Big Oops – Business Insider says Reince Preibus did not say self-deportation “racist” (Audio added)
Quote previously confirmed as “accurate” by RNC press office
In my post this morning RNC “self-deporting” enthusiasm out of the Republican base I noted that Reince Preibus was quoted by Business Insider as follows:
“Using the word ‘self-deportation’ — it’s a horrific comment to make,” Priebus said, in a forceful rebuke. “I don’t think it has anything to do with our party. When someone makes those comments, obviously, it’s racist.”
I was wondering how the RNC Chair could make such a comment since the policy was in the GOP 2012 Platform and the term used by Mitt Romney.
So I contacted the RNC press office before turning my post live, and the press office confirmed by email that the quote was “accurate.” (added) Here was my email to the RNC’s press contact at 8:55 a.m.:
Can you confirm that the following quote attributed to Reince Preibus in Business Insider is accurate:
“Using the word ‘self-deportation’ — it’s a horrific comment to make,” Priebus said, in a forceful rebuke. “I don’t think it has anything to do with our party. When someone makes those comments, obviously, it’s racist.”
If so, was there any context in which it was said which would change the apparent assertion that the term “self-deportation” is “racist”?
Please respond as soon as possible as I am writing about this.
After no response for a couple of hours, I wrote again and got this response at 11:03:
Hi William – that’s accurate.
So I ran the story, noting that all the major left-wing websites were having a field day with the quote.
Turns out both Business Insider and the RNC press office were wrong, as Business Insider now indicates in an “update”:
Correction, 12:26 p.m. ET: An original version of this story said that Reince Priebus referred to Mitt Romney’s comments as “racist.” He said it “hurts us.” Business Insider regrets the error.
The quote still isn’t great, but not nearly as damaging.
I expect to have the audio shortly.
Business Insider has a lot of explaining to do. So does the RNC press office.
Update: The RNC provides this audio, which confirms Preibus said “hurts us” not “racist”:
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Comments
Maybe the RNC picked up that intern from the NTSB?
Mistake? Ha. Alter the quote to suit the Lamestream Media’s needs, then “Correct” it later ’cause you know no one will care by then.
Of course the original article will still be out their for the lefts agenda even though it was “corrected”.
I don’t know how the RNC picks its staff, but when I lived in Illinois the quality of the people employed by the state party organizations was a huge problem. It was a joke that the Democrats asked the big Chicago law and consulting firms to send their brightest junior associates to Springfield for a year or two while the Republicans employed the kids of donors who been unable to land those kind of jobs- or in many cases any jobs at all.
Perhaps The GOP Press Office can take a page out of Poisonous Piers Morgan’s Book Mea Culpa Bullcrap: “Inaccurate Fact.”
Another great interview by Business Insider journalist Sum Ting Wong.
And we have a #winner.
didn’t he fly a Commercial jet once ? 🙂
Business Insider a project of Kevin P. Ryan, Henry Blodget, Joe Weisenthal, Nicholas Carlson and financed by Jeff Bezos, among others is a lefty “business” website, a social democratic website. It has long been in the bag for Obama.
http://images.politico.com/global/2012/03/abc_home_kitchen_small_dinner_invitation_3_1_12.pdf
“that government spending is keeping our GDP up” Blodget
http://www.theblaze.com/blog/2011/09/20/the-blazes-amy-holmes-talks-to-business-insiders-henry-blodget-about-obamas-jobs-plan/
http://twitchy.com/2013/01/08/ridiculous-business-insiders-joe-weisenthal-claims-alex-jones-is-what-a-normal-gun-advocate-is-like/
http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/americas/united-states/120130/business-insider-why-obama-recovery-better-than-reagan
It is absolutely more about leftist talking points and less about business news.
Joe Wiesenthal is an idiot. I unfollowed his account after an exchange – he insisted none of the “asset purchases” by the Fed would ever need to be repaid.
“Hurts us” is much better than “racist.” Thank you for publicizing the correction.
It’s still not great, though. Why does it hurt us if we enforce our laws and people who are here illegally decide to leave?
Used to be you’d read something and think, ‘that can’t possibly be right.’ Those days are over.
What does it say that the errant quote was so readily believable?
I hear “horrific” in the recording … “hurts us” was pretty garbled.
They need a better term for the same thing as “self deport”. “Organic” is more hip.
As rules are gradually applied to make sure employment goes to Americans first, illegal aliens will ORGANICALLY reunite with their families in in their homeland.
or
If life “in the shadows” is so bad in the U.S., why not let the illegal aliens organically move back home on their own time table. To chain migrate 20 of their cousins onto our welfare system will only exacerbate the welfare state dilemma in the U.S.
After the battle the RNC marches onto the field and bayonets their wounded.
About as real and as racist as Oprah being denied the chance to buy a “once in a lifetime” $38,0000 purse. (In Switzerland.)
Why is the GOP being nitpicked about illegals, when the people that should be protected are US. Citizens of the USA.
Maybe, this broo-ha-ha really means the press is ALL ABOUT insulting republicans. And, those who love the spotlight race to the cameras with silly comments.
The WaPo in particular will not be really evaluating any republicans.
Maybe, Tuffy should come out to answer these skewed questions? There’s nothing to gain by participating in this charade.
And, there are no penalties for making weird “racial” sound bites.
[…] also worth noting that the RNC press office confirmed the original Priebus quote when William Jacobson of Legal Insurrection reached out for […]
Really…What should one expect from someone formerly named “Reince Preibus”?
Another reason to NEVER register as a Republican.
[…] quote last year as ‘racist.’ As usual, the left wing corrupt media was lying as Prebius never said ‘racist.’ Instead, Reince Priebus called the self-deport comment ‘horrific‘ that said the comment […]
Seems to me that the RNC just punked the hell out of the mainstream media.
Let the Dems run with an intentional misquote, giving them plenty of rope, then publish the proof of dishonesty, thereby yanking the rope tight. The only place they screwed up is they erroneously confirmed the quote to you.
The GOP had self deportation in its platform just 4 years ago but now it looks down on the concept. Time to change party registration to non-affiliated.
At least it might stop the insincere form letters that pretend to care what I think, but really just want to ask for money.
I don’t get it. All “Self deportation” means is that illegals go home because there are no jobs for them. Where is the racism or “Hurt” for the RNC?
It means people freely choosing what’s in their best interest without breaking laws in the process or demanding that citizens of another country change their laws.
Are you kidding? “Self deportation” is about you came here illegally and you saw you weren’t going to be given a gift bag so you split.
The real question to be asked here, the real scandal is why so many conservative bloggers and commenters accepted a phony Business Insider report at face value.
It may as well have come from OFA or MMFA, that’s how reliable BI is. So there are two pressing inquiries:
1). Why would you read BI?
and
2). Why would you believe anything they post?
The RNC is dead to me. The Gang of 8 Bill and their CPAC PC edict affirming Islam and denouncing Spencer and Gellar, soldiers of sanity did it for me.
Now Red State has gone full-bore PC and you can’t say anything against Islam at that site.
How can one say anything good about the blood thirsty, aggressive, violent rape, misogynist, slavery allowing, hellish political system calling itself a religion?
[…] #1 denounces Romney’s statement and his own party’s position on immigration reform. Priebus now denies saying “racist” even though earlier in the day the RNC press shop confirmed the use of the word […]
Every time I hear him speak all I want to do is RINSE AND SPIT.
[…] Even when it wasn’t there. […]