Subject: POLITICO's Morning Score: Democrats face crisis of confidence after GOP wins in NY-9, NV-2--Sneak peek at NC GOP attack on Obama--51% don’t believe Obama jobs plan will work--RNC outraises DNC in August--Warren announcement video--McDonnell approval is 61%
From: "Morning Score" <[email-masked]>
To: <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 14 Sep 2011 04:21:28 -0600

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

GOP SWEEP - REPUBLICANS WIN BIG IN NY-9 AND NV-2: "The Democratic Party's rare loss of a congressional seat in its urban heartland Tuesday, accompanied by a blowout defeat in a Nevada special election, marked the latest in a string of demoralizing setbacks that threatened to deepen the party's crisis of confidence and raise concerns about President Barack Obama's political fortunes," Jonathan Martin, Ben Smith and Jake Sherman write. "In New York, Republican Bob Turner soundly defeated Democrat David Weprin in a House contest that - in the view of party leaders, at least - featured an anemic urban machine, distracted labor unions, and disloyal voters. In Nevada, a consequential state for
 the president's re-election strategy, Democrats suffered a runaway loss rooted in a weak showing in Reno's Washoe County, a key bellwether."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=fd7a889aa5d7ba297af3b617c31dd7ef9100b2e3946aee75efc9364c88f16a5b 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=fd7a889aa5d7ba297af3b617c31dd7ef9100b2e3946aee75efc9364c88f16a5b 

Victory has 1,000 fathers, as JFK said. RNC chairman Reince Priebus said voters were "overwhelmingly rejecting Obama's Stimulus II." The National Organization for Marriage cited Weprin's vote for the gay marriage amendment in Albany as the reason he lost. Florida Republican Senate candidate Adam Hasner said the result sent "a clear message that the Obama administration's deeply hostile policies toward Israel have electoral consequences."

The Drudge Report's banner headline this morning (in red caps): "REVENGE OF THE JEWS; DEM SEAT TURNS IN NYC."

SNEAK PEEK - REPUBLICANS MOVE TO CAPITALIZE: National Republican Congressional Committee regional press secretaries will send loads of customized releases today that highlight how Obama's low approval rating hurts House Democrats in individual districts. Its part of a continuing push to play some offense next year when the priority will be holding the seats they picked up last year. "An unpopular President Obama is now a liability for Democrats nationwide in a 2012 election that is a referendum on his economic policies," said NRCC chairman Pete Sessions. Here is a sneak peek at a research piece that will land in reporter's inboxes later:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b86eb657dce4b0e3f028b8bb59a6030e728cece079ff493d3def7bdce4229de6 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b86eb657dce4b0e3f028b8bb59a6030e728cece079ff493d3def7bdce4229de6 .

DCCC SPIN - CHAIRMAN STEVE ISRAEL DOWNPLAYS LOSS IN HOME STATE: "The results in NY-09 are not reflective of what will happen in November 2012 when Democratic challengers run against Republican incumbents who voted to end Medicare and cut Social Security while protecting tax loopholes for big corporations and the ultra wealthy."

SNEAK PEEK- REPUBLICAN WOLFPACK HOWLS AS OBAMA STUMPS IN NORTH CAROLINA: Republicans are pouncing on the president's tour of WestStar Precision today, a company-owned by a Democratic donor-that has taken advantage of low labor costs in Costa Rica and recently opened a manufacturing facility there. He will visit on his way to North Carolina State University to give an afternoon speech touting his American Jobs Act.

A 9 a.m. conference call sponsored by the state GOP will focus on blaming President Obama and Governor Bev Perdue (also on the ballot next year in this swing state) for the 340,000 jobs that have been lost in the Tar Heel State since the pair took power. RNC chair Reince Priebus will say that the president is rehashing his old rhetoric.

Then North Carolina state chair Robin Hayes and Rep. Renee Ellmers will hit Perdue for not taking a firm position on Boeing's dispute with the National Labor Relations Board. There will be three angles to this attack: 1.) North Carolina has the same geography and right-to-work laws as South Carolina, but where Nikki Haley has fought for Boeing, Perdue won't say what she'd do. 2.) Perdue has not sought out jobs for the state. 3.) North Carolina has many plants that would be able to provide related manufacturing jobs if Boeing was in South Carolina.

As Elizabeth Warren makes it official, HPV haunts Perry and Kucinich gets a chance to stay in Cleveland, here's POLITICO's Morning Score: your daily guide to the permanent campaign.

