Subject: POLITICO's Morning Score: House Majority PAC goes on air in NY-9—Perry all-in for Florida straw poll—Social Security is now central focus of GOP race—Republicans pan Obama jobs speech—Another Huntsman shake-up
From: "Morning Score" <[email-masked]>
To: <[email-masked]>
Date: Fri, 09 Sep 2011 03:55:05 -0600

By James Hohmann (
mailto:[email-masked] 
[email-masked]  ; Twitter: @jameshohmann)

OUT THIS MORNING - HOUSE MAJORITY PAC TRIES TO SAVE DAVID WEPRIN: House Majority PAC will become the latest Democratic group to join the fray in New York's surprisingly tight special House election, with a six-figure ad buy that portrays Republican Bob Turner as beholden to the tea party. 'Mr. Robert Turner seeks election to Congress praising tea party logic,' says a man dressed as a Founding Father. 'But 'tis no tea party of mine.' The spot also hypes the New York Times' endorsement of Democrat David Weprin. The ad, which will start airing today on broadcast and cable but not on Sept. 11, signals palpable Democratic fear that they need to spend real cash to hold the seat opened by Anthony
 Weiner's resignation. This supplements the half-million dollars being spent on last-minute ads by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. The new Siena Poll on this race posts at 9:30 a.m. ET. More on the ad:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0ffc3829a620d7e8dd76d19d192cd0c7d1e9ac9546e8445b98df0303b4e14bd7 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0ffc3829a620d7e8dd76d19d192cd0c7d1e9ac9546e8445b98df0303b4e14bd7  . Watch it:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0ffc3829a620d7e8ffc747d5dd0e1c17c48753c49cb32b1fd3a460cacffe6776 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0ffc3829a620d7e8ffc747d5dd0e1c17c48753c49cb32b1fd3a460cacffe6776  .

FLORIDA STRAW POLL - PERRY "ALL IN" FOR P5 STRAW POLL: Rick Perry plans to fight for a victory in the Sept. 24 Orlando straw poll that Mitt Romney and Michele Bachmann have chosen not to risk political capital on. 'Gov. Perry is fully committed to participating in P5,' Perry campaign spokesman Ray Sullivan tells Adam Smith of the St. Petersburg Times. "It's still not clear the extent of Perry's campaigning for the straw poll election - there's talk of breakfast remarks before he flies out of state - but his commitment still is greater than the other major contenders except Ron Paul," Smith writes. "Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum have also committed, so that leaves just Romney and Bachmann
 as the only major candidates not actively 'participating' in the beauty contest of 3,500 GOP activists in the must-win battleground of Florida."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0ffc3829a620d7e8c0bfe9aaab6d84f1126a6c0b9997d996a3b752afa7eb6aed 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0ffc3829a620d7e8c0bfe9aaab6d84f1126a6c0b9997d996a3b752afa7eb6aed 

***As the White House fights an economic messaging war, Social Security dominates the Republican conversation and Huntsman reshuffles, here's POLITICO's Morning Score: your daily guide to the permanent campaign.

POLITICAL CIRCUS - OBAMA'S JOBS SPEECH: "Like a getaway driver desperately driver trying to shake a tail, President Barack Obama executed a hairpin turn from deficits to jobs Thursday, daring Republicans to follow him," writes POLITICO's Glenn Thrush. "[But] none of his potential GOP opponents will be held accountable if Obama's $447 billion proposal fails to stem the economy's ominous slide, while all of them will arguably profit if he fails."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0ffc3829a620d7e8a6b570ae9d16bcdac36c64a8911c2db5ea5db106231a0c5a 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0ffc3829a620d7e8a6b570ae9d16bcdac36c64a8911c2db5ea5db106231a0c5a 

HOW THE MAJOR CANDIDATES RESPONDED -

ROMNEY quickly popped a web video called "960 Days," which included a clip from the president calling for Congress to pass the American Jobs Act. The message: "Mr. President, you are 960 days late." They also unveiled a new website: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=3d4599c07abff126654998332f7f3a5ae7e05a45f6db734856cc114ccc09f160 Their video:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0ffc3829a620d7e84d4e5b4d49ba050a7f99df0d97b825c7bc6597ed2ef0cb83 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0ffc3829a620d7e84d4e5b4d49ba050a7f99df0d97b825c7bc6597ed2ef0cb83 

PERRY released a statement: "President Obama's call for nearly a half-trillion dollars in more government stimulus when America has more than $14 trillion in debt is guided by his mistaken belief that we can spend our way to prosperity."

