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Stories tagged with “Reince Priebus”

Election

RNC Chairman Says Republican Proposal For $10 Million Of Race-Baiting Anti-Obama Attack Ads Is Obama’s Fault

By Josh Israel on May 20, 2012 at 11:47 am

RNC Chairman Reince Priebus

RNC Chairman Reince Priebus

In an interview on CNN’s State of the Union with Candy Crowley this morning, host Crowley asked RNC Chairman Reince Priebus about a widely-denounced proposal for a pro-Mitt Romney outside group to run millions of dollars in race-baiting attack ads highlighting controversial statement’s by President Obama’s former pastor.

Rather than denounce the proposal or the dangers of having a small group of rich outside donors and corporations free to spend as much as they want to influence elections, Priebus blamed Obama.

After lamenting that Romney and his party had to spend a day and a half dealing with the fallout from the Super PAC proposal, Priebus told Crowley:

I know how it works. It’s the Democrats and Barack Obama that want the story out there. He wants the story to play out in the media, because for every day that [Obama adviser] David Axelrod and this President don’t have to talk about their broken promises when it comes to jobs, the debt, and the deficit — the more time they can talk about hypotheticals that may or may not come true — is a day they want to win on. So, look, this president’s got a bigger problem and his problem is no matter what he puts out there, no matter what distractions he puts out there, he can’t change the truth and escape the reality of where we are in this American economy. And it’s no good.

Watch the video:

It was, of course, actually a Republican strategist with a long history of race-baiting ads who proposed these attack ads for a Super PAC led by a billionaire determined to defeat President Obama’s re-election.

And it was Mitt Romney who, back in February, made similar attacks on President Obama saying: “I don’t know what is worse, him listening to Rev. Wright or him saying that we must be a less Christian nation.” When asked this week about the comments, Romney told reporters “I’m not familiar precisely with exactly what I said, but I stand by what I said, whatever it was.” This, of course, the same Romney who repudiated the Super PAC proposal as “character assassination.”

Economy

RNC Chairman Responds To JPMorgan’s Massive Loss By Saying ‘We Need Less’ Financial Regulation

By Travis Waldron on May 14, 2012 at 11:50 am

The news that JPMorgan Chase lost at least $2 billion on a single trade that went sour is not evidence that the industry needs to be more stringently regulated and is instead proof that Wall Street needs even less regulation, Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus said Sunday.

Republicans, who fought efforts to pass new regulations in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis and have helped weaken the regulations that ultimately passed, have largely remained silent amid widespread calls for stronger regulations since JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon announced the massive loss Thursday. Priebus, however, made it clear during an interview with NBC’s David Gregory yesterday that the GOP still opposes the sort of regulation that could have prevented the losses and protected taxpayers and the economy:

GREGORY: You think we need less financial regulation, rather than more?

PRIEBUS: I think we need less. I mean, the fact of the matter is, Dodd-Frank didn’t work. [...]

GREGORY: So, you’re satisfied with the way Wall Street operates, with the kinds of bets that were taken by JPMorgan Chase that led to this kind of loss. You don’t think that Washington regulators can remedy that?

PRIEBUS: Certainly Dodd-Frank didn’t remedy it.

Watch it:

Sen. John Thune (R-SD) made a similar call on Fox News Sunday, saying, “We need to make sure we get all facts before jumping to conclusions about the need for greater financial regulation.”

It’s hard to make sense of these claims. JPMorgan’s loss is hardly proof of Dodd-Frank’s failure — the Volcker Rule, which could have prevented the trade, hasn’t yet been finalized and implemented. And if Dodd-Frank “didn’t remedy” the problem that led to JPMorgan’s losses, it’s because of the efforts of Republicans and Wall Street lobbyists, who have watered down the rule and fought to insert a loophole allowing the sort of trade that cost JPMorgan billions of dollars. At a time when it’s painfully clear that Wall Street can’t manage its own risk or prevent its own failure — even with the lesson of 2008 fresh in its mind — Priebus still thinks the industry is too heavily regulated.

“I’m not a financial expert,” Priebus later told Gregory. At least he got something right.

LGBT

RNC Chair Flip-Flops On Marriage Amendment, Opposes LGBT Workplace Discrimination

By Zack Ford on May 14, 2012 at 10:20 am

In an appearance on Meet The Press Sunday morning, Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus attempted to clarify his party’s positions on same-sex marriage and also addressed the question of employment discrimination. Host David Gregory pressured Priebus about comments he made last week that states should make their own decisions about banning same-sex marriage, saying “you can’t federalize that kind of mandate,” — remarks noticeably out of step with Mitt Romney’s support for a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage. Priebus completely flipped on these “inartful” comments, aligning the party’s views with the candidate’s:

PRIEBUS: Well, first of all, I agree with the Governor.

