Subject: POLITICO's Morning Score: Trumka vs. 'Wonderland' - GOPAC taps Avella, bulks up staff - Pence drops hints - Lieberman out - Special election in W.Va. - Hoyer predicts Giffords return
From: "Morning Score" <[email-masked]>
To: <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 19 Jan 2011 05:38:37 -0500 (EST)

By Alexander Burns (@aburnspolitico, [email-masked]) 

SNEAK PEEK - TRUMKA'S CURTAIN-RAISER - AFL-CIO president Richard Trumka will urge President Barack Obama to make next week's State of the Union Address a "call to action, a call to invest in our future, to create jobs, to be the country we can and must be," in remarks today at the National Press Club. Arguing that the United States has "choices" to make, the labor leader will ask: "What kind of country are we? A country of isolated individuals fending for themselves or a country with shared values and a shared vision? A country with scant resources, fading glory and no choices? Or a blessed nation with the potential to do right by its people and be a leader in the world?" Trumka will take direct aim at the idea that national austerity is a form of smart politics: "In this topsy-turvy world, the same leaders who fought so valiantly to cut taxes for the wealthy turn right around and lecture us about the imminent bankruptcy of Social Security and Medicare. ... When we are reduced to competing to cut spending instead of deciding how to compete in the world economy and secure our future, then we are having the wrong conversation." 

TRUMKA ON 2012: "We have just been through one lost decade-when America's standard of living fell, when our wealth shrank, when millions lost their homes, when young people could not find work. America cannot afford another lost decade. ... Last year's election was fundamentally about jobs, and I believe the 2012 election will be fundamentally about jobs. America wants to work. People who live in Wonderland may not have noticed, but there is a lot of work to be done here." 

FIRST IN SCORE - MEET THE NEW BOSS: GOPAC will name its executive director, David Avella, as the organization's new president this morning - one of several staff announcements the conservative campaign group will make as it ramps up for the 2012 cycle. In a statement, GOPAC Chairman Frank Donatelli says the board of directors "enthusiastically voted to promote David to be President of GOPAC. We all recognized David's hard work on behalf of our organization and believe that his appointment will enable us to take the next step in increasing our influence and effectiveness on behalf of the GOP and the conservative cause." Joining Avella in GOPAC leadership will be: Caroline Wren, the new associate director of major donor programs; Kitty Lloyd, a former assistant to the NRSC's chief counsel who will be the group's top administrator; Megan Rodriguez, who served as the deputy political director of Carly Fiorina's 2010 campaign and will take on the job of political coordinator; and Martina Egerer, a Michigan GOP operative who will be GOPAC's finance coordinator. Full details here: http://politi.co/flBCGA  

MORE - AVELLA'S RECORD - From the new president's bio: "Avella has been instrumental in guiding GOPAC through the development of its series of influential summits including the State and Local Summit, the Hispanic Campaign Training Summit and the Emerging Leaders Summit. ... Under Avella, GOPAC has set organizational records for financial support for promising candidates in competitive races. In 2010, 84% of the candidates financially supported by GOPAC won their campaigns. Avella is particularly proud of the fact that 85% of GOPAC's resources went to candidates either challenging incumbent Democrats or running in open seats." 

As Dick Armey picks a favorite, Susan Bysiewicz throws a campaign in motion and Earl Pomeroy advances in a different direction, here's POLITICO's Morning Score - celebrating its one-year anniversary as your guide to the permanent campaign. 

SENATE SIREN - "Lieberman won't run again" - The Day: "Sen. Joe Lieberman will announce Wednesday that he won't seek re-election in 2012, multiple sources close to the senator said on Tuesday. Lieberman has scheduled a press conference for 12:30 Wednesday in Stamford to announce his plans. The Lieberman announcement will come just a day after Secretary of the State Susan Bysiewicz announced her plans to run for his seat." http://bit.ly/eARH1L  

AND THEY'RE OFF: Bysiewicz was the first candidate to jump into the race for Lieberman's seat Tuesday, releasing polling data that showed her leading several primary and general election match-ups. The CT Mirror runs down Bysiewicz's odds: "Her first challenge will be to convince Democratic activists she was not permanently damaged last year by a string of missteps, beginning when she exited the governor's race in January as the early front-runner, tempted by a seemingly easier campaign for attorney general. ... Bysiewicz' first credibility threshold is likely to be fundraising. An aggressive and successful fundraiser as a statewide officeholder, will she get a similar response from donors as an out-of-office politician attempting a comeback?" And POLITICO's Jake Sherman reports that two other Democrats are hovering around the race: "Democratic Reps. Joseph Courtney and Chris Murphy say they're considering a run for his seat. While both are vowing publicly that they're undecided, a source close to the third-term Murphy said he is leaning strongly toward running for Lieberman's seat in 2012, when President Barack Obama will be on the ticket in a state he easily carried in 2008." The Republican field is less clear, but 2010 Senate candidates Linda McMahon and Rob Simmons and former gubernatorial nominee Tom Foley are in the mix. http://bit.ly/hkiMPj  and http://politi.co/hhCmrA  and http://bit.ly/gItBRk  

