Liveblogging The Daily Caller RNC Chairman’s Debate (Transcript)
Posted by Jim Hoft on Monday, January 3, 2011, 2:14 PM
LIVEBLOGGING THE RNC DEBATE AT THE NATIONAL PRESS CLUB
The Daily Caller, the Suan B. Anthony List and Americans for Tax Reform sponsored the event today.
I spoke with “West Point Mom” Ann Wagner from Missouri before the debate started.
Ann Wagner started it off: “It’s time for some tough love.”
Saul Anuzis, Maria Cino followed her.
Michael Steele took credit for the Republican landslide in 2010.
Steele, Priebus and Wagner appear to grabbing the audiences attention.
Michael Steele: “We can not be a party that excludes… That’s not the party I will lead in the next two years. Trust me.”
Reince Priebus followed Michael Steele. Priebus was the Chairman of the Wisconsin GOP.
You can submit and vote on questions to be asked of the candidates at the debate by registering at the Daily Caller website. CSPAN is covering the debate live.
CSPAN reported:
With the Jan. 14 vote for the next Chairman of the Republican National Committee (RNC) approaching, candidates for the position are facing-off in a debate in Washington, including current RNC Chairman Michael Steele.
In his bid for a second term, Chairman Steele has taken credit for the GOP takeover of the U.S. House and the gain of 6 Republican seats in the Senate. But other contenders have argued that the Tea Party movement and other factors led to the victory, not the current RNC leadership. Steele’s rivals are also critical of his fund raising efforts and the RNC’s estimated $25 million post-election debt.
Another candidate slated to attend is Wisconsin Republican Party Chairman Reince Priebus. According to the Washington Post’s political blog, The Fix, Priebus leads the race with support of 20 or more of the 168 voting committee members. A candidate needs 85 votes to win the chairmanship.
Also participating tonight are former Michigan Republican Chairman Saul Anuzis, former RNC official Maria Cino, and former Ambassador to Luxembourg Ann Wagner. Last night, former RNC Political Director Gentry Collins announced that he was dropping out of the race for chairmanship.
The Twitter hashtag is #rncdebate
Maria Cino would not answer the question on whether or not she supported Christine O’Donnell.
Ann Wagner was the only one who answered the question – “The people decide on the candidates.”
Saul followed up and agreed with her.
Michael Steele came out in support of the traditional family following a question from the Susan B. Anthony List. Of course, all of the candidates are in favor of traditional marriage between a man and a woman.
Michael Steele just said, “Democrat light does not sell well to the people.”
Hmm.
Michael Steele warned about losing the Latino and Black vote, “America is not the same country it was 50 years ago.”
The crowd just snickered at Reince’s answer… I’m not sure why.
Maria Cino, who donated to a pro-abortion group in the past, just said she was pro-life.
Priebus: “We need to play nice with the tea party in the sandbox… We hired a Hispanic director in Wisconsin.”
What?
Ann Wagner: “We fell down in our GOTV efforts in the 2010 election. We have to fully fund these efforts and they must start much earlier since 32 states have early voting.”
Michael Steele defended his GOTV efforts: “We did fully fund our GOTV efforts. We had a 12 month voter program(?)”
Except, of course, in Nevada where Sharon Angle led by 4 points in the polls but lost to Reid by several percentage points. No GOTV.
The moderators, Carlson Tucker and Grover Norquist, did a nice job taking themselves out of the debate.
Did you lobby for Obamacare, Maria Cino? She says, “No.”
Hmm.
Ann Wagner mentioned her family gun collection and her son at West Point. Impressive.
Closing Statements.
Related… The Politico: “Majority of RNC is against Michael Steele”
UPDATE: Here is the transcript from today’s debate.
Breitbart has video from the debate.
ADVERTISEMENT
-
Featured Story:
NEWLY DISCOVERED VIDEO Previously Scrubbed From YouTube Shows Trayvon Martin Participating in Local Fight Club
Published May 21, 2012 at 12:19 am - 72 Comments
Missy8s commented:
Saul Anuzis or Ann Wagner YES!
Cino and Priebus HELL NO!
Paul in N.AL commented:
Watching the livestream it seems like Cino and Priebus are powerhungry slimeballs.
StandUp4Chuck commented:
No Steele, Cino or Priebus.
