The Republican National Committee selected Reince Priebus as its new chairman on Friday.
Priebus replaces Michael Steele, the former lieutenant governor of Maryland and the party's first African-American chairman whose two-year tenure was marked by high spending, financial debt and verbal gaffes.
Priebus, 38, is a former chair of the Wisconsin GOP and the committee's former general counsel.
During his campaign for the RNC Chairmanship, Priebus promised to put the RNC back on a sound financial footing:
I will run a tight ship at the RNC. I will keep expenses low. I will put in strong and serious controls. We will raise the necessary funds to make sure we are successful. We will work to regain the confidence of our donor base and I will personally call our major donors to ask them to rejoin our efforts at the RNC.
In Wisconsin, Priebus is known as a conservative who considers the TEA Party an extension of the state's Republican Party. In Wisconsin last year, Priebus worked with the TEA Party, joining forces to help the GOP carry all of the state's big races.
Republican Scott Walker, a former County of Milwaukee executive, defeated Democrat and Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett in the Wisconsin governor's race, replacing retiring Democrat Gov. James Doyle. Businessman Ron Johnson, defeated longtime Democrat U.S. Sen. Russ Feingold. Wisconsin Democrats also lost control of the state Assembly and Senate, yielding control of both houses to Republicans for the first time since 1998.
Politico’s Andy Barr and Alex Burns talk about the road ahead for RNC Chairman Reince Priebus in the following video:
In this week's Weekly Republican Address Congressman Duncan D. Hunter thanks those who couldn't be home for Christmas and takes on Democrats' misguided new laws that will cost even more jobs:
So let’s resolve in the new year to end misguided efforts to create new laws that will cost even more jobs, whether it’s the “cap and trade” national energy tax, the government takeover of health care, “card check,” or even more tax increases.
Watch the video:
Transcript of Congressman Hunter's remarks as provided by the Republican National Committee:
I’m Congressman Duncan Hunter, and I represent the 52nd Congressional District of California, the area around San Diego.
In this holiday season, I hope we all take time to offer thanks and prayers to the men and women of our Armed Forces. Many of these service members will spend the holidays away from home, on the frontlines in Iraq and Afghanistan, at bases and on ships around the world.
I understand the sacrifices they are making. Shortly after the terrorist attacks of September 11th, 2001, I quit my job and joined the Marine Corps. Prior to coming to Congress, I was deployed to warzones on three separate occasions, twice in Iraq and once in Afghanistan. Just last month, actually, I had an opportunity to visit with our troops in Afghanistan.
I know we all wish everyone could be home for the holidays, but this is not a time for sadness or regret.
Thoughts of home remind us of why we serve: because we’re proud to be Americans, because we want to pass on to our children the blessings of liberty that we inherited from our forefathers, and because nothing matters more to us than protecting our homes and our families.
Our hope is that as a result of this determination and sacrifice, we will never again see our cities and citizens under attack.
I hope we also take a moment this year to reflect on those suffering here at home. For too many families, this will be a difficult Christmas.
One in ten Americans are unemployed. Nearly six million of our citizens have been looking for work for more than six months – the most on record.
All year long, Republicans have offered common-sense solutions to put more money back into the pockets of hard-working families and to help small businesses create more jobs. We’ve also outlined a plan to lower health care premiums by up to 10 percent.
And we have proposed an ‘all of the above’ energy strategy to create more American jobs, ease the strain on family budgets, and clean up our environment. Just as important, these solutions do not raise taxes, grow government, or add to the already skyrocketing debt burden being placed on our kids and grandkids.
After all the promises and all the spending we’ve seen out of Washington this year, out-of-work families are right to be asking, ‘where are the jobs?’ Republicans believe our top priority when it comes to the economy should be simple: first, do no harm.
So let’s resolve in the new year to end misguided efforts to create new laws that will cost even more jobs, whether it’s the “cap and trade” national energy tax, the government takeover of health care, “card check,” or even more tax increases.
Working together, we can make the next holiday season even brighter for all Americans.
Republican Senators Mitch McConnell, Jon Kyl, Lamar Alexander and John Thune have a suggestion for President Obama to help him meet his pathetic goal of cutting a meager $100 million from Obama's and the Democrats' spend too much, tax too much and borrow too much budget:
Keep the terrorist detention center at Guantanamo Bay open, so that American cities don't have to play host to terrorists. That will save the $80 million budgeted for the closure - 80% of Obama's goal.
