U.S. Rep. Tom Price still has not decided whether he will run for Senate. But if he does, the Roswell Republican will seek a niche as the credentialed conservative who does not say nutty things -- one who has Karl Rove-worthy discipline and tea party-approved principles.
In a breakfast chat today with a small group of reporters in the office of conservative National Review magazine on Capitol Hill, Price was asked about the rhetoric of the only declared candidate in the Senate race, U.S. Rep. Paul Broun, R-Athens. Broun recently declared -- incorrectly as it turned out -- that he had been the first member of Congress to call President Barack Obama a socialist, among other things. Carefully, as usual, Price separated himself from such loose talk.
"Each individual in this arena has to make their own assessment and judgment about all these issues, and I think that tempering messages to be more receptive to the American ear is important. And I mention that after many items, occurrences of the last campaign. What I've tried to do is make certain that a message is received in the tone in which it was meant to be delivered, and that's a challenge for everybody."
Price also had praise for the controversial plan on the part of Rove's American Crossroads to pump money into Republican primaries, to bring out the most "electable" conservative. That's when Price went all "Cool Hand Luke" on us:
"Republicans ought to be in the majority in the United States Senate. We have lost seats that we should not have lost because of a failure of communication, a failure of message, a failure of coherence within campaigns. Now that's not to slight anybody who steps up into the ring because it's a tough, tough arena. But clearly, we can't continue the same processes that we've had in the past and expect to increase our numbers in order to help save the country in the Senate."
Price appears to be genuinely torn between whether to run or not. He says that, through his perch as the No. 2 Republican on the Budget Committee and serving on the Ways and Means Committee, he "finally see(s) a chance to affect public policy." To run now, he said, would be to allow something other than the fiscal future of the nation to consume him at a critical moment -- with across-the-board budget cuts, a government shutdown and a debt ceiling breach lined up in the next few months.
Then again, he said the Senate is looking like a more receptive place for conservatives these days with newcomers like Ted Cruz and Jeff Flake arriving, and Marco Rubio and Ron Johnson taking leading roles just two years in:
"It's an exciting conference that's building over there and you can just sense it, you can sense that it's happening and it would be really exciting to be involved with guys and gals who are fighting as hard as they can to save the country."
On another vital topic, Price said that in addition to the Led Zeppelin and Jimi Hendrix tunes of his youth, he enjoys modern country -- including Taylor Swift. "Don't tell anybody, or I'll lose my bona fides," he quipped. After Buzzfeed's Rebecca Berg posted this exchange, Price revised and extended his remarks on Twitter: "Hey @rebeccagberg, I shouldn't have said "Don't tell anyone." I'm proud to be a @TaylorSwift13 fan!"
Recent Posts
- Your daily jolt: The looming battle over cell phone towers in GeorgiaFebruary 15, 2013
- When President Obama met Mr. '47 Percent'February 14, 2013
- Erick Erickson's endorsement of Mark Sanford for CongressFebruary 14, 2013
About the Author
Keep Reading
The Latest
Featured
