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RNC Chairman Reince Priebus told CBS News that he wants the party hold its presidential nominating convention earlier, preferably in June or July.
Said Priebus: “I’m calling for a convention in June or July. We are going to set up a commission that’s going to make that decision. I’m going to be a part of that, I’m going to chair that commission But no more August conventions.”
The Cloakroom: 3 things Republicans will change so they can win again.
“If I did run for office and win, I’d serve out my term. I wouldn’t leave office mid-term.”
— Karl Rove, on Fox News, slapping back at Sarah Palin’s criticism of GOP consultants who “keep losing elections.”
“Possible Democratic gubernatorial candidates this week closed the door on challenging Gov. Rick Scott in 2014, leaving more room for former Gov. Charlie Crist,” Sunshine State News reports.
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RNC Chairman Reince Priebus announced a $10 million outreach initiative to better convey the party’s message to voters, particularly minorities, Roll Call reports.
Priebus said the GOP’s “unprecedented” self-evaluation has shown that it has a “quality of context” problem with relating to voters, largely because of “parachuting” into communities months before an election rather than building grass-roots support.
Byron York: “If there was any villain at the just-completed Conservative Political Action Conference, it was the generic figure of the Republican political consultant. Overpaid, unprincipled, always on the lookout for the next client — or easy mark — the consultants, to listen to a number of CPAC speakers, have helped bring the Republican Party to its current low state.”
“The two non-candidates most mentioned in the consultant hall of shame
were Karl Rove, the former Bush White House aide who has recently formed
a group that he says will find more electable Republican candidates,
and Stuart Stevens, the top adviser to the Romney campaign.”
House Speaker John Boehner told ABC News that talk of including revenue as part of an effort to strike a so-called “grand bargain” was “over.”
Said Boehner: “The president believes that we have to have more taxes from the American people. We’re not going to get very far. The president got his tax hikes on January 1. The talk about raising revenue is over. It’s time to deal with the spending problem.”
“If standing for liberty and standing for the Constitution makes you a wacko bird, then count me a proud wacko bird.”
— Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), quoted bu Huffington Post, responding to remarks made by Sen. John McCain (R-AZ).
Ten years after the start of the Iraq war, a new Washington Post-ABC News poll finds nearly six in 10 Americans say the war was not worth fighting. Nearly as many say the same about the war in Afghanistan.
A key reason: “A substantial sense that neither war did much to achieve their goals of enhancing U.S. security. Only about half of Americans say either war contributed to the long-term security of the United States, and just two in 10 say either contributed “a great deal” to U.S. security – clearly insufficient, in the minds of most, to justify their costs in lives and lucre.”
Army staff sergeant Tonya Long “pleaded guilty to stealing at least $1 million and shipping the cash in hundred-dollar bills to the U.S. in the guts of hollowed-out VCR players,” the Los Angeles Times reports.
Said Long: “I cannot express how sorry I am… I chose to betray my country and my family.”
She did not ask for mercy, telling a judge, “because I don’t deserve it.”
“Venezuela’s information minister says the government has decided that the body of Hugo Chavez will not be embalmed for permanent display, as officials had said it would be,” the AP reports.
The new mayor of Helper, Utah was chosen by picking a name from a basket, KSL-TV reports.
In two rounds of voting, Ed Chavez and Kirk Mascaro “each received two votes from the City Council to fill the mayor’s seat. When it became clear that the tie would not be broken, the slips of paper bearing the council members’ votes were placed in a wicker basket… City Attorney Gene Strate then drew Chavez’s name from the basket, making him Helper’s new chief executive officer.”
“Two weeks of bipartisan meals, closed-door meetings and dueling budget proposals have opened perhaps one last window for the White House and Congress to reach a deficit-reduction deal before a likely fight over the debt ceiling this summer,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“Lawmakers say they now see a small opportunity to forge a comprehensive fiscal plan between now and July or August. That’s because the dynamics in recent days have changed, with a slow, steady process replacing repeated crisis-driven fights.”
“More background checks? Dandy idea, Mr. President.
Should’ve started with yours.”
— Sarah Palin, quoted by the New York Times, speaking to CPAC about President Obama’s gun control proposals.
Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) won the Conservative Political Action Conference straw poll, edging out fellow Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), 25% to 23%, Roll Call reports.
Other top finishers: Rick Santorum at 8%, Chris Christie at 7%, Paul Ryan at 6% and Scott Walker at 5%.
After a narrow loss last year, Mia Love (R) is actively laying the groundwork for a second challenge to Rep. Jim Matheson (D-UT), Roll Call reports.
Love has hired former state GOP Chairman Dave Hansen, who was widely heralded last year for successfully managing the re-election campaign of Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT).
Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) acknowledged to Politico that “he’s open to a presidential bid and pointedly declined to pledge to serve a full four-year term if he’s reelected next year.”
Said Walker: “For me, it’s really a measure of what I’ve accomplished and what more I could accomplish if I was in a different position.”
“All too often we’re associated with being anti-everything:
anti-immigration, anti-women, anti-gay.”
— Jeb Bush, quoted by USA Today, in an address to the
Conservative Political Action Conference.
Politicker NJ reports that New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) was at the New Jersey Teacher’s Association for their screening process, apparently in search of their endorsement.
Christie has been a “political enemy” of the group and has generated national attention over his previous attacks on the union.
Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.
Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.
Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.
Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.
Goddard is the owner of Goddard Media LLC.
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