compromise
01-23-2013, 08:46 AM
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, two of the Republican Party’s big guns, are sticking by Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus and rejecting rumors that they have joined a group trying to block Mr. Priebus from another two-year term as head of the party.
Supporters of Mr. Priebus‘ challenger, Maine RNC member Mark Willis, have been making those claims in emails and through a whisper campaign suggesting that Mr. Paul and Mr. Gingrich have been supporting Mr. Willis behind the scenes. Mr. Willis was a supporter of the 2012 presidential campaign of Mr. Paul’s father, Rep. Ron Paul, a Texas libertarian.
“Rand has not endorsed anyone officially and looks forward to working with Reince over the coming two years,” Doug Stafford, the younger Mr. Paul’s chief of staff said in an interview, adding that the senator “believes Reince will be handily re-elected this week.”
Despite the party’s setback in the 2012 elections, including the defeat of presidential candidate Mitt Romney and unexpected losses for the Senate, Mr. Priebus, the former GOP state chairman in Wisconsin, has the endorsement of the top Republican leaders in Congress. He is credited with retiring the $24 million debt he inherited from his predecessor, Michael S. Steele, and with having raised enough from once-alienated major party donors to help bankroll Mr. Romney’s presidential campaign and still leave the RNC with $4 million in the bank.
Claiming more than 150 assured votes — well over the 85 needed to win, Mr. Priebus appears ready to sail to easy victory when the 168 members of the RNC vote on the third day of their annual winter meeting in Charlotte on Friday. And the rumors of top-level defections to the opposition appear to be exaggerated.
Mr. Gingrich told The Washington Times that the “claim that I am working behind the scenes against Reince is silly.”
Mr. Gingrich said he and wife, Callista, “have been working closely with Reince since he was Wisconsin GOP chairman.”
Mr. Willis and his supporters have suggested that Mr. Priebus‘ decision not to solicit competitive bids from consultants who were awarded millions of dollars in contracts for the 2012 presidential elections amounted to misuse of donors’ dollars to the benefit of favored consultants. They also accuse Mr. Priebus of using the machinery and resources of the RNC itself to ensure his re-election.
Mr. Paul distanced himself from such claims, while saying he was seeking a more inclusive and positive GOP message than Mr. Romney’s campaign delivered last year.
“We know of no misuse of funds by the chairman and don’t believe this is where we should concentrate our time and effort,” Mr. Stafford said, speaking for his boss. “We are aiming for a stronger, more vibrant party with the right message and waging grass-roots involvement and support.”
“There are many issues of reform and retooling for future battles needed within the RNC,” Mr. Stafford said.
Mr. Paul’s Kentucky voter base was strongest among tea party activists and libertarian conservative backers of his father.
While preparing for a 2016 presidential nomination run of his own, Mr. Paul has been broadening that base to include evangelical Protestant and Jewish supporters, two groups who were unfriendly toward his father.
Trying to bounce back
A smooth re-election for Mr. Priebus would give the party‘ machinery a welcome break from the negative headlines and internal finger-pointing that followed the November election results, and the party’s spending decisions and its get-out-the-vote infrastructure came in for heavy criticism. But first Mr. Priebus must get by his challenger.
http://dailycaller.com/2013/01/22/ron-paul-has-no-plans-to-endorse-in-rnc-chairmans-race/
Even though a Republican from the libertarian wing of the party is making a last minute bid for chairman of the Republican National Committee, former Texas congressman Ron Paul does not intend to make an endorsement in the race.
“As far as the RNC goes, he has no plans to endorse,” Megan Stiles, a Paul spokesman, told The Daily Caller on Tuesday.
Mark Willis, a RNC committeeman and former Ron Paul delegate from Maine, recently announced that he’s challenging chairman Reince Priebus for his job, and a group of ardent Paul supporters have been pushing his candidacy online.
The election for chairman is slated for Friday, during the committee’s winter meeting in Charlotte, N.C.
Willis is viewed as long shot: Sources inside the committee tell TheDC that Priebus already has commitments from nearly 150 members. There are 168 Members on the RNC, and 85 votes are needed to win.
Violet Willis, the candidate’s wife and campaign aide, told TheDC that while Paul hasn’t endorsed his candidacy, the Maine Republican has the support of the Republican Liberty Caucus.
“He is simply presenting his case to be the next chair and welcomes the endorsements of any Republican/Conservative individuals or organizations if they choose to do so,” she said in an email.
Noticeably, Paul’s son, Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, also has not commented publicly on the race. The Kentucky lawmaker has acknowledged that he will consider running for president in 2016.
