Subject: POLITICO's Morning Score: Pro-Perry TV ad runs in Iowa - Bachmann denounces debt deal, cuts Iowa trip short - Romney criticized for silence - Santorum names health care advisor - Hohmann takes the reins - Cain wins Denver straw poll
From: "Morning Score" <[email-masked]>
To: <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 01 Aug 2011 03:46:54 -0600

By James Hohmann (
mailto:[email-masked] 
[email-masked] ) and Emily Schultheis (
mailto:[email-masked] 
[email-masked] )

BREAKING IN IOWA - AD CALLS PERRY "A BETTER OPTION"- A super PAC created in June called "Jobs for Iowa" will go up today with a television buy that hypes Rick Perry. The initial buy is apparently less than $40,000 for two week's worth of air time on Fox News statewide, but it could be a precursor to more independent ads supporting the Texas governor in Iowa, South Carolina and Florida. POLITICO's Ken Vogel reports that "the group is rumored to have the backing of wealthy Texas Republicans who have long supported Perry and are considering expanding the ad campaign to other states in the near future." A source familiar with Jobs for Iowa told him that they want to "generate buzz" ahead of the
 Ames straw poll. Read Ken's exclusive:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=695cca744bf7bc66724b26ebbe5f3a66dbcc1477ece1433760ce76425a1358fb 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=695cca744bf7bc66724b26ebbe5f3a66dbcc1477ece1433760ce76425a1358fb .

MORE - THE PRO-PERRY SCRIPT - "What if we had a candidate for President with a real record of creating jobs? A conservative with proven leadership in tough times. The leader of a state that created more jobs in the past two years than the other 49 states combined. With no state income tax. And no deficit. A decade of balanced budgets. What if we had a better option for President? We do. Rick Perry. Jobs for Iowa is responsible for the content of this advertising." Watch the ad:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=2de0069cc17b969780226332c76331c6bf7e5718bbe897f1edfb0e0df96176f8 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=2de0069cc17b969780226332c76331c6bf7e5718bbe897f1edfb0e0df96176f8 .

BACHMANN TRASHES DEBT DEAL - CUTS IOWA TRIP SHORT- Michele Bachmann, who has made clear she would oppose any debt ceiling increase, is the only presidential candidate out so far with a statement blasting the deal to avert default. Soon after Barack Obama addressed the nation from the press room, as Speaker John Boehner whipped votes, the Minnesota congresswoman complained that the agreement spends too much and does not cut enough. "Someone has to say no," she said. "I will.' Her campaign also announced that she's cutting short her Iowa trip so she can fly back to Washington to vote against the proposal instead of attending a midday event at a pizza parlor in Newton and an evening backyard
 chat in Dexter. Bachmann's spokeswoman told CNN that the congresswoman still might call into the Iowa events. She did that twice Saturday for similar events in the Sioux City area.
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=2de0069cc17b969710e53ee5ade30d4e9da890ba3dee2d47c9f95da992bab745 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=2de0069cc17b969710e53ee5ade30d4e9da890ba3dee2d47c9f95da992bab745 . Read her full statement:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=2de0069cc17b9697ba757138a1adad83a9f359fb100e0ce5173250c043b3a905 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=2de0069cc17b9697ba757138a1adad83a9f359fb100e0ce5173250c043b3a905 . If you want more details on the deal itself, read David Rogers' wrap-up:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=2de0069cc17b9697d661ff9626b71ff5024c1657c43b8f791349f5cb15ae905f 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=2de0069cc17b9697d661ff9626b71ff5024c1657c43b8f791349f5cb15ae905f .

ROMNEY RADIO SILENCE - NOTED BY HUNTSMAN AND BURTON - Mitt Romney, who has deliberately stayed above the fray through the debt debate, has not yet released a statement on the deal. His critics on the left and right are stepping up efforts to use this public indecision to play on the perception that he is inauthentic. Jon Huntsman, who is becoming more vocal in his Romney critique, took an implicit swipe at the former Massachusetts governor in his Sunday night statement: "While some of my opponents ducked the debate entirely, others would have allowed the nation to slide into default and President Obama refused to offer any plan, I have been proud to stand with congressional Republicans
 working for these needed and historic cuts."

Former White House spokesman Bill Burton, in a Sunday afternoon memo for Priorities USA Action, lambasted the frontrunner for not taking a firmer position: "It may be uncomfortable for Romney to pit his Wall Street support against the Tea Party but winning a race to be President of the United States means demonstrating the backbone to do what's right over what happens to be politically convenient."

Romney World, anticipating these criticisms, bet that the long-term gains from letting Washington own the mess far outweighed the short-term hits. The question is what Romney says now.

