It’s been described as an autopsy, and given much of what’s in it, truer words were never spoken.
RNC Chairman Reince Priebus’ report on how to allegedly improve the GOP, as well as his ensuing comment in the media regarding it, just provokes more questions than provide answers. Questions like:
· Why is there no mention of our agenda in your report? Most people become or vote Republicans based on issues. So shouldn’t the party be defined by issues? Is there a more important conversation about the potential success of the party than our principles?
· How come you never mentioned the party’s presidential nominee couldn’t attack Obama on his weakest issue, Obamacare, given it was originally his idea and that played a vital role in last November’s loss?
· Are you afraid to acknowledge that fraudulently presenting a deeply flawed candidate as “the most electable” had something to do with losing?
· How come you were bragging about having money left over from a campaign you lost? If you couldn’t invest your resources wisely this last election, why should we trust you to suddenly get it right now?
· Why does Todd Akin get abandoned by you, but at the same time you’re adamant the party will support Rob Portman? Should social conservatives take that as a sign they’re no longer wanted by the party?
· Why no mention of how to reach out to your own base, who deserted you in the last election? Romney did a worse job turning out the base than even McCain did, and lost despite doing well with independents overall. Come to think of it, how come you’ve never publicly acknowledged that?
· If you’re not willing to publicly acknowledge the truth of why you lost, why should we trust you to tell us the truth on anything else?
· Was this the report you were going to write anyway no matter what your focus groups told you? Did all these focus groups really focus on campaign mechanics and not the party’s principles?
· How come your committee was stacked with people connected to the people that grew government and led the American people to not trust Republicans in the first place?
· How did you pick your committee? Who wrote your report? How much say do big donors get in those decisions compared to the Republican grassroots? Should we in the grassroots take the lack of our presence in compiling this report to me you’re really beholden to big money interests that don’t believe in the party platform? Are you merely a puppet for the party establishment?
· Along with abandoning social conservatives, why was the emerging liberty/youth movement inspired by Ron Paul not mentioned as vital to the party’s future? It’s been about the only faction of the party successfully bringing new and young voters into the fold. Why wouldn’t you publicly embrace them, or try and emulate what they’re already doing well?
· Why are you allowing the same consultants that led us to defeat in 2008 and 2012 to continue to bill the party for their hapless advice.
· Why should we believe you finally mean it when you say we have to compete for the black and Hispanic vote, when all the same people that have been saying that for years have done nothing to do so?
· If you want to add diversity to the party, shouldn’t you empower the Tea Party and the grassroots that’s recruited candidates like Allen West, Ted Cruz, and Marco Rubio rather than continuing this top-down establishment oligarchy?
· Why does the RNC want to end caucuses/conventions and let low information voters pick the nominee of their party instead? In other words, why does the party want to eliminate the process more likely to produce candidates in line with the party platform, and instead go with a process more likely to produce the candidates that can buy primaries with Karl Rove’s money?
· Why no mention of the tremendous damage done to party unity during the needless rules fight launched at last year’s convention by the Romney campaign? Are you considering Morton Blackwell’s amendment designed to restore unity? Are you supporting it?
· If you want to control presidential debates, does that also mean stacking the deck with questions geared towards what big money donors and their RINO proxies care about as well?
· There is a reference to “gay Americans” in the report, but why no reference to reaching out to “evangelical Americans” or “Catholic Americans” since fewer of them voted for Romney than voted for McCain, and there’s a lot more of those voters than the 2% that makes up the homosexual population. Why no reference to reaching the at least 7 million white voters that abandoned you in the last election for that matter?
· Can you point to one thing in this report that actually empowers the base of your party? One single thing?
· Are you tired of losing elections yet?