BACHMANN held a press conference in the House gallery of the Capitol. Per CNN: "While Republicans typically deliver a party response whenever the president addresses a joint session of Congress, the GOP passed on an address Thursday, giving no official reason for the move. But Bachmann, who said she listened to the speech in the car while stuck in traffic...said she was offended by President Barack Obama's opening remarks asking Congress to 'stop the political circus' and do something to help the economy. Specifically, she blasted the president's plan to prolong unemployment benefits, calling them poor incentives for people to get jobs."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a53a8c372f893d773572fab5c95326a09b3ac1588bff6e764f8051317f420504 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a53a8c372f893d773572fab5c95326a09b3ac1588bff6e764f8051317f420504 

SEMANTIC SCRUM - "STIMULUS" VS "JOB CREATION": On his 538 blog, Nate Silver struggles to analyze the popularity of what the president proposed last night. "The good news for Mr. Obama: when the issue is framed as one of jobs against deficits, jobs win," he writes. "The answer changes, however, when the conflict is instead framed as stimulus or recovery spending against deficits... We're likely to see a real semantic scrum over the next few weeks as partisans seek to define the territory that the bill occupies." Silver concludes: "1) The White House is probably going to want to talk about specific elements of the proposal, while the Republicans will argue against it in general terms. 2)
 Republicans are going to want to use the s-word, spending - or another s-word, "stimulus" - while the White House will talk about job creation. 3) The polls are liable to produce highly divergent results based on differences in question wording."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a53a8c372f893d77b6ab0c09755f135d3db80c61cde2b2c0abdb82819c2162df 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a53a8c372f893d77b6ab0c09755f135d3db80c61cde2b2c0abdb82819c2162df 

SOCIAL SECURITY - ROMNEY, PERRY STEP UP ATTACK: "Mitt Romney launched a second wave of attacks Thursday on Rick Perry and Social Security - suddenly and unmistakably the central focus of the Republican race," Jonathan Martin and Manu Raju write. "Romney, sensing an opportunity to halt Perry's surge in the polls, went even further than he did on the debate stage, asserting in blunt terms that the new frontrunner had rendered himself unelectable and that his nomination could lead to a 2012 GOP wipe-out. 'If we nominate someone who the Democrats could correctly characterize as being against Social Security we would be obliterated as a party,' the former Massachusetts governor said without
 prompting in an afternoon appearance on Sean Hannity's radio show."

"In a press release, Perry officials noted that Romney used his policy book, 'No Apology,' to liken the management of Social Security to a felony...Rush Limbaugh offered a robust defense of Perry on Social Security, lamenting that the Texan was taking the same sort of flack Republicans usually get from Democrats. Laura Ingraham also stood up for Perry...Perry also got some back-up from an important conservative voice in Congress - Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.)."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a53a8c372f893d774d602547bfcf7e03972c398bdcfe9e6583db7a044ea69cf7 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a53a8c372f893d774d602547bfcf7e03972c398bdcfe9e6583db7a044ea69cf7 

PERRY HIMSELF - AVOIDING PROVOCATIVE LANGUAGE: The Washington Post sets the scene in a dispatch from the Texas' governor's rally in Corona del Mar, California, yesterday. "When county supervisor Shawn Nelson introduced Perry, he encouraged more tough talk from the governor. 'Some inflammatory rhetoric - sometimes it proves your point,' he said. 'When an organization promises to give away more than what we mathematically know it takes in, what do you call it?' 'Ponzi scheme!' the crowd cried out in response. 'Ponzi scheme!' But the audience didn't get much 'provocative language' from the GOP presidential front-runner. When Perry grabbed hold of the microphone he never uttered a word about
 Social Security...Instead, he talked about jobs."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a53a8c372f893d773297bac556358b24f1e285ae88db867c02fcf31922109479 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a53a8c372f893d773297bac556358b24f1e285ae88db867c02fcf31922109479 

A SOCIAL SECURITY OPENING - DEMOCRATS ATTACK ROMNEY: Americans United for Change posted a web video last night with dated footage of Romney talking about his openness to private retirement accounts. The title: "Mitt Romney, Rick Perry, George W. Bush -- 3 Amigos, Gunnin' for your Social Security." The video:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a53a8c372f893d7720fb144533f526bad91bad775d3cf28f05ee5a17e377ccc0 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a53a8c372f893d7720fb144533f526bad91bad775d3cf28f05ee5a17e377ccc0 .

