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Tag: republican national committee
Lara Trump

Trump's Handpicked Co-Chair: 'In America, We Get Ahead By Merit Alone'

The annual Conservative Political Action Conference, or CPAC, got under way on Thursday. One of the big names on the stage was none other than Donald Trump’s sycophant daughter-in-law Lara Trump, who is also the oft-indicted former president’s hand-picked candidate for co-chair of the Republican National Committee. She gave a pretty standard let’s-go-Donald-Trump speech, filled with some grade-school jingoism and an astonishing lack of self-awareness.

After throwing some red meat to the GOP base by bringing up the fabricated epidemic of trans student athletes, Lara made this extraordinary claim about her daughter: “I want her to understand that in the United States of America, we get ahead and succeed by merit and merit alone.”

That’s a truly rich statement coming from the former Lara Yunaska who, to repeat, was just endorsed as co-chair of the RNC by her powerful father-in-law, even though her main qualification seems to be her last name—unless her experience as a TV producer, Trump campaign surrogate, and Fox News talking head is supposed to count.

Lara’s seeming delusion about what constitutes a meritocracy is shared by others in her family. Who could forget when Donald Trump’s daughter Ivanka bragged about her childhood business acumen—which amounted to her extorting the maids and butlers working for her father?

The Trump family epitomizes how being a failure at virtually everything you do means nothing when you are born (or married) rich.

Democratic voters know Joe Biden is old and MAGA voters like to pretend that Trump isn't just as long in the tooth. Both men were old the last time we did this and the only thing that’s changed is Biden is now a successful incumbent, while Trump is busy juggling trials and indictments.

Reprinted with permission from Daily Kos.

Kellyanne Touted RNC's 'Great Job' -- Without Disclosing Huge Sum It Paid Her

Kellyanne Touted RNC's 'Great Job' -- Without Disclosing Huge Sum It Paid Her

Fox News contributor Kellyanne Conway repeatedly went out of her way to praise the efforts of the Republican National Committee around the midterm elections, saying the organization did a “great job” and touting its voter contact program. Neither Fox nor Conway disclosed that the RNC has paid Conway’s firm more than $800,000 since last year.

The lack of disclosure about Conway’s financial ties goes against the ethics-challenged network’s purported policy. A Fox News spokesperson told the Washington Post in 2019 regarding work Fox News contributor Ari Fleischer did with the RNC that “Fox News requires contributors to disclose ties related to any topic he or she discusses on the air in which the contributor may have a financial interest.” The spokesperson added that such a rule would apply when talking about “the RNC on air.”

Conway is a Republican strategist who is best-known for her lie-filled tenure as senior counselor to former President Donald Trump. Fox News hired her on October 3. She is the founder of KAConsulting LLC, “which provides clients advice, polling, and media training.”

The RNC has paid KAConsulting $829,969.38 since 2021 for a variety of expenses. The RNC’s most recent payment was on November 4 for “political strategy services.” The organization recently announced that Conway would serve on a Republican Party Advisory Council “to inform the Republican Party’s 2024 vision and beyond.”

The RNC has faced criticism from fellow Republicans after the GOP’s disappointing performance in the 2022 midterm elections. Blame has also been directed at RNC chair Ronna McDaniel, who presided over the party’s losses in 2020 as well.

Conway has used her Fox News platform to praise the RNC and play defense for McDaniel.

Conway appeared on the November 6 edition of Fox News Sunday, where she went out of her way to praise the RNC’s work. She stated: “I think that the Democrats have enraged people. That's their strategy. Republicans have engaged people. They've had 100 million voter contacts, 1 million volunteers and they've opened 38 community centers through the RNC where you can go into your community and find out what the difference between a Republican and Democrats is. I'd rather engage than enrage people. I think enraging is a failed strategy.”

The next day, she appeared on Sean Hannity’s program, where she again went out of her way to praise the RNC:

KELLYANNE CONWAY: It depends obviously on turnout. But it also depends on motivation and what I call investing in the non-sexy part of politics. OK? Everybody sees the ads, they see the rallies, the campaign, the candidate direct appeals, the TV interviews. What they don't see is who’s investing in data and digital. How many volunteers you have, how many voter contacts have you made. I don't really know what the DNC is doing, but the RNC has done a great job on this, as have all the committees. They've raised over $300 million and spent it. They have over 100 million voter contacts. Think about that. You're calling voters and you're the party talking about inflation, crime, education, immigration, border security, national security, financial security, physical security in your communities. They have over one million volunteers. And you see that all of these candidates have been very well resourced.

Following the midterms, Conway appeared on the November 14 edition of The Ingraham Angle and defended the RNC’s efforts from criticism, saying that Lee Zeldin should instead run for Senate instead of challenging McDaniel. (Zeldin recently announced he would not run for RNC chair.)