In an interview yesterday evening on PBS' "NewsHour," House Republican Leader John Boehner discussed the economy, Obama's spend too much, tax too much and borrow too much budget, the Democrats’ “cap-and-trade” energy tax, the American automobile industry, bipartisanship, bailout fatigue:
Paul Ryan, the ranking Republican on House Budget Committee, introduced the House Republicans' comprehensive alternative to President Obama's spend too much, tax too much and borrow too much budget.
The Republican budget alternative, "The Path To American Prosperity," works to accomplish four main goals:
Fulfill the mission of health and retirement security;
Control our nation's debts;
Put our economy on a path of growth and leadership in the global economy; and
Preserve the American legacy of leaving the next generation better off.
You can the "The Path To American Prosperity," below.
House Republicans have unveiled the "Road to Recovery," a budget plan to curb spending, create jobs, and control the debt, in contrast to the irresponsible budget proposed by President Obama, which spends too much, taxes too much and borrows too much.
Lower Taxes: "First, our budget alternative will help create and protect jobs by letting families and small businesses keep more of what they earn," Boehner said.
Fiscal Restraint: "Second, our budget will make sure the federal budget doesn’t grow faster than family budgets. Americans are making tough spending decisions every day. It’s time for Washington to do the same."
Health Care: "Third, our budget will aim to expand access to affordable health care for every American, while preserving Social Security and Medicare for future generations." (Republicans are pushing for medical liability reform to reduce the number of "frivolous" lawsuits.)
No More Bailouts: "Fourth, our budget will end the bailouts to protect taxpayers and reform the financial system so this crisis never repeats itself. Instead of raising energy costs through a 'cap and trade' energy tax that will cost every family up to $3,100 a year, our budget will encourage an 'all of the above' energy strategy that harnesses new technologies, encourages greater conservation and efficiency, and increases American energy production in an environmentally-safe manner."
Inflation Control: "And last but not least, our budget will fight inflation so the prices of goods and services Americans depend on every day remain stable during and after this economic crisis."
In an interview on "Fox &
Friends" this morning, Boehner discussed the House
Republicans' better budget solution that will be outlined at a press conference
later today. Boehner also discussed President Obama's $3.6 trillion bigger government budget. Watch the video:
Steele, the first African-American to hold the post, is a conservative, but he was considered the most moderate
of the five candidates running.
He promises "it's going to be a new day" and "a brand new message."
You can watch Steele's remarks to the RNC in the following msnbc video:
,
Steele's background includes the following:
He is a self-described Lincoln Republican. In 2003 he became the first African-American elected to statewide office in Maryland.
An expert on political strategy, fund-raising, PACs, and election reform, Steele is the current Chairman of GOPAC. He has served on the National Federal Election Reform Commission and the NAACP Blue Ribbon Commission on Election Reform.
Born in 1958 at Andrews Air Force Base in Prince George’s County, Maryland, He was raised in Washington, D.C. He spent three years as a seminarian in the Order of St. Augustine in preparation for the priesthood, but, ultimately, chose a career in law instead. He earned his law degree from Georgetown University Law Center in 1991.
He is currently a Partner in the international law firm of Dewey & LeBoeuf in Washington, D.C. From 1991–1997, Steele was a corporate securities attorney at the international law firm of Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilton in Washington, D.C., specializing in sophisticated financial transactions on behalf of Wall Street underwriters. He also was a corporate finance counsel for the Mills Corporation and founded his own company, The Steele Group, a business and legal consulting firm.
A recent Gallup Poll found only 34% of Americans
have a favorable view of the Republican Party. Just as bad, if not worse,
61% now hold an unfavorable view of the party. That is the highest unfavorable number recorded for the Republican Party since Gallup started polling on that question in 1992.
To find clues about the Republican Part can do to reverse this unfavorable trend, Gallup asked repondents:
"Over the next few years, would you like to see the Republican Party
and its candidates move in a more conservative direction, a less
conservative direction, or stay about the same?"
Most Republicans (59%) want to see the party become more conservative, another 28% want it to remain about the same and 12%
would prefer to see the party become less conservative.
In order to make gains in Congress or win the Presidency in 2012, Republicans must attract substantial support from political independents. According to Gallup, independents are split about the direction they would like the Republican Party to move. About a third say the party should become more conservative, an equal percentage say it should become less conservative, and just under one-quarter say it should stay the same.
Gallup Poll Editor in Chief, Frank Newport, covers the details in the following video report:
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