Subject: Re: FOR COMMS APPROVAL: Scripts for tomorrow's call
From: "Garcia, Walter" <[email-masked]>
To: "Miranda, Luis" <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 26 Apr 2016 17:08:56 -0700

Re-upping for you, sir.

On Apr 26, 2016, at 5:37 PM, Garcia, Walter <[email-masked]<mailto:[email-masked]>> wrote:

DNC Communications Director Luis Miranda:

Good afternoon everyone, and thanks for joining our call. My name is Luis Miranda, and I’m the Communications Director at the DNC.

Today, we’re going to be talking about the GOP’s dangerous ideas ahead of the California GOP Convention this weekend. Senator Barbara Boxer will go first, then Chairman Becerra, and I’ll wrap things up.

Let’s go ahead and get started. Senator Boxer?

Senator Barbara Boxer:

Thanks for the introduction, Luis, and thanks everyone for being a part of this important call.

As most of you know, I’ll be leaving the United States Senate this year, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to take after my Republican colleagues and stop doing my job – because, as they’ve shown time and again with Chief Judge Merrick Garland, they have absolutely zero interest in fulfilling their constitutional obligations. No, instead, I’m going to continue doing the job that I was elected to do and advocate on the behalf of Californians.

On that note, let’s talk about what’s happening this weekend. Folks, this weekend, the three remaining Republican presidential candidates will be making their way to California for the GOP Convention. And let’s face it: they have no business coming to our great state.

The fact of the matter is that Donald Trump, Ted Cruz, and John Kasich are completely out-of-touch with Californians on issue after issue.

Let’s start off with the economy. When President Bush left office, our economy was in terrible shape. We were losing 800,000 jobs a month; foreclosure signs littered the streets of communities across our country; and thousands upon thousands of Americans had to decide between illness and bankruptcy from medical bills. This, of course, was a reality that far too many Californians had to deal with. Fortunately enough, we’ve made strides of progress since those dark days: six years of consecutive private-sector job growth, 14 million new jobs, and unemployment at or below five percent.

California, in particular, has done a remarkable job<https://www.gov.ca.gov/news.php?id=19280> of climbing out of the Great Recession. We’ve gone from having a state deficit of $27 billion, an unemployment rate of 12%, and the worst credit rating in the country, to now having a budget surplus, creating a Rainy Day Fund to offset the next economy downturn, and we’ve even had our credit rating raised three times by Standard and Poor’s. But that’s not all: earlier this month, California also raised the state minimum wage, expanded paid sick leave, and expanded paid family leave. All this progress didn’t just happen out of the blue; it’s been the result of Democratic leadership – both at the White House and at the Governor’s Mansion. And that’s precisely why we can’t afford to give Trump, Cruz, or Kasich the keys to the White House. They would undo all of this, and go back to giving huge tax cuts to the rich and corporations.

