Posted on 05/25/2015 10:42:23 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
Former FBI agent Steve King of Milton has been a member of the Republican National Committee since 2007.
In his speech to the state Republican Party convention, the no-nonsense King bluntly laid out what went wrong in 2012. Then, GOP presidential hopefuls ran a gauntlet of more than 20 debates, and state-by-state primaries that led to the nomination of presidential candidate Mitt Romney.
Wrong venues, King fumed. Wrong hosts. Wrong moderators.
There will be no repeat next year of what amounted to that waterboarding of presidential candidates, King vowed.
We are taking back control of our primary process.
As a member of the RNCs convention committee, King is one of a number of powerful Wisconsin Republicans who can try to make sure that that happens. They can also tweak the process to help Gov. Scott Walker, who will be Wisconsins first GOP candidate for president in eight years.
Besides King and Walker, the other members of the Club of VIWRs (Very Important Wisconsin Republicans) are:
Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus, of Kenosha; RNC Committeewoman Mary Buestrin, co-chair of the 2012 convention and an RNC member since 1992; state GOP Chairman Brad Courtney, seventh in seniority among state party chairs; U.S. House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Congressman Paul Ryan; and the dean of Wisconsins Congressional delegation, 19-term Congressman James Sensenbrenner.
Heres how the 2016 cycle will be different, King promised GOP convention delegates:
-- No circular firing squads, in which the 15 or so GOP presidential candidates criticize each other and their records, giving Democrats sound bites and research opposition to use against whoever is the presidential nominee.
Next year, one candidate cant be responsible for fatally wounding another candidate, King said.
-- There will be no fewer than nine and no more than 12 debates. And the RNC must approve hosts, media participants and moderators for all debates, King added.
Kings comment came days after ABC network anchor George Stephanopoulos, a top adviser to President Bill Clinton in the 1990s, apologized for giving $75,000 to the nonprofit foundation of Bill and Hillary Clinton, the leading Democratic candidate for president. Stephanopoulos wont be moderating any debates this cycle.
-- The window for debates will be shorter, starting Aug. 6 in Cleveland and ending in late spring, King said. The national nominating convention convenes in Cleveland on July 18, 2016.
The fourth debate, sponsored by Fox Business Network in November, will be in Wisconsin, King said. Referring to Walker, King added, Did I hear homefield advantage for somebody?
-- Unlike 2012, when Romneys campaign left the nominating convention almost broke, Ryan is running the Presidential Trust fund-raising push to make sure the nominee starts the general-election campaign with more than $20 million, King said.
-- RNC officials know that Walker and the other Republican presidential candidates will spend the next 10 months in an intramural scrum trying to win the nomination.
So why dont wethe RNCtake on Hillary Clinton? King added.
-- The RNC is doubling its technology budget because, King said, data are the future of campaigns.
Barry Burden, a UW-Madison political science professor, thinks these changes will help top-tier candidates such as Walker.
Compared to Romney, Walker will not need to spend as much time debating fringe candidates at various sites around the country, Burden explained. He will also have the backing of a party geared toward winning the general election after two losses.
The other thing helping Walker is the new campaign finance environment. Top-tier candidates such as Walker and Jeb Bush have yet to officially declare their candidacies so that they can raise money without any real limits for a longer time frame. They and their allies will help them speed past the second-tier candidates, who must rely on traditional hard money contributions.
Why is the RNC so obsessed with candidates debates?
The party would like to avoid giving fringe candidates an extended platform as it did four years ago. Candidates such as Herman Cain and Ron Paul got a lot of mileage out of the debates, Burden added. With even more candidates running this time around, there is potential for someone like Ted Cruz or Ben Carson to steal the show and distract the party from its goal of winning the White House.
Speechless, the fix is in, again...they are like Obama, doubling down on stupid
Wrong candidate. Willard is a Democrat who should've run as one, not as Zero's ringer.
While I don't think the GOP-e wants Ted Cruz, that final quote in the article is from a UW-Madison Prof.
I’m pro-Walker, pro-Cruz...
Cruz / Walker -or- Walker / Cruz..
Cruzalker or Walcruz
Hmmmmmm.....nothing new about this UW political science professor making a comment about Walker - seems he's the go-to guy for the local and national MSM.
These changes will help ALL the candidates.
I'm encouraged, it appears that the GOP (at least in Wisconsin) isn't going to give the Left a box of hammers.
But then, how to beat the Left (over and over and over) by winning over voters, is a lesson well learned in Wisconsin these last 4 years.
Time to vomit....could you please move on to 2016. You are so obsessed with the past. Pathetic. Move on. Thank you.
Wisconsin GOP describes long range plan for choosing Presidential candidate.
FReep Mail me if you want on, or off, this Wisconsin interest ping list.
Comments?
Nothing new. The candidates will be chosen for us. Over 100 million Americans will wait in line in November 2016, almost all thinking that their vote for one of two chosen candidates will somehow matter worth a hill of beans. Even though high school level mathematical analysis shows that to be incredibly unlikely. ( I’d say 6th grade, but educational standards seem to be slipping). See tagline.
The question must be asked: Why Walker and why not Cruz? What does the Gope think it can get from Walker that it can’t from Cruz?
Reince Priebus anyone? He and Walker are buddies. Also, I still think Walker is the Amnesty Express candidate of choice. He has shown that he is all over the map to the point that no one...not even him can provide his true consistent stance on an issue.
pretty much agreed till the last paragraph. Cruz isnt a fringe candidate by any means. Carson, Huckster, Paul Christie Graham sure are.
Drudge called it Treason and the Gop supporters traitors and said it was political suicide !
So Why does Cruz and Walker support this secret treaty that will give the Enemy , Barry the Soros puppet unlimited power to rewrite the treaty after its okayed ?...
Has Cruz answered that direct question or is he still peddling a lie that he can the thing even though fast track bans any amendments once its was passed ?
Has Walker answered it.
These twomtrsitirs are owned by Billionaire Globalists and K street.
Only Jindal has called TPP a disaster !
Round, and round, and round she goes, where she stops.....we already know...
If folks haven't been paying attention, allow me to clue them in:
The House Always Wins.
Cruz has answered if you bother to listen. The difference is whether or not you want to believe what he says.
As for Walker, I have heard he supports it...can you give proof please? that would be a huge development for the people on FR.
Thank you.
Why would voters in Wisconsin want Cruz? That is just dumb. Cruz can get some Texans and leave Wisconsin alone. If we elect Cruz it will just be a third Obama term anyway since they are so similar in practically everything with regards to federal experience.
Well raise your hand if you are surprised Walker is the RNC default candidate now that Jebbie is crashing and burning.
Acquiescence?
Perhaps they think Cruzes principles are too strongly rooted to coerce him into complying with their agenda?
They haven’t forgotten how Reagan drug the party to the right and how long it has taken them to steer back leftward.
They don’t want it happening again.
JMHO.
I know it’s apples and oranges, but when it concerns experience consider this :
The Nazis barely considered Gen. Bradley a worthy commander, they never forgot the men he commanded, but considered him a 2nd tier officer.
Gen. George Patton, on the other hand, they FEARED as no other officer in the war. Hitler kept Divisions setting on their butts at Calais b/c he feared Patton would come roaring ashore there with a mechanized invasion force.
Two officers, both West Point grads, both Americans.
The GOPe knows Cruze is more like Patton and Walker is closer to a Bradley.
Bradley would meekly go along with Ike’s Monty approved plans. Patton made his own plans.
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