Chris Christie for RNC Chair?

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie is eyeing the Republican National Committee (RNC) chair position after current chair Reince Priebus accepted a position in the Donald Trump administration as chief of staff, according to Politico‘s Alex Isenstadt.

Isenstadt noted, “One person said the governor had embarked on an aggressive, ‘full-court press’ in hopes of getting the chairmanship. Christie began seriously considering the job over the last week and has concluded that he would be a solid fit, several of his aides said.”

The consideration of Christie, who was recently eased out of Trump’s transition, interestingly after the conviction of Christie’s former aides over “Bridgegate,” is not the first name that comes to mind when thinking RNC chair:

RNC Chair Reince Priebus condemns Trump’s Muslim statement

By Lynn R. Mitchell

Amidst the bipartisan outcry after Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump’s call on Monday to ban all Muslims from entering the U.S., the Republican National Committee’s Chairman Reince Priebus backed away from Trump and his statement, according to the Washington Examiner:

“I don’t agree,” Priebus said. “We need to aggressively take on radical Islamic terrorism but not at the expense of our American values.”

Priebus, speaking to the Washington Examiner during an interview on next week’s televised Republican presidential debate hosted by CNN, joined a growing chorus from within his party that has criticized Trump over his plan to implement a religious test for entry into the country. The New York real estate mogul and reality television star, a front-runner for the GOP’s 2016 nomination, has been criticized by most of his Republican primary opponents, House Speaker Paul Ryan of Wisconsin, rank-and-file conservatives and center-right foreign policy strategists.

Priebus’ remarks are the latest in the condemnations coming from rank-and-file Republicans, GOP leadership, and Democrats in what has become the Trump sideshow of the 2016 campaigns. Will this now open the door for Trump to run as an independent by declaring that the RNC isn’t “treating him fairly”? Stay tuned.

Gilmore: ‘The Republican debate process is a fraud on the American people’

[Editor’s note: Republican debates number 2 and 3 excluded former Virginia Governor Jim Gilmore. Since there were only four participants during the “early” debate on Wednesday, it was difficult to understand why Governor Gilmore had been omitted, and I wrote that at the time. After a dysfunctional “debate” that made a debacle of the event, Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus notified NBC that the scheduled February GOP debate would not take place. This is Governor Gilmore’s response.]

By Jim Gilmore
Former Virginia Governor and candidate for President of the United States

Recently Reince Priebus, Chairman of the Republican National Committee, issued a statement denouncing CNBC for their conduct of the Denver GOP Presidential debate.

“CNBC should be ashamed of themselves. … the questioning by the CNBC moderators was extremely disappointing and did a disservice to their network, our candidates and you — the voters.”

RNC notifies NBC of cancelled February debate

By Lynn R. Mitchell

The Republican National Committee lowered the boom Friday and cancelled their February debate scheduled to be shown on NBC. The action is a direct result of the “debate” Wednesday night that was a dysfunctional debacle that left many shaking their heads in disappointment.

RNC Chairman Reince Priebus wrote to let NBC know of the decision:

Mr. Andrew Lack
Chairman, NBC News
30 Rockefeller Plaza
New York, New York 10112

Dear Mr. Lack,

I write to inform you that pending further discussion between the Republican National Committee (RNC) and our presidential campaigns, we are suspending the partnership with NBC News for the Republican primary debate at the University of Houston on February 26, 2016. The RNC’s sole role in the primary debate process is to ensure that our candidates are given a full and fair opportunity to lay out their vision for America’s future. We simply cannot continue with NBC without full consultation with our campaigns.

The CNBC network is one of your media properties, and its handling of the debate was conducted in bad faith. We understand that NBC does not exercise full editorial control over CNBC’s journalistic approach. However, the network is an arm of your organization, and we need to ensure there is not a repeat performance.

UR College Republican corrects record after College Democrat disses Kasich event

By Lynn R. Mitchell

Some people just don’t have a sense of humor these days, something that is especially sad when it’s an 18-year-old. When an article plopped into my email box on Wedneday from the University of Richmond Collegian, I noticed the title: “No, John Kasich, I don’t want Taylor Swift Tickets.” Curious, I began reading the words from Kayla Solsbak:

My hand was raised, my body half-way out of my back-row seat, when Gov. John Kasich finally acknowledged me.

“I’m sorry, I don’t have any Taylor Swift concert tickets,” he said, his eyes meeting mine.

The older members of the audience chuckled as my friends’ jaws dropped to the floor. It was astonishingly clear that Gov. Kasich did not come to Richmond for my vote.

Uh-oh. Everything good I had heard about John Kasich’s appearance Monday at the University of Richmond was in danger of being dashed in the first three paragraphs of the article. I continued reading a skewed version of his appearance as Ms. Solsbak made assumptions, pitted retired folks against college students, called Governor Kasich’s remarks “condescending lectures,” and generally down-played the event — even dissing the music. She didn’t have one good thing to say. The further I read, the more suspicious I became. Was the writer a student? A Democrat? Perhaps a plant?

Virginia Hispanic leaders confront RNC’s Priebus

By Daniel P. Cortez

With Hispanic Heritage Month in full swing, Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus wisely met with three dozen of Virginia’s leading Hispanic activists and business entrepreneurs in Northern Virginia Wednesday.

