“We’ve got a socialist in office right now — how’s that working for us?”

— Republican National Committeeman Henry Barbour (R), quoted by The Hill, while talking about the Republican Party’s need to improve its brand.

“I won, and he didn’t. We didn’t have to go through the hype and hoopla of press conferences. We just went out and did the heavy work of rebuilding the party coming off of massive losses in 2006 and 2008. So Reince is just being silly. And I understand that.”

— Former RNC Chairman Michael Steele, quoted by the Washington Post, in an “increasingly ugly war of words” with current RNC Chairman Reince Priebus.

Tucked in near the end of the 97-page autopsy “are less than four pages that amount to a political bombshell: the five-member panel urges halving the number of presidential primary debates in 2016 from 2012, creating a regional primary cluster after the traditional early states and holding primaries rather than caucuses or conventions,” Politico reports.

“Each of those steps would benefit a deep-pocketed candidate in the mold of Mitt Romney. That is, someone who doesn’t need the benefit of televised debates to get attention because he or she can afford TV ads; has the cash to air commercials and do other forms of voter contact in multiple big states at one time; and has more appeal with a broader swath of voters than the sort of ideologically-driven activists who typically attend caucuses and conventions.”

Roll Call: Three takeaways from the GOP’s autopsy report.

First Read: “The party wants to spend millions on minority outreach. But you could also argue that the GOP’s past opposition to Obamacare and immigration reform, as well as its pursuit of voting laws that impact minority communities, has been just as significant to its performance with these voters. The party wants to limit the number of debates. But was the number the problem in 2012, or was it more the substance and policies being discussed (for example, all the candidates rejecting a 10-to-1 deal on cuts to revenues)? And the party wants to change the perception that it’s the party of the rich. But just this week, the GOP-controlled House is expected to vote on the Ryan budget plan, which gives the wealthy a significant tax cut while cutting programs that benefit the poor.”

“And we have one final question: How much of this is fighting the last war? Sure, limiting the number of debates and holding a convention in July seems smart after what happened in 2012. But don’t forget, John Kerry and the Democrats in ’04 still lost after holding few debates and a July convention.”