. >>> reince priebus. what more can i say? let's play "hardball." >>> good evening, i'm chris matthews in washington. let me start tonight with that bridge being detonated down in texas. wow. that's what reince priebus, himself, is doing to the republican party. he talks about building bridges to african-americans, but isn't he the same reince priebus who is chairman of the republican narm national committee presided over an effort in three different states aimed at keeping african-americans in even voting? wasn't the country's number one birther, donald trump speaker at the conservative convention? and sarah palin letting loose about the latest crack, the need to check president obama's background? priebus talks about getting the true nature of the party out to the public. he says it's been a communications problem. wasn't the most excellent communication of all during the election year that tape of mitt romney talking to rich people in florida about the people, the 47%, who aren't rich? priebus talks about outreach to the yo

the talk was interesting, similar like what you said about reince priebus. message, you don't have to change anything to attract black voters, call yourself a republican. then you have this guy say this unbelievably racist filth out slavery. it's not like the crowd's cheering. i don't want to misrepresent this. but what's strange is they don't throw these guys out. there's no outrage against these guys. i don't think anyone agrees with them, but it's out of line. so this continues. there was a liberal black radio host there who was shocked by this and starting to ask questions. she got shouted down and saying boo, you're not welcome. it just kept getting weirder until finally afterwards i went up to the participants because i had to know, what do you make of this string display. what did you take away? no one seemed to be offended by these guys saying this stuff about slavery while they were very offended by this woman interrupting them. it was a completely bizarre set of responses. >> in light of what he said, miss ingraham, isn't that the problem republica

[laughter] reince priebus, take your own advice: come on my show.eers and applause] i gotta tell you -- folks -- [cheers and applause] i'm going to be picking this out of my skin all night. and reince priebus has his work cut out for him, because america's moral fabric is thinner than a pair of lululemon yoga pants. [laughter] the gay swarm descended on the supreme court which today and tomorrow are hearing arguments-- no surprise they're oral-- in two cases which will decide whether gay marriage is a constitutional right. i shudder to think the unnatural coupling of same-sex partners may be put on the same legal footing as my loving relationship with my gun. you complete me. [ laughter ] what is that? i'll put you in my holster. [ laughter ] folks, if we lose either of these cases, it is gay-ma-geddon america: lost in sea of hedonism. it's already started. don't believe me? brace yourself. a duck has fathered a chicken. [laughter] that is terrifying and delicious news! [laughter] sorry, but the bible says, marriage is between one man, and that man'

is that the nature of reince priebus effort? we want everybody to vote republican but we don't want it to matter too much to them on abortion and gay rights and cultural values. we don't want those to get in the way. >> i don't think that's exactly what the report did. i honestly -- >> did it mention any of this stuff? >> i think priebus did a pretty good job saying we have a problem. i think people are going to interpret the report the way they want. one of the things that i thought was problematic, they never said, look, we we have "x" core values. there's a home for them in the republican party but they never re-established the core values. some of the things relative to the presidential primaries. built in were biases which help wealthy candidates and frankly hurt tea party candidates and libertarians and that's billed throughout the effort. i do think it was a good effort. i think it's just a start. >> i think you've been very -- you're a politician and political consultant and you've got to say it the way you just said it.

and, quote, stuffy old men. >> by the way, it's reince priebus' birthday today. happy 41 years to you, young sir. back to stuffy old men, and as therapists like to say, admitting you have a problem is is the first step. and if packaging is partly the issue, former florida governor jeb bush pointed out, there's not a lot of love for gop policies, either. >> all too often, we're associated with being anti-everything. way too many people believe republicans are anti-immigrant, anti-woman, anti-science, anti-gay, anti-worker, and the list goes on and on and on. >> oh, it certainly does. and if that weren't enough, in what's perhaps the gop's biggest challenge, many republicans right now are anti-each other. case in point, keynote speaker an rising star, senator ted cruz. taking on party elder, john mccain. >> we did have a certain eminence greze of the republican party describe rand paul and me as wackobirds. if standing for liberty and standing for the constitution makes you a wackabird, count me a proud wackabird. >> everyone's favorite, rand paul, did win cpac str

