Excerpts Of RNC Chairman Reince Priebus’ Remarks At The Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) on February 27, 2015

Excerpts Of RNC Chairman Reince Priebus’ Remarks At The Conservative Political Action Conference
 
February 27, 2015
Conservative Political Action Conference

As Prepared for Delivery
 
ON PREPARING FOR 2016
 
”2014 was a great year for Republicans.
 
“We took back the Senate and we fired Harry Reid as Majority Leader.
 
“We won the largest majority in the House of Representatives since the election of 1928.
 
“And we now have 31 Republican governors in America, including the President’s home state of Illinois, Elizabeth Warren’s home state of Massachusetts, and right here in Maryland.
 
“It was a great year for Republicans, and it was a great year for America.
 
“But we can’t get comfortable. Winning in 2016 is going to be hard work.
 
“But if we do that hard work, we will win the White House…we will have a Republican president…and 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue will never be home to the Clintons again.”
 
ON PRIMARIES AND DEBATES
 
“Republican voters are going to have a real choice. That means real debates about new ideas. And speaking of debates, I’m proud to tell you the days of the media calling the shots in the primary debates are over.
 
“In the past, the mainstream media got to decide when and where and how many debates there were. Not any more.
 
“At the RNC, we’ve created a new system for a reasonable number of debates….
 
“Conservative media will have a voice in the process. For example, we just announced Salem Radio will be a partner for debates televised on CNN.
 
“So no more field day for the liberal media.
 
“At the RNC, we’ve also reformed the primary process so that more Republicans have a chance to cast their ballots and have a say in the selection of our nominee.
 
“And let me very clear: it is the voters, the delegates, who choose our nominee. Unlike the Democrats, there will be no coronation in the Republican Party. If you want to win the nomination, you will have to earn the nomination.
 
“But when we have a nominee, we’ll have to come together stronger and more united than ever to defeat Hillary Clinton.”
 
ON HILLARY IN HIDING
 
“Of course, the funny thing about Hillary Clinton is that the more people hear from her, the less they like her. In fact, in the last six years, her approval rating was the highest when she was out of the country and off the campaign trail.
 
“That’s probably why Hillary barely comes out in public these days. If there’s not a private luxury jet and a quarter million dollar speaking fee waiting for her, you can forget about it.
 
“The truth is, she doesn’t have much to say. If you ask her press people anything, they just say, “No comment.”  I’m sure Obama wishes Biden would follow that example.
 
“Really. This is what you get when you ask the Clinton people a question:
 
“Do you support Keystone? ‘No comment.’
 
“Do you have a plan for ISIS? ‘No comment.’
 
“How are you different from Obama? ‘No comment.’
 
“Where were you on the night of the Benghazi attacks? ‘What difference at this point does it make?’
 
“It makes a whole lot of difference. If you want to lead the America people, it’s time to face the American people.”
 
ON HILLARY AND DEMOCRATS BEING OUT-OF-TOUCH
 
“Oh, and by the way, if I were Hillary Clinton, this speech would have already cost you about $20,000 so far.
 
“But, Hillary would never speak here. You’ve seen her speaking contracts—and her Hollywood-style backstage demands. Well, I checked backstage. There was insufficient crudités. The water temperature was off by a few degrees. And I don’t think the lemon wedges were sliced at the angle she demands.
 
“Did I mention that Hillary Clinton has lost touch with America? Even I had to Google crudités to figure out how to spell it. And that’s coming from a guy named Reince Priebus.
 
“Of course, if you asked Biden about crudités, he’d probably say,…’Oh yeah, I have a great relationship with that community. There’s an awful lot of them driving cabs in Delaware. For real, man, they’re friends of mine.’
 
“And then he’d rub your neck without permission.
 
“But seriously, when Hillary’s making $300,000 for a speech and $8 million on a book and owns two homes, she’s not “dead broke.” She’s dead wrong, and out-of-touch with reality.
 
“The problem for America is that it’s not just Hillary who’s out-of-touch. It’s her whole party.
 
“They tell us they’re for the middle class. But they veto the Keystone Pipeline and good middle class jobs.
 
“They tell us they’re for Main Street, not Wall Street. But they passed Dodd-Frank, making the big banks bigger and the small banks disappear.
 
“They tell us they’re for good healthcare. But they raised our premiums, canceled our plans, and denied access to our doctors.
 
“They tell us they’re for education. But they cave to the teachers’ unions and block school choice and force kids to be stuck in failing schools. That’s unacceptable.
 
“A good school shouldn’t be a privilege reserved for the rich and well-connected. It should be an option for all parents.”
 
ON THE CLINTON FOUNDATION’S FOREIGN DONATIONS
 
“After all that foreign travel as Secretary of State, she didn’t raise much goodwill for our country. But now, we see she did manage to raise a lot of foreign money for the Clinton Foundation….
 
“Taking money from countries like Algeria and Oman while she was Secretary of State. Which makes you wonder: How will those donations affect her answer to that 3am phone call?
 
“I can hear it now: ‘Don’t worry, sultan, just send 10 million to the Foundation, and it’ll all work out.’”
 
ON HILLARY’S REASON FOR RUNNING
 
“Reports say Hillary now has over 200 advisors figuring out her reason for running. Maybe they’ll figure it out, but I can’t.
 
“I do know the reason we need a Republican president. To borrow the words of Joe Biden, quote, ‘The last six years have been really, really hard for this country.’
 
“We know what we stand for. Maybe Hillary’s focus groups will tell us what she stands for soon.”