GREGORY: Did you misspeak?

PRIEBUS: Perhaps it was inartful. [...]

GREGORY: The issue is: you said, “Don’t federalize it.” The nominee of the party says, “Federalize it,” a constitutional ban. Is that what the party believes?

PRIEBUS: Of course.

GREGORY: And it should be part of the platform?

PRIEBUS: It is part of the platform. And for the record, we do agree with the marriage amendment, and we do agree with DOMA, but as we sit today, we don’t have a federal mandate — excuse me, a federal — excuse me, a constitutional amendment.

Watch it:

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Despite this flip against equality, Priebus did claim that gays and lesbians deserve “equal rights, in regards to say, discrimination in the workplace,” which raises new questions about where the Republican party stands on the Employment Non-Discrimination Act.  House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) recently said he “hasn’t thought much” about ENDA, but Republicans like Reps. Allen West (FL), James Lankford (OK), Kenny Marchant (TX), and Sen. Mike Lee (UT) have all opposed the long-proposed bill, arguing the protections are unnecessary.

LGBT

Then And Now: Conservative Reactions To Marriage Equality Have Lost Their Verve

By Zack Ford on May 11, 2012 at 12:45 pm

Pastor Leonard Cohen protesting in Boston, March 11, 2004.

President Obama’s endorsement of marriage equality this week is a significant milestone in the inevitable arc toward its universality. Though conservatives have expressed outrage, their comments also reflect how much public opinion has shifted in even the last decade.

Consider the four comparisons below. In the left column is how various social conservative spokespeople responded in November, 2003 when the Massachusetts Supreme Court ruled in favor of same-sex marriage. In the right-hand column, see how they (or their successors) responded this week to Obama’s announcement:

Marriage Equality – Massachusetts Marriage Equality – President Obama
Family Research Council’s Tony Perkins (2003): “We must amend the Constitution if we are to stop a tyrannical judiciary from redefining marriage to the point of extinction.” Family Research Council’s Tony Perkins (2012): “From opposing state marriage amendments to refusing to defend the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DoMA) to giving taxpayer funded marriage benefits to same-sex couples, the President has undermined the spirit if not the letter of the law.”
Focus on the Family’s James Dobson (2003): “The dire ramifications of what is happening in the United States and other Western nations cannot be overstated.” Focus on the Family’s Jim Daly (2012): “President Obama’s announcement that he has changed his position and now personally supports same-sex marriage is disappointing.”
Maggie Gallagher (2003): “To lose the word ‘marriage’ is to lose the core idea any civilization needs to perpetuate itself and to protect its children.” Maggie Gallagher (2012): “On the one hand, morally this is good because lying to the American people is always wrong. President Obama has come clean that he is for gay marriage. Politically, we welcome this. We think it’s a huge mistake.”
Republican National Committee Chairman Ed Gillespie (2003): Gay advocates are practicing “religious bigotry” and “intolerance” by demanding Americans condone same-sex marriage. Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus (2012): “While President Obama has played politics on this issue, the Republican Party and our presumptive nominee Mitt Romney have been clear. We support maintaining marriage between one man and one woman and would oppose any attempts to change that.”

The players may not have changed much, but the rules have. There are certainly some conservatives whose anti-gay screeds continue to be explosive, but in general, it seems that changing public opinion has forced them to tame their rhetoric. Less than a decade ago, marriage equality threatened the survival of society, but now it’s just “disappointing” and “a mistake.” It won’t be long before even these timid responses alienate voters who understand that marriage equality is good for communities, good for families, and good for everybody everywhere.

LGBT

RNC Chairman Splits From Romney On Same-Sex Marriage

By Zack Ford on May 7, 2012 at 2:30 pm

Today, Reince Priebus, chair of the Republican National Committee, spoke with MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell about the kick-off of President Obama’s campaign. The conversation shifted to same-sex marriage and Vice President Joe Biden’s endorsement of equality over the weekend. In expressing the Republicans’ opposing position, Priebus split from Mitt Romney, suggesting that “individual states can make those decisions on their own,” whereas Romney has pledged to support a federal marriage amendment banning same-sex marriage nationwide:

PRIEBUS: I think Governor Romney and the Republican Party have been pretty clear. We believe marriage is between one man and one woman. We believe, ultimately, that you can’t federalize that kind of mandate, which is why we believe that individual states can make those decisions on their own, and they’re doing that across the country. So we’ve been clear.

