…

Think Progress

Presidents have engaged in the perhaps unseemly but legal practice of using the White House as a backdrop for their campaign ads pretty much since campaign ads became a thing. But now the head of the RNC is calling President Barack Obama’s decision to do the same thing an “apparent crime.”

“As Chairman of the Republican National Committee, I have the responsibility to hold the President accountable for his reckless spending, for the unsustainable growth of government and the crushing debt he is leaving for future generations of Americans, and now, sadly, for his apparent criminal behavior,” RNC Chair Reince Priebus wrote in a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder.

“I never expected I would be in this regrettable position, but the President’s conduct and the White House staff’s stonewalling leave me no choice,” Priebus wrote.

It all started when the Obama presidential campaign released a video of Obama asking supporters to get involved in his reelection campaign and enter a contest to win dinner with him and the Vice President. Some Republicans raised questions about the ad being filmed in the White House.

Priebus writes that it is a “crime for the President of the United States to solicit political contributions in a place of official government business.” True enough. But ads filmed in the White House residence are perfectly legal, according to a 1979 opinion by the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel. Since that’s where the White House counsel says the ad was filmed, we’re square, right?

Not quite, says Priebus. “According to multiple individuals with knowledge of the White House’s rooms and layout, the video appears to have been recorded in the Map Room,” he writes. “According to news reports, however, the White House Counsel has indicated that the video was filmed somewhere in the residential portion of the White House.”

Only one problem: the Map Room is part of the residence. The White House is pushing back on Priebus’ criticism.

“As we have said in the past, this was wholly appropriate and routinely done in past administrations, as evidenced by an abundance of examples spanning the past three decades,” White House spokesman Eric Schultz said in a statement to TPM and other news outlets. “In fact, experts and lawyers have said publicly that all of what this administration is doing is above board.”

Several previous presidents have used the White House in their campaign ads. President George W. Bushfilmed an ad with his wife in the White House residence back in 2004 and a number of President Bill Clinton’s advertisements featured the White House.

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January 14, 2011 · 8:14 PM

Meet Newly-Elected RNC Chair Reince Priebus

This guy will make as much news as Steele did during his tenure… 

Think Progress

Reince Priebus just became the 65th Chairman of the RNC by garnering 97 votes in the seventh round of voting. After the fourth vote, Michael Steele dropped out of the running and said, “It’s very clear that the party wants to do something different.” Saul Anuzis obtained 43 votes and Maria Cino 28 votes. Here is what you need to know about the new RNC chairman:

– Priebus’s law firm sought funds from Obama’s stimulus package: Connecticut GOP chairman Chris Healy noted that Priebus’s Wisconsin law firm helped its clients obtain federal stimulus funds, citing the fact that Priebus’s name was attached to the “Stimulus and Economic Recovery Group.” Priebus immediately responded to the story, claiming he had never worked with his firm’s “Stimulus and Economic Recovery” group.

– His law firm says the recently passed health care bill is constitutional: Priebus’s law firm not only says the law is constitutional, but has touted its benefits to clients.

– Implicated in voter caging: While Priebus was chair of the Wisconsin GOP, the state party engaged fomented voter fraud conspiracies and hatched a voter caging plot with well-funded right-wing allies to suppress minority votes. One Wisconsin Now Executive Director Scot Ross said, “When voter suppression allegations have surfaced in Wisconsin for the past decade, the name Reince Priebus isn’t far behind.”

– He has the backing of many of the Barbour clan: Henry Barbour, a committeeman from Mississippi and the nephew of Gov. Hale Barbour (R-MS), enticed Priebus into running for the RNC chair. Also, Nick Ayers, a close Barbour associate and executive director of the Republican Governors Association, reportedly gave behind-the-scenes support to Priebus, leading many to believe Priebus would favor Barbour for president in 2012. Priebus responded by saying, “I’m not Haley’s choice, I don’t think that Haley has any horse in the race, and he’s made that pretty clear on the record.”

– Priebus had close ties to former chairman Michael Steele, then stabbed him in the back: Priebus was Steele’s general counsel and frequently served as Steele’s top liaison to committee members. In a memo sent to RNC members, Connecticut Party chairman Chris Healy said that Priebus is partly responsible for the RNC’s poor performance. Commenting on Priebus’ run, Steele recently said, “It’s disappointing, you would hope that the bonds of loyalty were thicker than they apparently were.”