look at the thing priebus and the rnc put out last week.rowing the social conservatives overboard on gay marriage. >> i know it's regular, oldtime politics. i check the party platforms. everybody says nobody pay attention. you know who pays attention? people who write them. reince priebus, all over the place, isn't backing away from his party's position there should be a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage. the "national review" interviewed priebus and said, yes, we still defend our platform on marriage and said republicans must sound reasonable to voters who disagree. here's jon stewart having fun with that hypocrisy this week. stewart is brilliant. >> rnc chairman, reince priebus, what was the cause of death? >> the way we communicate our principles isn't resonating wide enough. it all goes back to what our moms used to tell us. it's not just what you say, it's how we say it. >> so a 100-page report to reassure republicans they don't need to change what they are saying, just how they are saying it. remember, when you tell a gay

reince priebus says we don't want as many presidential candidate debates, but there's a benefit to haveandidates come through, because it generates at attention to the parties, and the states love it. and yeah it may be wise for reince priebus to limb the number of debates, to move up the primaries, have a convention in may or june but the state organizers have the power over all of this, and they don't want to do it. >> michael: and states were punished for moving their primaries up against the wishes of the national party. if the national party says you have to do it, it's not so easy for the states to do and it doesn't necessarily behoove them to do it if they are going to lose some the power, and i totally agree with you david. but let's talk about technology and messaging. can that overcome the problem that their policies are simply so crazy and out of step with what americans want? >> no, it can't. the tea party has been equally offensive about using twitter and social media and oringganizing online. they are communicating online but the mess is we're against gay rights immigratio

reince priebus declares it sound. >>> and then style over substance.rdson will discuss president obama's first presidential trip to israel and whether it will help mend the thorny relationship with prime minister benjamin netanyahu. and then one day after two high school players found guilty of raping a 16-year-old, more charges and details at the top of the hour. so i recommended boost complete nutritional drink to help her get the nutrition she was missing. and now she drinks it every day. well, it tastes great! [ male announcer ] boost has 26 essential vitamins and minerals, including calcium and vitamin d to support strong bones, and 10 grams of protein to help maintain muscle. and our great taste is guaranteed or your money back. learn more at boost.com [ dietitian ] now, nothing keeps mom from doing what she loves... being my mom. [ all kids ] twooooo! [ moderator ] you sure? i am absolutely positive! [ little boy ] two times is awesome. the thing i can do is wave my head and wave my... that's amazing. i've never seen anything like that. look i c

and former chair michael steele calls reince priebus numb nuts. oh, man.s to talk about this morning on current tv. billy zane stars in barabbas. coming in march to reelz. to find reelz in your area, go to reelz.com can become major victories. i'm phil mickelson, pro golfer. when i was diagnosed with psoriatic arthritis my rheumatologist prescribed enbrel for my pain and stiffness, and to help stop joint damage. [ male announcer ] enbrel may lower your ability to fight infections. serious, sometimes fatal events including infections tuberculosis lymphoma, other cancers, nervous system and blood disorders, and allergic reactions have occurred. before starting enbrel your doctor should test you for tuberculosis and discuss whether you've been to a region where certain fungal infections are common. you should not start enbrel if you have an infection like the flu. tell your doctor if you're prone to infections, have cuts or sores have had hepatitis b have been treated for heart failure, or if you have symptoms such as persistent fever bruising, bleeding or pa

reince priebus said the party is ready to reach out. program to reach the voters. they said they've done a bad job getting the message out. in his words, the party's principles are sound. it just needs to communicate better. but our first read team asks, what if it's the policies and not the messaging? quote, you can argue that the gop's past opposition to obama care and immigration reform as well as its pursuit of voting laws that impact minority communities has been just as significant to its performance with these voters. what does your gut tell you? is the gop's problem its policy or its messaging? go to facebook.com/newsnation to vote. that does it for this edition of "news nation." "the cycle" is up next. anncr: an s victims are... without homes tonight. girl: first, i saw it on cable. then i read about it online. i found out how to help. i downloaded the info. i spoke up... and told my friends... and they told their friends... and together, we made a difference. anncr: and tornado relief has been pouring in from... across the cou

