It's Official: Reince Priebus, new RNC Chairman

The Republican Party of Wisconsin Chairman who helped oversee the groundbreaking elections of Sean Duffy and Ron Johnson is taking his skills to the national stage. Wisconsin's own Reince Priebus officially beat out six other candidates to become Republican National Committee Chairman on Friday afternoon. Priebus, who has been Republican Party of Wisconsin Chair for nearly 4 years, now replaces the embattled Michael Steele who withdrew in round 4 of the ballot process after not being able to gain enough votes to win re-election. The 168-person Republican National Committee conducts its balloting in a round-by-round format with each prospective candidate able to remain in the running from the start of the vote until they no longer are able to draw enough votes to mathematically attain a majority win. Once ousted, each candidate then is able to focus on throwing their support behind one of the remaining options. Priebus secured his victory with 97 votes in the 7th round, long after Steele had been retired and had thrown his own weight behind RNC official Maria Cino. The win was the end game in a complicated series of closed door maneuvering that defines the RNC chairmanship election. Reince never trailed in votes throughout the day and had entered round one of balloting with a total of 44 official commitments. Over the next 6 rounds, the series of contenders fell by the wayside, with ever-shifting enclaves and behind-the-scenes deal-making swelling his vote total into the 7th round where he was finally able to break the barrier, leaving his closest competitor, Michigan's Saul Anuzis, with 43 and Cino with 28.

Priebus threw his hat in the ring on December 6 of 2010. Being from Wisconsin and up against several long-entrenched members of the RNC, his victory seemed like a long shot, but his personal skills and organizational prowess including his experience in running Michael Steele's 2009 campaign to become Chairman helped solidify inner connections and though he didn't have a great showing in the debate round of the proceedings on January 3, he was able to secure the commitments to help him win on Friday.

"Wisconsin Republican Party Chairman Reince Priebus will make an outstanding chairman for our national party," Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker said in a press release when Priebus announced.

"Our success in Wisconsin this year is due in large part to Reince's leadership in joining with the grass-roots movement that swept Wisconsin and our nation, bringing major Republican gains on November 2nd. Reince made our state party all-inclusive, and led the charge to successfully take back the governor's office, a U.S. Senate seat, two U.S. House seats and both chambers of the statehouse.

Reince embraces conservative principles and has an established track record of outstanding communications, fund-raising and grass roots organization. He is exactly what the national GOP needs: a skilled and proven leader who never forgot the roots of the party."

Priebus' leadership style would be a great departure from the former Chairman Steele's, which is exactly what many in the Party have been clamoring for. Steele's out-in-public facade may have been a distraction from the meaningful, in-the-trenches organizational functions that are looked at as being the most vital to the RNC chairmanship. In Wisconsin, Priebus organized a massive grassroots phone and door-to-door ground campaign that led to the State being one of the top get-out-the-vote networks in the country. Aside from helping to result in the elections of the aforementioned Duffy, Johnson, and Reid Ribble for national offices, it also resulted in a complete flip in the Governorship and the State Houses from Democratic majorities to steep Republican. His roll-up-your-sleeves philosophy may be just what the Party needs going forward as the RNC faces daunting challenges with the 2012 Presidential elections looming, the Establishment and Tea Party wings having to Unite behind a common candidate, and the Committee being 20 million in the hole after the 2010 election cycle in combination Steele's fundraising gaffes and fiscal mismanagement. Priebus' first tasks will be to rebuild relationships and coffers.

“Now is the time for the committee to unite,” he said in his victory speech according to the The Daily Caller. “We must come together for the common interest.”

“With that in mind,” he continued, “I want you to know, that I am here to earn the trust and support for each and every one of you.” He added, “And I’m going to start working right now as your chairman.”

“We all recognize that there’s a steep hill here ahead of us. The only way we’ll be able to move forward is if we’re all together.”

"As Reagan said, our nation is that shining city upon a hill and we must work to keep it that way,” Priebus continued, saying that he would do everything possible, with the help of the committee “to be sure that our Republican presidential nominee has the organization in place to beat Barack Obama."

Priebus, a Wisconsin native, was born in Kenosha and received a Bachelor's Degree in Political Science and English from the UW Whitewater, served as a staffer in the Wisconsin legislature for a year, and then attended the University of Miami where he obtained a law degree in 1998. He interned for the NAACP in Los Angeles and went to work at Michael Best & Friedrich LLP in Milwaukee once out of law school. He ran for State Senate in 2004 where he unsuccessfully challenged Democrat Robert Wirch and then ran for Wisconsin Republican Party chair in 2007 and won as the youngest person ever elected. He additionally became general counsel for the RNC in 2009.