– Priebus mistakenly called for Obama’s execution: In a media conference call about Osama Bin Laden, Priebus slipped and accidentally called for the “execution” of Obama three separate times. “My guess is he would believe that Obama should be executed and he oughta be treated as a war criminal,” Priebus explained.

Priebus has said that he is dissatisfied with the 20 million dollar debt ran up by Steele, but as has been shown, Priebus worked closely with Steele during his tenure. So there’s a new face, but it’s still the same old party.

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· 7:56 AM

Zero hour for Michael Steele at RNC

Politico

When the 168 members of the Republican National Committee vote to choose a new chairman [today], they’ll be selecting more than a political tactician-in-chief.

At the end of a cycle that left the RNC deeply in debt, battered by charges of financial mismanagement and undercut and overshadowed by a throng of GOP-aligned outside groups, the committee needs a prolific fundraiser who’s also a top administrator and communicator.

No one in the running exactly fits the bill.

While each of the four party insiders seeking to oust Chairman Michael Steele– who took office less than two years ago with a pledge to give the RNC “something completely different” – brings a unique set of skills, none have the national stature to compete with Steele’s TV-ready style.

Still, the former Maryland lieutenant governor enters Friday’s voting in a dire position, with a majority of RNC members less inclined to praise Steele than to replace him. Steele has already slipped behind his leading challenger in public vote counts of the RNC race.

On a tactical level, the race has come down to two questions: How quickly can Steele’s challengers leave him in the dust? And can anyone get a decisive edge if the chairman falters early?

Wisconsin Republican Party Chairman Reince Priebus, a former Steele adviser and RNC general counsel, has support from more than a quarter of the committee – 44 members, according to POLITICO’s running tally.

In contrast, just 24 members of the committee are known to have decided to support Steele for reelection.   Read More…

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December 13, 2010 · 9:17 AM

Just in Case: Post-R.N.C. Careers for Michael Steele

This is hilarious…

Vanity Fair

 The end of the Michael Steele era is reportedly nigh: according to Politico and Fox News, the Republican National Committee chairman will not dare attempt another term. Steele, for what it’s worth, is keeping mum until [tonight], when he has scheduled a group phone chat. “Steele sent an e-mail to committee members Saturday night with the subject line, ‘conference call,’” Fox News reports. Politico, which characterized the correspondence as “cryptic,” posted Steele’s message. It reads as follows: “Dear Members, Please join me for a private conference call, Monday December 13th at 7:30pm (EST). For your personal conference code please RSPV to … Thank you, and I look forward to talking to you Monday evening. Michael.” Supporters of Steele ought note that the dispatch is completely gaffe-free.

In any event, we’ve already discussed who might replace Steele, and why that person might have a comparatively easier time making friends. We have not, until now, thought about what Steele might do after his tenure ends—whenever that may be. For answers, we turned to the post-R.N.C. careers of five previous committee chairman.

Steele has several options:

Wait a bit, and run for Republican National Committee chairman again: Former chairman Mike Duncan, who lost his own re-election bid to Steele in 2009, may once again vie for Republican-fundraising’s highest office.

Come out of the closet and move to Chelsea: After years of speculation about his sexuality, former chair Ken Mehlman announced he was gay in 2010, four years after the end of his R.N.C. tenure.

Join a G.O.P. fundraising organization that was founded in opposition to Steele: Ed Gillespie, 2003–2005, works on behalf of Karl Rove’s money-aggregating operation, American Crossroads. In April, a former R.N.C. member told TPM that Gillespie, Rove, and the American Crossroads gang “are gathering the sinews of power and drawing off RNC resources.”

Run George W. Bush’s re-election campaign: Marc Racicot spent one year as the head of the R.N.C. before leaving to run Bush’s 2004 campaign.

Mount unsuccessful presidential and Senate runs: Jim Gilmore campaigned in the 2008 presidential election and in the 2008 Virginia senatorial race. As Gilmore is now a footnote in a story about Michael Steele, it almost goes without saying that neither effort was victorious.

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· 8:44 AM

Steele Expected to Step Down

The former Lieutenant Governor of Maryland Mic...

