-
Adieu, Adieu, Remember Me
March 25, 2011 | 38 comments
-
DeMint’s Defense of RomneyCare is Ignorant…And Dangerous
March 17, 2011 | 85 comments
-
McConnell Pushing Vote to Block the EPA from Regulating Carbon Emissions
March 17, 2011 | 9 comments
-
More Barbour on Afghanistan
March 16, 2011 | 8 comments
-
House Passes Three Week Spending Bill
March 15, 2011 | 8 comments
The Spectacle Blog
Moments after being elected chairman two years ago, Michael Steele was already basking in the media spotlight. He approached the lectern in a briefing room with swager and spoke of how he welcomed the chance to “spar” with President Obama. “How do you like me now?” he goaded.
But after a rocky two years in which Steele was constantly the center of attention with a steady stream of high-profile gaffes while the RNC fell deeper into debt, committee members were clearly looking for something different. They wanted a more nuts and bolts manager type who could raise money and avoid public controversy.
If his opening press conference is any indication, Reince Priebus promises to be a much more low-key chairman than his predecessor.
Priebus spoke quickly, emphasizing “humilty,” “unity,” and “hard work.” He said that the RNC finds itself $20 million in debt, and that it will have to raise $400 million to compete with Democrats and President Obama in 2012.
Asked if he was the national voice of the Republican party, he demurred, citing Speaker John Boehner and Sen. Mitch McConnell as leaders.
After taking a few questions in a makeshift briefing area in the corner of a hallway, Priebus ran back into the meeting room, where RNC members were voting on the co-chair.
“I’ve gotta go in and run this meeting,” he said.
If RNC members get their wish, we won’t be hearing from Priebus much over the next two years.
View all comments (20) | Leave a comment
More Blog Posts by Philip Klein
http://spectator.org/blog/2011/01/14/priebuss-first-presser-a-stark
Follow us:
ADVERTISEMENT
The Spectacle Blog
The #FreeKate Narrative Melts Down: Lies Exposed in Florida Teen Sex Case
Robert Stacy McCain | 5.25.13
SPONSORED LINKS
FLASHBACK TO: 1995
-
Pope Culture
A man of faith in a godless age is hitting Americans where it hurts.
-
Why the GOP Does Not, Like, Totally Suck
Mr. and Mrs. American Spectator Reader, let P.J. O’Rourke talk sense to your kids.
-
Dames at Sea
-
In the Absence of Guns
In Britain, defending your property can get you life.
-
The Metaphysical Martini
-
Counting the Costs of Clintonism
The debacle of this president’s administration is both a cause and a symptom of the decline of American values. Unless Congress impeaches him, that decline will go on unchecked. An eminent jurist surveys the damage and assesses the chances for the recovery of our culture.
-
Chuck McHagel
It won’t take long for conservatives to scratch this presidential wannabe off their 2008 scorecard.
-
The Legacy of Old John and Mother Fresh-Roasted
-
It’s the Best Time of the Year
The American Christmas, like the songs that celebrate it, makes room for everybody under the rainbow. Is that why so many people seem to be hostile to it?
-
The Bush Crack-Up
Was the President done in by the economy, or by the politics of the economy?
Clip of the Day
H/T to National Review Online
ADVERTISEMENT
Gary| 1.14.11 @ 6:45PM
Humility = we will giver out Democrat master everything they want.
Ryan| 1.17.11 @ 8:30AM
Humility doesn't mean that you let other people get their way.
It just means you don't worry about yourself.
CS Lewis (paraphrased here) put it best - "Humility isn't thinking poorly of yourself - it's not thinking of yourself at all."
GeronL| 1.14.11 @ 7:05PM
Just declare bankruptcy, we conservatives will donate to conservatives.
Dan Fitzgerald| 1.14.11 @ 11:54PM
Agreed. I haven't donated a cent to the GOP, but I sent thousands to specific Republican candidates over the past year, often finding myself working against the RNC, the NRCC, and the RNSC in the primaries. Not seeing a whole lot of usefulness to the national party, rather see it as in the way.
Bob| 1.17.11 @ 2:13PM
I, too, give only to candidates. When I used to donate to the RNC, they spent more than my donation on follow up mailings asking for more money. I don't even open their mail anymore. They don't have a clue how to fundraise in this day and age. Sad
Wayne | 1.15.11 @ 12:16AM
Sounds like the new guys knows his place and does what he is told.
Milo| 1.15.11 @ 5:36AM
Better make that a billion...
Bill Husein O'Stalin| 1.15.11 @ 6:43AM
Here's why the GOP is broke. They don't have any principles. You can't sell something you don't have. Humility is fine as long as it's not subservience.
In the meantime I suggest the RNC work on their web site and make it easier to become a party member.
Thom| 1.15.11 @ 2:19PM
Along with having no principles they will govern by, they don’t seem to know what a Republican is. They’ve wasted millions on people whose only connection to what traditional Republicans stand for is saying they are “Republicans”. Everybody here knows the short list of turncoats I speak of and the millions wasted on them. Will a new chairman make any fundamental difference in that equation, who knows. One thing is certain; the national Party organizations won’t be rolling in money if they keep supporting Democrats.
Wayne | 1.15.11 @ 1:50PM
I agree. I am hearing more now about the GOP tweaking the Health Care law so that it will then become "bipartisan". The GOP must get its money from their own special interests and it sees this huge pot of government money and wants its share. That is how the two parties end up holding all of us in bondage.
Bill Hussein O'Stalin| 1.15.11 @ 2:48PM
Perfect!
Occam's Tool| 1.15.11 @ 5:49PM
I tend to be guided by Jim DeMint, and donate to his organization, especially as the battlegrounds are now the Senate and Presidency.
darcy| 1.15.11 @ 10:28PM
I'm with you there, Occam's Tool.
PhilTheCapitalistPig| 1.15.11 @ 7:31PM
I read Abraham Lincoln's "Cooper Union Address" today and couldn't help but think of the similarity in republican party at that time in history, and the TEA party now. The only way the TEA party stops growing is if the republicans continue to act like progressives.
me| 1.16.11 @ 12:20PM
Correction: *continue acting like progressives
ConMan| 1.16.11 @ 8:03AM
I hope that Preibus recall's the RNC shame: Dede Scozzafaza was actually more liberal than her liberal democratic opponent. When she lost to a real conservative in the primary DESPITE getting millions from the RNC, she endorsed the democrat. And what is she doing now? Working for Andrew Cuomo !...
http://tinyurl.com/2fwkoq8
Bruce| 1.17.11 @ 2:08PM
"Asked if he was the national voice of the Republican party, he demurred, citing Speaker John Boehner and Sen. Mitch McConnell as leaders."
Uh ... NO - they are not MY "leaders." By a long shot.