Subject: RE: Florida Press Call
From: "Walker, Eric" <[email-masked]>
To: "Jefferson, Deshundra" <[email-masked]>, "Walsh, Tom" <[email-masked]>, "Paustenbach, Mark" <[email-masked]>, "Miranda, Luis" <[email-masked]>, Ryan Banfill <[email-masked]>
Cc: RR2 <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 20 Apr 2016 16:25:45 -0700

With some edits to focus it a little more. Thanks Deshundra for drafting. Moving to RR2 so we can get to Deutch tonight.

Thanks,
Eric

From: Jefferson, Deshundra
Sent: Wednesday, April 20, 2016 6:52 PM
To: Walker, Eric; Walsh, Tom; Paustenbach, Mark; Miranda, Luis; Ryan Banfill
Subject: Florida Press Call

Below is a draft script for tomorrow's press call:

Deshundra Jefferson, DNC Spokesperson

Thank you for joining us for this call today. Following the New York primary, the contrast between Democratic Party and the Republican Party couldn't be more clear. It's also increasingly clear that instead of embracing their presumptive front runner Donald Trump, many Republicans are trying to distance themselves from his candidacy.

With the hopes of saving their own sagging campaigns, Texas Senator Ted Cruz and Ohio Governor John Kasich flew to Florida last night to try to convince party insiders to block Trump - the candidate with the most votes and most delegates - from winning the nomination.

DNC Chair Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz and Congressman Ted Deutch have joined us today to discuss the Republican's mad dash to the finish line, and offer a clear contrast of our priorities. With that, I will now turn the call over to the Chair.

DNC Chair Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz

Thanks everybody for jumping on the phone with us today.

I want to bring up one number off-the-bat. In Tuesday night's New York primary, exit polling showed 68 percent of Democratic voters felt their primary had energized the party, while 57 percent of Republican voters said their primary had divided the party. We've seen that sentiment reflected throughout this campaign, and we're seeing it today in Florida.

As you know, on Tuesday evening, Donald Trump scored a landslide victory in New York, and is now the only candidate who can win the nomination on the first ballot.

Right now, the rules committee for the RNC is meeting in Florida, trying to figure out how to prevent that from happening. John Kasich and Ted Cruz, who have been essentially eliminated from contention on the first ballot, rushed down to Florida to save their own campaigns by stopping Trump.

The Republican Party just doesn't get it. As much as some conservatives try to distance themselves from their presumptive nominee, Donald Trump is the face of the GOP. His dog whistle racism and knee jerk sexism is deeply ingrained within the Party. We have seen violence erupt at his rallies, and listened to him make veiled threats against protesters. And let's not forget his fight with Fox Anchor Megan Kelly when he went so far as to say that you could see blood coming out of her whatever. They may have made their peace, but female voters can see past these types of publicity stunts.

I am also not surprised that divisive Florida Governor Rick Scott has chosen to embrace, rather than denounce, Trump. It's no coincidence that Trump has been able to get away with everything he's said in the GOP primary because others like Scott have laid the groundwork for him. Republican leaders welcomed this type of vitriol back in 2010 when the Tea Party was a new movement, and they are paying the price with Trump's candidacy.

The GOP made their bed - and now they have to Trump in it.

Senator Ted Cruz and Ohio Governor John Kasich are both playing the same dangerous game as Trump. Both of them rushed to Florida last night to meet with Republican leaders at the RNC meeting. Cruz is hoping against hope for a brokered convention given that he couldn't win the nomination outright, and Kaisch's decision to stay in the race despite no clear path to the nomination is confusing. He claims that he can beat the Democratic nominee in a general election, yet his own party is reluctant to nominate him.

I am confident that Democrats will have the strongest possible candidate come November. We're also poised to reclaim the Senate and pick up more seats in the House. It's because we offer the Americans a clear choice - we are offering sensible solutions to keep our nation moving forward. Under President Obama's leadership we have witnessed 73 straight months of private sector job growth that created 14.4 million new jobs.

