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The Water Cooler Title: RNC Vote Shows Limits Of John Boehner's Reach Members of the Republican National Committee sent a clear message Friday to the rest of the GOP when they elected Reince Priebus as their new chairman: There’s at least one corner of the Republican Party that’s beyond House Speaker John Boehner’s reach. Boehner worked hard to prop up the candidacy of longtime operative Maria Cino, a veteran campaign hand who held senior offices at the RNC and the National Republican Congressional Committee. But in the end, it wasn’t Boehner — the highest-ranking Republican official in the country — who decided the race to replace RNC Chairman Michael Steele. Rather, it was an aggressive and assertive collection of RNC insiders who lined up behind Priebus early, making him something of a compromise candidate between committee elders and an operative class that has often struggled to wield influence over the clubby RNC. Most prominent among those insiders was Henry Barbour, a youthful Mississippi committeeman but one who can boast gold-plated credentials as the nephew of former RNC Chairman and Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour. Barbour was one of a small group of members who gave Priebus their endorsements as soon as he entered the race, along with Georgia Committeeman Alec Poitevint and Illinois Republican Party Chairman Pat Brady. Former New Jersey Committeeman David Norcross — who served as the RNC’s general counsel under Haley Barbour — also quickly endorsed Priebus. And in the waning days of the race, former New Hampshire GOP Chairman and White House chief of staff John Sununu and former RNC Chairman Jim Nicholson joined the endorsement parade. The Republican insiders saw Priebus as someone who, by virtue of his committeeman status, record in Wisconsin and conservative views, would be acceptable to a broad range of committee members. “He had a very diverse range of support early in the campaign from across the RNC,” said Poitevint. The cumulative effect was to assemble a coalition for Priebus that stretched from Florida to California. That made the unprepossessing young lawyer with the heavy Midwestern accent the man to beat from the day he entered the race. In other words, the election proved that for RNC members at least, Barbour is still a more potent name than Boehner. That the speaker would intervene at all, though, left at least one of the losing candidates unhappy. “We had more outside influence than we’ve ever had in this process,” said Michigan GOP committeeman Saul Anuzis, who ultimately finished in second place. “I think that’s problematic.” Despite the RNC’s central place in the Republican electoral apparatus, the 168-person committee often bristles at high-ranking officials who interfere with an institution committee members view as an extension of the grass roots. “The committee likes to select its own,” said Colorado GOP Chairman Dick Wadhams. “And I think that’s what hurt Maria.” “They don’t want to be run by Washington,” a senior member of the committee added by way of explaining why the speaker’s nod left some on the RNC cold. Boehner wasn’t the only Washington heavyweight to step out for Cino, who is neither a current or former committee member. Former Vice President Dick Cheney held a fundraiser for the operative’s campaign and his daughter, Mary Cheney, helped Cino launch her campaign. A collection of other inside-the-Beltway figures, including former Bush administration official Matt Schlapp, were intimately involved in Cino’s bid. But Cino had no higher-profile advocate than Boehner, who called RNC members to solicit their support for her campaign and delivered votes from Ohio’s RNC delegation. Days before the final vote, Boehner circulated a letter to RNC members urging them to support Cino and on Wednesday passed up a trip on Air Force One — to a memorial service for the victims of the shooting in Arizona — to attend an event for Cino at the committee meeting instead. Boehner’s chief of staff, Barry Jackson, who urged Cino to get in the race and then helped deliver the speaker’s support, was central to her campaign. In the midst of Friday’s voting, one Steele supporter was heard asking Schlapp: “Can you get Barry on the phone?” Not long after, reporters and other RNC watchers witnessed the remarkable spectacle of Steele shuttling back and forth in the hallway between meetings with Cino and another candidate for chairman, former Missouri GOP Chair Ann Wagner. One committee insider familiar with the process said the incumbent was trying to get the best possible deal. This same source said six-figure contracts were on the table. Anuzis and Priebus flatly denied any deal-making and representatives of Cino and Wagner said they made no financial overtures. Chad Kolton, a Cino spokesman, said the only thing Schlapp offered to Steele was a pledge that Cino and her allies would only say positive things about him and would do nothing to impede his efforts to secure a job at a law firm or on TV. John Hancock, one of Wagner’s top advisers, said: “We offered him an honorable way to preserve his reputation. That was the only thing we had to offer. No money, no jobs, no position.” Deal or not, at one point it looked like all the Washington insider support might pay dividends for Cino. After Steele dropped his bid for reelection and got behind her, some of his supporters flocked to the veteran operative and gave her 40 votes on the fifth ballot — the highest mark any candidate reached, other than Priebus and Steele. But two ballots later, Priebus won 97 votes — 12 more than the 85 needed to win — and Cino fell into a distant third place. Some RNC members said that Boehner’s role in the race had little impact. “I don’t think he had anything to do with it,” said Oregon Republican Party Chairman Bob Tiernan, who initially supported Steele’s reelection campaign. “That’s a totally different club over there. It’s like the Moose Lodge trying to tell the Elks what to do.” Other committee members, including some who backed Cino, said that Boehner’s support ultimately hurt her when Steele went public for a candidate with whom he had few ties. Here was the embattled chairman, loathed by the operatives and consultants who make up the GOP’s professional class, throwing his support to the candidate widely seen as representing the establishment types. The move didn’t smell right to some. “I wish he hadn’t mentioned her name,” lamented an influential Cino supporter on the committee. By mentioning her name, it appeared like there was some tawdry kind of deal with Boehner.” Another Cino supporter on the committee conceded that “a back-room endorsement [from Steele] would have been more helpful” but made the case that it was the controversial Steele that hurt Cino more than Boehner. “Getting Steele did not move our numbers and it turned some folks off because they don’t like Steele,” said the member. Either way — whether he didn’t have a significant impact on the race or whether his support actually backfired on Cino — Boehner’s move was puzzling. Why, in the first weeks of his speakership, spend political capital in an intra-party contest on a candidate who was lagging throughout? One committee member who had been in touch with the speaker on the race defended his intervention.”He wanted a committee he could trust,” said this member. “He didn’t want to end up with somebody he didn’t know and he trusted Maria.” In a statement on the race, Boehner made no mention of Cino, only congratulating Priebus. “With the Senate and White House in play and a new House Majority to defend, Republicans will face great challenges in the upcoming campaign,” Boehner said. “Reince can count on my support as we work to ensure that Republican candidates have the resources and the ground game needed to win the battle of ideas with President Obama and his Democratic allies.” Priebus — who called for party unity in his victory speech Friday evening — made clear he had no hard feelings toward Boehner or others outside the committee who sought to sway the outcome. “I have no problem with it,” he said in an interview after his victory. “It’s not a big deal.”
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