Subject: POLITICO's Morning Score: Romney wins flurry of post-Christie endorsements--Jan. 14 Nevada caucus could help Romney--Palin is not going away--New DNC campaign hits GOP on Dodd-Frank--RNC memo looks at Obama’s base trouble--Perry fundraising shows he’s in for long haul
From: "Morning Score" <[email-masked]>
To: <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 06 Oct 2011 04:47:56 -0600

WHAT BOSTON WANTED? - NEVADA PICKS JAN. 14: The state party set the new date for its caucuses Wednesday night after New Hampshire refused to allow Nevada to tether its caucus date five days after the New Hampshire primary. This keeps them in the third spot, but it will mean the New Hampshire primary happens as early as Jan. 3, which would push the Iowa caucus into December. Former Nevada Gov. Robert List, the GOP national committeeman on the board that made the decision, tells the Las Vegas Review-Journal: '...Romney's people were pushing for us to move into January so that he could get some momentum and have a rising tide going into Florida.'
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WHAT'S NEXT - CHRISTMAS IN DES MOINES, NEW YEAR'S IN CONCORD? : The move puts the ball in New Hampshire Secretary of State Bill Gardner's court. Josh Putnam writes on his Frontloading HQ blog: "The choices facing New Hampshire: hold a non-Tuesday primary - likely on January 7 - or move to the next available Tuesday slot seven or more days before Nevada - January 3. The former allows Iowa to slide into a January 2 or 3 date while the latter forces Iowa into December... Iowa on January 3 and New Hampshire on January 7 may be more likely, but I'm not ready to discount December scenarios - even the doomsday scenario - just yet."
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OUT WITH A WHIMPER - PALIN WON'T RUN, DISAPPOINTING ROMNEY: Shocking no one, Sarah Palin said last night that she will not run for president. The biggest loser from this is Mitt Romney. "Boston was hoping she'd run and join Michele Bachmann, Rick Santorum and Herman Cain in siphoning off conservative votes from Perry in Iowa - making it easier for Romney to snatch a plurality win out of the Hawkeye State," Jonathan Martin and Alex Burns write. "Without Palin in the race, the claim on the tea party and social conservative wing of the Iowa GOP will be divided among fewer candidates." It is not clear that any one candidate will win over her diehard supporters: "Some in the South will like
 Perry, some women will be attracted to Bachmann's history-making potential, those who feel most strong about abortion could get behind Santorum and the Palinistas who are most drawn to her status as an outsider will feel a kinship with Cain."
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POWER BROKER - WE WILL STILL HAVE PALIN TO KICK AROUND: "As for her future, she's still a force to be reckoned with and young enough to run in 2016 if Obama gets a second term," David Brody from the Christian Broadcasting Network writes. "Heck, she can run in 2020 and age wouldn't be a problem" (http://bit.ly/pbdxU1). Palin's letter to supporters, posted on the SarahPAC.com: "In the coming weeks I will help coordinate strategies to assist in replacing the President, re-taking the Senate, and maintaining the House" (http://bit.ly/nGJg9u). National Review's write-up of Palin's appearance with Greta Van Susteren on Fox last night (she said unnamed candidates had already called):
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***As the DNC plans an attack on Republican ties to Wall Street, the RNC looks at Obama's base problems and the DSCC focuses on voter protection, here's POLITICO's Morning Score: your daily guide to the permanent campaign.

ROMNEY BANDWAGON - SNEAK PEEK AT A FLURRY OF POST-CHRISTIE ENDORSEMENTS:

NEW HAMPSHIRE'S JERRY CARMEN: Romney's is going to announce today the backing of Ambassador Jerry Carmen, a former New Hampshire Republican Party chairman and Reagan Administration official. Carmen is an old school conservative. He was a key Reagan booster in the state during his 1980 victory, running northeast political operations for the campaign. He mentored an entire generation of young New Hampshire Republicans that went on to bigger and better things, including the current state chair (Wayne MacDonald) and Perry's top strategist (Dave Carney). A source with knowledge says Perry's campaign tried hard to recruit Carmen.

