Subject: Daily Political Guidance -- Tuesday, May 24
From: "Gonzalez, Elias" <[email-masked]>
To: "Gonzalez, Elias" <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 24 May 2016 08:41:47 -0700

This email is intended to provide a brief summary of key Political Department priorities, including recent news and principal travel.  It includes the following components:

  *   Recent News
  *   Polls
  *   Upcoming Principal & Staff Travel
  *   Upcoming Political Events
  *   Upcoming State Party Events
  *   Election Clips

RECENT NEWS\

*         In New York, Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown<http://www.twcnews.com/nys/buffalo/politics/2016/05/22/gov--cuomo-nominates-mayor-brown-to-serve-on-nys-democratic-committee.html> was appointed Monday by the state Democratic Party as Party Chairman.   Additionally New York elected a new DNC Member to replace the seat vacated by Sheldon Silver and a new Party Vice-Chair.

*         Massachusetts Republican Gov. Charlie Baker said he isn't voting<http://www.bostonherald.com/news/local_politics/2016/05/baker_says_he_loves_weld_but_wont_vote_for_him_or_any_presidential> for his former boss Bill Weld's newly formed Libertarian ticket - or any presidential ticket, for that matter. Baker, appearing on Boston Herald Radio this morning, called the former Bay State governor - who put Baker in multiple Cabinet posts during the 1990s - one of his "mentors." "I love the man, I really do. But I have all kinds of qualms with the Libertarian party's positions," Baker said.

*         On Monday, there was a confusing exchange<http://stateandcapitol.bangordailynews.com/2016/05/24/lepages-confusing-exchange-on-medicaid-expansion/> on Medicaid expansion between Maine Gov. Paul LePage and a caller on MPBN's "Maine Calling" on Monday; the main point of confusion seemed to be around existing eligibility for childless adults under Medicaid, the federal-state health care program for low-income people. Maine is one of 19 states that hasn't expanded Medicaid under the federal Affordable Care Act.

POLLS

*         CA - Presidential - Trump (R) vs. Clinton (D) - +14 Clinton (KABC/SurveyUSA, 5/23)<http://abc7.com/politics/poll-clinton-poised-to-defeat-sanders-in-california-primary/1351808/>

*         CA - Democratic Presidential Nomination - +18 Clinton (KABC/SurveyUSA, 5/23)<http://abc7.com/politics/poll-clinton-poised-to-defeat-sanders-in-california-primary/1351808/>

*         CA - Democratic Senatorial Primary -+9 Harris  (KABC/SurveyUSA, 5/23)<http://abc7.com/politics/poll-clinton-poised-to-defeat-sanders-in-california-primary/1351808/>

*         US - President Obama Job Approval - +5 Approve (NBC News/Wall St. Jrnl, 5/23)<http://www.nbcnews.com/meet-the-press/obama-hits-highest-job-approval-second-inauguration-n578866>

*         US - President Obama Job Approval - +5 Approve (Gallup, 5/23)<http://www.gallup.com/poll/113980/Gallup-Daily-Obama-Job-Approval.aspx>

*         US - President Obama Job Approval -- Tie (Rasmussen Reports, 5/23)<http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/obama_administration/obama_approval_index_history>

*         US - Generic Congressional Vote -+4 Democrats (Rasmussen Reports, 5/23)<http://www.wsj.com/public/resources/documents/16306NBCWSJMay2016Poll.pdf>

*         US - Direction of Country - +39 Wrong Track (Rasmussen Reports, 5/23)<http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/mood_of_america/right_direction_or_wrong_track>

