Subject: POLITICO's Morning Score: Perry's flat tax plan--His seven advisers--Crossroads targets Boswell--DCCC hosts 107 candidates--Cain's oddball new ad--Reince vows to punish Florida--Colbert edits Huntsman joke out of segment
From: "Morning Score" <[email-masked]>
To: <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 25 Oct 2011 05:27:26 -0600

DRIVING THE DAY - PERRY OUTLINES "CUT, BALANCE AND GROW" FLAT TAX PROPOSAL:Rick Perry previews the proposals he will put forward in South Carolina with a Wall Street Journal op-ed. "The plan starts with giving Americans a choice between a new, flat tax rate of 20% or their current income tax rate," the Texas governor writes. "The new flat tax preserves mortgage interest, charitable and state and local tax exemptions for families earning less than $500,000 annually, and it increases the standard deduction to $12,500 for individuals and dependents...My plan also abolishes the death tax once and for all, providing needed certainty to American family farms and small businesses...Cut, Balance
 and Grow also gives younger workers the option to own their Social Security contributions through personal retirement accounts that Washington politicians can never raid."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=7fb9c249d42e3675ed26d68578680651bf2e815651b26a964517ee7ed6275098 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=7fb9c249d42e3675ed26d68578680651bf2e815651b26a964517ee7ed6275098 

WHO CAME UP WITH THIS PLAN?The Perry campaign sent Score background information on the seven people most involved in advising Perry on his economic plan: Steve Forbes, Susan Dudley, John Taylor, Pam Olson, David Malpass, Alvin Rabushka and freshman Rep. Mick Mulvaney. Read their bios:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=7fb9c249d42e367561d29604c27ce644b950fd485219ff6b854e415b892ea7ef 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=7fb9c249d42e367561d29604c27ce644b950fd485219ff6b854e415b892ea7ef .

FORBES SIGNS OFF:Forbes, whose flat tax proposal defined his 1996 campaign, has agreed to become the top cheerleader for Perry's economic plan. He officially endorsed the Texas governor yesterday, explaining why in this 4.5-minute hit on Fox:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=7fb9c249d42e36753387847bce5ba19a8f202a9e396443c38301a781ad84a646 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=7fb9c249d42e36753387847bce5ba19a8f202a9e396443c38301a781ad84a646 .

PERRY DESCRIBES HIMSELF AS BOLD:The governor gave an interview to the New York Times and CNBC to talk about his proposal. The NYT plays the write-up on A20: "Perry dismissed a suggestion that his plan could give hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars in tax cuts to wealthy Americans. 'I don't care about that,' he said...And he cast his economic plan as 'bold,' and said Mitt Romney, his opponent, was 'nibbling around the edges' with his own tax proposal."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=7fb9c249d42e367528526f7e5079c0924d6a32e30018ce5db0e1df8b47203b0c 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=7fb9c249d42e367528526f7e5079c0924d6a32e30018ce5db0e1df8b47203b0c 

LIVESTREAM: Watch Perry give his economic speech at 11 a.m. ET.
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=7fb9c249d42e3675e2b2cd23facbd63bc9243339d6259429fa01455f31966f4f 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=7fb9c249d42e3675e2b2cd23facbd63bc9243339d6259429fa01455f31966f4f 

TODAY'S SPEECH IS PART OF A LARGER RELAUNCH:Alex Burns and Maggie Haberman note that this proposal goes beyond something Perry did in Texas for the first time. The campaign will roll out a TV ad statewide in Iowa either today or tomorrow (they've reserved up to $174,000), and they've brought on a bunch of new senior advisers, including former top George W. Bush aide Joe Allbaugh. The story leads POLITICOs home page this morning:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=7fb9c249d42e3675577a74794d2ab53674f2cab1a468e60e8d85b134ca3a8eba 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=7fb9c249d42e3675577a74794d2ab53674f2cab1a468e60e8d85b134ca3a8eba .

HE'S ALSO TRYING TO GET TRACTION IN SOUTH CAROLINA:The State previews his speech by looking at how little he has done in the state: "South Carolina was supposed to be a sure thing for Rick Perry: A Republican, Southern, evangelical governor with a big smile and an even bigger lead in the polls...Perry returns to South Carolina today after a nearly two-month absence to find his double-digit lead in August has vanished."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=7fb9c249d42e36757bd1dd7758851ead609357aae17250ce47d328615b1c2593 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=7fb9c249d42e36757bd1dd7758851ead609357aae17250ce47d328615b1c2593 

