Reince Priebus' "To Do" List

    Republican National Committee Chair Reince Priebus' luster has diminished a bit from his halcyon days as chair of the Wisconsin Republican Party (capturing virtually everything in a period of a few years), so I invoke his name in reference to the Republican party elders. With 10 days' reflection, here is the "to do" list:

Short Term (week 1) (retrieved from the trash outside RNC Headquarters)

1. Call the DC suicide hot line. Tell them to be on the watch for Dick Morris and Karl Rove.

2. Send congrats note to Bob McDonnell at the Republican Governors' Association on expanding the number of Republican governors to 30. Grass roots; dealing with education and jobs creation; national thought leaders; deep, diverse bench; yadda, yadda, yadda.  

3. Call John Boehner to offer help and stiffen his backbone. Let him know that you have also talked to Paul Ryan and Eric Cantor.

4. Take Chris and Tagg  off speed dial.  

4. Send apology note to Charles and David Koch. Invite to the Holiday party at Sheldon's place in Macau.

Mid Term (weeks 2 to 4)

 Get Congressional leadership right.

    -  Talk to John about Cathy McMorris Rogers for the # 4 House leadership position. No need to worry about committee chairs- Ileana Ros-Lehtinen is doing fine at Foreign Affairs and one out of 20 isn't bad.   Re-elect solid African American Tim Scott as the leader of the Class of 2010.

    -  Light a candle for Nancy Pelosi. Nothin' like good old Nancy to keep our ranks solid and help with our fundraising.

    - Get John Cornyn out of the Senate Campaign Committee Chair. Losing three of our 10 seats while picking up one of the Democrats' 23 doesn't make it. Let's try him as Mitch McConnell's # 2. We've got the same 23 to 10 chance in 2014, so a bit more should be expected. It might even be a good idea for the chair to work with Jim DeMint to avoid primary fights and any more Todd Akins or Richard Mourdocks.   

Longer Term (before the next tropical retreat)

1. Let's dust off the Bush/McCain immigration reform proposals that the junior senator from Illinois helped torpedo back in 2007. Emphasis - long term green cards.

2. Let's find an alternative to Planned Parenthood that deals with women's health issues without the abortion piece.

3. Ditto AARP. Help Hannity push AMAC.

4. Get the geeks together. Our voters may be less into all this social media stuff, but lets get real. We can't keep getting trounced on GOTV.

5. Karl didn't go from being a genius to being an idiot overnight. We've got to figure out how to use the PACs to build party infrastructure. Ads are good, but there is a diminishing return and a few million bucks in field offices got Obama a lot.

6. Forget Texas secession - work on California.

7. Keep perspective. Take that Zen class.

                                                -----

  This week's video is from a press conference by Senators McCain, Graham, and Ayotte calling for a Joint Select Committee of Intelligence, Foreign Affairs, and Armed Services to investigate the Benghazi fiasco. One can only wish that the media and the public would care about security and the cover-up as much as about Petreus' affair.  

bill bowen - 11/16/2012 

Comments

[Bill McCormick]

GOOD FOR BERNANKE--Fed Chairman increased pressure on law makers today saying the Fed did not have the tools to offset the Fiscal Cliff. As they sit and try to hammer out a deal Bernanke poured more gas on the flames while the economy burns down. Headed into Black Friday and the beginning of the nation's biggest retail season a deal could jump start the economy for the first quarter. Let's hope we hear an announcment before the Holiday season begins. And, a HAPPY THANKSGIVING to all of you.

[Bill McCormick]

HISPANICS---are the key to Republican future wins if there are to be any. Hispanic vote in Florida,Ohio,Colorado,Virginia,Nevada to name a few sealed Romney's fate. We can either ignore these people and lose or bring a significant segment of them in to the party and win.

SOCIAL MEDIA--requires bright young IT aware worker bees who get the system improved and competative with the White House's before summer. Without it the Congressional campaign will be light years away from the fund raising efforts of the Dems. And, the tie in to younger voters.

EDUCATION and WOMEN's RIGHTS--you can be anti abortion without being anti women. And, you can be for improving education without supporting only a voucher system. I could write a book on the weaknesses of the American school system. Republicans need to get on with opening up their views to new approaches.

LEADERSHIP--the National Party leaders have created a weird set of competing factions. Their spokesmen come from way back to Reagan years. Let's get the young Governors and Congress members into the leadership positions and energize the ideas and the personnel. Note how well Obama's people managed Biden during the campaign by keeping him focused on his base of Unions and blue collar workers. Anywhere you needed a "hip" intellect they sent Obama.

HEALTHCARE--as much as I do not like it Healthcare is now in place. Forget repeal and get on with fixing it. If the Republicans do not "fix it" by 2016 it will be well on it's way to being a single payer system. And, likely there will be no turning back.

[DickG]

IT'S NO WONDER, NO AGREEMENTS. Yesterday, the Master Economic Advisor, Ben Stein, claimed; "Reagans' tax theory was false and that Reagan realized revenue increases only because he raised taxes every year after his first." Yet, available charts show taxes falling in every bracket for 1980-1990; while revenues rose 1.6% of GDP over the same period. First it's Petraeus, now Ben ? Maybe we should SECEDE. (South Carolina-35,000 signatures, 'schocking')

[DickG]

NOTHING NEW;from Roosevelt's 3rd Campaign in 1938, 3 major newspapers quoted his primary confidant, Harry Hopkins with:

"We shall tax and tax, and spend and spend, and elect and elect."
(Attributed to HARRY L. HOPKINS, administrator of the Works Progress Administration,from Battleby.com)
Of course they had their 'Cliff' also, called WWII.

[Mary Strupp]

Besides re-educating PAC media, let's teach the Republican Party publicists to write SUPERIOR PSAs that would be read on stations looking to fill their required minimum of Public Service Announcements! That's FREE airtime for important issues.

[DickG]

THE UNMENTIONED 'DEMOGRAPHIC'; that which required 30 competent Governors to counter a single incompetent. Pray they do not 'secede'.