FLORIDA'S JUSTIN SAYFIE AND SLATER BAYLISS: Two more key Tim Pawlenty backers from Florida will endorse Mitt Romney later this morning. Justin Sayfie publishes the influential SayfieReview.com. Slater Bayliss, like Sayfie, co-chaired Pawlenty's Florida campaign and had important jobs in Jeb Bush's gubernatorial administration.

JIM NICHOLSON: Former RNC Chairman and Veterans Affairs Secretary Jim Nicholson tells Jonathan Martin that he also plans to back Romney. Nicholson said he admires Chris Christie and before making any decision on whom to support wanted to see if the New Jersey governor would get in the race. But with Christie out, Nicholson said he has now concluded that Romney has both the best chance of any Republican to win the White House and would be the most effective jobs president. Nicholson, a West Pointer who in addition to his post atop the VA also served as President Bush's Ambassador to the Vatican, said he would assist Romney with rounding up support among veterans and Catholics.

SNEAK PEEK - COORDINATED DEM ATTACK WILL TIE REPUBLICANS TO WALL STREET: The Democratic Party, state parties, outside groups and the Obama campaign plan to dramatically step up criticisms of Republican presidential candidates for their vows to repeal Wall Street reform and on Senate Republicans who are blocking the president's choice to lead the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Up to a dozen state parties will offer public support today for Richard Cordray, Obama's nominee to head the bureau. The organizations will partner with consumer advocates, including current and former state attorneys general, and link Cordray's confirmation with consumer protection, credit card company abuses
 and predatory lending. Watch for statements, letters, calls, press conferences and conference calls and social media efforts. The following states are likely to be involved: OH, CO, NM, AZ, IA, ME, NH, PA, MA, NV and WI. This morning the Democratic National Committee is releasing a new web video called 'Republicans: On the side of Wall Street, Not Consumers.' Watch the 105-second video, which includes clips of Republicans pledging to repeal Dodd-Frank:
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SNEAK PEEK - RNC STRATEGY MEMO FOCUSES ON OBAMA'S BASE PROBLEM: Highlighting Obama's latest polling numbers, RNC political director Rick Wiley writes a memo today signaling that the president will have to run a base turnout campaign because of his struggles with independents and Republicans. Then he explains why that will not be easy. "The fundamental problem for Obama is simply a base election requires the willing participation of said 'base,'" Wiley writes. "Unfortunately for him, all the evidence today shows he can take none of that for granted." Wiley mentions Obama challenges with blacks, Hispanics, Jews and youths: "The Obama campaign will do its best to vilify Republican candidates
 in an attempt to fire up the Democratic base that isn't overwhelmingly excited about Obama himself. But happiness and motivation are two different things. A lack of motivation is contagious, can permeate all parts of a campaign and is much harder to correct." The RNC has used social media and mobile technology to promote this memo. Those who texted "STRATEGY" to 91919 get a sneak peek. The promotion started with Wiley's new Twitter account - @Rick_Wiley (started yesterday) - and was followed by the RNC and the Chairman's Twitter and Facebook accounts. Read Wiley's full memo:
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FUNDRAISING -

PERRY = $17 million: "What Perry's fundraising shows, his backers argue, is that he's the only conservative candidate in the race with the resources to compete against Mitt Romney over the long haul. In other words, he can spend his way out of his current predicament," Alex Burns and Jonathan Martin write. "And while Perry has likely lost his chance to run away with the Republican presidential nomination, his eye-opening cash haul - collected in just 49 days - suggests he may yet be able to wrest it from Romney in an expensive, bruising nomination fight that drags on into spring."
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The campaign tells CNN that the poor debate performances did not hurt: "The governor raised on average $323,000 dollars per day in the 41 days prior to the debate and $478,000 per day in the nine days that followed, the campaign said."
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ROMNEY = $14+ million: "A source close to the Mitt Romney campaign said the former Massachusetts governor's third-quarter fundraising take was expected to be more than $14 million, though the final figure was still being tallied," the Los Angeles Times' Tom Hamburger and Matea Gold scooped.
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PAUL = $8 million: Ron Paul raised more than $8 million from more than 100,000 unique donors in the third quarter. His campaign noted in its announcement that this is "more than five times the number of total donors" to Perry's campaign. The candidate announced his number during a lunch speech at the National Press Club.