Watch it:

Priebus also attempted to conflate Obama and Romney’s positions on the freedom to marry, which is laughable. By signing onto the National Organization for Marriage’s pledge, Romney has committed to defend the Defense of Marriage Act, advance a federal marriage amendment, and appoint anti-equality judges. In fact, Romney offers a three-tier system of marriage, opposite-sex couples, same-sex couples who are already married, and same-sex couples he wants to prevent from marrying. And even at the state level, like in New Hampshire, Romney supports rolling back marriage equality rights.

In stark contrast, the Obama administration has opposed state-level marriage bans (like in North Carolina and Minnesota) and has refused to defend DOMA, instead filing briefs supporting those who are challenging the discriminatory law. The President’s reluctance to support marriage equality in word does not detract from his clear efforts to advance it in action. The RNC, on the other hand, needs to figure out if it wants to be as anti-gay as its presumptive nominee.

Election

RNC Chairman Reince Priebus Dismisses ‘War On Women’ As Fictional, Like ‘War On Caterpillars’

By Alex Seitz-Wald on Apr 5, 2012 at 11:00 am

Citing attacks on abortion and contraception rights, many liberals have accused Republicans of waging a “war on women.”

But in an interview with Bloomberg TV, Republican National Committee (RNC) Chairman Reince Priebus dismissed these charges as entirely baseless. He comparing the “war on women” to a “war on caterpillars,” blaming the media for trumping up the supposedly fictional attacks on women’s rights:

“If the Democrats said we had a war on caterpillars and every mainstream media outlet talked about the fact that Republicans have a war on caterpillars, then we’d have problems with caterpillars,” Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus said in an interview on Bloomberg Television’s “Political Capital with Al Hunt” airing this weekend. “It’s a fiction.”

While his choice of comparison to caterpillars is questionable, the bigger problem with Priebus’ comments is that they completely ignore the fact that policies advanced by his party in Congress and the states are already having an effect on women’s rights and women’s health. One could take issue with calling it a “war on women,” but not the reality that conservatives are actively working to curtail women’s constitutionally guaranteed rights as much as possible in dozens of states across the country, and access to contraception in Congress.

While some conservative environmental policies may hurt caterpillars somewhere, Republican lawmakers haven’t systematically targeted the insect’s rights the way they have with women.

To dismiss and belittle this fact with a glib remark suggests Priebus is either ignorant or in denial. Given that attitude, perhaps it’s not surprising Mitt Romney is struggling to gain support from female voters.

Update

The Obama campaign hit back at Priebus in a statement from Deputy Campaign Manager Stephanie Cutter:

“Reince Priebus’ comparison of Republican attempts to limit women’s access to mammograms, cervical cancer screenings, and contraception to a ‘war on caterpillars’ shows how little regard leading Republicans, including Mitt Romney, have for women’s health. … Reince Priebus’ comments today only reinforce why women simply cannot trust Mitt Romney or other leading Republicans to stand up for them.”

NEWS FLASH

Michael Steele Slams RNC Chair For Comparing Obama To Italian Captain | RNC Chairman Reince Priebus quickly drew flak from Democrats and others yesterday for comparing President Obama to the captain of the doomed Italian cruise ship Costa Concordia. “It’s ok to make light of horrific ship crashes if the people who died weren’t Americans?” ABC News’ Jake Tapper asked on Twitter. Apparently the comment was a bridge too far even for Priebus’ predecessor, former RNC Chairman Michael Steele, who called the analogy “unfortunate” on MSNBC this morning. “I mean, people died in that situation,” Steele said. Watch it:

By Alex Seitz-Wald on Jan 30, 2012 at 1:30 pm

NEWS FLASH

RNC Chairman Compares Obama To Italian Cruise Ship Captain Accused Of Manslaughter | RNC Chairman Reince Priebus compared President Obama to Francesco Schettino, the Italian cruise ship captain who took off in a lifeboat after his ship ran aground at Isola del Giglio, Tuscany and is suspected of multiple counts of manslaughter. “In a few months, this is all going to be ancient history,” Priebus said in response to a question about the brutal GOP primary, “and we are going to talk about our own little Captain Schettino, which is President Obama who is abandoning the ship here in the United States and is more interested in campaigning than doing his job as president.” At least 17 people died in the cruise ship disaster. Watch it:

Politics

RNC Chair: GOP’s Historic Unpopularity Shows Americans Are Upset With Obama

By Alex Seitz-Wald on Aug 9, 2011 at 4:45 pm

A new CNN/Opinion Research poll released today finds Republicans’ popularity badly bruised by the bitter debt ceiling debate, with the GOP’s unfavorable ratings climbing to an all-time high of 59 percent. The party’s favorable ratings, meanwhile, dropped eight points over the past month to just 33 percent. “The Democratic party, which had a favorable rating just a couple of points higher than the GOP in July, now has a 14-point advantage over the Republican party,” said CNN Polling Director Keating Holland.

