RNC Chairman Reince Priebus
RNC Winter Meeting General Session
Renaissance Washington, DC Downtown Hotel
Washington, DC
January 24, 2014

[Democracy in ActionTranscript]

...thousands of people from across the country for the March for Life. So before I get to everything else, I just want to say I think this was a very special year to be part of the March. This year's theme was adoption, and I think adoption is something our party needs to talk about more. We're the party that respects life, and we're the party of adoption. Every child should have the chance to have a loving family and every child should have the chance for life.  [applause] Thank you. Thank you. This is a gift, this is a gift and it's important that as a party we continue to be advocates for respecting and valuing life.
 
Now, one year ago we came together and said we were going to do things differently at the RNC. We set out to build a permanent ground campaign, to close the digital divide, and to engage with voters of all backgrounds.

We have accomplished a lot together in just one year. We had our whole field team in town for a training last month—with hundreds of field staffers over by the Dulles Airport—it was a real ‘wow’ moment to see how fast the Republican National Committee had grown in 2013.

We’re getting to know communities where we hadn’t been for a long time, and we’re talking to people who hadn’t heard from us for far too long.

That’s how you grow a party.

Now the truth is, this work is never done. It’s a permanent operation. That’s the new normal at the Republican National Committee. To win, it has to be this way.

On the tech front, we basically have a start-up running inside the RNC.

And big reforms are coming to our presidential nominating process—reforms that put Republican voters, not the liberal media, in the driver’s seat.  This is about getting better debates, but it's also a way to put a check on the media.  Last time we were together, we took a stand against NBC and CNN, and we said if you want to run your Hillary films no debates for you.  Now a little while later, a little while later they backed down.  They cancelled their tributes to Hillary Clinton. 

The RNC isn’t going to put up with the same old ways. We’re going to set a new standard.

And finally, I want draw everyone’s attention to our fundraising. I’m proud to report we raised over $7 million in December alone, and we easily outraised the DNC in 2013. And not only that, we ended the year debt free.

Now it’s very significant that we outraised the party in power. I don’t even know the last time the party out of power outraised the party that has the White House.

And it’s important—because we’re making investments early. It’s not good enough to be the party that shows up every four years five months before an election. That was the old way. Again, we have to set a new standard.

We’ve done a lot. But the truth is, the RNC can’t do it all. It’s up to other committees as well and, of course, the candidates have to do their part, as well.

But our example matters.

I’ve said many times before that the policies and principles of this party are sound. However, as we look to grow the ranks of our party, we must ALL be very conscious of the tone and choice of words when we communicate those policies effectively.

We should set the standard for future RNCs – and also set an example for other Republicans.

We all know the GOP has to get out of our comfort zones and go to places where we haven’t been for a while and engage and welcome new voters.

We can’t do all the work ourselves. But we can show what a difference it can make.

Let me tell you a couple quick stories.

The first one some of you have heard before. At the anniversary of the March on Washington luncheon last year, we had hundreds of people show up. It was a great, overflow crowd. And you know a couple of people came up to me and they said, “You know what?  We're here, but you know we’re Democrats. But we’re here because we know that if both parties don’t fight like crazy for black voters, the other side will take our votes for granted.”

As a party, we believe it’s wrong for anyone to be overlooked or taken for granted in our political process.

And even a simple act can send an important message.

This fall, I went up to Detroit to announce our Michigan Black Advisory Council and to welcome Wayne Bradley aboard as our state director in Michigan for African-American engagement.

I was amazed at how many people came to take part. We had business leaders and community leaders who were ready to stand up and make a difference.

We did a pretty simple thing by showing up—but it’s having a big impact and in a place that desperately needs a new direction, fresh ideas, and more opportunity.

So I’m glad to see friends like Rand Paul going to Detroit and showing up to support the party’s efforts there.

Likewise, I’m glad to hear Marco Rubio, Paul Ryan, Eric Cantor, Rand and others taking up difficult issues, sharing Republican ideas on how to fight poverty in this country—a problem that has gotten worse under Democrat leadership of this administration.

They each have their own approaches. But at the end of the day, expanding opportunity is always the focus. And that’s the way we will stand together as Republicans. The issue of income inequality is best addressed by ensuring equal opportunity for everyone in this country.