>> greg: it's hard to take a rebranding suggestion from someone named reince priebus.a disorder you get from a shampoo. it's true! the party doesn't need a makeover. they need a makeunder. the party has been victimized by the media who smeared them as uncool. no way to be a republican and be cool. it's associated also to being old. if you look at mccain, most people thought he was a cranky old guy, when he was a war hero who spent five-and-a-half years in a prison camp. most people didn't know that. they saw a cranky guy trying to beat a young black man for the office of the presidency. they need to simplify and say -- who do you want to be? you want to be an individual. you don't want to be part of the government. strive for achievement. how cool is that? that is what you get out to young people today. ref ject government influence. how simple is that? >> eric: is it smart for the g.o.p. and reince priebus is a say we have an autopsy report about what went wrong in the election? >> dana: i think so. there is a lot in the report, 219 recommendations. i don't know why t

this is how priebus responded to senator portman.ake a listen. >> i think senator portman made some pretty big inroads last week. but, you know, 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. >> so people don't deserve to be disrespected but the party itself does not foundationally and doesn't seem to want to support marriage equality. how do you think you'll be able to, at least using this report, try to focus on attracting an lbgt contingent to what the rnc represents? >> well, thomas, certainly what we have to do as a party, we need to draw the party by addition, not subtraction or division. and one of the things that we have to understand is, we're not going to agree on every issue. whether it's a social issue or economic issues. it's okay to disagree. group think say loser. purity in politics say loser. number one, look, i'm pro-life. i'm pro-traditional marriage personally. but that doesn't make me anti-ga

let's move to the other side of the aisle and listen to boy wonder, reince priebus today. >> we're not on the math. we're not losing the issues on spending and debt, and jobs and the economy. those are total winners for us. >> michael: i am speechless. michael what is your reaction to that? >> that's crazy. poll after after poll after poll after poll comes out and show that the majority of the american people want x to happen, and as soon as you read that poll, that's nice i'm glad the american people think that but it's never going to happen because republicans won't let it happen. background checks 91% in the most recent poll but many, many polls showing 88%, 91%, show background checks and they were straight line against it. and the majority of polled republicans in this survey supporting public investment in infrastructure spending, and, you know, well -- it's obama has been calling for it for ages, but we know it's utterly impossible. so let's bash harry reid but they are the problem. >> michael: clearly they are the problem, on the assault weapons i'm just frustrated with reid. a

reince priebus is just having a tough month. jon stewart and coburn, you know, slamming the autopsy. as did national review. so my question is, is it reince or does he just have an impossible job here? >> yeah. i'd go with the latter. it's really difficult. you've got so many competing constituencies. and he's trying to sort of hold it all together and recommend ways to change it. well, the inability to sort of come together on mutually agreed upon tactical changes and philosophical course correction is what kind of got them in this position in the first place. and i think if he is too heavy handed or the rnc is too heavy handed in trying to change either the tactics or the positions on -- which i think we're probably going to be headed for. >> oh, yeah. on that point, in the autopsy priebus mentioned out reach to gay voters at least four times. but then he calms mike huckabee no fan of same-sex marriage, a, quote, model for the gop on social issues. so which is it? >> that's right. you point out the cognitive disdense very, ver

today party chairman reince priebus unveiled his solution. >> we want to build our party. we want to do it with bold strokes to show we're up to the challenge and we're done with business as usual. >> ifill: the 98-page report detailed the party's failures in 2012. >> as it makes clear, there's no one reason we lost. our message was weak. our ground game was insufficient. we weren't inclusive. we were behind in both data and digital. and our primary and debate process needed improvement. so there's no one solution. there's a long list of them. >> ifill: called the growth and opportunity project or g.o.p., the report is unsparingly self-critical, conceding among other things that the party is increasingly seen as the province of, quote, stuffy old men. the report recommends the g.o.p. spent $10 million toward new minority outreach efforts and even more on technology and building an improved voter database. embrace comprehensive immigration reforms, and restructure its presidential nominating process to reduce the number of primary debates and settle on a nominee earlier in