A spokeswoman for the Kentucky lawmaker did not respond to a request for comment from TheDC on Tuesday about the race.
Supporters of Mr. Priebus‘ challenger, Maine RNC member Mark Willis, have been making those claims in emails and through a whisper campaign suggesting that Mr. Paul and Mr. Gingrich have been supporting Mr. Willis behind the scenes. Mr. Willis was a supporter of the 2012 presidential campaign of Mr. Paul’s father, Rep. Ron Paul, a Texas libertarian.
“Rand has not endorsed anyone officially and looks forward to working with Reince over the coming two years,” Doug Stafford, the younger Mr. Paul’s chief of staff said in an interview, adding that the senator “believes Reince will be handily re-elected this week.”
Despite the party’s setback in the 2012 elections, including the defeat of presidential candidate Mitt Romney and unexpected losses for the Senate, Mr. Priebus, the former GOP state chairman in Wisconsin, has the endorsement of the top Republican leaders in Congress. He is credited with retiring the $24 million debt he inherited from his predecessor, Michael S. Steele, and with having raised enough from once-alienated major party donors to help bankroll Mr. Romney’s presidential campaign and still leave the RNC with $4 million in the bank.
Claiming more than 150 assured votes — well over the 85 needed to win, Mr. Priebus appears ready to sail to easy victory when the 168 members of the RNC vote on the third day of their annual winter meeting in Charlotte on Friday. And the rumors of top-level defections to the opposition appear to be exaggerated.
Mr. Gingrich told The Washington Times that the “claim that I am working behind the scenes against Reince is silly.”
Mr. Gingrich said he and wife, Callista, “have been working closely with Reince since he was Wisconsin GOP chairman.”
Mr. Willis and his supporters have suggested that Mr. Priebus‘ decision not to solicit competitive bids from consultants who were awarded millions of dollars in contracts for the 2012 presidential elections amounted to misuse of donors’ dollars to the benefit of favored consultants. They also accuse Mr. Priebus of using the machinery and resources of the RNC itself to ensure his re-election.
Mr. Paul distanced himself from such claims, while saying he was seeking a more inclusive and positive GOP message than Mr. Romney’s campaign delivered last year.
“We know of no misuse of funds by the chairman and don’t believe this is where we should concentrate our time and effort,” Mr. Stafford said, speaking for his boss. “We are aiming for a stronger, more vibrant party with the right message and waging grass-roots involvement and support.”
“There are many issues of reform and retooling for future battles needed within the RNC,” Mr. Stafford said.
Mr. Paul’s Kentucky voter base was strongest among tea party activists and libertarian conservative backers of his father.
While preparing for a 2016 presidential nomination run of his own, Mr. Paul has been broadening that base to include evangelical Protestant and Jewish supporters, two groups who were unfriendly toward his father.
Trying to bounce back
A smooth re-election for Mr. Priebus would give the party‘ machinery a welcome break from the negative headlines and internal finger-pointing that followed the November election results, and the party’s spending decisions and its get-out-the-vote infrastructure came in for heavy criticism. But first Mr. Priebus must get by his challenger.
http://dailycaller.com/2013/01/22/ron-paul-has-no-plans-to-endorse-in-rnc-chairmans-race/
Even though a Republican from the libertarian wing of the party is making a last minute bid for chairman of the Republican National Committee, former Texas congressman Ron Paul does not intend to make an endorsement in the race.
“As far as the RNC goes, he has no plans to endorse,” Megan Stiles, a Paul spokesman, told The Daily Caller on Tuesday.
Mark Willis, a RNC committeeman and former Ron Paul delegate from Maine, recently announced that he’s challenging chairman Reince Priebus for his job, and a group of ardent Paul supporters have been pushing his candidacy online.
The election for chairman is slated for Friday, during the committee’s winter meeting in Charlotte, N.C.
Willis is viewed as long shot: Sources inside the committee tell TheDC that Priebus already has commitments from nearly 150 members. There are 168 Members on the RNC, and 85 votes are needed to win.
Violet Willis, the candidate’s wife and campaign aide, told TheDC that while Paul hasn’t endorsed his candidacy, the Maine Republican has the support of the Republican Liberty Caucus.
“He is simply presenting his case to be the next chair and welcomes the endorsements of any Republican/Conservative individuals or organizations if they choose to do so,” she said in an email.
Noticeably, Paul’s son, Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, also has not commented publicly on the race. The Kentucky lawmaker has acknowledged that he will consider running for president in 2016.
A spokeswoman for the Kentucky lawmaker did not respond to a request for comment from TheDC on Tuesday about the race.