Chairman's Blog

On May 5, Rhode Islanders honored the life and legacy of longtime National Committeewoman Eileen Slocum with her induction into the Rhode Island Heritage Hall of Fame.

Many Republicans, especially those who served alongside her, remember her dedication to the party, both during her tenure from 1992 to 2007 and long before. 

As the Honorable Carol Mumford, Rhode Island’s current National Committeewoman, observed, “Of course all Republicans knew Mrs. Slocum. But in a greater sense all Rhode Islanders knew her, too. Eileen stood out in our little state, as she would have in any other.” 

And she stood out in our party. At her Newport home, she played host to President Gerald Ford, Senator Elizabeth Dole, Vice President Cheney, and other Republican leaders over the years. She was Vice Chairman of the Republican State Central Committee and a delegate to multiple Republican National Conventions. 

Eileen Slocum passed away in 2008, but her memory lives on at the RNC—as so many committee ... more

Memo

To: Interested Parties

From: RNC Chairman Reince Priebus

RE: The Fight for Wisconsin

Tomorrow, Wisconsin Republicans will go to the polls to cast their first ballots to end Barack Obama's presidency. Obama might have felt safe in Wisconsin after an impressive 400,000 vote victory in 2008, but a closer look shows Wisconsin's 10 Electoral Votes in 2012 very much in play.  

First of all, Obama's margin of victory in 2008 was the exception rather than the rule in recent presidential elections. President George W. Bush came within a hair of winning Wisconsin each time he tried--narrowly losing by just over 5,000 votes in 2000 and just over 11,000 votes in 2004. In 2008, many Wisconsin voters, like voters across the country, bought the "hope and change" message that Candidate Obama was selling. But President Obama's results haven't provided the kind of change that voters were looking for, and Wisconsinites took notice.

2010 was a disaster for Democrats across Wisconsin, and ... more

MEMO

FROM: RNC Chairman Reince Priebus @ReincePriebus

TO: Interested Parties

RE: “Not Better Off”

"The real question is, 'Will this country be better off four years from now.'" --Barack Obama, October 2008.
       
The RNC is happy to hold President Obama to his own standard. So, nearly four years later, how are we doing? Is the country better off?
       
For most American families, the answer is an unambiguous no.

 
Gas prices have skyrocketed, but Obama won't pursue commonsense energy policies.
       
Incomes are down. Poverty is up. Food prices are higher. And more Americans are forced to depend on food stamps.
       
Healthcare costs are higher, despite the passage of the "Affordable Care Act" -- the Democrats' unfortunately ironic name for Obamacare. 

College is more expensive. 
       
Housing is still in crisis. "There are almost as many houses underwater as there were at the beginning of the administration," CNN's Jessica Yellin reported, at the unveiling of the White ... more

MEMO

FROM: RNC Chairman Reince Priebus

TO: Republican State Party Chairs

RE: The Supercommittee and our National Debt

Since we’re just days away from the much-awaited report from the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction (the Supercommittee), I want to highlight for you a few important points on the subject as it relates to our 2012 message.

The six Republicans on the twelve member committee have worked around the clock to offer a pragmatic, responsible solution. In addition to making significant spending cuts, they’ve also put tax reform on the table in order to achieve the target $1.2 trillion in deficit reduction.

Their plan reforms the tax code to close loopholes and induce growth through lower marginal rates. Republicans understand that we can grow the economy and raise revenue if we focus on policies that create jobs. It’s actually pretty simple: the more Americans that go back to work, the more taxes the government brings in. 

It’s a time-tested method of ... more

Yesterday afternoon, President Obama arrived in Las Vegas for a re-election stop.  He picked up some cash from major donors and rallied his disaffected supporters at a campaign event. Tonight, he heads off to Colorado to do the same. In between his trips, he jetted off to Los Angeles to hobnob with his Hollywood buddies. But, did he take the time to notice what his policies have done to Nevada families?  Will he bother to notice the struggling Colorado economy between his two fundraisers at Denver’s Pepsi Center?

The numbers say it all:

--Since Obama became President, Nevada has lost 79,600 jobs. Colorado has lost 66,800.