Paul in N.AL commented:
Saul is really giving alot of good strong answers. I really liked the 80% answer. I don’t think Ann answered that question well at all in my opinion.
Andrew commented:
Cino sounds like a Democrat. If she was the one that lobbied for Obamacare, she should be asked about that.
Susan commented:
If I am to understand where all these ‘highly devout Catholics like Nancy Pelosi, the Kennedy Klan, Bart Stupack etc etc ad nauseum’ who are running for RNC chair are coming from then what these highly devout Catholics are saying is that it is okay to create relentless conflict by telling untruths because it is more important to bamboozle ‘Latinos and blacks’ if Republicans want to win elections?
(If I were Catholic I’d be begging for the Pope in the Vatican to please send a multitude of Catholic missionaries in Africa over to the United States to help teach Catholics in America the fundamental tenets of the Catholic faith. All of the UNTRUTHS by these representitives of highly devout Catholicism in America is creating more and more CONFLICT)
“Speaking the TRUTH in Love,we will in all things grow up”
daryl commented:
What Steels means is that we won the House back and gained Senate seats, despite , not because of his efforts. Just so he knows.
coo coo for coco puffs commented:
Steel should remember not to confuse brains with a bull market. I like the lady from Missouri.
Jake The Goose commented:
Ann Wagner all the way – very impressive.
Just Askin' commented:
As I recall, you were pleased with Michael Steele becoming Chairman last time.
http://gatewaypundit.rightnetwork.com/2009/01/gop-goes-with-steele/
Do you still feel this way?
Paul in N.AL commented:
Its interesting how fast foot and mouth disease worked with Michael Steele. It was no more than a few weeks after he got the job before he inserted it.
Just Askin' commented:
Just a quick point to those who are bashing Steele – he may not be the sharpest tool in the shed BUT he did win his job fair and square and the GOP did quite well in 2010.
THIS: Michael Steele warned about losing the Latino and Black vote, “America is not the same country it was 50 years ago.”
YES.
If there’s one thing the GOP needs to understand it’s the huge racial (not racist) problem it faces in the next 10 years. The Republican party is an almost pure white organization in a country that will be majority non-white very soon. If we hope to win those voters we have to include them, one way or another, and listen to their concerns.
Right now, non-whites are voting Dem 65-90% of the time. This has been the case for 40 years and shows no sign of stopping. If Republicans do not speak to and LISTEN to those voters we’ll be a permanent minority just like the Canadian Conservatives. But without 3rd parties or a parliamentary system we’ll have no real power or hope of winning Presidential elections.
RedBeard commented:
I thought highly of Steele in the past, and had high hopes for him at the RNC helm, but he let the party down. His problems today are all of his own making. Disappointing.
We must avoid making a similar mistake this time.
BigAlSouth commented:
It’s Ann Wagner.
RedBeard commented:
#12: We need to bring minorities over to our side by means of hard work and convincing argument. We must be very careful not to compromise conservative principles just to play a numbers game. If the party stands for nothing, it’s worth nothing.
CT commented:
Please don’t take this the wrong way Jim, but I hope you just did a poor job of reporting on this RNC Chairman Candidates debate or the debate was really CRAP! There’s nothing there, no issues, no positions, no plans, no content. As a Conservative I haven’t seen a valid reason for supporting the RNC for anything, but prefer to support acceptable candidates directly. No money for RINOs.
Finncrisp commented:
This position needs to rotate – every campaign cycle is different, so having experience from previous doesn’t necessarily help, and may in fact hurt efforts. Need an energetic, curious sort, who will find a path that will allow the party to rediscover its roots and develop proper strategies for targeted races.
gus commented:
Just Running your Mouth. What do you suggest the REPUBLICAN Party should do to bridge the race gap??
Just Askin’
m commented:
I would like to see Newt Gingrich to be the Chairman of the Republican Party. He is not going to. He might run for President in 2012. He probably won’t get the nominee.
Just Askin' commented:
@ #12, #18:
Ok, here goes. Start by not openly embracing symbols of oppression like the Confederate flag. How about that? It’s just a little baby step on the long path towards appealing to the inevitable non-white majority that exists now in many states and will be nationwide within 20-25 years. That flag might be “heritage” to a southern white man but it equals slavery, torture and death to a black man. So waving that flag automatically disqualifies white politicians looking for non-white votes. Stop it. Now.
