First, The Republican National Committee's staffer charged with reaching out to Hispanic voters, an unenviable task that, said that Mitt Romney was "still deciding" what his position on immigration would be. Huh? Mr. Romney has made it quite clear, in the very public forum of several debates, what he thinks about immigration policy. He supports Arizona's draconian law. He supports Alabama's draconian law. He favors "self-deportation" and has promised to veto the DREAM Act because it is a magnet for illegal immigration, even though, by its own terms, it is a magnet for those who aspire to college or to protect the U.S. by serving in the military, in which case it would seem like a good magnet to have.
Then, RNC Chairman Reince Priebus pulled a Joe Biden on gay marriage, saying that the GOP does not support federalizing the issue, although mr. Romney is on record supporting a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage. Also, the Defense of Marriage Act is already an instance of federalizing the issue.
Set aside the particulars of the issues involved. It is the job of people doing outreach and even more of the Chair of the RNC to stay on message. I suppose one of the fun things we will get to watch over the next few months is that everyone in the GOP thinks they have an Etch-a-Sketch, and while they try and figure out what the message is, there will be similar flailing around by the RNC's spokespersons.
