GOP to spend $10 million on outreach to ethnic groups

Martha T. Moore, USA TODAY | USATODAY

Republicans will spend $10 million this year in outreach to Hispanic, Asian and African-American voters, GOP chairman Reince Priebus said Sunday.

"We have become a party that parachutes into communities four months before elections," Priebus said on CBS' Face the Nation. In contrast, he said, "the Obama campaign lived in these communities for years. The relationships were deep. They were authentic.''

Stronger outreach will help Republicans when a candidate says something "goofy,'' Priebus said, such as Missouri Senate candidate Todd Akin's comments last fall about "legitimate" rape not leading to pregnancy — comments Republicans blame for his loss.

"In a vacuum, the caricature becomes true,'' Priebus said. "If you've got unscripted moments, and you've got no relationship to explain anything, I believe, you're a sitting duck.''

Priebus also says he wants to have fewer primary debates and move the party convention to June or July, in order to give candidates earlier access to general election funds.

Republicans launched the analysis of the party's image and shortcomings that led to losing the presidency and failing to win back control of the Senate in 2012. Set to be unveiled Monday morning, the analyis included input from 50,000 people through polling, interviews and focus groups, Priebus said.

At the Conservative Political Action Conference that wrapped up Saturday outside Washington, speakers including former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush urged Republicans to embrace "inclusion and acceptance" in order to regain power. During a panel on immigration, all the speakers favored some form of legalized status for illegal immigrants.

"The evolution of the conservative movement on the issue of immigration is nothing less than astonishing,'' CPAC organizer Al Cardenas said Sunday on CNN's State of the Union.

But conservative writer Ann Coulter drew applause Saturday when she said "amnesty'' is a "suicidal policy" for Republicans because it would result in millions of newly enfranchised Hispanics voting Democratic.

"Either there's a very healthy debate going on, or the conservatives are suffering from multiple personality disorder,'' Republican strategist Ana Navarro said Sunday on NBC's Meet the Press.

There were also sharp words at CPAC for party figures like Karl Rove, the founder of the Crossroads PACs. Former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin, who got a big ovation from the CPAC crowd, told Rove to run for office himself or "get back in the truck.'' Rove has angered some conservatives with plans to spend money in primaries to support what he terms "electable" candidates.

Rove shot back on Sunday, saying on Fox News Sunday that Palin had told Akin to drop out of the Missouri Senate race after his rape comment. "If she can play in primaries, other people can play in primaries.'' he said — then added that if he did run for office, "I wouldn't leave office midterm.''

Palin resigned as governor of Alaska in 2009 with more than a year left in her term.