It’s just a tiny, symbolic gesture that would go a long way.
I have no confidence that this could be done, or even suggested without causing an uproar from southern conservatives who will claim I’m oppressing them or taking away their southern heritage. And if we can’t do a tiny thing like this, I’ve got no real hope for the Republican party in its current state. Haley Barbour said some dumb stuff the other day, not because he racist but because he’s clueless about race. And it looks like the whole damn party is the same way these days. We’re so unaware of how we appear to others that it doesn’t even occur to us that we’re turning them into Democrats.
So there you go, Redbeard and gus. I have no brilliant solution. Confederate flags have nothing to do with conservative principles but I’m pretty sure we couldn’t even talk about doing away with them, let alone actually doing it. But if we stopped doing stuff that pisses off the future majority to the point where they won’t even consider voting GOP, it would pay off in the future. And don’t even get me started on Jan Brewer.
The majority of new American citizens born last year were non-white. Non-white voters go Dem 65-90% of the time. Do the math.
Tick-tock, tick-tock….
Henry Hawkins commented:
Given the import of the 2012 elections, it is imperative the RNC choose leadership that is the best available at fundraising and organizing, state by state, county by county, town by town. By their rules, if a male takes the top post, a female must take the secondary post (as I understand it – never a certainty).
I think they need to avoid choosing a ‘name’ Republican who isn’t running for president in 2012, unless they pair that name Republican with an excellent fudraiser/organizer, where one would handle the media, touring, and baby-kissing, while the other did the real work behind the scenes.
What they absolutely must avoid is a Biden-type gaffe machine, as Steele has often shown himself to be. They must also avoid choosing by gender or race – such pandering will be obvious if that choice doesn’t meet the fundraiser/organizer criteria and will backfire. I don’t think any female, black, or hispanic voter ever chose a party based on the demographics of its RNC or DNC leadership. Indeed, most voters have no idea who it is at any given moment.
Pick the best available fundraiser/organizer regardless of race or gender, and use the second tier post to fill in any perceived needs not fulfilled by the top person.
gus commented:
Just A Moron. Are you retarded??? Seriously. Look in the mirror, is there drool on your chin???
gus commented:
Yes, Ladies and Gents if we stop “openly embracing” the CONFEDERATE FLAG. then bought and paid for LIBTARD MINORITIES will start agreeing with us on issues.
TICK TOCK TICK TOCK. What kind of moron thinks this way. It’s not US that needs to change, it’s the MENTALITY that being a MINORITY IS A PRIVELEGE with ADVANTAGES.
JUST A BLOWHARD, grow a brain. Fight for what is right or go to straight to hell. Fix the broken do not break the fixed.
Ladue Pundit commented:
The Republican Party needs to be honest and forget pandering to racial groups. Steele was obviously chosen in a pandering manuever, and look how well it worked.
Pick a leader who has a conscience. I’ve known Ann Wagner for decades…our kids went to school and were on the swim team together. Ann is an alum of Cor Jesu Academy–the Harvard of girls’ high schools. Ann in the daughter-in-law of Loretto Wagner, one of Missouri’s best pro-life fighters.
She’s got the brains, morals, and the will to lead. But she is a white Christian. Uh oh.
Just Stupid commented:
Confederate flag? SOunds like a real show stopper. We need to wire the GOP. Quick, boys, hold a flag burnin’ and the minorities will flock to our party.
Provide marshmallows and we’ll get the hispanics, too.
Chisum commented:
I spent the first twenty years of my life in the South. In my experience the people waving the Confederate flag were democrats.
Ladue Pundit commented:
Just Askin’ commented:
And don’t even get me started on Jan Brewer.
—–
What’s wrong with Jan Brewer, a governor who stands up for her state and her country’s laws? If you have a problem with this woman, then you have a problem with the U.S. Constitution, pal.
Just Askin' commented:
Nice one, gus. That’s pretty much what I expected. A fire-breathing rant that ignores the point I was making while bashing “libtard minorities” (in all caps, no less!). The only thing missing was an accusation of “reverse racism”.
Well played, son.