--The unemployment rate in Nevada has increased from 9.9 percent to 13.4—the highest in the nation.

--Nevada also has the highest foreclosure rate in the nation. Las Vegas has the highest rate among metropolitan areas.

--In Colorado, 104,000 properties have received foreclosure filings since Obama took office.

President Obama promised the stimulus would save or ... more

It’s been 19 days since the FBI raided the headquarters of Solyndra, the bankrupt stimulus-back solar energy company.  For nineteen days the President’s advisers have decided to keep him in the dark about what led the company to squander $535 million of taxpayer money.  

But there was one briefing about the mismanaged loan program—in October 2010, that is.  Yes, news broke today that the President’s advisers—namely Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and then-National Economic Council Director Larry Summers—warned the President that funds might land in the hands of unworthy companies.

As the Los Angeles Times reported, Geithner and Summers feared the selection process was not sufficiently rigorous.  In their view, that meant stimulus money might end up in the hands of companies unable to pay it back.  They took their concerns directly to President Obama.  He listened to their warnings, but the loan program continued.  Less than a year later, Solyndra went bankrupt.

Americans ... more

Our nation’s staggering $14.3 trillion debt, mainly from spending under President Obama, is holding us hostage from a strong and prosperous recovery. As we continue to debate the President’s failed leadership, it is important to keep in mind that Republicans have outlined numerous solutions including the “Cut, Cap and Balance” plan to put our fiscal house in order.

We must make substantial cuts in the out of control spending that has become commonplace under President Obama. We must then cap spending so that our great nation is no longer saddled with dangerously high debts and deficits. Lastly, and most importantly, we must pass a Balanced Budget Amendment to the Constitution immediately so that we can promise an economic vitality we once enjoyed to our future generations.

If you have not already, please sign the RNC’s Balanced Budget Amendment petition and stand up behind our strong Republican leaders: http://www.gop.com/BalancedBudget

This week Congressional Republicans are scheduled to hold hearings over a brazen assault on private industry by President Obama’s labor union committee, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). The NLRB, which is controlled by Democrats, filed a lawsuit attempting to prevent Boeing from building its new line of planes in Right-to-Work South Carolina that would have created 1,000 new manufacturing jobs in one of the states hardest hit by the Obama Economy. With national unemployment ticking up to 9.1 percent and long term joblessness at record levels, one might think President Obama would jump at the opportunity to boost job creation before an election that will be a referendum on his handling of the economy. Not so. Unfortunately when it comes to Barack Obama and his union bosses, not all jobs are created equal.

This is the latest example of executive overreach from an Administration that has been flexing its regulatory enforcement muscles in an effort to benefit labor unions ... more

In recent months, Israel's struggles to negotiate with a Palestinian Authority have been marred by Palestinian decisions. Chief among these challenges is the decision by the Palestinian Authority to bring Hamas representatives into their leadership.  If that did not present enough challenges, last week President Obama increased the pressure on Israel by unleashing new parameters for Israel-Palestinian negotiations based on pre-1967 borders.  All supporters of Israel have to be alarmed and concerned at this new explicit position the U.S. has taken. 

Following Obama’s expression that negotiations be based on pre-1967 borders, supporters of Israel from across the political spectrum have condemned the idea. Despite the caveats President Obama portends to place on these factors, this is no place to start a negotiation. 

President Obama insists that the parameters of pre-1967 borders were always a starting point for prior U.S. administrations pointing to the Clinton administration. This ... more

Yesterday, troubling reports surfaced that the Obama Administration had drafted an executive order that would allow the White House to review a company’s political donations during the application process for federal contracts. This raises serious questions about whether the White House is seeking to politicize the government contracting system in order to intimidate its political opponents. If true, this would represent an unprecedented abuse of executive authority and infringes upon the rights of political free speech. It appears to be an attempt by the Obama Administration to implement portions of the DISCLOSE Act. Obama and the Democrats failed to pass this in Congress and then lost the battle in the Supreme Court. So now the President is attempting an end run through executive fiat. Naturally, Democrat special interests such as labor unions would be exempt from these reviews.

What’s even more remarkable is that the Obama White House is sanctioning this Chicago-style power grab ... more