The president is now preparing speeches on income inequality.  I believe he should give those speeches while standing in front of the mirror because under his watch everything has gotten worse.  He should talk to himself because poverty is worse, food stamp dependency is worse, and more people have given up looking for work under Barack Obama's watch than at any time that I can remember.

When the federal government tries to equalize outcomes, we're all going to end up equally worse off. But when we make sure people have equal opportunities—in education, in the job market, in health care—we're all going to be better off.

That’s the right approach. And that’s what’s fair.

I think that’s what Americans expect from their leaders. Fairness. We’re about that as a party, too.

It’s not fair to voters when leaders they trusted lie to pass their agenda.

It’s not fair to the working mom who loses the insurance she liked because the president didn’t like it.

It’s not fair to the college grad, who already has a mountain of student debt, and he also has to shoulder the cost of government debt, of ObamaCare, of a bad economy.

It’s not fair that disadvantaged, inner city students are forced to go to bad schools and not the schools of their choice.

And it’s not fair that a young child that government benefits are structured in a way that penalizes his parents when they get married.

None of that is fair—but that’s what Democrats stand for.

Republicans are going to stand for fairness, freedom, and equal opportunity for all Americans.

Now before I close I want to share with you a very short video about what's been going on in the field and some of the great stuff that we're doing at the Republican National Committee.

[video  ..."I'm an RNC field staffer..."]

When you look at something like that you realize what we’re doing is a big deal. So obviously it gets frustrating sometimes when people try to attack our work or create dissent or the appearance of dissent.

Every once in a while, you read or hear about even some of our own friends even attacking the RNC.  And I [inaud.] attack what?

But you know it reminds me that we need to tell people more of what the RNC does.  The RNC builds and pays for the infrastructure that all of our candidates need to be successful.  There's nothing to attack.  Attack what?
  • A permanent field operation that we're paying for?
  • A multi-million dollar technology upgrade that our friends are going to be able to use?
  • Engagement with Hispanic and African American and Asian American communities, conservative groups, faith leaders, and youth?
  • A ground game that will help governors like Scott Walker and Rick Scott and all of our Senate opportunities across the country?
  • Data and digital directors working with state parties and volunteers in the field?
  • A tech office right in Silicon Valley to recruit the best talent in the world?
Hundreds of staffers and thousands of precinct captains and tens of thousands of precinct team members getting to know voters neighborhood by neighborhood?

Everything we're doing is about one thing—getting more Republicans elected at every level of government, and all of it's essential for winning and helping this country.  And anyone who opposes that isn't looking out for the good of our party or our country.

Now we’re doing something unprecedented here. When, in the history of our party, has the RNC been able to completely transform our approach to politics in less than one year?

You know the great Vince Lombardi, former coach of my Green Bay Packers, once said and it's a good one, “The only place success comes before work is in the dictionary.”

Our work isn’t done. In fact, we’re only getting started.

So to close, I have two challenges for us in the coming year. As we keep up the work, let’s set an example for our fellow Republicans. And let’s set the standard for the future of the RNC.  

Thank you very much.  God bless you and let's have a great rest of our meeting...

###

RNC Chairman Reince Priebus
RNC Winter Meeting General Session
Renaissance Washington, DC Downtown Hotel
Washington, DC
January 24, 2014

[Remarks Excerpts As Prepared For Delivery]
 
… One year ago we came together and said we were going to do things differently at the RNC. We set out to build a permanent ground campaign, to close the digital divide, and to engage with voters of all backgrounds.

We have accomplished a lot together in just one year. When we had our whole field team in town for a training last month—with hundreds of field staffers—it was a real ‘wow’ moment to see how fast we’ve grown.

We’re getting to know communities where we hadn’t been for a long time, and we’re talking to people who hadn’t heard from us for too long.

That’s how you grow a party.

Now the truth is, this work is never done. It’s a permanent operation. That’s the new normal. To win, it has to be this way.

On the tech front, we basically have a start-up running inside the RNC.

And big reforms are coming to our presidential nominating process…reforms to put Republican voters, not the liberal media, in the driver’s seat…

…This RNC isn’t going to put up with the old ways. We’re going to set a new standard.

Finally, I want draw everyone’s attention to our fundraising. I’m proud to report we raised over $7 million in December alone, and we easily outraised the DNC in 2013. Not only that, we ended the year debt free.

It’s pretty significant that we outraised the party in power. I don’t even know the last time the party out of power outraised the party with the White House.