Upcoming PRINCIPAL AND Staff Travel

TUESDAY
PRINCIPALS
None scheduled

CEO/POLITICAL/CONSTITUENCY STAFF
None Scheduled

WEDNESDAY
PRINCIPALS
None scheduled

CEO/POLITICAL/CONSTITUENCY STAFF
None Scheduled

THURSDAY
PRINCIPALS
VPOTUS-New York, NY
FLOTUS-Santa Fe, NM

CEO/POLITICAL/CONSTITUENCY STAFF
None Scheduled

FRIDAY
PRINCIPALS
None scheduled

CEO/POLITICAL/CONSTITUENCY STAFF
None Scheduled

SATURDAY
PRINCIPALS
None Scheduled

CEO/POLITICAL/CONSTITUENCY STAFF
None Scheduled

SUNDAY
PRINCIPALS
None Scheduled

CEO/POLITICAL/CONSTITUENCY STAFF
None Scheduled

Upcoming political events

  *   5/24/2016 - Washington Republican Primary
  *   6/4/2016 - Virgin Islands Democratic Caucus
  *   6/5/2016 - Puerto Rico Democratic Primary
  *   6/7/2016 - California, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico, South Dakota Primaries and North Dakota Democratic Caucus
  *   6/14/2016 - DC Democratic Primary

Upcoming state party events

*         5/24/2016 - Tennessee Democratic Party - Women's Event

*         5/25/2016 - Alaska Democratic Party - State Central Committee Meeting

*         5/26/2016 - Indiana Democratic Party - VAN Webinar

*         5/28/2016 - 5/29/2016 - Hawaii Democratic Party - State Convention

*         5/28/2016 - Wyoming Democratic Party - State Convention

*         5/28/2016 - Wyoming Democratic Party - Nellie Tayloe Ross Diner

ELECTION CLIPS

2016 - Presidential

Democratic Party Candidates

Hillary Clinton

Hillary Clinton Declines Invitation to Debate Bernie Sanders<http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/24/us/politics/hillary-clinton-donald-trump-campaign.html?_r=0>

Eager to move on from the Democratic primary race, Hillary Clinton has turned down an invitation to debate Senator Bernie Sanders ahead of California's primary, her campaign said on Monday. The announcement came hours after Mrs. Clinton unleashed a biting critique of Donald J. Trump while addressing a union convention, mocking his business record and offering a glimpse at how she might confront him in the general election. Mr. Sanders's campaign last week tentatively accepted an invitation by Fox News to participate in a debate before California's June 7 primary, and expressed hope that Mrs. Clinton would agree to face off against the senator. In a statement issued Monday evening, a spokeswoman for Mrs. Clinton's campaign, Jennifer Palmieri, said Mrs. Clinton's team would contest California while "turning our attention to the threat a Donald Trump presidency poses."

Clinton Will Likely Clinch The Democratic Nomination In New Jersey<http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/clinton-will-likely-clinch-the-democratic-nomination-in-new-jersey/>

We've known for some time that Hillary Clinton will almost certainly be the Democratic nominee. But when will she clinch the nomination? If you look at the few remaining contests on the Democratic primary calendar, the major news outlets - barring something devastating happening to the Clinton campaign in the next few weeks - are likely to declare Clinton the nominee on June 7. More specifically, New Jersey will likely push Clinton across the finish line, and she may clinch the nomination even before the polls close in California. If major news outlets declare Clinton the nominee on June 7, they will be counting superdelegates, as they did in 2008 when they declared Barack Obama the presumptive Democratic nominee on June 3. Now, you might ask "why include superdelegates?" It's a fair question; superdelegates can change their minds, after all. For that reason, we haven't included them in our delegate tracker - there was a chance that superdelegates backing Clinton might switch sides, particularly if Sanders was able to win a majority of elected delegates.

Does Clinton need superdelegates in 2016 more than Obama did in 2008?<http://www.cbsnews.com/news/democratic-superdelegates-how-does-2016-compare-to-2008/>

Hillary Clinton will almost certainly clinch the Democratic nomination with the aid of superdelegates -- and it is not uncommon for a Democratic candidate to do so in a competitive late season primary. Barack Obama also needed a boost from superdelegates in 2008, though Clinton is relying slightly more on superdelegates than Mr. Obama did. Who are the superdelegates? Since 1984, the Democratic Party has set aside seats at its convention for party leaders including Democratic members of Congress, governors, past presidents and members of the Democratic National Committee, giving these leaders a role in choosing the nominee. These delegates are commonly referred to as superdelegates. Superdelegates, or unpledged delegates, serve by virtue of their party position or elected office. They are not bound by state primaries and caucuses and can back any candidate they prefer at the convention. They can also change their minds at any time. Superdelegates make up about 15 percent of the total number of Democratic delegates and 30 percent of the number needed to nominate.

