Reince Priebus begins his walk-back

He wants the GOP to appear welcoming to gays -- as long as they don’t demand equal rights

Topics: Reince Priebus, Republican National Committee, Republican Party, Marriage equality, Gay Marriage, Gay Rights, ,

Reince Priebus begins his walk-backRepublican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus (Credit: Reuters/Jonathan Ernst)

I gave Reince Priebus and his minions too much credit the other day. His “autopsy” of the Republican Party’s disastrous 2012 election cycle mostly involved vague and frothy messaging advice, but I suggested that it might herald a different attitude toward gay rights.

Not so fast. Priebus is now reassuring religious conservatives that he doesn’t think the party should change its policies or principles to attract gay voters. “I know what our principles are, I know our party believes marriage is between one man and one woman,” Priebus told MSNBC’s Luke Russert on Wednesday. “But I also know our party’s going to be inclusive, and it’s going to listen to people and it’s going to allow for differences in our party.”

Priebus got into hot water with the religious right not so much for the report’s language about gay voters – it merely recommended “outreach,” while fretting that the party’s anti-gay stance was alienating young voters. It was his decision, in his press conference, to praise Sen. Rob Portman for coming out for gay marriage (while revealing that his son is gay) that caused him trouble.

“I think Sen. Portman made some pretty big inroads last week,” Priebus told reporters. “I think it’s about being decent. I think it’s about dignity and respect — that nobody deserves to have their dignity diminished, or people don’t deserve to be disrespected. I think there isn’t anyone in this room — Republican, Democrat, in the middle — that doesn’t think Rob Portman, for example, is a good conservative Republican. He is, and we know that.”

Of course, when the Washington Blade asked whether that meant Priebus supported Portman’s stand on gay marriage, the chair demurred. “It’s his decision,” Priebus said. “It’s not a matter of whether I support his decision; I support him doing what he wants to do as an elected person and as American. If that’s his opinion, I support him having that opinion.”

That wasn’t enough for the religious right: Brian Brown, the president of the National Organization for Marriage, told the National Review Priebus was “definitely” too soft on Portman. “This is a critical issue, and to act like it’s just no big deal is just wrong,” he says. Ralph Reed seemed to agree, at least when talking to the National Review. “If the Republican Party tries to retreat from being a pro-marriage, pro-family party, the big tent is going to become a pup tent very fast,” he said. “I am concerned that some in the party are going wobbly on this issue.” But talking to BuzzFeed, he insisted that Priebus was “a deeply committed Christian. He’s pro-life, pro-marriage, and pro-family … and the Republican Party is going to stay that way.”

Priebus made that clear in his remarks to Russert today.

So let’s reiterate: The RNC’s “autopsy” is an exercise in trying to reassure a majority of American voters the party wants their votes – but it doesn’t want to change its policies to win them. That’s clearest when it comes to African-Americans: As former chairman Michael Steele notes, it’s impossible to argue that you want people’s votes when you’re trying to make it harder for them to vote in the first place. It’s very clear when it comes to women: Priebus and friends want to combat “Democrat” rhetoric about “the war on women” without changing the policies on pay equity, contraception, choice or safety net spending that alienate women voters.

Political reality may lead to a genuine policy shift on immigration reform, to give the party a fighting chance with the fastest growing segment of the American electorate, Latinos. But even there, 2016 hopefuls like Jeb Bush and Rand Paul take a step forward, and then a step back. (Although it’s hard not to enjoy Paul’s appreciation of “the romance of Latin culture” in his speech to the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce this week. Really. He said that.)

McKay Coppins has an interesting piece about how religious conservatives are concerned that the Priebus report proves the party is trying to leave them behind. Really, they have nothing to worry about. Priebus and friends are ready to continue to let them run the party platform and dominate its policies – if they can just keep from making unpleasant remarks about “legitimate” rape.

Next Article

Related Stories

Featured Slide Shows

The week in 10 pics

close X
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on Facebook
  • Thumbnails
  • Fullscreen
  • 1 of 11
  • This photo. President Barack Obama has a laugh during the unveiling of the George W. Bush Presidential Center in Dallas, Tx., Thursday. Former first lady Barbara Bush, who candidly admitted this week we've had enough Bushes in the White House, is unamused.
    Reuters/Jason Reed

  • Rescue workers converge Wednesday in Savar, Bangladesh, where the collapse of a garment building killed more than 300. Factory owners had ignored police orders to vacate the work site the day before.
    AP/A.M. Ahad

  • Police gather Wednesday at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to honor campus officer Sean Collier, who was allegedly killed in a shootout with the Boston Marathon bombing suspects last week.
    AP/Elise Amendola

  • Police tape closes the site of a car bomb that targeted the French embassy in Libya Tuesday. The explosion wounded two French guards and caused extensive damage to Tripoli's upscale al-Andalus neighborhood.
    AP/Abdul Majeed Forjani

  • Protestors rage outside the residence of Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Sunday following the rape of a 5-year-old girl in New Delhi. The girl was allegedly kidnapped and tortured before being abandoned in a locked room for two days.
    AP/Manish Swarup

  • Clarksville, Mo., residents sit in a life boat Monday after a Mississippi River flooding, the 13th worst on record.
    AP/Jeff Roberson

  • Workers pause Wednesday for a memorial service at the site of the West, Tx., fertilizer plant explosion, which killed 14 people and left a crater more than 90 feet wide.
    AP/The San Antonio Express-News, Tom Reel

  • Aerial footage of the devastation following a 7.0 magnitude earthquake in China's Sichuan province last Saturday. At least 180 people were killed and as many as 11,000 injured in the quake.
    AP/Liu Yinghua

  • On Wednesday, Hazmat-suited federal authorities search a martial arts studio in Tupelo, Miss., once operated by Everett Dutschke, the newest lead in the increasingly twisty ricin case. Last week, President Barack Obama, Sen. Roger Wicker, R.-Miss., and a Mississippi judge were each sent letters laced with the deadly poison.
    AP/Rogelio V. Solis

  • The lighting of Freedom Hall at the George W. Bush Presidential Center Thursday is celebrated with (what else but) red, white and blue fireworks.
    AP/David J. Phillip

  • Recent Slide Shows

  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on Facebook
  • Thumbnails
  • Fullscreen
  • 1 of 11

Comments

77 Comments

Comment Preview

Your name will appear as username

You may use these HTML tags and attributes: <a href=""> <b> <em> <strong> <i> <blockquote>