SNEAK PEEK - DSCC TO HIT ALLEN ON SOCIAL SECURITY: The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee will send a press release later this morning that tries to link Virginia Senate candidate George Allen to Perry. The former senator has not taken a public position on Perry's comments, but he voted in 2006 for private retirement accounts. Democrat Tim Kaine sent a fundraising email off Allen's five-year-old vote yesterday. Washington Democrats hope they can use Perry's 'Ponzi Scheme' language to attack other Republicans, even if they haven't expressed support for Perry.

WHAT THE CANDIDATES ARE UP TO TODAY: Perry's California swing continues. He has a breakfast fundraiser at Bakersfield Jam in California at 8:30 a.m. PT, a lunch at the Four Seasons in East Palo Alto at noon, and a 6 p.m. fundraiser at the Fresno Downtown Club. Buddy Roemer has three scheduled appearances in South Carolina, and Thad McCotter is in New Hampshire.

HUNTSMAN RESHUFFLING -SHIFTING RESOURCES FROM FLORIDA TO NEW HAMPSHIRE: The Huntsman campaign is bringing in a new finance director, a new communications hand and moving bodies from Florida into New Hampshire. Jonathan Martin says this illustrates a desire to do better in the Granite State, but it also indicates real money problems and staff tensions: "A source said Huntsman is 'running on fumes' and that the candidate had to put $500,000 of his money into the campaign recently to help make payroll." JMart's story:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a53a8c372f893d771a1053bdb9de74dd1e31d704c41056ff85615140d80bb51d 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a53a8c372f893d771a1053bdb9de74dd1e31d704c41056ff85615140d80bb51d .

In other bad news for Huntsman, South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley ruled out endorsing him during a Thursday radio interview with Laura Ingraham. From The State:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a53a8c372f893d77c177816fb46b0c47e29da5b4011df23375307795e4543e80 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a53a8c372f893d77c177816fb46b0c47e29da5b4011df23375307795e4543e80 .

CONNECTICUT SENATE - MCMAHON LIKELY TO RUN AGAIN: As everyone has expected, Linda McMahon plans to run again for the Republican Senate nomination in Connecticut to succeed Joe Lieberman. The New York Times has two Republicans who are close to her saying that she will announce in the coming week. The self-funding wrestling mogul spent $50 million of her own money last year but lost to Richard Blumenthal.
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a53a8c372f893d779ffb6bb30f8efbb9b6be84df509bb1e16962b79f9b6e39ea 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a53a8c372f893d779ffb6bb30f8efbb9b6be84df509bb1e16962b79f9b6e39ea 

BARBOUR SIGNS ON- CROSSROADS MORE THAN DOUBLES $120 MILLION FUNDRAISING GOAL: "American Crossroads and Crossroads GPS have set a new fundraising goal at least twice the $120 million announced earlier this year," iWatch News reports. "The ambitious fundraising target by the two affiliated groups co-founded by GOP fundraiser extraordinaire Karl Rove reflects an increased optimism among Republicans that they could score a trifecta in 2012-taking both houses of Congress and the White House." The story adds that Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour has "agreed to lend his Midas like rolodex to the Crossroads efforts." For context, the two Crossroads groups raised $71 million last year.
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a53a8c372f893d77af1275af7688eb8d2ec1359709f370db53400aaba857c5a6 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a53a8c372f893d77af1275af7688eb8d2ec1359709f370db53400aaba857c5a6 

CODA - QUOTE OF THE DAY: "A raspberry in a blueberry pie." - Rick Perry, describing Orange County's place in California during a fundraiser there.
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a53a8c372f893d77894c1eadb58fbbfb327786a98dc4dc17a2376b9c77d0df28 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a53a8c372f893d77894c1eadb58fbbfb327786a98dc4dc17a2376b9c77d0df28 

Go to POLITICO Morning Score Now >> http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=3d4599c07abff1264102a417d7a28d05af019f0311ab43b9415235588ae257af

=================================
2011 POLITICO, LLC
POLITICO Morning Score.
To unsubscribe, http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=3d4599c07abff1267ff0a06b0bce0930a42c563a29c8ec8793d94977442bc16b
=================================