Subject: RE: DRAFT STATEMENT ON NEVADA LETTER
From: Patrice Taylor <[email-masked]>
To: "Miranda, Luis" <[email-masked]>, April Mellody <[email-masked]>, "Garcia, Walter" <[email-masked]>, "Paustenbach, Mark" <[email-masked]>, "Dacey, Amy" <[email-masked]>, "Federico, Courtney" <[email-masked]>, "Walker, Eric" <[email-masked]>, "Alvillar, Raul" <[email-masked]>, "Khan, Ali" <[email-masked]>, Leah Daughtry <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 17 May 2016 09:53:39 -0700

Roberta is on MSNBC now.

From: Miranda, Luis
Sent: Tuesday, May 17, 2016 12:43 PM
To: April Mellody; Patrice Taylor; Garcia, Walter; Paustenbach, Mark; Dacey, Amy; Federico, Courtney; Walker, Eric; Alvillar, Raul; Khan, Ali; Leah Daughtry
Subject: RE: DRAFT STATEMENT ON NEVADA LETTER

I defer to Amy and the Chair. We've updated it to take some of this feedback into consideration, so we'll give these two versions to the Chair to see which way she wants to go. Instead of suggesting outreach has happened, it now says we will. And it provides alternative language per April's point. The main difference is the line in yellow in version two:

VERSION 1: MEASURED

For Immediate Release
May 17, 2016

Contact: DNC Press - 202-863-8148

DNC Statement on Nevada Democratic Party Letter

WASHINGTON - DNC Chair Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz today issued the following statement on a letter from the Nevada Democratic Party regarding threatening and violent behavior among some participants around their state party convention this weekend:

"We are deeply concerned about the troubling details laid out in the letter from the Nevada Democratic Party. We will be reaching out to the leadership of both of our campaigns to ask them to stand with the Democratic Party in denouncing the type of behavior on display over the weekend in Las Vegas. Our democracy is undermined any time threats, intimidation, physical violence or damage to property are present. If there are legitimate concerns, they must be addressed in an orderly, civil and peaceful manner.

"The rules governing the Democratic Party delegate selection process have been in place for decades and the specific procedures for this cycle were agreed upon in 2014. In Nevada on Saturday, the state party's credentials committee was made up of an equal number of members representing both campaigns. That's a testament to our party's fundamental belief in being inclusive, open to the public, and transparent. The process for nominating a Democratic Presidential candidate is not something taken lightly, it is a four-year endeavor that is closely scrutinized and determined in public forums, just as it has been in past election cycles. There is no excuse for what happened in Nevada, and it is incumbent upon all of us in positions of leadership to speak out."

###
VERSION 2: FORTHRIGHT AND THOUGHTFUL

For Immediate Release
May 17, 2016

Contact: DNC Press - 202-863-8148

DNC Statement on Nevada Democratic Party Letter

WASHINGTON - DNC Chair Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz today issued the following statement on a letter from the Nevada Democratic Party regarding threatening and violent behavior among some participants around their state party convention this weekend:

"We are deeply concerned about the troubling details laid out in the letter from the Nevada Democratic Party. We will be reaching out to the leadership of both of our campaigns to ask them to stand with the Democratic Party in denouncing the type of behavior on display over the weekend in Las Vegas. Our democracy is undermined any time threats, intimidation, physical violence or damage to property are present. If there are legitimate concerns, they must be addressed in an orderly, civil and peaceful manner.

"We are also asking both campaigns to be forthright and thoughtful in their characterization of the primary process. The rules governing the Democratic Party delegate selection process have been in place for decades and the specific procedures for this cycle were agreed upon in 2014. In Nevada on Saturday, the state party's credentials committee was made up of an equal number of members representing both campaigns. That's a testament to our fundamental belief in being inclusive, open to the public, and transparent. The process for nominating a Democratic Presidential candidate is not something taken lightly, it is a four-year endeavor that is closely scrutinized and determined in public forums just as it has been in past election cycles. There is no excuse for what happened in Nevada, and it is incumbent upon all of us in positions of leadership to speak out."

