WHAT THEY ARE SAYING: The RGA’s American Comeback Project

WHAT THEY ARE SAYING: The RGA’s American Comeback Project

www.RGA.org/AmericanComeback

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: “Amid the shutdown furor, the country’s 30 Republican governors released a manifesto of sorts Thursday drawing a bright line between themselves and the Washington establishment.  ‘We are no longer going to outsource the Republican brand to the talking heads in Washington,’ said the release, signed by Mr. Jindal on behalf of the Republican Governors Association.  Accompanying the RGA statement was a video featuring remarks from five GOP governors, including Wisconsin’s Scott Walker and Ohio’s John Kasich. In the video, Mr. Kasich criticizes Washington as “too much politics, too little real service.” (State Governors Heap Scorn On Dysfunction In DC, 10/4/13)

THE WASHINGTON POST: “The RGA on Thursday rolled out the first in a series of what it described as a major digital advertising campaign that will promote their members’ work in the states. On Thursday morning, advertisements for the initiative, dubbed American Comeback, were splashed across the top of the Drudge Report and other conservative Web sites. The RGA will highlight interviews with Republican governors, including those seeking reelection in competitive states next year. The first round of governors interviewed — Jindal, Ohio’s John Kasich (R), New Mexico’s Susana Martinez (R), South Carolina’s Nikki Haley (R) and Wisconsin’s Scott Walker (R) — stuck to a familiar theme: Washington is blocking progress in the states. ‘The problem that I have with Washington is, they put the wind at our face, not the wind at our back,’ Kasich said. Martinez added: ‘The answers are not in Washington. The Republican governors are driving America’s comeback.” (The Shutdown Isn’t Bad Politics For GOP Governors, 10/3/13)

POLITICO: “The RGA digital campaign that begins Thursday is dubbed the American Comeback Campaign and will eventually include video appearances by all of the country’s 30 GOP governors, Jindal said. The first video features Govs. John Kasich of Ohio, Scott Walker of Wisconsin, Nikki Haley of South Carolina, Susana Martinez of New Mexico and Jindal himself touting accomplishments in their home states and reciting variations on the phrase: “Republican governors are the ones who are driving America’s comeback.’ ‘We’ve got to shift attention away from Washington, D.C., to the state capitals,’ said Jindal. ‘That’s where the rubber’s hitting the road. That’s where you can see measurable results.” (Government Shutdown: Jindal Blames Leaders Across The Board, 10/2/13)

CBS NEWS: “Jindal, the chairman of the Republican Governors Association, was in Washington to promote the launch of the RGA’s American Comeback project promoting the work of some of the GOP’s rising stars in statehouses around the country. A video released for the project features Govs. Jindal; Nikki Haley, R-S.C.; John Kasich, R-Ohio; Susana Martinez, R-N.M.; and Scott Walker, R-Wis., speaking to the camera. ‘I believe the vast majority of people today who are dependent on government, don’t want to be,” Walker says. Kasich adds, ‘My philosophy is sort of this: It’s a sin not to help people who need help, but it’s equally a sin to continue to help somebody who needs to learn how to help themselves.” The message of the video: conservative policies are being implemented in the states, not in Washington. That’s the place, Jindal told CBS News, ‘you can see conservative principles actually being applied…It’s not just being talked about, it’s not just a theoretical debate.” (Jindal: Make Way For The Governors, 10/3/13)

NBC NEWS: Jindal is chairman of the Republican Governors’ Association. He’s promoting the RGA’s new video and online campaign, ‘American Comeback’–which uses the tagline, “Republican governors are driving America’s comeback.’ Jindal said the campaign hadn’t been timed to the shutdown, but conceded that the crisis provided the governors with a good ‘contrast.’ ‘We’re done outsourcing our brand management to Washington, D.C,’ he said. ‘We’re done as governors letting the dysfunction of Washington define conservative principles and ideas. The reality is there is one place you can look to see conservative ideas and principles being applied, and that’s in our state capitols.” (GOP Governors Dodge Shutdown Battle, 10/3/13)