This is a good example of the reaction I get when I mention race to conservatives these days. Blind rage, combined with an absolute refusal to acknowledge the reality of the coming non-white majority and pure partisan venom directed towards anyone who might dare to speak of such things in an open conservative forum.
Like I said earlier, I see no easy path or solution for this. It appears as though the almost pure white Republican party will remain this way and will shrink as the minority baby boom continues.
RedBeard commented:
Just Askin’, can you explain why you directed the Confederate flag business at me? Just curious, since I haven’t even hinted at “openly embracing symbols of oppression.” Or are you one who enjoys jumping to conclusions based upon, well, nothing?
As for your broader assertion, that some sort of wide swath of conservatives go around waving the Confederate battle flag, how do you arrive at such an incredibly flawed conclusion?
I’m “just askin’.
Just Askin' commented:
@ Chisum:
Your southern experience sounds a little dated. Democrats have changed since the Civil Rights Act.
@ Ladue:
OK policy, horrible politics due to racial ignorance. See also: Barbour, Haley
Chisum commented:
#30 January 3, 2011 at 4:57 pm
Just Askin’ commented:
@ Chisum:
Your southern experience sounds a little dated. Democrats have changed since the Civil Rights Act.
=================================================
I think not, cupcake. But you keep plucking that chicken.
Just Askin' commented:
@ Redbeard:
It wasn’t directed at you personally. I was just giving an example of something the GOP could do to be a little less offensive to non-white voters.
As long as Republicans hang that flag in courtrooms and Governors mansions across the south, The GOP will be associated with all the good and bad that goes with it. And the bad is really bad.
But my main point is that the GOP has such a racial blind spot right now that something small, like a damn flag can’t even be discussed without touching a raw nerve. Imagine how much harder it will be to change actual policies if a symbolic gesture is considered beyond the pale.
I believe there are many conservative non-whites who won’t vote for a Dem but simply cannot bring themselves to support a Republican because the GOP is oblivious to the fact that they even exist. And I don’t have any solution outside of giving minorities some of what they want in exchange for their political support. That’s how politics has always worked. If we mock them or assume that they’re all Democrats then our mockery will become a self-fulfilling prophecy.
There is no other way.
Rock commented:
RNC get your head out the Sand, Ann Wagner is your future. This is the last chance for the RNC to get it right .
Paul in N.AL commented:
That’s right, today Democrats use the black population as slave labor in getting out the vote drives with ACORN, as SEIU thugs beating black people trying to earn money, and many more corrupt positions all at low to no wages.
I’m hispanic and the only thing that drives me to vote conservative is the want to have a strong monetary unit, and keep government out of my business. Since getting to the age to vote, I have not voted for a Democrat once.
Just Askin' commented:
@ Chisum: And yet, the Republican party is now 89% white*, while the Democrats now claim the vast majority of votes from the future non-white majority. But I’m sure it has nothing to do with the Civil Rights Act or the Southern Strategy.
Funny how that worked!
*http://www.gallup.com/poll/118937/republican-base-heavily-white-conservative-religious.aspx
Henry Hawkins commented:
I’m currently living in the south, been here for three decades, and can confirm that Chisum’s experience hasn’t changed much. This state has a long Democrat tradition, to the point where many folks have no idea why they are Democrats (this state also has a long tradition of poor education and illiteracy), they always were and see no reason to change. That the KKK-ers ‘must’ be Republicans because Democrats are too cool for it is a myth, a stereotype. Southern Democrats founded the KKK. Dixiecrats, anyone? (Post WWII Democrat Party segregationists). Southern Democrats were profoundly against integration and the Civil Rights movement (Huey Long, Robert Byrd, Bull Connor, Lester Maddox, George Wallace, anyone?). And many Southern Democrats remain the same. For every urbane, ‘educated’, liberal Southern Democrat, there are fifty more out in the sticks drankin’ beer, hootin’ ‘n hollerin’, an’ lookin’ out fer them uppity colored ones whut need a smackdown. As recently as the early 1990s you could still see billboards out in the sticks reading, “Welcome To KKK Country!” Democrat-controlled counties, that is.
Chisum commented:
Funny how this works:
Number of Republicans Reaches Highest Level Since December 2004
http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/mood_of_america/partisan_trends
Ladue Pundit commented:
Just Askin’–
You never explained why Jan Brewer is “bad.”