###

[SigDems]<http://www.democrats.org/>Luis Miranda, Communications Director
Democratic National Committee
202-863-8148 - [email-masked]<mailto:[email-masked]> - @MiraLuisDC<https://www.twitter.com/MiraLuisDC>

From: April Mellody [mailto:[email-masked]]
Sent: Tuesday, May 17, 2016 12:23 PM
To: Patrice Taylor; Miranda, Luis; Garcia, Walter; Paustenbach, Mark; Dacey, Amy; Federico, Courtney; Walker, Eric; Alvillar, Raul; Khan, Ali; Leah Daughtry
Subject: RE: DRAFT STATEMENT ON NEVADA LETTER

One more suggestion - concerned that the first sentence below could be misinterpreted as the DNC accusing the Sanders campaign deliberately mischaracterizing this.  Do we want to go that far?  We could consider resting our argument more on the rules.  "The rules governing the Democratic Party have been in place for decades and the specific procedures for this cycle were agreed upon 2014..." +LDD too.

"We are also asking both campaigns to be forthright in their characterization of the primary process. In Nevada on Saturday, the state party's credentials committee was made up of an equal number of members representing both campaigns. The proceedings were appropriately managed, open to the public, transparent, and inclusive. The process for nominating a Democratic Presidential candidate is not something taken lightly, it is a four-year endeavor that is closely scrutinized and determined in public forums just as it has been in past election cycles. There is no excuse for what happened in Nevada, and it is incumbent upon all of us in positions of leadership to speak out."

From: Patrice Taylor [mailto:[email-masked]]
Sent: Tuesday, May 17, 2016 12:17 PM
To: Miranda, Luis <[email-masked]<mailto:[email-masked]>>; Garcia, Walter <[email-masked]<mailto:[email-masked]>>; Paustenbach, Mark <[email-masked]<mailto:[email-masked]>>; April Mellody <[email-masked]<mailto:[email-masked]>>; Dacey, Amy <[email-masked]<mailto:[email-masked]>>; Federico, Courtney <[email-masked]<mailto:[email-masked]>>; Walker, Eric <[email-masked]<mailto:[email-masked]>>; Alvillar, Raul <[email-masked]<mailto:[email-masked]>>; Khan, Ali <[email-masked]<mailto:[email-masked]>>
Subject: RE: DRAFT STATEMENT ON NEVADA LETTER

A couple of thoughts for consideration

In the first paragraph, the second sentence states that the DNC is reaching or has reached out to the campaigns and asked them to condone the behavior.  Has that happened?  I sent the letter to them but that was it so just flagging in case that specific ask has not yet been made.

In the second paragraph, sentences two and three, we are restating the facts provided by the Party.  I just don't know that we want to be as forward as saying it was "appropriately managed, open to the public, transparent, and inclusive" particularly when we like to say these events are run by the state party.

From: Miranda, Luis
Sent: Tuesday, May 17, 2016 11:50 AM
To: Garcia, Walter; Patrice Taylor; Paustenbach, Mark; April Mellody; Dacey, Amy; Federico, Courtney; Walker, Eric; Alvillar, Raul; Khan, Ali
Subject: DRAFT STATEMENT ON NEVADA LETTER

Here's a first draft on a statement to respond. Thoughts?

For Immediate Release
May 17, 2016

Contact: DNC Press - 202-863-8148

DNC Statement on Nevada Democratic Party Letter

WASHINGTON - DNC [Chair or spokesperson] today issued the following statement on a letter from the Nevada Democratic Party regarding threatening and violent behavior among some participants around their state party convention this weekend:

"We are deeply concerned about the troubling details laid out in the letter from the Nevada Democratic Party. We are immediately reaching out to the leadership of both of our campaigns to ask them to stand with the Democratic Party in denouncing the type of behavior on display over the weekend in Las Vegas. Our democracy is undermined any time threats, intimidation, physical violence or damage to property are present. If there are legitimate concerns, they must be addressed in an orderly, civil and peaceful manner.

"We are also asking both campaigns to be forthright in their characterization of the primary process. In Nevada on Saturday, the state party's credentials committee was made up of an equal number of members representing both campaigns. The proceedings were appropriately managed, open to the public, transparent, and inclusive. The process for nominating a Democratic Presidential candidate is not something taken lightly, it is a four-year endeavor that is closely scrutinized and determined in public forums just as it has been in past election cycles. There is no excuse for what happened in Nevada, and it is incumbent upon all of us in positions of leadership to speak out."

###