CASHING IN - NYT, WSJ STORIES HIGHLIGHT CAIN'S LACK OF SERIOUSNESS: The New York Times put a story about Herman Cain's focus on selling books, instead of retail politicking in the early states, on A1 today: "When asked why he would launch a book tour while running for the presidential nomination, Mr. Cain said that 'the two complement one another'...'It was a gamble on the part of Simon & Schuster,' he said. 'They get kudos for believing in me and this campaign. Now they're going to cash in. That's the way it works.' The publishing house is not the only beneficiary, of course. So is Mr. Cain, whose most recent occupation is that of professional keynote speaker. His fee is $25,000 a speech.
 He also runs his own leadership consulting company. The two roles continue to play a large part in his daily schedule, which is why his October campaign plans seem so spare, he explained."
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The Wall Street Journal: "Some former Cain campaign staffers say Mr. Cain appears to lack organizational focus. His campaign has no regular conference calls or team meetings, and it has lacked a campaign manager for much of his bid," Patrick O'Connor and Neil King Jr. write. "Mr. Cain's former New Hampshire campaign director, Matt Murphy, who also left the campaign in June, says he has deep respect for the candidate but fears Mr. Cain lacks real campaign acumen."
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CLUB FOR GROWTH - "GIVE HERMAN CAIN A CLOSE LOOK": The conservative advocacy group shocked many in the establishment yesterday afternoon by releasing a statement from its president Chris Chocola. "Herman Cain is surging in the polls because his clear message of limited government and economic freedom is resonating," he said. "Republican primary voters ought to give Herman Cain a close look. We are."

***SCORE FACTS OF LIFE: As soon as his opponents and the media start to actually vette Cain's record and scrutinize his proposals, which no one has had any incentive or time to do (until now), his negatives will go up and his impressive positive intensity number will fall.

THE NEXT HIT ON ROMNEY - HIS ENVIRONMENTAL RECORD: Jonathan Weisman looks at the initiatives he pushed as governor of Massachusetts in today's Wall Street Journal to foreshadow coming attacks from the right.
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WHAT NEWT SECRETLY DREAMS ABOUT - GINGRICH SAYS HE'S "NOT A NO" FOR VP: "In an interview with CNN News anchor Wolf Blitzer, Gingrich was asked whether he would answer yes or no if asked to be the eventual nominee's running mate. 'Well, it wouldn't be a no,' Gingrich said. But he declined to say a word more - literally, standing and smiling on camera as Blitzer continued to press him," according to the CBS account. "'That sounds like a yes,' Blitzer said. Gingrich smiled. 'Anything?' Blitzer asked. More smiling. 'Well, I'll leave it at that,' Blitzer said, throwing in the towel."
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WHAT THE REPUBLICAN CANDIDATES ARE UP TO: Cain hosts a 7 a.m. breakfast at the Junior League of Houston, a noon book singing in College Station and a 4:30 p.m. Barnes & Noble stop in the Woodlands. Romney speaks at the USS Yorktown in Mt. Pleasant, S.C., at 2 p.m.

THIS SATURDAY - PERRY'S FIRST TRIP TO CONSERVATIVE NW IOWA: The Sioux County Republicans emailed their list last night to say Perry is coming to Orange City this Saturday. At 12:30 p.m., he'll be in The Barn at the Blue Mountain Restaurant.

WHAT THE PRESIDENT IS UP TO: The White House has released a pretty non-political schedule. He honors the national champion Texas A&M women's basketball team at 1:45 and sits down with Hilary Clinton at 2 p.m.