LAURA INGRAHAM (HOST): And by the way they want him to be RNC chief, there's a big push to get Zeldin to be head of the RNC.

CHARLES HURT (FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR): There has to be a future for people like Lee Zeldin, because he has demonstrated that he gets the message and he gets the mechanics. He does both.

INGRAHAM: Kellyanne you were shaking your head "no."

KELLYANNE CONWAY: I think the 168 [RNC membership] is in charge of electing them. Ronna McDaniel said she'll run again, they invested — I mean, they moved over $303 million to these candidates at the end, had 100 million voter contacts, 1 million volunteers, but I think Lee Zeldin.

INGRAHAM: But I mean none of that matters, does it, if we don't get the results we want.

CONWAY: I think it mattered.

INGRAHAM: I mean, I like Ronna McDaniel.

CONWAY: But hold on. Lee Zeldin is great. He should go take out Kirsten Gillibrand, who's one of the most unremarkable senators and one of the most unremarkable Dartmouth graduates of all time. But very quickly, I think that we didn't get some of the results we wanted because people believe the sugar high of these phony polls, and they were Republican leaning. Everybody went and cherry picked the polls they liked.

In none of those appearances did Conway or Fox News disclose that she has been paid by the RNC.

Correction (12/14):This piece originally stated that Conway encouraged Lee Zeldin to run for New York governor. In fact, she suggested he should run for Senate.

Reprinted with permission from Media Matters.

Zeldin Steps Away, But McDaniel Faces Two Challengers For RNC Chair

Zeldin Steps Away, But McDaniel Faces Two Challengers For RNC Chair

Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-NY), an election denier who voted against certifying the 2020 election results, announced Wednesday that he’d hold off, for now, on challenging Ronna Romney McDaniel for the Republican National Committee’s top spot.

Zeldin — fresh off a defeat in the grueling New York gubernatorial election, a race he refused to concede hours after it was called — was considered a strong contender for the position, which he had been “seriously” mulling for about a month.

In a statement on Twitter announcing his decision to withdraw from the race, Zeldin slammed incumbent McDaniel’s re-election bid and demanded that she step aside for some “fresh blood.”

"RNC Chair Ronna McDaniel should not run for a 4th term. I won’t be running for RNC Chair at this time with McDaniel’s reelection pre-baked by design, but that doesn’t mean she should even be running again. It’s time the GOP elects new leadership! It’s time for fresh blood!" Zeldin wrote.

The Long Island Republican said McDaniel had acted in seeking to retain the RNC Chair “as if the disappointing results of every election during her tenure, including yesterday in Georgia, do not and should not even matter."

Indeed, McDaniel, also a close Trump ally, had just overseen a disappointing midterm election for the GOP, which had, in the months before, fervently anticipated sweeping up both chambers of Congress in a “red tsunami" but ended up with the smallest of majorities in the House and losses down ballot as well.

The Republican party’s historically underwhelming midterm performance culminated in a run-off defeat of the Trump-endorsed Republican candidate for Senate in Georgia, Herschel Walker.

Like many Republicans subservient to Trump, McDaniel revels on the fringe side of political discourse. She peddled false allegations of wrongdoing in the 2020 elections; refused to acknowledge Joe Biden as president more than a year into his tenure; mocked Democrat John Fetterman’s post-stroke speech issues; and kept mum about Trump’s recent attack on the Constitution.

Besides Trump’s endorsement, McDaniel earned the support of many RNC voting members for her far-right stance, which stood in stark contrast with views disseminated by her centrist conservative uncle, Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT).

In a signed letter Friday, a large bloc of RNC voting members endorsed McDaniel’s bid for a fourth bout as party chair, writing: “We, the undersigned members of the Republican National Committee, are proud to offer our endorsement for your re-election as Chairman of the Republican National Committee.”

Despite the rousing endorsement, several Republicans are considering challenging McDaniel, including South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem and former White House aide Mercedes Schlapp.

McDaniel has two declared challengers thus far, including My Pillow CEO Mike Lindell, a conspiracy theorist of interest to the House Select Committee and the U.S. government for his participation in the Trump-led effort to undermine the 2020 elections.

The pillow-peddler denounced McDaniel for “fail[ing] in her leadership” and said, “we need someone who knows how to run a business to lead one of the most important organizations in our country.”

Various right-wing commentators and agitators, many aligned with Trump, also have taken umbrage at McDaniel’s re-election biid.


Danziger Draws

Danziger Draws

Jeff Danziger lives in New York City. He is represented by CWS Syndicate and the Washington Post Writers Group. He is the recipient of the Herblock Prize and the Thomas Nast (Landau) Prize. He served in the US Army in Vietnam and was awarded the Bronze Star and the Air Medal. He has published eleven books of cartoons, a novel and a memoir. Visit him at DanzigerCartoons.