THE 2012 SCORE - PARSING PENCE: Indiana Rep. Mike Pence delivered a Tuesday afternoon address to the Indiana General Assembly laced with the rhetoric of a national campaign, calling for a "renewal of American federalism" and quoting President Ronald Reagan's dictum that "the federal government did not create the states; the states created the federal government." Those are either the words of a gubernatorial candidate who wants his campaign to have broader implications, or a presidential candidate running on a limited-government platform. There's a lot to decode in Pence's speech, but check out this line: "As you build an even better Indiana for our children and grandchildren, you can show the way for a better and stronger America; for wherever the Lord leads our little family in the years ahead, our hearts will always be here in Indiana." http://bit.ly/hv4LFO  AND - THE DRUMBEAT CONTINUES: Days after ex-Rep. Jim Ryun and Reagan official Ralph Benko formed an independent group to push for Pence to run for president, there's more draft-Pence action still to come. A release circulated yesterday said that a "group of South Carolina legislators will announce plans for the launch of a Draft Mike Pence for President campaign" today, and will "focus on ... building support among conservative Republicans in South Carolina." And Stephen Moore revealed that former House Majority Leader Dick Armey - along with conservative activists Brent Bozell and Morton Blackwell - were penning a missive to the congressman urging him into the 2012 race. http://on.wsj.com/h1f6Pg  

NEWT'S HELPFUL ADVICE: Sarah Palin needs to "slow down and be more careful and think through what she's saying and how she's saying it," according to former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, who told ABC's "Good Morning America" that Palin's "a phenomenon. I don't know anybody else in American politics who can put something on Twitter or put something on Facebook and automatically have it become a national story." That makes Gingrich the third national Republican in a week to offer at least mildly critical feedback to Palin - New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said Palin needs to seek out less scripted public settings and former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty said of Palin's infamous "crosshairs" map: "I wouldn't have done it." http://abcn.ws/dLQDy3  

FAR SIDE OF THE WORLD - "U.S. envoy in Beijing charms and unsettles" - The Wall Street Journal's Jeremy Page: "Since taking over one of America's top ambassadorial posts in 2009, the former Utah governor and possible Republican presidential candidate has made a habit of challenging diplomatic protocol to both charm and unsettle his hosts. Over the last year, the father of seven children who used to drive a Harley Davidson around Salt Lake City has, in fact, turned up on his bicycle to receive several official reprimands over issues including U.S. arms sales to Taiwan. ... 'If I were to summarize kind of what everyone's trying to do I think it's to humanize the U.S.-China relationship, to put it in terms that people on both sides really understand,' Mr. Huntsman, 50 years old, said in an interview late last week." http://on.wsj.com/groPOJ  

RETIREMENT NO. 2 - THE LAST AMIGO: North Dakota Sen. Kent Conrad became the first Democrat and the second senator (after Republican Kay Bailey Hutchison) to announce his retirement this cycle, throwing Democratic control of his seat into serious jeopardy. The Grand Forks Herald: "The departure after next year of Conrad... would complete a remarkable changeover of the state's congressional delegation. Former Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., just retired and ... former Rep. Earl Pomeroy, D-N.D., was defeated ... The three had often billed themselves as 'Team North Dakota' or 'The Three Amigos.'" Catanese on the landscape: "At this early vantage point, North Dakota joins six other states that appear to be toss-ups at best for the Democrats - and the GOP needs to snag only four seats to win control." http://bit.ly/f5yfbu  and http://politi.co/dM6nI1  

THE NAMES YOU NEED TO KNOW - Democrats: Former state Attorney General Heidi Heitkamp, former state Sen. Joel Heitkamp, MSNBC host Ed Schultz ... Republicans: Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem, Public Service Commissioner Brian Kalk, Rep. Rick Berg, Gov. Jack Dalrymple ... On both sides: Random rich guys who know North Dakota's a dirt-cheap state to run in ... Already saying "no": Ex-Rep. Earl Pomeroy, who told POLITICO Tuesday: "I'm about two weeks into a new job. I've changed course and I'm not looking back." http://politi.co/eSNra8  

POLL OF THE DAY - PPP CALLS IT: "A look at 12 different possible head to head match ups for next year's Texas Senate race shows the same outcome in every single one: a double digit lead for the Republican ... [Lt. Gov. David] Dewhurst polls the strongest of everyone we looked at with an average lead of 22 points over the three Democrats ... [Dallas Mayor Tom] Leppert does next best with an average lead of 17 points." http://bit.ly/fFkTrd  

ARIZONA UPDATE - HOYER UPBEAT: The second-ranking House Democrat told reporters he believes Rep. Gabrielle Giffords will return to work in the "foreseeable future." Steny Hoyer told reporters: "I fully expect her to resume her full duties within the foreseeable future, hopefully near future." http://politi.co/faSb96  

LIFE AFTER MANCHIN - IT'S A SPECIAL: West Virginia must hold a special election this year in order to choose a permanent successor for former Gov.-turned-Sen. Joe Manchin, the state Supreme Court has decided. The West Virginia Record: "In an opinion issued Tuesday afternoon, the Court ruled that because former Gov. Joe Manchin left office more than a year before his term was to end, [acting Gov. Earl Ray] Tomblin has to issue a proclamation for a new election. The court said state code states that no one can serve as acting governor for more than one year." Several candidates, including Democratic Secretary of State Natalie Tennant and Republican state Sen. Clark Barnes and former Secretary of State Betty Ireland, have already lined up for the race. http://bit.ly/hL1NwU  

MUSICAL CHAIRS - WADHAMS STICKS: Colorado Republican Party Chairman Dick Wadhams is running for a third term in the job, defying expectations that he might step down after a disappointing 2010 cycle in the state. The Denver Post has Wadhams's announcement letter: "Were there disappointments in 2010? Indeed there were. The governor's race soap opera along with the Senate race slipping away in late October were frustrating for all of us. But we also had some extraordinary victories." http://bit.ly/gxgcbO  

CODA - QUOTE OF THE DAY: "Rahm is not even 6-feet tall. He probably weighs about 150 pounds dripping wet. But in all the ways that are important, he is a very big person." - Former President Bill Clinton, campaigning in Chicago for Rahm Emanuel yesterday http://bit.ly/gAk4NL  

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