FIRST IN SCORE - SANTORUM ANNOUNCES HEALTH CARE ADVISOR -Rick Santorum will announce later today that Iowa native Jennifer Vesey Rossman will be his campaign's Senior Policy Advisor for health care policy and entitlement reform. She was a legislative assistant in his Senate office from 2004 to 2007. Since he lost, she's worked as a D.C.-based consultant for medical device and pharmaceutical manufacturers. From Santorum's forthcoming statement: "She has distinguished herself as a knowledgeable voice on virtually all areas of healthcare policy and I am looking forward to working with Jen to put together a comprehensive proposal that will bring solvency to our entitlement programs and secure
 them for future generations."

***As Cain romps in Denver, the Romney super PAC raises $12.2 million and Chris Ruddy thinks about shaking up the Florida Senate race, here's POLITICO's Morning Score: your daily guide to the permanent campaign.

PROGRAMMING NOTICE: Effective today, I'll be taking over lead authorship of Morning Score from Alex Burns, who built a devoted readership over the last year-and-a-half. I welcome suggestions about how Score can better serve you; please send tips, ideas and feedback. You can reach me by email (
mailto:[email-masked] 
[email-masked] ), Twitter (@jameshohmann) or phone (703-647-7697). - James Hohmann

BACK TO THE SHOW - 5 QUESTIONS FOR 2012 - The debt debate will continue into this week, as party leaders whip votes and presidential candidates weigh in. This is a defining moment for the president and could be one for Republican candidates, leaving us with these questions for the week ahead.

(1) Who, if anyone, will get a polling bounce from the debt agreement?

(2) Who will be the most prominent Democrat to buck Obama on the deal?

(3) What, if anything, will Mitt Romney say about the deal, and who will hit him hardest for not speaking out sooner?

(4) What will Rick Perry do to keep the spotlight on him, especially in the run-up to Ames?

(5) Will Tim Pawlenty - who criticized the April budget agreement and opposed the initial McConnell debt ceiling plan and Boehner's plan last week - break his Dr. No streak for this deal?

2012 TALKER - PRO-MITT SUPER PAC RAISES $12.2 MILLION -Restore Our Future, a super PAC created to aid Mitt Romney's candidacy, raised $12.2 million in the first half of the year. POLITICO's Jonathan Martin and Ken Vogel report that the money comes entirely from 90 deep-pocketed contributors, a consequence of the lack of restrictions on donations to super PACs like this one. The organization had four donors that dropped $1 million each for the group, and four more individuals who gave $500,000 each. The PAC only spent $22,329, leaving a huge war chest for future ads.
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=2de0069cc17b9697f9c1babeffdb981e3301501cd88f76dff0dcf628f6cf7926 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=2de0069cc17b9697f9c1babeffdb981e3301501cd88f76dff0dcf628f6cf7926 

MORE SUPER PAC NUMBERS - PRIORITIES USA RAISED $5 MILLION - Priorities USA Action and sister organization Priorities USA took in more than $5 million since the spring. Burton, quoted trashing Romney above, told the Associated Press yesterday that the groups he helped co-found earlier in the year received $2 million from producer Jeff Katzenberg and half a million apiece from the Service Employees International Union and Newsweb Corp.-founder Fred Eychaner.
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=2de0069cc17b96976e800bd5058e9c5520f590e6b1f56ce47e5a501a08ace339 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=2de0069cc17b96976e800bd5058e9c5520f590e6b1f56ce47e5a501a08ace339 

CAIN WINS DENVER STRAW POLL - Herman Cain won the straw poll at the Western Conservative Summit in Denver on Sunday, with Perry taking a distant second. Cain garnered 246 of the 508 ballots cast at the conference, and Perry took 67 votes. The only other contenders to break the 20-vote mark were Santorum (50), Romney (49) and Bachmann (44). It's not hard to see why Cain, Perry and Santorum placed toward the top - all three spoke at the conference over the weekend.
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=2de0069cc17b9697729a728afe50330909512baaa08441d5c2a9374b5215fd66 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=2de0069cc17b9697729a728afe50330909512baaa08441d5c2a9374b5215fd66 

AWKWARDNESS IN DENVER - PERRY, SANTORUM AND THE SILENT TREATMENT - At the western summit, Santorum took another shot at Perry's gaffe that same-sex marriage legislation was "fine" with him. "States do not have the right to destroy the American family," he said Friday night. "It is not fine with me that New York has destroyed marriage." Both attended a book signing and sat just feet away from each other. Neither spoke to the other. ABC News described the scene as "fraught with discomfort."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=2de0069cc17b96979d7d427e9291ec9530d55e4dace27388774bdc6045585359 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=2de0069cc17b96979d7d427e9291ec9530d55e4dace27388774bdc6045585359 

WHAT THE CANDIDATES ARE UP TO: Santorum, in Iowa, holds town hall meetings in Washington, Muscatine, Davenport and Clinton. Jon Huntsman, in New Hampshire, tours a robotics factory in Manchester and attends a house party in Rochester.