Let’s also talk about a woman’s right to choose. The entire Republican field has been just awful on this issue despite the fact that Roe v. Wade is the law of the land. Trump has said that women should be punished for having an abortion; John Kasich has defunded<http://sendgrid.dnc.org/wf/click?upn=5Sjwsto4j3GPPxFLqa0KMKJ4qVnSXJyXaylWeTN1b19volyvRrsEerdhdsjyBkC-2FRKttEtSEeAgdnDjRqHLm3tci5Q5juBITxzDRyZJV-2FonlxPnAQOkIkj2c1hOX-2BzYTUuNZvljFGGgJyy1msgo27mrvvS2LD2ZJHmU5K8O57rdzLZ0lZfbcR5KZzbkL2JPM_l2M5Fsl6ZomhRWwniIo1NKfOV2c2mz-2BbuA66Tb5hUheAcUlCakyTjbEREWUvLB-2B33pozDgjcpJ-2BbKUpQqBiiIQF-2BYWSctZ3aB6JVmmz5bo9-2FeMogR13-2F37WJpKk63cAfhtx2XF7fxos3ywvh-2B-2BjejuA8N7qP25jGmO1Fbld2AlsMVX7SQ3ygFDrKT7kN8Jk82nH-2FhpYnSa-2BrGZYBp-2FkF4A-3D-3D> Planned Parenthood and closed half<http://sendgrid.dnc.org/wf/click?upn=PH0F5HASpSbQ9wSxDUdcpFiS75EWGpMkzYL9s4Kx0l-2F9z8NwqI9V51W0z3vwlr0-2FfGIyOSAC1f9DT1OagwCNUMKl1KUd54MW7gWCS14l-2BVD7Du7pAY5bdxtPa-2FgWJ3ED_l2M5Fsl6ZomhRWwniIo1NKfOV2c2mz-2BbuA66Tb5hUheAcUlCakyTjbEREWUvLB-2B3eGcmepuRg-2Bo4an6IrOEUts-2B1cTgRXYyNluI4qe24Du8-2FYJ7tCx48b09TmGNlM289IRdYpFHbLRd4qe0uQQSBheV7nD0zURwFNvAwRvej1yDS4nAs8Sd0kv7Pt8dlRxp-2BGSXDzgFZTpbwU1EwOETpyw-3D-3D> of the state’s abortion clinics as Governor of Ohio; and Ted Cruz has vowed to shut down the government over the funding of Planned Parenthood, opposes abortions even in the cases of rape and incest<http://sendgrid.dnc.org/wf/click?upn=TbKWdMIvZ-2FnPP7iVqvFlqPSfBsVlfKSF7mzoKO4vhoks5ibKjBUQJEjSqUqyr0-2BcTH2LARn-2FtXOjYcLJxwHoYLLDlGZRGfv4ucmHM4t4C2AUSu2U6ihKrOZowiNcqh2gNh2yuCozUlPIr0UezU2UjdwuKCnhIMjZlcNdX49SpJf5QZs-2BYh0PkSCBtI1vPTo8gFYAEAifpVMtRnnTMoRI3ZsF9DKwpaj9gTQvlFEGS2Y-3D_l2M5Fsl6ZomhRWwniIo1NKfOV2c2mz-2BbuA66Tb5hUheAcUlCakyTjbEREWUvLB-2B3an322N-2FE4WKPG2Inrk-2FtakfZTwNeVYgH6wKzxIpQwraU-2B-2B3EC-2Fl9GviZfRP4prM8QxehqVe0QEJMyEI3sPkxwjoDrs2mPb-2FDQoQqKkQM6lQwMDbcqtP7XxACWlvvJZ61GTa5tgyQiJncOOU9lIsnFw-3D-3D>, and has pledged<http://sendgrid.dnc.org/wf/click?upn=LRCEH9efIj9DkcP7c0H0-2BJhqNrRtQc8B4oIsEp70wGmqgzIFxUReV1t9sz3-2BuNfMLNi0j3eIYi08pCgmQmDIu2VWlAex2wmmUoMrtlbK-2FqnV5ZGOMAlPoVHJRO3uxLqxILdclW9p5rTWHicJYCecyMp3CJdmktc7LZbtgBiZFNM-3D_l2M5Fsl6ZomhRWwniIo1NKfOV2c2mz-2BbuA66Tb5hUheAcUlCakyTjbEREWUvLB-2B3eNZoXBQcM-2ByYADARYfiUSqzCxCxSrYzOXPKcJqhr16PE-2FxpNJJ8IOEcAdoRYV0Kh7h14ykE-2F-2Bj4nFc7SP2h-2BoIbSz75YVjKvSMtqOZKPSOneXraqM5AZJ9e2EwgfBSc8Nq146f-2BA9SQUMHuWK0R9zQ-3D-3D> to “do everything within my power to end the scourge of abortion once and for all.” And so, I have a very simple and clear message for these Republicans: we absolutely are not going back to the days of back alley abortions.

Finally, let’s talk about climate change. Every single Republican presidential candidate refuses to believe the overwhelming majority of scientists who have repeatedly warned of the growing threat from climate change. It’s as if they’re living in a different world! For instance, Trump has said<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0hLI1UdBhGQ> “no, I’m not a believer in climate change,” while Cruz has said that “there has been no warming whatsoever.”  They don’t realize how serious of an issue climate change is, but we know all about it here in California. After all, we’ve had to deal with a major drought, rising sea levels, and record temperatures. But we haven’t just stood by idly; we’ve taken action, and now California is the leader on clean energy.