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RNC Chairman Michael Steele may have finally got a clue…that he’s no longer wanted or needed as RNC Chair.

After months of pontificating and touting his qualifications to maintain his chairmanship of the RNC, it appears that Steele will finally relinquish that role…

Political Wire

RNC Chairman Michael Steele is expected to announce he will drop out of the highly contested race to keep his post, sources told Fox News.

Mike Allen: “Friends warn that you never know with Steele, but confide that he has sent them the clear signal he’s dropping out. That’s based in part on the erosion, in the last week, of votes he had been counting on.”

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December 2, 2010 · 3:44 AM

The Republicans’ Next Female Leader?

The Daily Beast

No, it’s not Sarah Palin—Ann Wagner could be the first woman elected head of the Republican National Committee. The former Missouri party chairwoman talks to Shushannah Walshe about Michael Steele‘s erratic tenure, fundraising from outside groups, and more.

It’s been more than three decades since a woman last chaired the Republican National Committee. But now, as Michael Steele’s controversial tenure as chairman of the RNC appears to be ending, a woman has thrown her hat in the ring.

This week, a little-known politician from Missouri declared her candidacy for the GOP top job, and while it’s too early to tell who among the increasingly crowded field of contenders stands the greatest chance of winning, Ann Wagner could become the first woman elected head of the RNC. (The only other woman to hold the job, Mary Louise Smith, was appointed by President Gerald Ford in 1974.)

In a lengthy interview with The Daily Beast this week, Wagner said she didn’t want to “cast aspersions” on Steele’s chairmanship, but still managed to make subtle and not-so-subtle digs at his bumpy tenure.

“There needs to be accountability,” she said. “The chairman needs to be full-time,” she added, noting the needs for “checks and balances and controls.” Beyond that, what the RNC needs, is “strong management and leadership from the very top.”

From the beginning, Steele has been a public-relations headache for the Republican Party, picking a fight with Rush Limbaugh, offering “slum love” to Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal and describing civil unions as “crazy”—all in the first 30 days after taking office.

But whereas Steele is the “off-the-hook” kind guy, who said he wanted to polish the GOP’s image with everyone “including one-armed midgets,” Wagner is less showy—even her most high-level official appointment spoke restraint. (She served for three-and-a-half years as ambassador to Luxemborg, appointed by George W. Bush.)

As chairwoman of the Missouri Republican Party, she is credited with turning the state legislature from blue to red, winning statewide races and crucial votes to George W. Bush in 2000 and 2004. Coming off those victories, she became the RNC co-chairwoman before Bush appointed her to the Luxembourg diplomatic post. Coming back, though, she worried that “perhaps socialism had followed me across the pond,” she said, and so she decided that she “needed to reengage,” successfully chairing Roy Blunt’s Senate campaign.

Continue reading here…

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December 1, 2010 · 1:48 AM

Michael Steele To End RNC Tenure With One Last Demonstration Of Incompetence

One has to wonder why the RNC kept Michael Steel on so long.  Could it be that he has a bunch of dirt on his GOP colleagues?  We’ll see…

Huffington Post – Jason Linkins

Michael Steele’s tenure as the chairman of the Republican National Committee has been primarily marked by gaffes and financial mismanagement and scandal and donor mocking and people quitting in disgust and near constant calls for him to resign. Democrats are going to miss him when he’s gone! And gone he soon shall be, as well. As competitors emerge to challenge Steele for the RNC top spot, their suits are steeled by polling data that supports his ouster.

But, hey, how about one more Steele-related mishap, for auld lang syne? Over at TPM, Ryan J. Reilly notes that Steele is under fire for the money he’s lavished on a “longtime assistant”:

Critics of RNC Chairman Michael Steele have also focused on a lucrative job given to his longtime aide, Belinda Cook, convention-related gigs given to her family and friends and a variety of large expenses footed by the RNC.The Washington Times first reported on Cook’s salary — which is nearly three times what her predecessor made — earlier this month. Over two years ahead of the 2012 convention in Tampa, Steele signed a contract making Cook a “convention liaison” and paying her $15,000 per month.

FEC records show that Cook was also paid $25,000 for “Political Strategy Consulting” back in July. Records reflect thousands of dollars in additional reimbursements made to Cook for travel, food and beverages.

