So we're in the middle of an RNC election. On January 14, the RNC will elect the next chairman, either Michael Steele or someone new, and among those challengers to Steele is one Reince Priebus, current GOP state chair in Wisconsin, who is in a bit of an awkward position with his current employers.
Priebus, the current state chairman of the Wisconsin GOP, is positioning himself as the true conservative alternative to Steele. His announcement video contained militant rhetoric, like a claim that Democratic policies do “damage” to the country. Three separate times on a recent conference call, Priebus called for the “execution” of President Obama, later saying he meant Osama bin Laden. RNC committee member Jim Bopp, the leader of the far right faction of the RNC, endorsed Priebus last week.
Despite his heated anti-Obama attacks, Priebus makes a living at a law firm far more comfortable with the policies of President Obama. Priebus works as a partner at the Milwaukee law firm Michael Best & Friedrich LLP. Over the summer, the firm created a series of presentations to explain health reform to its clients and to pitch the firm’s services for employers looking to comply with new health reform regulations. In one presentation, John Barlament, a colleague to Priebus at the firm, said that a health reform repeal is not only unlikely, but that the lawsuits brought by Republican Party allies to declare the law unconstitutional probably have no merit. Referring to the controversy over the individual mandate, Barlament explained that the commerce clause of the constitution “gives Congress authority to act on his legislation”:
“Don’t hold your breath,” Barlament advised employers hoping the Affordable Care Act will be repealed. A number of political and business groups have called for repeal or significant revisions, but Barlament said there is nothing on the “near horizon.”Lawsuits filed to block the case are unlikely to succeed because the commerce clause of the U.S. Constitution gives Congress authority to act on this legislation.
The law firm also gave presentations discussing the benefits to small business, the good of expanding coverage to millions more Americns, reining in health insurers, and closing the Medicare Part D donut hole. All of this makes Priebus seem a bit of a hypocrite. Which should put him in very good standing to be RNC chair.