And on the Republican side, their party has three choices: lose with Trump, lose with Cruz, or lose by handing the nomination to Kasich or another undeserving Republican politician.

We've come too far to turn back around, and with a Democrat in the White House we're sure to continue that winning streak.

I would like to turn the call over to my esteemed colleague, Congressman Ted Deutch.

Congressman Ted Deutch

Thank you Madam Chair.

You know - one of the biggest misconceptions about this campaign is that Donald Trump is an outsider who has taken over the Republican party. He is no such thing - he is the logical extension of their divisive, do-nothing politics that we've been seeing on Capitol Hill for years.

Instead of helping Democrats rescue the economy and the auto industry, Republicans tried to block it.

Instead of helping Democrats craft a law that has given 20 million Americans health insurance, Republicans tried to block it, and have voted to repeal it over 50 times.

Instead of doing their jobs and passing a budget, Speaker Ryan has abdicated his responsibility. And over in the Senate, Republicans are refusing to do their jobs, and are holding up a Supreme Court nomination for political gain.

Neither Debbie nor I came to Congress to do nothing. We came to get things done for the people we represent.

The Democrats want to work together. We want to take on the challenges that our nation faces but we need a willing partner. And let me underscore this point -- House Republicans are no different than Trump, Senator Ted Cruz, and Ohio Governor John Kasich. The same obstructionism and partisan gridlock that we've seen in Congress was borne out of the anti-establishment attitude that fueled the Tea Party six years ago. Compromise shouldn't be a dirty word. Covering your ears, digging in your heels, and shouting down the opposition not a sign of strength or leadership. Just the opposite - it's childish and House Republicans need to find a way to get it together.

These are serious times that call for serious people. As a member of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, and I am keenly aware of the threats our nation faces. Leading the free world is not a reality show.

Right now, the presumptive Republican nominee is a deeply flawed candidate whose unfounded predictions of a recession and warnings against investing in the stock market are dangerous. Trump has threatened to back out of NATO and his pat praise for Russian President Vladimir Putin is naïve at best. And I am confounded why he would even suggest that Japan and South Korea should develop nuclear weapons or pay the U.S. for protection against North Korea.

It's no surprise that so many of my Republican colleagues are choosing to sit out the Republican Convention in Cleveland because they want to distance themselves from Trump. Former GOP nominee John McCain, former Republican frontrunner Jeb Bush, and countless others have said they will skip the convention. Even Ohio's Republican Senator Rob Portman said he may not go to Cleveland cor the convention!

By contrast, Democrats are fired up about our candidates, and we're motivated to build on the progress of the past seven years, and keep divisive demagogues like Donald Trump out of the White House.

Holding elected office - from the city council to the presidency of the United States - is a public service. Debbie and I take our positions very seriously. We were elected to serve not only our constituents, but also our nation. I am calling on Republicans to get serious about leading. I am calling on them to serve our nation with honor and distinction, not the slugfest we've witnessed thus far.
With that, I will turn the call back over to my college Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz.

DNC Chair Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz

Thank you again, Ted for joining us today.

As the DNC Chair, I am proud of the success the Democratic candidates vying for nomination. Exit polls from the New York primary indicated that 68 percent of Democrats believe that our candidates have energized the party. Only 39 percent of Republican voters can say the same thing.

But it's clear that Republicans are gearing up for a messy, prolonged fight for their presidential nomination. I wish them luck, but this is a mess of their own making. With that, I will turn the call back over to Deshundra.

Deshundra Jefferson, DNC Spokesperson

Thank you Congresswoman. We are now going to open the call for questions.

[SigDems]<http://www.democrats.org/>Deshundra Jefferson, Southern Regional Communications Director
Democratic National Committee
[email-masked]<mailto:[email-masked]> | (202) 863-8112