Additionally, Reilly notes that the RNC has already dropped $636,800 on the 2012 Republican National Convention:

That’s 18 times the amount spent that was spent in a comparable time frame four years ago, the Washington Post reported, causing more than a few raised eyebrows within the party.

You wouldn’t have thought it possible that Steele could make his colleagues’ eyebrows raise any higher, but there you go.

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October 7, 2010 · 7:24 PM

Wisconsin GOP Chairman Priebus calls for Obama’s execution!!!

Democurmudgeon

Reince Priebus is the “the boosterish, workaholic chairman of the Wisconsin GOP.”

Oh, he is so much more than that. He’s Wisconsin’s Barney Fife and sometimes mentioned as a possible replacement for his good friend Michael Steele.

In a recent media conference call with Wispolitics.com, about Sen. Russ Feingold’s position that Osama bin Laden should be sentenced to life in prison if captured instead of executed, Priebus made a jaw dropping Freudian slip.

Priebus “accidentally” called for “Obama’s” execution, three whole times, when he should have said Osama. What conservative wouldn’t confuse the world’s most infamous terrorist with the United States President? Check it out

For those who would defend Priebus by claiming it was just a gaffe, I would like to defer to Rience’s own words from this same interview below:

“Now, some people would just say that maybe he just used the wrong word, and it was just a gaffe, from a normally smooth skilled politician. Well if that’s the case, then it’s a pretty major misstep this close to the election…”

And who calls bin Laden by his first name?

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September 16, 2010 · 6:57 AM

WAPO: Righty pundits on ‘suicide’ watch

Conservative pundit Michelle Malkin with Repub...

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This is going to be interesting to watch.  Will there be an implosion within the Republican party, resulting in a schism so wide that it might be irreversible? 

Washington Post – Media Notes - Howard Kurtz 

Conservative pundits are split on Christine O’Donnell’s victory, just as they were on her Delaware primary campaign. The question of the hour: What does it mean?With Karl Rove whacking away at her, several prominent commentators on the right are somewhere between distraught and distressed over the O’Donnell win, while others are angry at the Architect. Check out Michelle Malkin taking on her fellow Fox contributor: 

“Rove came across as an effete sore loser instead of the supposedly brilliant and grounded GOP strategist that he’s supposed to be. Expect more Washington Republicans to start sounding like tea party-bashing libs as their entrenched incumbent friends go down.” 

Former WSJer Tunku Varadarajan, in the Daily Beast: 

 The Tea Party has won its precious primaries. And I am stomping my foot as I write this, because that party has succeeded in handing American democracy back to the floundering Democrats. 

In Delaware, Republican primary voters have delivered a gift to their opponents: the gift of near-certain re-election. Confirming the truth that primaries are but a sweaty, vulgar contest in which ideological bully boys stomp to the forefront, Republican die-hards have voted for “purity,” an elusive concept at the best of times, but in this context a vote for suicide. 

 Frum Forum also sees a dark day for the GOP: 

 The real action in this election cycle was in the Republican primaries, they are almost over, and we already know who won: (drum roll, please!) President Obama. American conservatives have suffered a crushing and lasting defeat. The center of gravity in American politics has shifted permanently and irreversibly to the left (and conservative ideology will eventually follow). 

At Hot Air, though, Ed Morrissey blames the Republican establishment: 

 What does Mike Castle’s crash and burn among Delaware Republicans say about their party organization? After all, we have heard oodles of commentary about how Delaware Republicans are moderates who might get energized by the Tea Party but supposedly aren’t looking for conservative candidates. Instead, they convinced Castle to leave a relatively safe House seat instead of looking for someone who hadn’t backed a government takeover of the energy sector in cap-and-trade (in a coal-dependent region!) and co-sponsored the DISCLOSE Act. Perhaps had the GOP establishment listened a little more carefully to Delaware Republicans, who turned out relatively heavily in this election, they wouldn’t find themselves crying in their lattes this morning. 

They stuck with a liberal, establishment candidate in a cycle where liberals and establishment figures are uniquely unpopular. Had the Republican leadership been in touch with Delaware Republican voters, they might have found a more suitable candidate for the popular mood, and would not have had to deal with Christine O’Donnell and her outsider bid. They have no one to blame but themselves. 

Continue reading… 

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