NEW BLOOMBERG POLL - "OBAMA APPROVAL PLUMMETS AMONG AMERICANS SKEPTICAL OF JOBS PLAN": A national Bloomberg poll out this morning shows 51% of Americans do NOT believe that Obama's $447 billion jobs plan will help lower the unemployment rate. Other notable data points in a poll that has to scare Chicago: 62% of Americans disapprove of the president's handling of the economy, compared to 33% approval. The president's job approval rating is 45%, the lowest of his presidency in the poll. Obama reached other new lows: 36% approve of his efforts to create jobs, 30% approve of how he's tackled the budget deficit and 39% approve of his handling of health care.
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=718da032ad8510ab80d7452bf2b6e674b70019af38080baf2f49c199ec473a8f 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=718da032ad8510ab80d7452bf2b6e674b70019af38080baf2f49c199ec473a8f 

MASSACHUSETTS SENATE - WARREN ANNOUNCES: Elizabeth Warren officially announced her Senate bid this morning with a video that posted this morning at 4 a.m. ET. She will start the day greeting commuters in South Boston at 7 a.m. Then she'll travel to New Bedford, Framingham, Worcester and Springfield. "The pressures on middle class families are worse than ever, but it is the big corporations that get their way in Washington," Warren says in her opening salvo. "I want to change that. I will work my heart out to earn the trust of the people of Massachusetts." Watch the video:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8eeff5ece24c4541412c7069961f20220ecff82114eccce5af554a74005957c5 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8eeff5ece24c4541412c7069961f20220ecff82114eccce5af554a74005957c5 .

NOT SO FAST - WARREN STILL FACES A 7-WAY DEMOCRATIC PRIMARY: The former chairman of the Massachusetts Democratic Party, Phil Johnston, told the Boston Herald that Warren's entrance "certainly means there will be a very competitive, expensive Democratic primary." He's working for Setti Warren, who reiterated plans yesterday to stay in the race. The Boston CBS affiliate ran a package last night that included an interview with Alan Khazei saying the same. "If you thought Washington politics was tough, this is the major leagues here," the reporter says. The Dem primary will not be decided until Sept. 18 of next year. Republican Scott Brown will face no competitive primary challenge, which will
 give him plenty of time to distance himself from the national GOP in his blue state. The Herald story: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=c8fef2312475cf09b0fd3d636ef19032e9ee9d9e86ba1dd47757b067eef46440 The two-and-a-half-minute CBS segment:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b8a48f51614ac9867e7a36f92e50b1cd6a68a1c5e6aee821ad9239831bf9ad81 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b8a48f51614ac9867e7a36f92e50b1cd6a68a1c5e6aee821ad9239831bf9ad81 .

BIG ENDORSEMENT - NEVADA GOV. SANDOVAL BACKS PERRY: The popular freshman Latino governor of a swing state came out for Perry yesterday, a day after Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal. It's an important get because it could allow Perry to play in Nevada's caucuses, which Romney won in 2008. Sandoval has been mentioned as a potential vice presidential candidate in 2012. In his announcement, Sandoval said Perry "has the strongest record of job creation, fiscal discipline, and executive branch leadership among the presidential candidates."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=faf73bf5ba3263e0e4493adf25d2c46d974e128a9c110ad80697067c0a847ed6 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=faf73bf5ba3263e0e4493adf25d2c46d974e128a9c110ad80697067c0a847ed6 

HPV HAUNTS - THE UNAIRED ATTACK AD THAT KBH DIDN'T RUN: POLITICO's Ben Smith obtained a 30-second attack ad prepared by Kay Bailey Hutchison's failed gubernatorial campaign last year that never ran. "The ad features a young girl singing to the tune of 'ABC' about Perry's [HPV] mandate and his alleged cronyism with a Merck lobbyist." Watch the ad:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=75a7f74b1e4a4a741713e1adb89b1fa4398b8f73fea6da0d8b21e4795f523401 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=75a7f74b1e4a4a741713e1adb89b1fa4398b8f73fea6da0d8b21e4795f523401 . Alex Burns explains why this subject will continue to haunt Perry:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=99a9b35884d0b82ce69b6d08b7f0aee97cb0b273433053ba379a39a087084bd0 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=99a9b35884d0b82ce69b6d08b7f0aee97cb0b273433053ba379a39a087084bd0 .