>> well, reince priebus is right. we've known this all along.esident was being criticized for doing all these things, we knew what he was doing. he was leapfrogging us in the media and going right to the american people where they are. watching "sports center" and watching "the view" and "leno" and "letterman" and all those things every day people do that aren't trapped here in the washington bubble. anyone who thinks that a republican presidential candidate or the republican party can continue to win presidential -- or try to win presidential elections without trying to be in sync with the american people that they spend so much time saying that they speak for, then they're never going to succeed. >> now, you know, angela, just in case after watching reince priebus, just before you think that maybe they're all getting back to some kind of sane position, let me show you donald trump weighed in today and what he had to say. it says that donald trump tweeted, sarah palin did a great job. much of what she said was plain old common sense. so they ha

recommending priebus hire a digital and technology officer by april.even opening an rnc field office in san francisco. the report calls for big changes to the primary system for the presidential season. noting that the 20 presidential primary debates in 2012 were damaging to mitt romney. calls for prohibiting primary debates before september 1st, 2015. limiting the number of debates to 10 to 12 and possibly docking delegates from candidates who ignore the rules so that there are not, like, other debates around there. it also calls for moving the national convention up to late june or even july. shortening the primary process. priebus talked about the damage he believes the long primary did to romney yesterday on cbs. >> i think we had way too many debates with our candidates slicing and dicing each other. i think they had to wait too long to get to the convention. i'd do one a month. i'd have more say over the moderators, more say over the debate partners. i would limit the debate to a reasonable amount. i don't know. maybe seven or eight. but not 23.

today, rnc chairman reince pri oh, priebus is getting on the right track. now it's time for president obama and his party to join us. >> no word if he actually said that one with a straight face. and then there's gop water boy marco rubio. the party savior. his big, new idea today. shut down the government unless the president's health care law is completely defunded and repealed. what an idea. give that man another round of polo spring. but the right wing media is trying to attack over white house tours? >> look, mr. president, if you can't keep the white house open, let me try. >> listen, this isn't trying to up stage a president. this isn't playing a game. he's playing the political game by saying i'm closing the white house. >> they're worried about tours. where's the out rage over the cuts to the poor over food stamps. cuts to head start. over the 750,000 jobs that could be lost. we're seeing real progress. but just imagine what this recovery could look like if they stop getting in the way. joining me now, jonathan capehart and j arkared bernstei. how

reince priebus, in the press conference, announcing the autopsy was pushed to the policy shifts and letciples of the party remain the same. i'm paraphrasing and even in that moment he wanted to run away from anything that might be a shift in where the party has been historically. >> let's also remember that in general, the party leader doesn't really drive policy, right? again, look at what we were just talking about with regard to michele bachmann this is part of the problem on the policy perspective they were all over the place. >> reince priebus can't really control his party and we've seen that time and time again and there was a lot in that autopsy like trying to limit the number of debates and i can tell you in 2007. you can't tell candidates that they can't have a debate. >> there's no way you are stopping any of them. >> nor controlling the primary process, goode bless him if he can reign in the state parties and do it, and this is my counterpart used to talk about all of the time, that reining in that party is also a challenging thing to do. i would encourage mr. priebus to foc

priebus and the republican party appear to be prepared to throw equality under the law under the busorder to pander to people who are bigoted. i don't think that's a recipe for success for the future. >> you've got to feel for reince priebus a little bit. he's a guy that knows how to count votes and he's trying to explain to the rest of his party that the votes aren't going to be looking like they are not going in their favor if they don't change some of this stuff. he's trying to move people forward and he's having quite a time of it. let me throw out a shocker for you. in utah, salt lake city went for barack obama. i don't know how many wake-up calls the party will have to get before they realize they'll need to make some changes. >> that's why i started working in campaigns out there and there are reasonable people in salt lake city, i shouldn't say that. there are a lot of reasonable people in salt lake city. thank you, ron reagan and thank you, errol lewis. >>> up next, chris christie meets the press. the third grade press. literally. the third grad press. this is "hardball," th

priebus who is not a smart guy should contact inhofe. he's the ranking member of the public works committee. he says that infrastructure spending is the second thing the government can do behind defense. if that's inhofe saying it, reince priebus ought to shut up. >> governor, what is so amazing -- i have to say it that way -- to me is while the president is working on the jobs plan, they are in the right-wing media, they are obsessed with the planned parenthood and white house tours. listen to this. >> the federal government is spending apparently $350 million planned parenthood sex education plan. >> remember this sequester, it was all about we're going to have to close the white house tours. >> you know how long they would keep the white house tours going? 100 years. >> by the way, it's not clear where the $350 million number came from or why planned parent hood has anything to do with it. but the bigger point, governor, is they are obsessed with these issues. >> and they are. and they are obsessed with them at the loss of real, relev