BIDDING A TURNCOAT GOOD-BYE

BY SCOTT SCHNEIDER

Recently, the Wisconsin Federation of College Republicans (WICR) found themselves stabbed in the back by one of their own, when outgoing chair Lora Rae Anderson slammed the Republican Party, claiming they were not inclusive enough of more liberal-minded young people, then promptly bolting for the Democratic Party only one month after she left her position as WICR leader. WICR political director Patrick Testin, as well as newly-elected WICR chair Charlotte Evans had a few words to say to Lora Rae and to all Republicans who may have found their faith in the College Republicans shattered due to Lora's actions. Here is Patrick's WICR official press release regarding the matter:

Wisconsin Federation of College Republicans: College Republicans bid Anderson farewell
5/26/2010

STEVENS POINT, WI: On Friday May 21st, former Wisconsin Federation of College Republicans Chairman Lora Rae Anderson left the Republican Party to join Mike Tate and his cohort of “liberal attack dogs” in the Democratic Party of Wisconsin. Anderson recently landed a spot on MSNBC for a publicity stunt stating that she left the Republican Party because the party was ignoring the more “liberal-minded” young members.

While it is unfortunate that the former state chair Anderson has radically shifted her views, WICR is proud to stand for young conservatives. WICR chapters have seen their memberships increase. Over the past year, more and more people have rejected the liberal policies coming out of Madison and Washington D.C. and we expect to see more young people join WICR. Anderson herself stated in May 2009 as she addressed the Republican Party that “most College Republican chapters are bigger and more active than Democratic chapters . . . College Republicans are persistent, strong, committed, moral characters” and that “Republicans are some of the hardest workers I know, and Democrats are some of the most agitated people I know.”

Since that speech, however, she has slowly moved to the left and has embraced many liberal ideologies that have put her at odds with many in the party. Last week, Anderson issued a statement and had a press conference with the Democratic Party of Wisconsin where she declared, “The health care reform bill allows young adults like me to be carried on our parents health insurance until we’re 26…I’m not looking for a government handout. I just want to get my life started on the right foot.”

The majority of Americans, however, do not support the liberal health care mandate and are in line with Anderson’s statement on September 8, 2009 where she said, “thanks for not paying attention to those who don’t agree with you, Mr. President” when commenting on the fact that Republicans had real solutions to the healthcare crisis without getting Americans into a massive amount of debt. While the DPW and MSNBC have latched onto Anderson’s newly developed extreme views, the growing College Republican chapters do not want the government to leverage their futures and bury them under debt.

Much like Senator Specter, Anderson has shown she is far more concerned about her own self-interests and is willing to drastically change her principles for personal gain. We just hope that Anderson’s selfish media grab isn’t a condition for paid employment with Mike Tate and the DPW. Patrick Testin, political director of WICR, states that “we do find it interesting that in Mike Tate’s blitzkrieg to get Anderson in front of a camera, he and the rest of DPW have failed to do their homework on Anderson, who has a history of saying controversial things on social media sites.” On September 24, 2009, Lora Rae Anderson posted on Facebook that she “thinks: (3rd district Congressman) Ron Kind is a [censored].” On September 8, 2009 Anderson stated she believes Planned Parenthood are “disgusting racists”. Matt Rossetto, vice chair of WICR said, “Statements like these should suit Anderson well if she is to have a future in DPW under Mike Tate’s leadership, who has proven time and time again he is willing to use tasteless racial politics.”

WICR wishes Anderson the best of luck in her future. Meanwhile, WICR will continue to move forward in promoting conservative values and principles. Chairman Charlotte Evans stated, “While it is a pity that my predecessor left the party, it is evident that big government is not a solution to her problems. We are on the verge of a Republican revolution similar to 1994 that rejects the growth of the government and its out of control spending, which is why we are encouraging students to sign the national College Republican ‘Don’t Put It On Our Tab’ petition.” WICR will unite to recruit, train, mobilize, and engage college-aged students that support fiscal and individual responsibility to elect conservative Republicans in November when the great state of Wisconsin turns RED in 2010.

Contact: Patrick Testin
Email: wicrpolitico@gmail.com
Phone: 715-412-1922

CR's HELP MAKE STATE CONVENTION A ROUSING SUCCESS.