You DID explain your idiotic philosophy of racial quotas, and how the GOP needs to operate like a wing of the federal government, which works so well./not
I have a bi-racial aspect to my family and not one of them voted for Obama. People with intelligence are attracted to ideas and a concept of fairness. Maybe the people you’re thinking about are not intelligent, and they’re attracted to concepts of unfairness–as long as they’re on the receiving end of it.
As you prepare for the “future non-white majority,” ask yourself which politicians the majority of minorities elected have ever done ANYTHING for ANYONE except THEMSELVES.
Just Askin' commented:
Your point?
You do realize I’m talking about the next 20 years, right? A political organization comprised almost exclusively of one race, any race, will be uncompetitive in the near future.
But that’s a nice shiny poll ya got there. Suitable for framing.
Chisum commented:
But that’s a nice shiny poll ya got there. Suitable for framing.
Yes, trends should be ignored unless they fit your one-dimensional view.
I get it.
Ladue Pundit commented:
A political organization comprised almost exclusively of one race, any race, will be uncompetitive in the near future.
—
You realize you could be talking about the DNC as well?
What is more important, ideology or racial quotas? For a chump who babbles about the future, chew on this: continued unemployment, foreclosures, inflation, escalating violence–and ask yourself–”who has the best ideas?” What difference does skin color matter?
You’re in the mindframe of a bigot. The Republican Party has a diverse group of bright, new congressional reps. I focus on the bright, you can focus on the diverse.
Just Askin' commented:
Oh Ladue, you sound confused. My “idiotic philosophy of racial quotas” is merely an acknowledgement of the America that we will all live in very soon. You can’t make it go away by hating it.
I gave up on this website a couple of years ago and I’m not sure why I came back today. It’s the same blogger feeding red meat to the same commenters.
Texas, Florida, Arizona, California, Nevada, Colorado, New York, New Mexico, Virginia and even North Carolina are or will be majority non-white within the next 2 or 3 Presidential elections. How many of those states can the Republican party lose and while remaining competitive? Not many! And 2 or 3 elections after that, the whole country will be minority-majority.
The whole damn country.
Remember Reagan ’84? It seems like just yesterday, but we’re as far from ’84 as we are from the new reality that so many here choose to ignore. It will happen before you know it, and when it does, it will be too late to change. The time to change is now. Actually it was 10 years ago but now is better than never.
You’ll all find out the hard way and I’ll take no joy in saying “I told you so.”
RedBeard commented:
Hmmm… Florida, non-white. Big trouble. You mean like Allen West and Marco Rubio?
Henry Hawkins commented:
Conservative values are conservative values. There is no lack of nonwhites attracted to them, as evidenced by the laundry list of recent electees across the nation who are nonwhite and conservative.
Conservative values will continue to attract more of them, for no other reason than the intrinsic worth of those values – and without regard to race.
If people don’t value conservative values, we don’t want them. If they do value conservative values, we don’t care what their race is.
Personally, I couldn’t care less about the future of either the Democrat or Republican Party. And if the people who hold conservative values grows so small as to become politically, democratically irrelevant, we and the country are screwed anyway.
Hispanics are already strongly pro-family and pro-religion. Black culture is slowly choking to death on entitlement slavery and will soon be supplanted by the Hispanic population numerically. Do we suppose these factors strengthen or weaken whatever grip the Democrats believe they hold on these blocks?
NEVER pander to race. NEVER pander to religion. Determine your core values and stick to them no matter what. Such a coalition of Americans will draw new members, and the governance which comes from conservatism can restore the country. Biggest political surprise between now and 2030? Blacks finally abandon the Democrat Party.
Build it and they will come.
Just Askin' commented:
@40: What trend? Republican self-identification is flat or within the margin of error. It has been stuck at 34% (+/- 3%) for 6 years now. Today it sits at 37%. Just like it did in 2004.
http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/archive/mood_of_america_archive/partisan_trends/summary_of_party_affiliation
The percentage of minority voters however, is increasing steadily. This is not in dispute. It is an undeniable fact, not a “one-dimensional view”, whatever that’s supposed to mean.
Chisum commented:
I live in New Mexico. Whites are a minority here.
Guess what?
We just elected a REPUBLICAN Governor. The first LATINA Governor in US history!
