Some Republicans Accuse RNC of Pro-Romney Bias

Some Republicans are accusing the Republican National Committee (RNC) of engaging in tactics that helped Mitt Romney become the front-runner for the GOP presidential nomination, according to Politico.

 

The criticism aimed at the RNC, primarily from supporters of Romney rivals Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich, include charges the committee allowed states to jump line in the primary schedule, breaking party rules without penalty.

 

Politico reported Friday that some party members have also accused RNC officials of using a tracking system that padded Romney’s tally of delegates as the primary and caucus season progressed, and that party staffers, including Chairman Reince Priebus, have been too cozy with the Romney campaign.

 

“The chatter is that the fix is in, and that’s created a great deal of consternation,” former RNC Chairman Michael Steele told Politico, adding that he was approached “very quietly” by about 10 RNC members.

 

They complained, he said, “about the influence that the Romney campaign seems to have in dictating the terms of what the RNC is going to do and how it is going to follow the rules.”

 

The Politico report said party officials have acknowledged that some of the grievances may have merit, but others they say are simply efforts by Romney’s rivals to stir up trouble. The committee also defended Priebus’s leadership against complaints that he has a pro-Romney bias.

 

“We followed the rules exactly as laid out,” said RNC spokesman Sean Spicer, who dismissed Steele’s credibility as a sounding board for complaints, given “the state of disaster Mr. Steele left the RNC in.”