is priebus right? are the critics, the defenders of the old order right?mbination that has to take place. all i want to say at the outset, if that's all it took to keep my job was to not have a ground game and not win elections and to, you know, just race a lot of money, you raise $300 million, you can't win one election? i mean, it makes no sense to me. i think the base is right to say that in terms of the message there was no cohesion, there was no way to grab, to pull the people toward something positive. we were on the defensive for 18 months. how does that happen? you don't have a ground game, don't have a message, don't have organization, i guess that's what happens. i want my money back. >> i will now make a totally nonpartisan point of view which is true. every political party that blows it says we don't get our message across. they all say it. in other words, our message was divine. >> there's truth to that to a certain extent, chris. you know, part of the process begins with how you communicate what you believe. >> is that why mcgovern lost? is t

reince priebus wants to make the g.o.p. more incollusive.lation, he wants to win elections after looking at new surveys about the last one. chief political correspondent carl cameron has the plan. >> our message was weak. our ground game was inefficient. we weren't inclusive. >> the g.o.p. conducted 52,000 interviews and another 32,000 surveys with voters and activists, nicknameed the findings a autopsy. >> focus group describe our party, as narrow minded. out of touch. and stuffy old men. >> minorities and women on the republican national committee led the study. >> if hispanics think we don't want them, here they will close their ears to the policies. >> the rnc as expected recommends comprehensive immigration reform, with a path to illegal status on 11 million aliens here. despite the warning from the political action conference. >> if amnesty goes through, america becomes california and no republican will win another national election. >> the study contends that perception of the g.o.p. are so bad they will never win back the white house

priebus, the chairman, is a birthday boy today. showing his new plan and we have a sneak peek at their campaign mechanics section, in addition to their data. we will have political directors for african-americans and asians and hispanics. >> mike allen, thanks very much. we will get to the second part of politico later. >>> coming up, march madness brackets are set and bill karins about ljoin us to break down the favorites next in sports. [ female announcer ] going to sleep may be easy, but when you wake up in the middle of the night it can be frustrating. it's hard to turn off and go back to sleep. intermezzo is the first and only prescription sleep aid approved for use as needed in the middle of the night when you can't get back to sleep. it's an effective sleep medicine you don't take before bedtime. take it in bed only when you need it and have at least four hours left for sleep. do not take intermezzo if you have had an allergic reaction to drugs containing zolpidem, such as ambien. allergic reactions such as shortness of brea

i thought reince priebus was very, very candid in what he said.crats had said some of those things running up until now the media would go crazy saying democrats shouldn't be take those theurpbgs we are putting down the republican party. if the press said the very things that reince priebus said you'd say it's the liberal media going after republicans. he was for the report and candid east should be. the media can't say that but he can. jon: this article about what the g.o.p. has discovered about itself, you can here is how "politico" head lined it in our online just today. voters see the g.o.p. as scary and out of touch. >> right, chairman reince priebus and his team put together a 100-page report full of ta advertise particulars. the headline i keep saying looking through my smartphone is stuffy old men. there are three words in there stuffy old men in a 100-page report. and it's like the spot in the cue ball. what's wrong with that, that cue ball high school a flaw in it. they knew what they were doing. the republicans had to put in some commen

in a speech in washington today, reince priebus described the 100 page report he commissioned on why republicans lost in 2012 and what they should do about it. the report made 219 recommendations, including the republican party needs to stop talking to itself. we must embrace and champion comprehensive immigration reform, and the number of debates should be reduced by roughly half. and the republican convention should be held earlier in the summer. other than embracing comprehensive immigration reform, the report suggested no other policy changes. >> to be clear, our principles are sound. it all goes back to what our moms used to tell us. it's not just what you say, it's how we say it. it's not about altering our principles. i think it is about the way we communicate. >> the republican who communicates the most responded this way. >> that's not at all what they've got to do. all they have to do, the republican party lost because it is not conservative. it didn't get its base out in the 2012 election. >> that's been a real republican problem, you give people the impression they're not