SNEAK PEEK - CROSSROADS TARGETS IOWA'S BOSWELL WITH NEW AD:Crossroads Grassroots Policy Strategies will launch a new issue ad in Iowa today that takes Rep. Leonard Boswell to task over the budget and taxes. The spot urges voters to contact Boswell to tell him they oppose his support for President Obama's "second round of stimulus spending." The group is putting $160,000 behind the ad in the Des Moines and Omaha markets over the next two weeks. This follows through on that Steven Law strategy memo previewed in Score on Friday about how to win the messaging fight over the jobs bill by stressing the failure of the 2009 stimulus. Watch the ad here first:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=7fb9c249d42e367550a38a88bfbbd888aae350c99bc50b2afb04f0ae15457be9 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=7fb9c249d42e367550a38a88bfbbd888aae350c99bc50b2afb04f0ae15457be9 .

*** As Cain's new ad raises eyebrows, Huntsman hopes for the Colbert pump and the DSCC picks a fight in Nebraska, here's POLITICO's Morning Score: your daily guide to the permanent campaign.

GINGRICH ALSO CALLS FOR A FLAT TAX-BUT AN OPTIONAL ONE:The former House speaker says in an op-ed that his jobs plan would include an optional flat tax of 15% or less. "Anyone who strongly favors a deduction or credit under the federal government's current complex income tax system would have the choice to keep filing that way," Gingrich writes.
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=4b236bbd8aa6f8055d2d5a9aeb445ec0a91bb3e7509a4755d69b3fe9dcedcc55 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=4b236bbd8aa6f8055d2d5a9aeb445ec0a91bb3e7509a4755d69b3fe9dcedcc55 

THE COLBERT BUMP - HUNTSMAN JOKE EDITED OUT:Jon Huntsman went on Stephen Colbert's show last night. He talked a lot about China and Mormonism. Per ABC News: "When Colbert played a sound effect of a stereotypical Chinese riff, Huntsman joked, 'When's the delivery food coming?' After a few seconds of awkward silence, Colbert replied, 'Did that go over well in Beijing?' This portion of the interview was cut for time from the broadcast."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=4b236bbd8aa6f805a1cfaba0bf763862ef0bf3b2e1bda6390dca92c48c9c95fd 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=4b236bbd8aa6f805a1cfaba0bf763862ef0bf3b2e1bda6390dca92c48c9c95fd .The 7-minute video here:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=4b236bbd8aa6f805f9cec091d4a37c31d5e5a7cb73c0af65be5bb49df79942fc 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=4b236bbd8aa6f805f9cec091d4a37c31d5e5a7cb73c0af65be5bb49df79942fc .

LESSONS OF 2008-ROMNEY FINDS SUCCESS BY NOT OVERTHINKING:The New York Times fronts a story this morning based on interviews with more than a dozen top advisors to Romney about how he's learned from his failure four years ago. "While some candidates suffer from a lack of preparation for the national stage, Mr. Romney and his aides concluded that in his first go-round, he was hampered by an overbearing campaign apparatus," the paper finds. "This time, he has shed much of the operational and psychological baggage that weighed down, and ultimately doomed, his maiden campaign. Gone are the extensive debate rehearsals, the bickering consultants, the corporate dress code and the urge to explain
 everything. That may explain why, for all his ups and downs, Mr. Romney's public presentation and debate appearances have been far more consistent this time."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=4b236bbd8aa6f805da232132473fb4a7334eac1e8abede9fece2b68eb52712dc 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=4b236bbd8aa6f805da232132473fb4a7334eac1e8abede9fece2b68eb52712dc 

DNC ATTACKS - TARGETS ROMNEY IN ARIZONA ON FORECLOSURE COMMENT:The Democratic National Committee will put money behind an attack ad on Romney in Arizona, showing they think the state could be competitive. It will run on five local affiliates, plus CNN and MSNBC, for six days. It seizes on Romney's comment from last week's Las Vegas Review-Journal sit-down: "Don't try to stop the foreclosure process, let it run its course and hit the bottom." The Romney camp says this shows that Dems see him as the biggest general election threat. The Democrats new mantra: Romney will leave the middle class out to dry. The ad:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=4b236bbd8aa6f80599f6893da3d444d6e9daa8c8f1ea95db04bd76669f6d79ef 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=4b236bbd8aa6f80599f6893da3d444d6e9daa8c8f1ea95db04bd76669f6d79ef .