And so, it’s crystal clear that Republicans’ values and beliefs do not align at all with the people of California. In California, we are everything that the Republican Party is not: we are tolerant, we are inclusive, and we believe in an economy that works for everyone.

With that, I’ll turn it over to Chairman Becerra. Chairman?

Chairman Xavier Becerra

Thank you, Senator Boxer.

As a representative of Los Angeles for nearly 24 years, I share the Senator's concern: these Republican presidential candidates just don’t have what it takes to be our next Commander-in-Chief.

And, in particular, as California's Republican Convention approaches, I'm afraid Republicans seem to have forgotten about the Pete Wilson effect – that is, what happens when someone proposes extreme, right-wing positions on immigration.

Governor Pete Wilson, who pushed hard in 1996 for an anti-immigrant ballot initiative known as Proposition 187, turned the state from red to blue because of his racist rhetoric and backwards idea.

He wanted to deny services, such as public education and health care to undocumented immigrants. Especially in a state where we have millions of hardworking immigrant families, that was unconscionable.

California thankfully didn't take his anti-immigrant bait then, and it shouldn't take any Republican candidate's anti-immigrant bait now.

Unfortunately, all signs point to a 2016 Republican presidential field that has a short memory and I expect we'll hear more of the same hateful rhetoric from Republicans this weekend at the Convention.

  *   Senator Ted Cruz has said undocumented immigrants should "absolutely" be deported (He stressed this to a man in Iowa<http://www.buzzfeed.com/andrewkaczynski/ted-cruz-trump-will-let-deported-immigrants-back-in-i-wont?utm_term=.fj7wApaaZ&bftw=pol#.vgd4lmOOY>, who questioned his immigration policy) and that the President’s executive actions on DAPA and DACA should be immediately rescinded.

  *   Governor John Kasich has mocked granting citizenship to undocumented immigrants and likened it to cutting a line at a concert. He said and I quote, "I don't favor citizenship because, as I teach my kids, you don't jump the line to get into a Taylor Swift concert."

  *   And Donald Trump has claimed that Mexican immigrants are quote "bringing drugs and they are bringing crime, they’re rapists."
Simply put, they have not heeded the lessons from their very own autopsy report, which clearly stated that Republicans needed to support immigration reform and be more inclusive if they wanted to have a real shot at winning a presidential election again.
I believe with all my heart that every person who works hard to build our country up should be able to earn the opportunity to get ahead -- just as my dad, who never made it past the sixth grade -- did.

My dad worked along our California border with Mexico, up and down the border in the fields picking crops, went on to enter construction and ultimately, he built the roads we travel on everyday. My mother was an immigrant from Jalisco, Mexico who became a clerical worker.

That’s precisely what’s at stake, folks: the lives of real people who want nothing but the chance to live the American dream.

But I’d also like to emphasize that under a Trump, Cruz, or Kasich presidency, our national security would also be very much jeopardized.

  *   Senator Ted Cruz clearly doesn’t understand the impact of statements he has made, whether about religious litmus tests for refugees, or when he promised to carpet bomb Syria until the sand glows. And his recent call for police patrols of Muslim neighborhoods in the United States<https://www.democrats.org/Post/dnc-chair-statement-ted-cruz-call-police-patrols-muslim-neighborhoods-US> only makes our communities less safe and gives fodder to terrorist organizations who are looking to recruit.

  *   [INSERT BEST FOREIGN POLICY HIT ON KASICH]

  *   And Donald Trump, who just delivered a “major foreign policy speech today,” wants a ban on all Muslims from entering the country. Our country was built on religious tolerance, and we cannot for a second forget that. His threat to pull back from our most important military alliances in NATO also sends a dangerous message, which is particularly troubling in light of his past praise of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Because of all of this, I’ve never been more sure about the fact that we need to elect a Democrat as the 45th President of the United States.
And with that, I’ll turn it over to DNC Communications Director, Luis Miranda. Luis?
Luis Miranda

[STATE OF THE RACE]

--

Walter Garcia
Western Regional Press Secretary
Democratic National Committee (DNC)
Email: [email-masked]<mailto:[email-masked]>
Twitter: @WalterGarcia231<https://twitter.com/WalterGarcia231>
<http://www.democrats.org/>