Republican National Committee (RNC) Chairman Reince Priebus said that concerns within his party about President Obama's birthplace don't concern him, because he has more important things to worry about.
Priebus, who won the chairman's job in January, dismissed conspiracy theories that Obama wasn't born in the United States, explaining that he has "no reason not to believe the president wasn't born in Hawaii."
"It doesn't worry me," Priebus said at a Tuesday breakfast with reporters sponsored by the Christian Science Monitor. "But the reality is that I'm chairman of the RNC ... In regard to this birther issue, I've got better things to worry about."
Real estate mogul Donald Trump, who's considering running for president next year, has been a vocal proponent of the "birther" theory, which questions Obama's birthplace.
The Obama campaign released the president's birth certificate during the 2008 election, showing Obama was born in Hawaii. His birth certificate is on file with the state's Department of Health.
Still, doubts about the president have lingered, driven by vocal skepticism by Republicans like Trump, as well as others who are less definitive in expressing their belief that Obama was, in fact, born in Hawaii.
Priebus said he didn't believe that voicing birther opinions moves votes for Republican candidates, but added that he didn't feel like it was his place to dictate to candidates what they can and can't say on the trail.
"I don't think that it's an issue that moves voters," he said.
The Democratic Governors Association (DGA) is raising funds off efforts by opponents of President Obama who have questioned his place of birth.
The DGA sent out a fundraising appeal to supporters on Friday, referencing so-called birther bills being considered by some state legislatures.
"Republican governors, eager to score political points, keep these myths alive by refusing to unequivocally say that birtherism isn’t true and that they won’t sign any bills trying to undermine our president," reads the appeal from DGA Executive Director Colm O'Comartun. "Since they won’t act, it’s up to us to make sure they know the American people are watching."
The re-emergence of birtherism has been fueled by the recent start of the 2012 presidential campaign season, but the state bills helped contribute to its rise.
Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer (R) recently vetoed a birther bill, but others are advancing in Louisiana and Indiana. Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal (R), has indicated he would sign one if it reached his desk, the DGA noted.
The birther bills would require presidential candidates to provide proof of their citizenship in order to be included on that state's ballot.
Obama's opponents continue to question his citizenship — and thus his eligibility to serve as president — even though he released a copy of his birth certificate during the 2008 campaign to prove he was born in Hawaii.
The birther issue appears to be gaining steam with Republicans: 45 percent believe he was born outside the U.S., according to a recent poll.
Republicans are fundraising off Rep. Paul Ryan's (R-Wis.) budget proposal as Democrats are looking to put the GOP on the defensive over it.
The National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) on Tuesday circulated a fundraising appeal to supporters from House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) that praises the budget, which would cut $5.8 trillion over a decade. The pitch accuses Democrats of being unserious about addressing the nation's debt and deficit troubles.
"They believe it serves their political interests to try to demonize our proposals to cut spending and preserve critical health and retirement programs for future generations," Boehner wrote of Democrats.
Ryan, the House Budget Committee chairman, also sent out a fundraising appeal to his Prosperity PAC supporters.
Republicans are trying to turn the issue into a political winner after weathering attacks from Democrats for nearly a week.
Democrats were incensed over the budget, accusing Republicans of using it to gut Medicare and Medicaid. Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chairman Steve Israel (N.Y.) predicted last week that his party would retake control of the House because of voter pushback over the proposal.
The DCCC has also launched an ad campaign targeting 25 House Republicans for supporting Ryan's budget. Democrats would need a net gain of 25 seats in 2012 to take back the House. The committee also put out a 30-second ad humorously suggesting that under Ryan's plan, seniors would have to mow lawns or work as strippers to earn healthcare money.
"Last Friday, 235 of my Republican colleagues in the House joined me in supporting this cause and voted to pass my 2012 budget proposal. Now, they’re under attack from the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee — Nancy Pelosi’s political machine," reads Ryan's email.
"The fact is we can’t afford all of the political nonsense the Democrats are generating. We have a dire financial crisis awaiting us, but we can get ourselves back on the path to prosperity if we act now. My fellow House Republicans took bold action and are now paying the price."
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) has taken a major step toward paying down the debt left over from a brutal 2010 election cycle and outraised its Republican counterpart over the first three months of the year.
The DCCC announced Thursday that it raised $19.6 million during the first quarter and has cut its debt to $8 million. The National Republican Congressional Committee wasn't far behind, raising $18.1 million in the first quarter, but also still has $8 million in debt still on the books.
After raising just over $5 million in the month of February, the DCCC reported $17.3 million in debt.
The one major difference -- the NRCC reported nearly twice the cash on hand of the DCCC at the end of the first quarter with $9 million in the bank, compared to $4.6 million for the DCCC. The NRCC also raised $10.2 million in March.
The DCCC raised more than $1.2 million online in the month of March, and a fundraising appeal pegged to capitalize on the potential for a government shutdown netted the committee its second best day of online fundraising in its history on April 8. That haul, however, came after the books closed on the first quarter.
The DCCC's first-quarter total comes after outraising its Republican counterpart in both January and February. In February, the DCCC raised $5.2 million to the NRCC's $4.9 million, and in January, the DCCC raised $4.4 million to the NRCC's $3 million.
Democrats need a net gain of 25 seats to take back the House majority in 2012.
Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (Ill.) said becoming chairman of the Democratic National Committee is not on his "bucket list."
The DNC's current chairman, Tim Kaine, is expected to jump into the Virginia Senate race shortly and Democrats are quietly searching for his successor.
Durbin said he wasn't interested in the job.
"The idea of traipsing all over the United States is not really on my agenda," he said on NBC's "Meet the Press"
Asked if he would accept the position if President Obama asked him, Durbin sounded reluctant.
"I am not soliciting it, " he said. "I've got a good job in the Senate and a great job representing Illinois."
Other names at the top of the list are former Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland, former Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm and Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.) is also in the mix for the position.
The National Republican Congressional Committee's annual fundraising dinner will bring in some $10 million for House Republicans, an NRCC spokesman confirms.
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie headlines the Wednesday evening event, which is projected to bring in at least $3 million more for the committee than last year's dinner. The NRCC raised $7 million from the gathering in 2010 and $6 million from the 2009 dinner.
Even with his repeated denials on a 2012 presidential run, Christie is still a top draw and some national Republicans continue to
urge him to launch a campaign next year. Christie has won over national conservatives with efforts to trim New
Jersey's budget deficit and take on organized labor.
Christie has repeatedly said he doesn't think he's ready to be president, but the governor has made sure to keep his national profile high. He came to Washington last month for a major speech at the American Enterprise
Institute, where he laid into President Obama
and Washington Republicans for not doing enough to tackle the nation's
fiscal crisis.
The committee's 2011 haul comes as the NRCC was just outraised for the second straight month by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee in February. The DCCC raised $5.2 million last month to the NRCC's $4.9 million, but Democrats are still struggling to get out from under a hefty debt. The DCCC reported just over $17 million in remaining debt last month, while the NRCC reported just $9.5 million in debt.
The NRCC has also been trying to collect on outstanding dues owed to the committee by members. Several members were furious after their names ended up in the press as among those behind on delivering their dues to the committee. Chairman Pete Sessions (Texas) apologized to several members earlier this month and denied that the NRCC was the source of the leak.
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