ATTENTION, INDEPENDENT VOTERS - PERRY IS NOT SOLD ON EVOLUTION - He's open about teaching intelligent design. 'There are clear indications from our people who have amazing intellectual capability that this didn't happen by accident and a creator put this in place,' the Texas governor told The Associated Press in a telephone interview. 'I believe that we were created by this all-powerful supreme being and how we got to today versus what we look like thousands of years ago, I think there's enough holes in the theory of evolution to, you know, say there are some holes in that theory." The write-up of the interview notes that, "this month, he appointed a biology teacher who disputes evolution
 as chairwoman of the Texas State Board of Education." Though Perry stressed that any campaign would concentrate on job creation, the comments offer a reminder of the formidable challenges Perry would most certainly face as a national candidate in a general election:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=2de0069cc17b96972f24de86d6c00127a5442e89482f98981a6cf57ff2d28628 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=2de0069cc17b96972f24de86d6c00127a5442e89482f98981a6cf57ff2d28628  .

EX-BACHMANN INTERN BACKS OFF - Following up on an item we brought you last week, Iowa radio host Simon Conway apologized Friday to Tim Pawlenty for pressing him during an in-studio interview about a former Bachmann intern asserting that someone from the Pawlenty campaign looking to dig up dirt reached out to them. The person and source were not identified. Conway explained on his WHO show: "On being contacted again, and perhaps because our interview made headlines outside of Iowa, the intern backed away from the original story I had been given. That being the case, I find myself no longer able to substantiate the story and I sincerely and unreservedly apologize to Gov. Pawlenty."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=2de0069cc17b969767e6f926cd6e0632a955d17cd9f1d1db694b66608f5075c5 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=2de0069cc17b969767e6f926cd6e0632a955d17cd9f1d1db694b66608f5075c5 

SENATE SIREN - NEWSMAX CEO IN FLORIDA? - With the exit of State Senate President Mike Haridopolos from Florida's GOP Senate primary against Bill Nelson, another challenger may be in the wings: NewsMax CEO Chris Ruddy. "You never say never," Ruddy said when asked if he was considering a bid. Ruddy is a wealthy media man and potential self-funder with a lot in common with Gov. Rick Scott - but has less political baggage going into the race, the Miami Herald notes: "Unlike Scott, Ruddy wouldn't come to the race with the baggage of bad press clips. In fact, Ruddy used to produce them about President Bill Clinton and the like when he wrote for the Pittsburgh Tribune Review. Ruddy would jump into
 a crowded GOP primary, joining former Sen. George LeMieux, former state House Majority leader Adam Hasner and former Ruth's Chris Steakhouse CEO Craig Miller.
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d01c2fda3dd4964ee0a869dbc6a07a987e52c4d18b7e573e0e47581b79019454 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d01c2fda3dd4964ee0a869dbc6a07a987e52c4d18b7e573e0e47581b79019454 

REDISTRICTING READ - CALIFORNIA MAP IS (ALMOST?) SET - The state's bipartisan commission dramatically revised their congressional draft map from June on Friday. Redrawing several SoCal districts to increase Latino representation had ripple effects and made more incumbents vulnerable. POLITICO's Alex Isenstadt: "The newest blueprint appears likely to result in pain for Republicans, who could see a two- to three-seat loss in the state." But it's not set in stone: "The commission has two weeks to hear public comments before conducting a final vote. If at least six of the members reject the plan, the line-drawing will be handed off to the California Supreme Court." See more on the winners and
 losers in the new draft:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d01c2fda3dd4964eed22a41f3a8fb68bae3c824fcf312bcce6b7f33939c8687d 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d01c2fda3dd4964eed22a41f3a8fb68bae3c824fcf312bcce6b7f33939c8687d .

CODA - QUOTE OF THE DAY: 'A sugar-coated Satan sandwich.' - Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D-Mo.), chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus, describing his impression of the debt deal.
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d01c2fda3dd4964ec9cefc8661c20f053897f2a6d77381ad2b22938bedba6c62 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d01c2fda3dd4964ec9cefc8661c20f053897f2a6d77381ad2b22938bedba6c62 

Go to POLITICO Morning Score Now >> http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d01c2fda3dd4964ecec405ec36bf3fe7b4dd5a35586a658c8396b9d43b77f8a6

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