Barbour: GOP needs a 'proctology exam'
(CNN) - While Republicans continue to soul search after their party's loss in the presidential election, former Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour injected a new term Wednesday to describe the GOP's introspection.
"The ground game is really important, and we have to be, I mean we've got to give our political organizational activity a very serious..." he said, taking a pause and looking for the right word. "Proctology exam. We need to look everywhere."
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Speaking at a conference for the Republican Governors Association in Las Vegas, Barbour said his party needs to not only adapt to demographic changes but also reform its messaging.
"We can catch up in four years doing this," he said. "This isn't rocket science, but it is hard work that we can't wait and start in 2016."
The party needs a "brutally honest assessment of everything we did," he added. "We need to take everything apart and look at all of it."
Like other Republicans in recent days, Barbour stressed the importance of being more inclusive to Latinos, African-Americans and other minorities. Barbour in particular chided the party for its tone on illegal immigration, saying many illegal workers contribute to the economy and comprise an important part of society.
"What are we going to do? Send them home? Send five million people home and then try to figure out how to replace them? We need those people to do those jobs," he said, adding the issue can be resolved "if we'll just follow good economic policy."
"But," he continued, "then we have to follow up with Latinos and show them that we want their vote - not only that we're for good policy, we want their vote. We need to do the same thing with African-Americans."
President Barack Obama overwhelmingly won the Latino vote over Mitt Romney, taking 71% of the group. Among African-Americans, the president won 93%, according to CNN exit polls.
Furthermore, the Republican National Committee has stated it will undergo a major review of the party's performance in 2012.
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First thing the exam woul.d have to do is remove all the heads. Next, would be to remove all the sticks...
LOL. Good chance you'll find several GOP leaders' heads "there"!
Barbour, don't even waste my time with this nasty nonsense.
Haly Barbour shoul be an expert on Proctology and its physical location because he is an expert on that area.
Gov Barbour needs to refer Romney for a proctology exam. Romney is in serious denial and dismissed two voting blocs: minorities and the young.
Yeah, talk is cheap, Barbour. The hard part is convincing the wing nuts in your party. Once the pain wears off, they'd go back to their nutty ways like getting their "country back". The way they talk one would think there's a full invasion of America.
If the Republican party want to make changes it must get rid of a lot of fringe characters starting from that hot air Donald Trump. The guys makes some money and he thinks he's something special. Another loser is Limbaugh.
If the GOP wants to improve next time, it has to lose the anger. You can't election by intimidating anybody.
Gop needs to inform the public about the policies of the Democatic Party in detail so that the public undestands exactly what they are voting for. Such as, 1,200,000 abortions were performed last year, about 25,000 were do to rape, incest, or endangerment to the mother. This is approved by the Democrats and everyone should pay for the mistakes of women. And, President Obama and many Senators have endorsed Senator Feinstein’s Bill, S.598, to repeal the marriage law which states that marriage is between a man and a woman. If these details had been available to the public, Obama might have lost.
For once, I agree with Mr. Barbour. The GOP, and its leadership, need to undergo protology exam, both contact as well as visual. There's too much coming out of the rear. Its not visually appealing, and has been raising a lot of stink lately.
Quite so, unfortunately most Republicans have been unable to get proctological exams or colonoscopies due to cerebral blockage of the rectal passageway.
Proctology exam, eh? I feel your pain, but not in the same area &:>)
Proctology exam? Too easy! Yeah, the GOP needs to look up there and pull their collective heads out!
I guess he is saying the party just didn't lie enough to pull the wool over good Americans eyes.
No doubt the proctologist would tell you your GOP head is already up there! It seems likely the GOP candidates are suffering from rectal prolapse.
You sure do. And you should be forced to view it with a mandatory sonogram !!!
The GOP should thank their lucky stars that Obamacare covers pre-existing conditions.
If he's looking for the proper place for the exam to begin I'd recommend a mirror.
Republicans need a swift kick up their ante
No, they don't need to have that looked at, they just need to pull their heads out of there! we live in a world of reality and facts. the repugs just need to join it and stop denying so much of the reality around them. they need to stop believing that whatever they say loudly and often magically becomes true. they need to learn how to add. and they need to get over their mindless hatred of our president, who's done nothing to deserve it. and most of all, they need to learn the meaning of the word 'hypocrisy' and maybe they can stop totally embodying it!
Yup that is exactly where you will find most republicans especially the tea party. Holy Crap!!!
The party needs a "brutally honest assessment of everything we did."
Agreed. But as long as Romney is telling donors that Obama won by giving gifts to the voters, I'm not too optimistic that a brutally honest assessment is possible. It's that takers-vs-makers, 47% attitude that cost Republicans the election, and I don't think the modern Republican Party is ready to barbecue that sacred cow just yet.
Mitt Romney put the final nail in the coffin for the GOP. He showed the world the divisive nature of the party & how little they think of women, minorities & the poor! As if it weren't enough for them to make their agenda for the President's first term for make him fail! I will never vote for a republican or anyone who shares those ideals. If you are a member of the party you share their beliefs!
We still won't believe anything you say even if you walk on water. Your party has proven time and again and is still proving that they can't believe the President was relected fair and square since your party had been trying to suppress the vote in mostly swing states.
Anybody who falls for your lies is a fool. You think people can't see through you hypocrisy? This isn't just about jobs it's about your backwoods beliefs against everyone "not like you". I doubt Americans are that stupid and I think we proved it in 2008 and 2012.
This guy has finally crawled out from underneath the rock he was hiding under? After he pardoned cold blooded murderers and could not look the victims families in the eye or explain his justification?
Give me a break.
Get back under your rock.
You have nothing to say that would interest any decent human being.
That's right repugs, bend over and touch your toes and I'll show you where the big goose goes! But you won't find anything up there except your heads! Maybe the proctologist can pull them out for ya'll. Hope not!
Haley Barbour, like Speaker John Boehner, still does not get it. You don't get the votes of "them" when they are not seen as "us." I've heard recent Republican opinions on strategy for appealing to and garnering the votes of minorities like Latinos, blacks and, yes, even young women who want contraceptives by saying, in essence, "we have to appeal to them even though they aren't us." Instead, republicans must look for ways to include the growing diversity of the electorate at the table where "we are all we."