RNC Chair Invigorates Volunteers in Loudoun

Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus dropped by candidate Mitt Romney’s Loudoun field offices Thursday to thank the volunteers and campaign staff, and to urge them to keep up the work.

During his stop at the Leesburg office — where volunteers took a break from calling potential voters and donors — Priebus noted he got his start in politics running a phone bank in Kenosha, Wisc. Because of the experience he’s gained since, he knows to keep pushing to the finish line, even with the bump Romney experienced following the first of a trio of debates with President Barack Obama.

“We’ve had a nice run, but tomorrow’s a new day. We need to win tomorrow, we need to win next week,” Priebus said, following up with a mantra both campaigns have repeated this year. “We’ve got to win in Virginia. If we don’t, it’s going to be tough.”

Del. Randy Minchew (R-10) introduced Priebus, whose stop was very informal. The RNC chair took time to pose for pictures with Romney supporters before he hit the road.

“It’s an honor to have him come to this battleground town in this battleground county in a battleground state,” he said of Priebus, predicting the Romney/Ryan ticket would prevail Nov.6. Minchew also pointed to the hard work of 10th Congressional District Chairman John Whitbeck and the field office director, Colin Newman.

Priebus told those who crammed into the Leesburg office to see him the election was not about partisan politics, though both campaign have pushed some partisan issues.

“We love the party, but this is about the future of America,” he told the volunteers. “We are in a battle for freedom.”

Priebus said Obama’s focus on taxing the wealthy goes against the ideals of the country.

“I think this president’s got a problem with the American Dream. He’s got a problem with success,” he said, adding the “Obama-world … big-picture view … isn’t squaring up with the American people anymore.”

The president, he said, has zeroed in on sound bites like “Romnesia” and Sesame Street, and divisive issues like abortion, which has come up because of recent Republican characterizations of rape and its consequences that have raised eyebrows.

“We full know what’s at stake in this election,” Priebus said, answering himself: “the future of the country. We’re ready for someone who knows how to get the job done.”

Both candidates have kept Virginia in their sights because the state went for Obama in 2008, despite voting for Republicans in every other election since 1964.