With email probe nearing end, FBI may question Hillary Clinton<http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/ct-hillary-clinton-email-probe-20160524-story.html>

I agents probing whether Hillary Clinton's use of a private email server imperiled government secrets appear close to completing their work, a process experts say will probably culminate in a sit-down with the former secretary of state. The FBI has already spoken with Huma Abedin, a Clinton confidant who was among the Democratic presidential front-runner's closest aides at the State Department. Former chief of staff Cheryl D. Mills is also cooperating with the investigation, according to her lawyer.

Bernie Sanders

Will Bernie Sanders Hurt His Own Cause?<http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/05/bernie-sanders-dnc/483965/>

Bernie Sanders's beliefs have been obvious from the start. He thinks wealthy elites exert too much influence over American politics. He wants the U.S. government to lessen income inequality. He believes climate change is a pressing threat to the world. The clarity and overarching ambition of his agenda has been central to his appeal and expectations-defying political success so far. If Sanders wants his political revolution to last, he will need to win widespread support for his ideas well into the future. Yet as the primary election draws to a close, the campaign has increasingly made arguments that may undercut the long-term viability of the movement that has coalesced around the Vermont senator.

Democratic Party Gives Bernie Sanders Bigger Role In Shaping Its Platform<http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/bernie-sanders-democratic-party-platform_us_57439500e4b00e09e89fdd8f>

In a move meant to cool down tensions between his campaign and the Democratic establishment, the Democratic Party will give Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) a greater role to play in establishing its platform at this summer's Democratic National Convention. Under an agreement the party reached with Sanders and opponent Hillary Clinton, Sanders can select five people to serve on the party's platform committee, a third of the committee's members. Clinton will name six members, and Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (Fla.), the party chair, will name four, according to the Washington Post.

Unity Won't Come Easily for Democrats<http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/05/bernie-sanders-hillary-clinton-democratic-party-platform/484067/>

It looks like Bernie Sanders's political agitation is paying off. The Democratic National Convention Committee announced the 15 members of its platform drafting committee on Monday, a selection designed to give the Vermont senator an unusual amount of influence on the process. As The Washington Post reported, "party leaders hope [the move] will soothe a bitter split with backers of the long-shot challenger to Hillary Clinton." Sanders has been allowed to name five members to the committee charged with writing the party platform, while Clinton named six. The tally reflects the fact that Clinton leads Sanders in the popular vote for the presidential primary election, but nevertheless grants Sanders allies a significant amount of input.

Bernie Sanders' Campaign Drops Tommy Chong as Intro Speaker Hours Before L.A. Rally<http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/bernie-sanders-campaign-drops-tommy-896752>

Tommy Chong is in disbelief after he was disinvited by the Bernie Sanders campaign from introducing the presidential hopeful hours before a rally in East Los Angeles.  The iconic comic actor and outspoken marijuana advocate tells The Hollywood Reporter that the Sanders campaign was happy to have his endorsement months back, but when it came time for the two men to appear in public together, someone got "cold feet," he says.   "It's lip service to get the votes, but they don't want to endorse what I stand for and what I've stood for all my professional career," Chong said right after he was uninvited to the rally. "It was an insult." In an email to THR, a Sanders spokesman said, "We appreciate his support but a scheduling issue came up." Chong, who was invited on Sunday to Sanders' noon rally in Lincoln Park, says he is sure the campaign put distance between himself and Sanders over the marijuana issue, calling the move a "weakness" by the Sanders' camp. He joked that his hair and makeup were done for nothing.