BLOOMBERG: “The Republican Governors Association released a video featuring Jindal and governors Scott Walker of Wisconsin, John Kasich of Ohio, Susana Martinez of New Mexico, and Nikki Haley of South Carolina, discussing how they’ve led their states. Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal, the chairman of the Republican Governors Association, said ‘dysfunction’ in the nation’s capital is casting doubt over the party’s philosophy and clashes with how it has been implemented in the states. ‘We are no longer going to outsource the Republican brand to the folks in Washington,’ he said in statement. ‘Conservative principles, when turned into actual policies, are working out in the real world. But the dysfunction in Washington casts doubt on conservative ideas and whether they work or not.” (Republican Governors Clash With Washington Over Shutdown, 10/3/13)

SLATE: “In the roiling debate among Republicans between principle and pragmatism, the governors are weighing in. Jindal was in town to start the launch of a new ad campaign touting the success of the GOP brand in the states. ‘Republican governors are driving America’s comeback’ is the tagline. Their intent is to highlight their solutions-oriented records and get themselves re-elected.” (GOP Conservatives Desperate To Save The Party’s Brand, 10/4/13)

NEWSMAX: “As head of the Republican Governors Association, Jindal unveiled a media campaign that he says will show how conservative principles can successfully be turned into real policies. The Republican governors’ media drive, ‘American Comeback Campaign’ begins Thursday starring Ohio Gov. John Kasich, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez and Jindal himself.  In due course, there will be appearances by all of the country’s 30 GOP governors, Jindal told a Washington news conference. Each governor ends their appearance with the mantra: ‘Republican governors are the ones who are driving America’s comeback.” (Jindal: Obama Must Stop Playing Victim In Chief In Shutdown, 10/4/13)

NEW ORLEANS TIMES-PICAYUNE: “Jindal, chairman of the Republican Governors Association, unveiled a slick video portraying the success stories of individual Republican governors. It featured Jindal, Nikki Halley of South Carolina, John Kasich of Ohio, Susan Martinez of New Mexico and Scott Walker of Wisconsin. The video will be used as part an online advertising campaign titled, ‘American Comeback Campaign.’ The GOP governors, Jindal said, are using conservative ideas to advance an agenda of balancing budgets mostly without tax increases, working to bring private businesses to their states to lower unemployment, and policy innovations such as education reform.  (Jindal: GOP Shouldn’t Outsource Republican Brand To Folks In Washington, 10/2/13)

BATON ROUGE ADVOCATE: “Under the veil of a government shutdown, Gov. Bobby Jindal visited the nation’s capital Wednesday to launch a new campaign to focus on the successes of the nation’s 30 Republican governors in their states. Jindal, who chairs the Republican Governors Association, is working on the new ‘American Comeback’ digital campaign being initiated Thursday to push the argument that, as Jindal said, ‘Republican governors are driving America’s comeback.’ ‘We have outsourced the Republican brand to Washington, D.C., and it’s time to stop that,’ Jindal said.”  (Jindal: GOP Governors Successful, 10/3/13)

CLEVELAND PLAIN DEALER: “Ohio Gov. John Kasich has a starring role in a new effort by the Republican Governors Association to shift focus from politicians in Washington to rising stars in the states. The first digital ad from the American Comeback campaign features Kasich, South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez and Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker.  Kasich later adds: ‘America’s strength comes from the bottom up, not the top down, and in that regard, the states are so important.’ He closes: ‘Republican governors are driving America’s comeback.”  (Kasich Flies The Flag For Republican Governors, 10/3/13)

COLUMBUS DISPATCH: “Gov. John Kasich stars in a new on-line video produced by the Republican Governors Association as part of its ‘American Comeback’ project. In the video, Kasich, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez, and South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley argue that the ‘American comeback’ isn’t happening in Washington, but in states controlled by Republican governors. The RGA plans to produce indivisual videos for all 30 Republican governors, but Kasich and the others were chosen for this initial piece “based on the message of reform and results they are delivering in their states.” (Lights, Camera, Action, 10/3/13)

###