Subject: RE: For research: This Week on the Campaign Trail
From: "Price, Jenna" <[email-masked]>
To: "Crystal, Andy" <[email-masked]>, "Walsh, Tom" <[email-masked]>, RR2 <[email-masked]>
Date: Fri, 22 Apr 2016 15:46:26 -0700

Thanks for the edits everyone- blasting!

From: Crystal, Andy
Sent: Friday, April 22, 2016 6:15 PM
To: Walsh, Tom; RR2
Subject: RE: For research: This Week on the Campaign Trail

Lookin good, couple eds in blue

From: Walsh, Tom
Sent: Friday, April 22, 2016 5:51 PM
To: RR2
Subject: For research: This Week on the Campaign Trail

It was another troubling week for Republicans. Exit polls<http://www.businessinsider.com/new-york-primary-exit-polls-republicans-2016-4> from the New York primary found that seven in ten New York Democrats say they are energized by the primary process, while six in ten New York Republicans think the primary process has divided their party. These numbers just prove what Democrats already knew – Republicans are being torn apart by the divisive, hateful rhetoric their party has peddled for years. Democratic voters are proud of their candidates and it shows in the polls. Millions of New Yorkers went out to vote, and exit polls showed that nearly seven out of ten Democrats believe that this election and our candidates have energized the Party. While Republicans are voting against the candidate they dislike the most, Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton have offered strong visions of leadership for our country.

WATCH<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PdmcoGy7FKg>

With less than 100 days to until our convention, Democrats are in a stronger position than Republicans, and poised to win up and down the ballot in the general election with a united party.

Earth Day

As we celebrate Earth Day today, it’s a reminder that Democrats remain committed to protecting our planet year round. Under the leadership of President Obama and Congressional Democrats, we have made great strides to curb climate change, while Republicans continue to deny it exists. Looking to the contrast between our parties, it’s clear that there is a great deal at stake for the environment and the possibility of a sustainable future. Now more than ever, we need to continue to elect leaders who not only support policies based in scientific fact, but who understand that investments to fight climate change are investments in a prosperous future for all Americans. As the only party that embraces science, we need to ensure our next president is a Democrat.

WATCH<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IYTjLQtj8fE>
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IYTjLQtj8fE>

2016 Republican Presidential Candidates

Donald Trump
Once again, we were reminded that Donald Trump has neither the experience, nor the judgment for the job he’s applying for. From irrational statements about our economy, to an ever-changing, out-of-touch position on a woman’s right to choose, Trump proved he is unfit to be our next commander in chief. Make no mistake, Donald Trump is only saying what has been on the minds of Republicans for years, especially when it comes to reproductive rights. But where does he draw the line? Coming from a candidate who once advocated for “some form of punishment” for women seeking abortion, we were not surprised when this week, he said that he would not include the “health of the mother” when it comes to exceptions for his promised prohibition on abortion.

WATCH<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=puFJ4XsIHgk&feature=youtu.be>

But we shouldn’t be surprised. This week, even children had an easy time proving they were wiser than Trump when they spoke about Harriet Tubman’s new place on the $20 bill. Take a look to see a group of children school Trump:

WATCH<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DSP4NGPNKlY&feature=youtu.be>

<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DSP4NGPNKlY&feature=youtu.be>

Ted Cruz

Today, at a rally in Pennsylvania, when Ted Cruz was asked about his position on raising the minimum wage, he treated the issue in his typical out-of-touch way, saying “politicians love giving away free stuff…there ain’t no such thing as a free lunch.” This cheap insult shows that Cruz, and all the Republican leaders like him who continue to stand in the way of higher wages for workers, don’t understand the struggles of hard-working American families.

WATCH<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-sNtTPeQE14&feature=youtu.be>

But this is not new, Republicans have been pushing the same backwards policies for years. America needs a leader in the Oval Office who can build upon the progress of the last seven years, not resort to cheap insults and failed policies that only reward those already at the top.

Cruz isn’t only out of touch when it comes to the struggles of working families, he’s just as bad when it comes to the rights of immigrants. Republicans Ted Cruz and Donald Trump, who both use hateful rhetoric aimed at fomenting fears about immigrants, have proposed policies that would tear families apart, hurting America’s national and economic interests in the process.

WATCH<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hRUIvKUSU4I&feature=youtu.be>

<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hRUIvKUSU4I&feature=youtu.be>

Republican politicians aren’t just hurting immigrant families with their obsession with mass deportations and obstruction on comprehensive immigration reform, they’re hurting American communities and our economy. The Republican presidential candidates are running campaigns that cut against the values that make America strong.

John Kasich
The Kasich campaign continues to putter along, ignoring one important question: why is he still in the race? Let’s take a look at the facts. In the 179 or so days since Since Kasich announced his candidacy, he has spent 179 days outside of Ohio neglecting his day job days he has while costing Ohio taxpayers more than $350,000 on his struggling campaign. But what does he have to show for it? He has fewer delegates than Marco Rubio, who left the race more than a month ago. To secure the nomination, Kasich would have to win 162% of the remaining delegates – a mathematical impossibility.