i think that's a reasonable assessment. >>> you know, i think priebus show the his cards.not be for growth and opportunity on the one hand and then step to the other studio and say i support the paul ryan budget, which cuts pell, food stamps, medicaid, universal, pre-k, all the things that mean growth and opportunity. >> bob, i love the part of the annex dote where he's like meeting with 20 black republicans. and peter bien art in "the daily beast" i think has a fair assessment -- republicans probably overestimate the traction they'll get from changing the color and accents of their pitchmen. there's something deeply patronizing about their assumption, latino and black democrats act merely on ethnic or racial affinity. >> how does priebus find 20 black republicans in brooklyn. give me a break. what i think is important to understand, is this is a party that's been relentlessly hostile in its policies to the interests of black americans and other ethnic minority at least since the era of richard nixon. i mean relentless, and nothing has changed. all you have to do is look a

he was the first chairman to make it clear that the corporate culture, as soon as reince priebus camewelcoming. he took a lot of hits for that during his first term as chairman -- >> let me in here. don't filibuster me. none of that played out. we heard none of that in the last election. we heard the exact opposite from the gop in the last election. >> well, what you're talking about is you're talking about the platform which was an anchor around our neck during the election cycle. that was very clear amongst many in leaderships which is why in project is very important. it was a very pragmatic approach, very similar to an after-military option. you do an after-action review. the party was very honest about our weaknesses and why we aren't attracting the voters that we should attract. it's very healthy. this is the first chairman to actually recognize the lgbt members of the party as well as the community at large. >> clarke, reince priebus doing it is one thing. but for people who are actually running, the people who are visible, the people who are seeking offices, for them -- it's o

chairman reince priebus is going to talk about it. you can catch up on that entire press conference at the national press club on c-span2 this morning, live at 8:30. here's a little bit more from that report that was released today. it said -- host: david is up next from new york. good morning, david. caller: good morning. yeah, i was watching last night , and he said it pretty good. my personal opinion is the it's like is strong, background noise, and my personal opinion is -- the role of government today is feeding the government, and the press and the media in general seems to be comfortable with that idea. and until you go back to reagan's message, which was that government is not the solution, but it is the problem. until we can be honest and look and realize that, well, i don't see -- i don't see too much -- too much more the republicans can do. host: david, while i have you, let me have you listen in to this piece by james taylor in today's "washington times." i think you might be speaking to some of the issues you bring up. th

in iowa, priebus disagreed what karl rove was trying to do saying "there are a lot of groups out there picking winners and losers in primaries but it won't help party." >> personally, as an rnc, i don't believe in that. i don't think the party should pick winners and losers in primaries and i think hist tore dplirks luke at it a bit of a fool's game because you can't actually predict some of the things that go on. >> priebus could hardly contain himself after kentucky senator rand paul's filibuster sparked new enthusiasm in the conservative grassroots. >> constitutional republicans, liberty republican sass big piece of a growing party, young, probably rand paul filibuster, energized people, find people excited? >> i think it was completely awesome. >> but it's a amazing there. remember, there's not a majority inside the republican party in the senate that even comes close to agreeing with rand paul on some of these issues, expect to see the divide between the old-school defense hawks, new-school lint tearian-minded conservatives. "it ultimately serve him well to be the spokesman for th

they don't listen to him any more than they listen to raince priebus. i want to give read what he said. he did respond immediately quickly to what young said and he said, congressman young's remarks are offensive, beneath the dignity of the office he holds, i don't care why he said it there's no excuse and it warrants an immediate apology. they're responding correctly. but the problem is the elites aren't necessarily who is listened to. >> and this is the danger. first of all in terms of the cues of well that person is older, that's not so much of an excuse any more. we teach little kids not to say offensive words or use bad language. so the old excuse about someone -- that doesn't really hold water any more. but the fact is in this type of society we live in where especially among hispanics, the growing hispanic electorate. all of these statements are being made. which is the one statement that the average person will hear about? the wetback statement. they won't hear about boehner's rebuttal. that's the only thing the tag line that people will hear an