With headline speakers Karl Rove, Tim Pawlenty, and Paul Ryan, the Wisconsin Federation of College Republicans were among nearly 1,700 attendees to one of the largest State of Wisconsin Republican Conventions in recent memory. The group, consisting of nearly 35 members, trickled into the Hyatt-Regency Hotel in downtown Milwaukee, throughout the day Friday, May 21 but a core group arrived early in the morning Friday to help set up for the festivities and then along with others worked into the afternoon assisting candidates, promoting their campaigns and agendas. The main event on Friday evening was the chairman's reception held at the historic Harley-Davidson Museum. Celebrated Wisconsin Congressman Paul Ryan and Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty addressed a raucous crowd in the packed Rumble Room. Ryan talked about the insanity of health care reform and the Democrat's budget and fiscal messes while Governor Pawlenty spoke about similar issues and inspired those in the crowd to commit themselves to core values of fiscal conservatism. Soon after, shuttle buses provided rides back to the Hyatt where hospitality suites opened up for the remainder of the evening.

Convention started in earnest early Saturday morning and Charlotte Evans, the new WICR chair, spoke to the 1000 plus delegates in the Frontier Airlines Center, assuring them that the Wisconsin Federation of College Republicans were thoroughly and completely committed to the cause of bringing the State of Wisconsin back to Republican control in 2010. Wisconsin Republican Party Chair Reince Priebus addressed the crowd about the importance of uniting together to elect GOP majorities and clean up after the Democrat's failing policies. The high point of the convention that morning was the official Party endorsement of Scott Walker in the gubenatorial race. Scott won the endorsement over his closest challenger, former congressman Mark Neumann, by an overwhelming percentage setting the stage for the State Party to throw it's weight behind his campaign to defeat Tom Barrett, the hand-picked successor to governor Jim Doyle on the Democrat side. The rest of the convention was a long, drawn-out process with several votes and re-votes to make party endorsements in two crowded, multi-candidate Statewide races; one being Lt Governor and the other being the Senate race against stalwart Democrat Russ Feingold.

Perhaps the highlight of the entire convention occurred Saturday night during the Chairman's Banquet where Karl Rove was introduced as the keynote speaker. In the, hot and packed standing-room only venue, 600 of the convention followers heard the Architect of the George Bush 43 ascendancy give over an hour-long speech about the pressing issues of the 2010 election cycle, as well as some of the amazing experiences he has had in lifetime of giving speeches.

"And if you don't believe you go talk to the man who figured this all out," Rove said after introducing in detail, the major shenanigans in the health care bill. "His name is Paul Ryan."

The crowd rose to it's feet.

"The principle they forgot when it came to health care was this," he continued. "The American people pay attention. We're not that dumb. We're not that stupid. Think about this. If you go and take a look at the polls from January, February, and March of last year people by a margin of 2 to 1 supported health care reform. They thought it was a good idea, 'Yea, let's explore. We need to improve our system.' But then we started reading and watching. The President kicked off on March 5 of last year a 51-week drive for national health care. He gave 58 speeches, 2 nationally-televised addresses to the nation. He had a 59-41 margin in the Senate, he had a 255 to 178 in the house and this may shock ya, I know there are a lot of idealistic young people in here but the national media is sorta liberal and didn't challenge him. And guess what happened! People educated themselves, they talked to the doc down the street, they talked to the nurse, they talked to the hospital administrator, they talked to the drug saleswoman, they talked to the pharmacist. . .they educated themselves about it. By August of last year we were on fire and by the time it came around to the vote if you take all of the polls taken in the couple of weeks leading up to the vote, it was about 38% favoring bill presented by Obama and the Democrats in congress and 60% opposed and the strongly opposed outnumbered the strongly supported by 2 to 1. That's because the American people educated themselves."

Rove then completed his speech with a touching story about his experiences with wounded and fallen soldiers in the Military and in particular one individual soldier who had been shot 8 times, was in the process of having his face reconstructed, and was now more than willing to go back to Afghanistan for yet another tour of duty.

The convention wrapped up Sunday afternoon, after an endorsement of recently-announced candidate Ron Johnson in the Feingold Senate race, a long half day of votes, and a kick-off campaign rally by Walker and Johnson, weary delegates finally departed for home and while some of the College Republicans stayed around to help clean up after the festivities, many took after the weary convention-goers and slowly left Milwaukee, bringing their renewed passions back to home cities to help turn the tide in the State and national legislature.