MERCK MONEY - PERRY HAS TAKEN $28.5 K FROM THE PAC: Perry said during Monday's debate that he had received a $5,000 contribution from Merck before signing the HPV executive order. "And if you're saying that I can be bought for $5,000, I'm offended," he told Michele Bachmann in the most memorable lines of the night. CBS reports that Perry has received more than $28,000 from the pharmaceutical company that makes the vaccine: "According to records from the Texas Ethics Commission compiled by the Institute on Money in State Politics, Perry received a total of $28,500 in contributions from Merck's political action committee between 2002 and 2010. In 2006, the year before his executive order, he
 received $6,000, and in his most recent gubernatorial fundraising year, he received $5,000 -- the closest numbers to the $5,000 he mentioned in the debate."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ae8dfd41a9bc46ef10769cc7d72379d334c467e9e576eae462f5c38e8fc58da0 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ae8dfd41a9bc46ef10769cc7d72379d334c467e9e576eae462f5c38e8fc58da0 

SPOTLIGHT ON PERRY - "ANITA PERRY'S SALARY COMES INDIRECTLY FROM GOVERNOR'S BACKERS": Today's Austin American-Statesman looks at the charity Rick Perry's wife works for: "Much of Texas first lady Anita Perry's $60,000-a-year salary at an Austin nonprofit comes indirectly from Gov. Rick Perry's political donors, state contractors and companies that do business with the state or have issues before the Legislature. Of 37 major donors to the Texas Association Against Sexual Abuse during Anita Perry's tenure as a fundraiser for the group, only three have no ties to the governor or state business. Anita Perry is paid out of the nonprofit's pool of money that includes these contributions. The
 group also receives grants from state agencies, including the governor's office." A spokeswoman for the Perrys insists there is no conflict of interest.
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=fb4e383c9c6d63ff4496a706955fcd3a3dd3ef1748c99cf2ff59819e70fdb01a 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=fb4e383c9c6d63ff4496a706955fcd3a3dd3ef1748c99cf2ff59819e70fdb01a 

LET HIM DIE? - PROTECT YOUR CARE LAUNCHES AD CAMPAIGN: Progressives are seizing on a moment from Monday's Florida debate to portray Republicans as heartless. Moderator Wolf Blitzer asked Ron Paul if a hypothetical 30-year-old man should be allowed to die because he does not have health insurance. Paul demurred, but a man in the audience yelled "Yeah." Protect Your Care, the outside group promoting the health care law, is launching an online ad campaign today, with ads linking to LetHimDie.com - which cycles through different candidates' names and asks visitors to sign a petition. The ad will run on news sites in Iowa, New Hampshire, Florida and D.C. through next Thursday's Florida debate.
 The group will spend about $5,000 testing the concept today, then tweak as needed. A story about the Monday night exchange:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=870ae817b1a9f6a132cfdc8dc068e3e478d62cffcab8500c32122f6d57dd7d1b 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=870ae817b1a9f6a132cfdc8dc068e3e478d62cffcab8500c32122f6d57dd7d1b . The petition:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=231978e86e7c939c87353ed502f63c767bac27c8a8dc08c00aec934cfb4c91e2 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=231978e86e7c939c87353ed502f63c767bac27c8a8dc08c00aec934cfb4c91e2 

NEWT'S STILL RUNNING - OPENING FIRST IOWA OFFICE IN MID-OCTOBER: It will be somewhere in the Des Moines metro area. The Register notes that Gingrich hasn't campaigned in the state "for more than a month" but plans to returns next week for a swing through western Iowa (http://bit.ly/o5U1nE). Meanwhile, The State reports from South Carolina that Columbia Tea Party chairman Allen Olson announced yesterday he will resign his post to endorse Gingrich and help with grassroots organization.
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=f928eb3e712d6b1b7e5b7ddca0cd3f5e544b5f2cef111c5149b388fb7e8a4eb4 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=f928eb3e712d6b1b7e5b7ddca0cd3f5e544b5f2cef111c5149b388fb7e8a4eb4 

WHAT THE REPUBLICAN CANDIDATES ARE UP TO: Romney hosts a business roundtable in Sun Lakes, Arizona. Perry speaks at Liberty University in Lynchburg and attends at an RGA fundraiser with Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell in Richmond. Gingrich hosts a town hall in Orlando and a Reagan Day dinner in Lake Mary, Florida.

PONZI SCHEME - VIRGINIA DEMS HIT PERRY, ALLEN - Pegged to Perry's fundraiser in Richmond, the Democratic Party of Virginia is releasing a new web video this morning comparing Perry's record on Social Security with that of former Virginia Sen. George Allen, now running to get his old seat back. Watch the 60-second spot:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=e66a1cc33ef820f30e6ed6f2ca2245316e9f0698ec682d546ee6416aac538e5b 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=e66a1cc33ef820f30e6ed6f2ca2245316e9f0698ec682d546ee6416aac538e5b .