The network brought on RNC Chairman Reince Priebus this afternoon to respond to numbers. While saying he hadn’t studied poll in depth, Priebus embarked on stunningly brazen spin, blaming the drop in Republicans’ approval on President Obama. Despite host Brooke Baldwin’s repeated attempts to get Priebus to address the GOP’s unpopularity, the chairman kept going back to Obama:

BALDWIN: To what do we attribute this? Fallout from the debt ceiling debacle?

PRIEBUS: First of all, I haven’t really looked at it too deeply, other than the fact that I think it’s true that people are frustrated with a lot of what goes on in Washington. I think, most of all, people are frustrated with the president who continues not to lead during the most important in our country. But it’s not just a matter of leadership, Brooke, it’s a matter of what this president has put in place when he’s had the opportunity to lead. [...] He put in Obamcare.

BALDWIN: Hold on, Reince Priebus. [...] You see the numbers right there. Now versus July.

PRIEBUS: Okay, Brooke, and I told you, I think people are frustrated with politics in general. But the reality is we have a leader in Washington –

BALDWIN: Well, you mentioned the president, but I’m asking you specifically about your party.

PRIEBUS: I think people are frustrated with a lot of people in Washington. [...] And we have a president who is not a willing partner.

Watch it:

Party chairmen are expected to present news in the most favorable light for them and their party, but blaming his party’s unpopularity on the head of the other party is comical. And CNN’s poll is not the first to show that Republican congressional leaders’ intransigence and hostage on the debt ceiling hurt them politically. Americans overwhelmingly disproved of the GOP’s handling of the debt negotiations, and 74 percent of even Republicans thought revenue increases should have been part of the final deal.

Priebus’s comments once again show here’s nothing conservatives aren’t willing to blame Obama for.

Economy

RNC Chairman Priebus: Americans Will Say ‘Well Good’ If The U.S. Defaults On Its Obligations

By Pat Garofalo on Jun 28, 2011 at 2:05 pm

Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus

Several Republicans in the last few months have put forth the idea that the U.S. doesn’t actually have to raise the debt ceiling when the nation hits its legal borrowing limit sometime around Aug. 2. “I doubt that it would be disruptive to the economy,” said Sen. Pat Toomey (R-PA). House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-WI) has made remarks along the same lines.

However, other Republicans have admitted that failing to raise the debt ceiling — and thus forcing the U.S. to default on some of its obligations — would spark a crisis, but that the crisis should be welcomed as an opportunity. “By defaulting on the debt, in the short and long term, it could benefit us to go through a period of crisis that forces politicians to make decisions,” said Rep. Devin Nunes (R-CA). And during an interview today on MSNBC’s Morning Joe, Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus said that Americans would actually appreciate the economic consequences of failing to raise the debt ceiling:

SCARBOROUGH: But what do you believe though? Do you believe that if we don’t raise the debt ceiling, the economy will just keep chugging along normally, or do you believe that it will cause a financial crisis?

PRIEBUS: You know, I don’t know, because we’ve never been there before, Joe. But I do know that, I think –

SCARBOUROUGH: You can make a pretty good guess though? The markets would say ‘yikes’!

PRIEBUS: But the idea that we can’t cover — this is where I have a problem — when you hear people say that we’re going to default on our debts. I mean, we bring in enough revenue in this country to pay our debts, we bring in enough revenue in this country to pay our entitlements, we bring in enough revenue to pay for most non-discretionary spending. It is going to put the clamps on a lot of discretionary functions, it’s going to put the clamps on in Washington, but in some ways, I think that a lot of American voters say ‘well good,’ I hope it does make things uncomfortable.

Watch it:

Failing to raise the debt ceiling in a timely fashion could severely harm economic growth and, if the stalemate went on long enough, could cause a bigger GDP drop than the one that occurred during the Great Recession. An NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll released earlier this month shows that a growing number of Americans now favor raising the debt ceiling, with 46 percent in support and 42 percent opposed (up from 32 percent approval just two months earlier). Credit rating agencies have warned that having the U.S. miss some promised payments even for a few days could negatively impact the nation’s credit worthiness.

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