As he continues to pretend to have a shot at the nomination, Kasich has been attempting to position himself as a reasonable alternative to Trump and Cruz. But his policies, and his comments this week about the LGBT community prove otherwise. On Sunday, when asked whether he would take steps to try to stop states from passing anti-LGBT “Right to Discriminate” laws, his response was that LGBT victims of discrimination should “get over it.” Easy for him to say. In Ohio it’s still possible to be fired for being openly lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender. As governor, Kasich was the final obstacle preventing marriage equality in Ohio before the Supreme Court made it the law of the land.

WATCH<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihPOeu-0Y_Y&feature=youtu.be>

<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihPOeu-0Y_Y&feature=youtu.be>

Kasich has now insulted Jewish people<http://www.timesofisrael.com/john-kasich-links-jesus-blood-to-passover-at-matzah-bakery/>, young women<https://www.yahoo.com/news/john-kasich-suggests-women-can-avoid-rape-by-213154951.html>, victims of anti-LGBT discrimination and the struggles of hard-working American families. And that’s just in the past week. So the path forward for Kasich looks bleak, but not as bleak as a Kasich presidency would be.

Important Polls What people are writing in the states

●       On Wednesday, the Iowa Democratic Party released a statement regarding Sen. Chuck Grassley skipping the Republican Convention. Iowa Democratic Party Communications Director Sam Lau stated: “Chuck Grassley seems to think hiding from his party’s national convention might alleviate the pressure he feels from refusing to do his job and his ties to GOP frontrunner Donald Trump. But Iowans won’t forget how Grassley validated Trump’s hateful policies when he warmly introduced him at a rally before the caucuses, or how he’s holding a seat open on the Supreme Court for Trump to fill.  Whether or not Grassley attends the convention, he remains the face of his party’s obstructionism and will tackle the re-election fight of his career. Simply put, the pressure is getting to Chuck Grassley.” Read the full statement <http://iowademocrats.org/under-pressure-grassley-says-he-may-skip-gop-convention/> here<http://iowademocrats.org/under-pressure-grassley-says-he-may-skip-gop-convention/>.

●       On Wednesday, the Arizona Democratic Party released the following statement regarding the Supreme Court upholding the Arizona state approved redistricting plan. ADP Chair Shelia Healy stated: “The Independent Redistricting Commission fulfilled their duty to the people of Arizona in ensuring they complied with the Voting Rights Act, and we’re thrilled this survived yet another GOP-led challenge. Moving forward, we hope Republicans are more responsible in using taxpayer money to attack voter approved measures.” Read the full remarks <http://www.azdem.org/us-supreme-court-unanimously-upholds-state-approved-plan> here<http://www.azdem.org/us-supreme-court-unanimously-upholds-state-approved-plan>.

●       On Thursday the Pennsylvania Democratic Party released this statement regarding Gov. Kasich’s offensive comments on female college students: “Governor Kasich’s record proves that he is just as extreme as Donald Trump,” said Sinceré Harris, executive director of the Pennsylvania Democratic Party. “Trump might say crazy things, but Kasich has actually acted on those dangerous positions. Both in his comments and actions as a Governor, he is actively contributing to a victim-blaming, hostile culture from the Republican Party that makes women, particularly the victims of sexual and domestic violence, feel unsafe.” Read the full statement <http://www.padems.com/2016/04/pennsylvania-democrats-reject-john-kasichs-tone-deaf-advice-college-students-offensive-policies-toward-women/> here<http://www.padems.com/2016/04/pennsylvania-democrats-reject-john-kasichs-tone-deaf-advice-college-students-offensive-policies-toward-women/>.

What people are writing in the states Important Polls

·         A <http://www.politico.com/blogs/2016-gop-primary-live-updates-and-results/2016/04/donald-trump-california-primary-poll-222277> poll<http://www.politico.com/blogs/2016-gop-primary-live-updates-and-results/2016/04/donald-trump-california-primary-poll-222277> conducted by Politico Capitol Weekly/Sextant Strategies shows Trump beating Cruz by nearly 20 points in the California primary, which Cruz once said it would be the state that ultimately decides the Republican nomination.

●       A <http://www.politico.com/blogs/2016-gop-primary-live-updates-and-results/2016/04/trump-cruz-indiana-primary-polls-222287> poll<http://www.politico.com/blogs/2016-gop-primary-live-updates-and-results/2016/04/trump-cruz-indiana-primary-polls-222287> conducted by a private poll shows Ted Cruz and Donald Trump in a tie in Indiana: 32 percent to 32 percent, with John Kasich, a Midwestern Governor, in a distant third, with 14 percent.

●       A <http://www.cnbc.com/2016/04/19/new-york-primary-results-latest-news.html> poll<http://www.cnbc.com/2016/04/19/new-york-primary-results-latest-news.html> conducted by CNBC shows that only 39 percent of GOP primary voters thought the primary race had energized their party—furthermore, 57 percent  said that the Republican campaign had divided their party.

View this post on our Factivists site here.