VEEPWATCH - MCDONNELL APPROVAL RATING IS 61%: A Quinnipiac University poll out this morning gives the Virginia governor and potential GOP running mate a 61 - 21 percent job approval rating. From the write-up: "Virginians say 56 - 14 percent they like McDonnell personally and by 52 - 26 percent say they like most of his policies. By 53 - 29 percent they approve of his handling of the state budget, and say 55 - 31 percent that the budget is fair to people like them."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=1fcb94388bae43cae5e490a3a8f9d92771d8f7399fe6e14b9445a511a3db1c6b 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=1fcb94388bae43cae5e490a3a8f9d92771d8f7399fe6e14b9445a511a3db1c6b 

FUNDRAISING - RNC OUTRAISES DNC IN AUGUST, $8.2 MILLION TO $5.5 MILLION: The Republican National Committee announced yesterday that they raised $8.17 million in August, the highest off-year August in RNC history. The committee has $9.3 million cash on hand and $15.9 million in debt. They also paid off $1 million in debt during August. The Democratic National Committee raised $5.5 million last month.
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=2566381d44030fb062b234736573026c320c6fa59706f8e90f9b1880d3a67d7a 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=2566381d44030fb062b234736573026c320c6fa59706f8e90f9b1880d3a67d7a 

EXCLUSIVE - WISCONSIN DEMS SHOWCASE THOMPSON'S TEA PARTY TROUBLES: A tracker from the Wisconsin Democratic Party approached conservative activists at a Sept. 10 Oshkosh Tea Party rally to ask whether they could support former Gov. Tommy Thompson as he runs for the Republican nomination in the race to succeed retiring Sen. Herb Kohl. The result is a 70-second web ad with a bunch of people saying variations of the word "No." It highlights what Democrats believe is the former governor's limited support on the right and demonstrates a hope that Republicans will face a messy primary battle. Sen. Ron Johnson was at the Oshkosh rally, as was a state representative who called the president a
 "lunatic."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=47dde8af5319db7976345f3d6b3edb8f55dcd27fcd7f4941f0beafbc801f4110 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=47dde8af5319db7976345f3d6b3edb8f55dcd27fcd7f4941f0beafbc801f4110 

OHIO REDISTRICTING-NEW MAP PROTECTS VULNERABLE REPUBLICANS, KUCINICH MAY STAY: From today's Cleveland Plain Dealer: "Even though Ohio statehouse Republicans have drawn new congressional districts that remove parts of his Cuyahoga County territory and make him compete for votes all the way over in Toledo, Kucinich has issued a statement that paints the change in positive terms. That's because he got to keep the west side of Cleveland. Kucinich doesn't say directly that he will run in a Democratic primary to keep his seat in 2012. But he says he at least has 'a chance' to 'continue to serve my Cleveland-area constituency.' That could entail a primary against Marcy Kaptur, the Toledo-based
 congresswoman and Kucinich friend whose district is being merged with his, unless Kaptur were to decide to leave Congress (which she has not indicated a desire to do). Ohio's new political map forces Democrats to make hard decisions."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=22605387589d04333ffb63838ad07586fb9b23a947161e53dd22ddacdca72061 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=22605387589d04333ffb63838ad07586fb9b23a947161e53dd22ddacdca72061 

CONNECTICUT SENATE - McMAHON WILL ANNOUNCE NEXT TUESDAY: "[Linda] McMahon's handlers still haven't settled on the venue, though a person familiar with her plans said a manufacturing plant was a leading candidate to host what will be a jobs-oriented speech by the 2010 Republican Senate nominee and Greenwich resident," according to Hearst Connecticut Newspapers. This news, which was expected, means a nomination fight against former Rep. Chris Shays.
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=076a20a4e2fdaeae9d8366c52d5d063f37765a73d921fb4903bf99ab5c712b0a 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=076a20a4e2fdaeae9d8366c52d5d063f37765a73d921fb4903bf99ab5c712b0a 

CODA - QUOTE OF THE DAY: "We have been told this is a referendum. And we're ready to say, 'Mr. President, we are on the wrong track...We are unhappy, I am telling you, I am the messenger. Heed us.'" - Bob Turner's victory speech in New York last night
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=e83815fe363d1156a7b9f34cafbd9df65988e599e24a3a2adaae4677f5784093 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=e83815fe363d1156a7b9f34cafbd9df65988e599e24a3a2adaae4677f5784093 

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