Republican Party Candidates

Donald Trump

How Much Can Donald Trump Raise?<http://time.com/4346106/how-much-can-donald-trump-raise/>

Donald Trump is holding his first campaign fundraiser Tuesday in the very-difficult-to-spell Albuquerque, as he sets about trying to meet his self-proclaimed goal of raising $1 billion for his presidential election-a long way from his days proclaiming to self-fund his campaign. To date, Trump has spent more than $40 million of his own cash on his campaign in the form of loans, but has assured donors he won't use their cash to repay himself. But while Trump is throwing around the huge number, senior aides are cautioning his that it's an unrealistic total, requiring the candidate to raise an average of roughly $6 million every day through November 8. A more reasonable goal, they say, is between $400m-$500m. While some donors are still firmly in the #NeverTrump camp, Trump's challenge won't be from opponents, but from the absence of an organized financial network.

Donald Trump's Steadfast Commitment to Climate-Change Denial Just Got a Bit More Baffling<http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2016/05/donald-trumps-most-dangerous-belief-a-lie.html>
Noam Chomsky, the celebrated linguist and left-wing political theorist, was recently asked to contemplate the consequences of a Trump presidency. "Well, first we have to ask if he means what he's saying," the elderly intellectual replied. "If he does ... the human species is in very deep trouble." Chomsky paused, and his audience had a moment to wonder which Trump gaffe had so galled the patron saint of the American left: Was it his plan to "take out" terrorists' families? Or the full-throated defense of military torture? The Donald's praise for punching protesters? Or that loose talk about using nukes? As it happened, the MIT professor wasn't primarily concerned by all the utterances that make Trump a unique figure in American politics; rather, he was most troubled by a statement that makes him all too typical.

Donald Trump Wants To Build Another Wall But Never Talks About It. Here's Why.<http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2016/05/23/3780796/trump-ireland-sea-wall-climate-change/>
As a presidential candidate, Donald Trump has taken a pretty hard line on climate change. He has said that he is "not a great believer in man-made climate change," has called it a "total, very expensive hoax," and has blamed the Chinese for creating the concept "to make U.S. manufacturing noncompetitive." He has also threatened to renegotiate the Paris climate deal, largely seen as the world's best chance of avoiding the worst impacts of climate change. As a businessman, however, Trump seems to take a different approach to climate change, privately preparing to protect his investments against climate-related problems like sea level rise and coastal erosion. According to permit applications reviewed by Politico, Trump has applied to build a wall to prevent coastal erosion at his Trump International Golf Links seaside golf resort in Ireland - and has explicitly cited risks posed by climate change in his application.

Donald Trump has done the unthinkable: Unite Silicon Valley<http://www.latimes.com/politics/la-na-pol-trump-silicon-valley-20160524-snap-htmlstory.html>
In a place normally preoccupied with drafting code and dazzling investors, suddenly everyone in Silicon Valley has an opinion about the presidential election. And it tends to be the same opinion. The innovation economy has a serious distaste for Donald Trump. The masters of this world complain that his ignorance about their work and its relationship to the global economy is horrifying. Rank-and-file programmers are quick to call him a clown, or worse. The unity is notable in an environment where groupthink is frowned upon and nobody ever seems to color inside ideological lines.

Donald Trump rages on Twitter after veterans donations are called into question<http://www.businessinsider.com/donald-trump-veterans-donations-2016-5>
Donald Trump took to Twitter on Monday night to defend his donations to veterans' charities amid new questions about his January fundraiser. The questions center on Trump's claims that he donated $1 million to the fundraiser he held instead of attending a Republican debate in January. At the event, he also named other large donations he reportedly solicited for veterans' charities. But reporters have had a hard time confirming how much money has actually been distributed to veterans' groups. Washington Post reporter David Fahrenthold noted Monday on Twitter that he's "still looking for the $1M that @realdonaldtrump says he gave vets" since January.

V/r,

Elias Gonzalez | Political Staff Assistant |  Veterans Outreach Desk
Democratic National Committee
O: (202) 488-5006 | C: (202) 657-1649
[footer-d (2)]