And it’s important—because we’re making investments early. It’s not good enough to wait till the end. That was the old way. Again, we have to set a new standard.

We’ve done a lot. But the truth is, the RNC can’t do it all. It’s up to other committees and, of course, the candidates to do their parts, too.

But our example matters.

I’ve said many times before that the policies and principles of our party are sound. However, as we look to grow the ranks of our party, we must ALL be very conscious of the tone and choice of words we use to communicate those policies effectively.

We should set the standard for future RNCs – and also set an example for other Republicans.
We all know the GOP has to get out of our comfort zones and go to places we haven’t been for a while and engage and welcome new voters.

We can’t do all that work ourselves. But we can show what a difference it can make.
Let me tell you a couple quick stories.

The first one some of you have heard before. At our March on Washington anniversary luncheon last year, we had hundreds of people show up. It was a great, overflow crowd. Two people came up to me during the event and said, “We’re Democrats. But we’re here because we know that if both parties don’t fight like crazy for black voters, the other side takes our votes for granted.”

As a party, we believe it’s wrong for anyone to be overlooked or taken for granted in our political process.

And even a simple act can send an important message.

This fall, I went up to Detroit to announce our Michigan Black Advisory Council and to welcome Wayne Bradley aboard as our state director for African-American engagement.

I was amazed at how many people came to take part. We had business leaders and community leaders who were ready to stand up and help and make a difference.

We did a pretty simple thing by showing up—but it’s having a big impact and in a place that desperately needs a new direction, fresh ideas, and more opportunity.

So I’m glad to see friends like Rand Paul going to Detroit to support the party’s efforts there.

Likewise, I’m glad to hear Marco Rubio, Paul Ryan, Eric Cantor, Rand and others taking up difficult issues, sharing Republican ideas on how to fight poverty in this country—a problem that has gotten worse under Democrat leadership and this administration.

They each have their own approaches. But at the end of the day, expanding opportunity is always the focus. And that’s what we stand for as Republicans. The issue of income inequality is best addressed by ensuring equal opportunity for all…

…When the federal government tries to equalize outcomes, we all end up equally worse off. But when we make sure people have equal opportunities – in education, in the job market, in health care – we can all end up better off.

That’s the right approach. And that’s what’s fair.

I think that’s what Americans expect from their leaders. Fairness. We’re about that as a party, too.
It’s not fair to voters when leaders they trusted lie to pass their agenda.

It’s not fair to the working mom who loses the insurance she liked because the president didn’t like it.

It’s not fair to the college grad, who already has a mountain of student debt, that he also has to shoulder the cost of government debt, of ObamaCare, of a bad economy.

It’s not fair that disadvantaged, inner city students are forced to go to bad schools and not the schools of their choice.

And it’s not fair to a young child that government benefits are structured in a way that penalizes his parents for getting married.

None of it’s fair – but it’s what Democrats stand for.

 Republicans are going to stand for fairness, freedom, and equal opportunity for all Americans…
***
 
…What we’re doing is a big deal. So I’m disappointed when people try to attack our work—or create dissent, or the appearance of dissent, for their own benefit.

Every once in a while, we read or hear some of our own friends even attacking the RNC.  And I want to say, wait, attack what?

The RNC builds and pays for the infrastructure that all our candidates need to be successful.
  • A permanent field operation?
  • A multi-million dollar technology upgrade that our friends are going to be able to use?
  • Engagement with Hispanic and African American and Asian American communities, conservative groups, faith leaders, and youth?
  • A ground game that will help governors like Scott Walker and Rick Scott and all of our Senate opportunities across the country?
  • Data and digital directors working with state parties and volunteers in the field?
  • A tech office right in Silicon Valley to recruit the best talent?
Hundreds of staffers and thousands of precinct captains and tens of thousands of precinct team members getting to know voters neighborhood by neighborhood?

…We’re doing something unprecedented here. When, in the history of our party, has the RNC been able to completely transform our approach to politics in less than a year?

The great Vince Lombardi, former coach of my Green Bay Packers, once said, “The only place success comes before work is in the dictionary.”

Our work isn’t done. In fact, we’re only getting started.

So to close, I have two challenges for us in the coming year. As we keep up the work, let’s set an example for our fellow Republicans. And let’s set the standard for the future of the RNC.   

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