SNEAK PEEK - DSCC TO ANNOUNC ELECTION PROTECTION PROJECT TODAY: Later this morning the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee will announce a new campaign and action center to resist the voter restriction laws that have passed in nearly two dozen states this year. The DSCC's campaign, called the "2012 Election Protection Project," uses online advertisements purchased through Twitter, Facebook and Google. They also plan additional organizing tools, such as petitions and emails, to both raise awareness and push back on what they describe as Republican efforts to keep Democratic-leaning voters from the polls. For the first time this cycle, the DSCC will also purchase ads on mobile devices.
 The committee is simultaneously launching an online "Election Protection Project Action Center." This should be a hub for information on the potential impact of voter suppression efforts in the various states. Potential voters will be able to register online. This effort comes after a new report shows up to five million voters could be disenfranchised next year. Here is the new DSCC Action Center:
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HAWAII SENATE-INOUYE SUPPORTS HIRONO OVER CASE: Sen. Daniel Inouye is now saying that he wants Mazie Hirono to beat former Rep. Ed Case in the contested Democratic primary for Senate to replace retiring Sen. Daniel Akaka. The Honolulu Civil Beat writes up an interview: "Case publicly irked Inouye - and caused drama within Hawaii's Democratic Party - when he unsuccessfully challenged Akaka in 2006. 'He knows why I'm not too happy with him,' Inouye said of Case."
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ILLINOIS REDISTRICTING - JESSE JACKSON JR. GETS PRIMARY'D: "Former one-term Rep. Debbie Halvorson said Wednesday she would challenge incumbent Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. for the Democratic nomination in the newly drawn 2nd Congressional District in Illinois," the Chicago Tribune reports. "Halvorson was defeated in last year's midterm election by Republican Adam Kinzinger in the current southwest suburban and central Illinois 11th District. Some of the district was put into the new Democratic-drawn 2nd District, which was extended out from the city to help preserve an African American majority in Jackson's district."
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ARIZONA REDISTRICTING - NEW MAP TEES UP BEN QUAYLE-SCHWEIKERT PRIMARY: The former vice president's son, who won his primary with a plurality last year and had a surprisingly tight general considering the size of the Republican wave, will likely face off against fellow Republican freshman David Schweikert. Such a race could revive last year's kerfuffle about Quayle writing comments on the "Dirty Scottsdale" web site. The bipartisan redistricting committee map is not final, but it is not expected to change much. The Arizona Republic looks at the new, Democratic-friendly map in more general terms:
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Speaking of Arizona, Gabby Giffords has traveled from Houston to Washington to attend a ceremony marking her husband Mark Kelly's retirement from the Navy.
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IOWA HOUSE - VILSACK RAISES 330K: Iowa congressional candidate Christie Vilsack will announce Thursday that she raised $330,000 during the third fundraising quarter. That puts her cash on hand figure at $540,000, according to the campaign, lifting her total raised since April to $754,000. In a marquee matchup, the Agriculture secretary's wife is challenging conservative icon Steve King in the state's new 4th district.
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2012 VEEPWATCH - RUBIO SAYS HE WILL NOT BE VP NOMINEE: It is very important for Marco Rubio's political future that he does not look like he is actively campaigning for vice president. Apparently he has finally gotten this message. Yesterday, per ABC, "he was far more definitive than he has been stating that he is not going to be the 2012 Republican Vice Presidential nominee." From ABC: "When asked at the Washington Ideas Forum at the Newseum in Washington DC, Rubio repeated twice for emphasis, 'I am not going to be the Vice Presidential nominee.' Asked during the forum if he would turn down an offer if the Republican presidential nominee asks him to, Rubio responded, 'Yea, I believe so,'
 adding again, 'the answer is gonna be no.'" Of course this does not at all foreclose him accepting the offer next year.
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MEANWHILE -POLL SHOWS RUBIO WOULD NOT NECESSARILY HELP CARRY FLORIDA Public Policy Polling, meanwhile, released new Florida numbers: "There are actually more voters in the state- 36%- who say Rubio on the ticket would make them less likely to vote for the GOP than there are- 30%- who say Rubio as the VP would enhance their chances of supporting the Republican candidate. 34% say it wouldn't make a difference to them either way," the Democratic poll director explains in an analysis posted yesterday afternoon. "44% think he's doing a good job to 39% who disapprove...His disapproval has ticked up with each poll we've done from 31% in March to 35% in June to now 39% on our late September poll."
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CODA - QUOTE OF THE DAY: "I hired Sarah Palin because she was hot and got ratings." - Roger Ailes in an interview with the Associated Press that might have prompted the former Alaska governor to let Mark Levin break the news she isn't running.
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