You haven’t heard too much about that, have you?
Maybe if she had been a democrat or a Supreme Court justice “wise latina-type” we would have heard more about it.
Just Askin' commented:
@43
Again, this is a change that will happen over the next 20+ years. Rubio couldn’t break 50% even in the Year of the Tea Party. And that’s in a state where non-white voters are very friendly to Republicans.
Just Askin' commented:
@46
How nice for you. Now if Republicans can do this nationwide they’ll remain competitive. If they can’t, they won’t
That wasn’t so hard now, was it?
RedBeard commented:
Henry (#44), well stated indeed. The national discussion should be about firm, honorable conservative principles and good constitutional government, and race should play no part whatever.
go_gipper commented:
just aginnin
Since the embrace of the stars and bars is so persuasive, you must have several current pictures of Republican politicians with that flag in their office or standing on a stage with it in the background.
Put up big boy.
go_gipper commented:
persuasive should be pervasive.
RedBeard commented:
#47: Thanks for admitting that, in your last sentence. Unfortunately, you failed miserably when you ignored the Crist factor while minimizing Rubio.
Henry Hawkins commented:
Susana Martinez, first Latina Governor in US history
Nikki Haley, first female Indian-American Governor in US history
Bobby Jidal, first Indian-American Governor in US history
Brian Sandoval, first Latino Governor of Nevada
Tim Scott, African-American, SC House (won in a 80% white District against a white opponent)
Allen West, African-American, FL House
Bill Flores, Latino, TX House
Fransico Canseco, Latino, TX House
Jamie Herrera, first Latino Congressman in WA
David Rivera, Latino, FL House
Marco Rubio, Latino, FL Senate
Other non-white Republicans elected to State congresses and State executive positions are too numerous to mention.
Yeah. The Republican Party is in big trouble with minorities. [rolling eyes]
Henry Hawkins commented:
BTW, Rubio was in a three-way race with a popular governor and a black Democrat – and still won.
Give it up. Your premise is wrong.
Chisum commented:
Henry Hawkins,
+1
RedBeard commented:
Which party was it that segregated the South? That would be the Democrats.
Which party fought the Civil Rights Act via filibuster? Again. Democrats.
Which party was responsible for breaking the southern Democrat opposition, and insured the passage of the Civil Rights Act? That would be the Republicans, led by Senator Everett Dirksen.
Which political party was responsible for putting the Confederate flag atop the South Caroline statehouse? Why, that would be the Democrats.
Dang, this historical fact stuff sure gets in the way of a good bashing of Republicans.
Henry Hawkins commented:
One hitch, RedBeard….. which party is more represented among the public teachers of history?
Ruh-roh. Textbooks have probably already been ‘improved’ to say that the Tea Party caused slavery, the Civil War, and freedom of religion, and that it was Sarah Palin who bombed Pearl Harbor.
ogee commented:
Wow great pic!
“Michael Steele just said, “Democrat light does not sell well to the people.”
He ought to know. He strikes me as democrat light.
Did he mean Republican light? Oh, nevermind.
Listen up! GOTV IS THE MAKE IT OR BREAK IT. GOTV is how dems win. They begin 2 months ahead of time and go until the last minute on election night. They have paid groups of people to work the predictive dialer in the call center 7 days a week. They have paid groups who drive the rented vans that they take people out to polls with. They do not let up. They have people working non stop in shifts especially towards the last 2 weeks. They pay every Friday. The only reason the workers are there is …..drum roll….FOR THE PAYCHECK!!!!!!!! $10/hr adds up.
Get a clue.
Oh and they have phones, computers and scripts all paid for by the democrat party. Do the workers care who you vote for? NO! They want the paycheck. RNC better take heed or be slaughtered. People who are apathetic get out and vote when they get a call from their Party Headquarters. Without the call they WILL STAY ON THEIR COUCHES in front of the tv watching too see who won. THAT’S A BONA FIDE FACT.
ogee commented:
Did I mention they do this in every state at the Democrat headquarters.
That’s a huge expense but must be done in order to win. It’s how you ‘fight’.
RedBeard commented:
Henry, I fear you are correct. Ignorance is the greatest weapon the lefties have, and they wield it with great skill, slaughtering the knowledge and reasoning skills of entire generations.