Those attending made up a who’s who of the Latino community gathering at the El Paso restaurant in Alexandria.  My Texas roots appreciated the location and the RNC private invitation.  Finally, it appears the GOP recognizes that the majority of Hispanic voters or any other nationality are like me, not registered party members.

Liking the snarky Jeb!

By Lynn R. Mitchell

Sixteen GOP candidates signed the Republican Pledge without fanfare.

Donald Trump, in typical narcissistic style, had RNC Chairman Rience Priebus go to him at Trump Tower in New York City and then called a press conference with a fawning media to publicize signing it, and tweeted it out.

That prompted a response from Jeb Bush that brought cheers from Bush supporters.

.@realDonaldTrump pic.twitter.com/RbagyBXspr

— Jeb Bush (@JebBush) September 3, 2015

//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

Hey, Jeb — me too! Once a Republican, only a Republican.

Republicans most likely to be 2016 GOP nominee

By Lynn R. Mitchell

The Hill has their list of 13 Republicans most likely to be nominees for the Republican presidential nomination for 2016 (see 13 Republicans most likely to win WH). I don’t agree with some of their choices but it makes for interesting speculation.

Dear RNC, could you be kinder and gentler with $$ requests?

By Lynn R. Mitchell

I’ve got to admit that the subject line of the email from RNC that landed in my email box this morning was a bit shocking.  “Lynn, did you abandon the RNC?” it read.

Actually, I got no further than that. I found it a bit in-your-face and not the usual mild request. But perhaps that was its purpose — to get your attention — when you normally pass over the multiple emails that come asking for money, volunteers, support, whatever.

Click. I deleted it and moved on.

This afternoon I noticed on Facebook that several Young Republicans were discussing that email, and they weren’t any too happy with the tone. Even Justin Higgins at JH Politics had written a post on it so I went to my trash file and retrieved the offensive email and, this time, opened it.

It’s Cleveland! GOP makes choice for 2016 national convention

By Lynn R. Mitchell

It’s Cleveland for the 2016 Republican National Convention. (See Cleveland chosen to host 2016 Republican National Convention.) It was down to the two finalists when RNC made the announcement Tuesday morning. Dallas lost out in the final decision.

Two weeks ago I posted about this decision (see 2016 GOP Convention … Cleveland or Dallas?) and ended with, “Psst. Cleveland!”

The next day I posted that those who wanted Cleveland needed to tweet their choice to RNC (see Cleveland! Tweet your preference for 2016 GOP Convention).

This morning, I kept an eye on Twitter to not miss the announcement, and then there it was: Cleveland. I had listed reasons for choosing that Ohio city: Ohio is a swing state and having the convention there could energize the base, and Ohio’s Republican governor John Kasich would be an excellent host.

Congratulations, Cleveland! Congratulations, Ohio!

 

Cleveland! Tweet your preference for 2016 GOP Convention

By Lynn R. Mitchell

The Republican National Committee has provided a way to add your two cents’ worth about where to hold the 2016 national convention. There’s a push for Cleveland in a swing state where GOP votes will be needed in 2016. So be sure to Tweet:

@RNCSiteVote: #Cleveland

Why Cleveland? We need Ohio! Republican Governor John Kasich would be welcoming with open arms.

But primarily Republicans need Ohio. Be sure to tweet #Cleveland.

From Nancy Russell: This is how 7th Congressional District money was distributed

By Lynn R. Mitchell

From Madam Chairman Nancy Russell of the Hanover County Republican Committee in regards to the distribution of donations from the 7th Congressional District funds:

I know there are a whole host of comments circulating the web regarding Wednesday night’s 7th District meeting regarding the disposition of funds in 7th District Accounts. I have been a member of the committee since 2011 and have voted on disbursements each year. The 7th District has always had a large amount of money available due to the success of fund raising efforts to the Cantor Victory Fund. The large majority of the donations made to this fund were in the $10,000 range from donors outside of the 7th District.

GOP 7th Congressional District donates $$ to help statewide candidates

By Lynn R. Mitchell

After Wednesday night’s 7th Congressional District meeting, much misinformation has been circulating Virginia from those who disapproved of the actions taken by the majority of the committee.

The 7th under the leadership of former chairman Linwood Cobb, one of the most effective district chairmen in the state, and Majority Leader Eric Cantor was excellent at raising hundreds of thousands of dollars used to fund Republican candidates throughout the 7th and the rest of the Commonwealth. They were a team that helped grow the party and held two of the largest Republican events in the state each year with the Republican Roundup that drew thousands of attendees, and Eric Cantor’s annual breakfast that had 1,700 attending in 2014.

2016 GOP Convention … Cleveland or Dallas?

Two down, two to go.

On Wednesday the Republican National Committee announced that the two finalists for the 2016 national convention are Cleveland, Ohio, and Dallas, Texas (see Dallas, Cleveland Finalists for GOP Convention). Knocked out of the running at this point were Denver and Kansas City.

Cleveland would be a good choice for a couple of reasons:

Jennifer Rubin asks, ‘Why is Jeb Bush gaining momentum?’

People are noticing a difference in Jeb Bush lately, even in the way he has stopped hedging quite as much about his chances of running for president to the point that he has admitted “thinking about it.” Add to that the family’s public support and this week Condoleezza Rice joined in with her support.