CAIN'S WEIRD AD - APPARENTLY HE IS NOT WORRIED ABOUT BEING THOUGHT OF AS UNSERIOUS:"The web spot features the Republican presidential candidate's chief of staff Mark Block, who is standing outside, offering fairly standard endorsements of the candidate," CBS News explains in their write-up. "But a number of factors make the spot itself very strange: Block's halting delivery, the close-up nature of the shots, and a pair of rapid pans away from Block's face before the cuts. And that's all a precursor to the most memorable moment: A close up of Block inhaling a cigarette and then wordlessly exhaling a thin puff of smoke as a woman sings 'I am America' in the background. The spot then cuts to a
 close up of an unsmiling Cain turning toward the camera, the candidate gradually breaking out into a laugh."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=4b236bbd8aa6f80530d9bace836d4068a8a906547f8d2f61e23fdbf8ebe081af 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=4b236bbd8aa6f80530d9bace836d4068a8a906547f8d2f61e23fdbf8ebe081af 

A 50-STATE STRATEGY - DES MOINES REGISTER WONDERS WHY CAIN'S NEW RADIO AD IS NOT TARGETED:"A national radio advertisement for presidential candidate Herman Cain begins Tuesday on the Rush Limbaugh program - and it's aimed not only at Iowa but all 50 states," Jennifer Jacobs writes in the Des Moines Register. "Steve Grubbs, Cain's Iowa campaign chairman, said in the statement that Limbaugh's show reaches the two biggest AM stations in Iowa... Since August, he has dedicated his time campaigning outside the first-in-the-nation caucus state."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=4b236bbd8aa6f805c6b5f1cab50f1a4ae84e04f366bd949b57f53f6c93c8d626 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=4b236bbd8aa6f805c6b5f1cab50f1a4ae84e04f366bd949b57f53f6c93c8d626 

BACHMANN MESS - LOSES ANOTHER DAY TALKING ABOUT N.H. STAFF:This CNN report captures the tenor of most coverage at the national and New Hampshire level. "Michele Bachmann's national spokesman downplayed claims Monday that the Minnesota congresswoman's New Hampshire staff had been mistreated by the campaign's senior-level team," the story says. "Earlier Monday, five of Bachmann's New Hampshire staffers released a statement accusing the campaign's national operation of being 'rude, unprofessional, dishonest, and at times cruel.' All five of the New Hampshire workers who released the statement have resigned from Bachmann's campaign."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=4b236bbd8aa6f80548cd2d15a1406ef00fa2ef7790ccaf0e358b2ce63f12e510 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=4b236bbd8aa6f80548cd2d15a1406ef00fa2ef7790ccaf0e358b2ce63f12e510 

MONEY BOMB - PAUL RAISES $3 MILLION IN 5 DAYS:He launched the 'Black This Out' campaign after telling supporters he did not get enough questions in last week's CNN debate.
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=4b236bbd8aa6f8055eae1b063b126fa7e6d2fb62aa0aa96874fae9903490fd5f 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=4b236bbd8aa6f8055eae1b063b126fa7e6d2fb62aa0aa96874fae9903490fd5f 

WAS MCCAIN "MUGGED" BY OBAMA? - HIS LAWYER THINKS SO:Trevor Potter, a lead lawyer for Sen. John McCain's 2008 campaign, told Ken Vogel as part of a new video series that McCain felt like he was "mugged" by Obama in 2008 when the Democrat broke a promise to use public financing. Now known for helping Stephen Colbert set up his own super PAC, Potter lauded the late night comedian, saying his riffs on campaign finance are a "teaching moment" for the country.
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=4b236bbd8aa6f805db4348ba90f764cf06927634ac856b31caaf781294ca83b2 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=4b236bbd8aa6f805db4348ba90f764cf06927634ac856b31caaf781294ca83b2 

WHAT THE REPUBLICAN CANDIDATES ARE UP TO:Perry, in South Carolina, speaks at an office in Gray Court at 11 and holds a news conference at the South Carolina State House at 3:30. Huntsman has a breakfast roundtable at the Penn Club in NYC and a 7 p.m. speech at George Washington University in DC. Santorum is in South Carolina, with speeches in Spartanburg and Greenville. Gingrich files his New Hampshire paperwork in Concord. Cain speaks at a tea party rally in La Marque, Texas.

The American Action Forum's Doug Holtz-Eakin will get Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour's thoughts this morning on supercommittee recommendations. Livestream at 10 a.m. ET:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=58a6976566288914fc7d98f98c0624861fa38e0085d30705c2621b8549fb38ac 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=58a6976566288914fc7d98f98c0624861fa38e0085d30705c2621b8549fb38ac .

SET THE DVR - CAIN, GINGRICH AGREE TO LINCOLN-DOUGLAS DEBATE:"A group of tea-party activists in Texas will host a 'modified Lincoln-Douglas debate' between Herman Cain and Newt Gingrich next month," National Review reports. The debate, which will focus on fiscal issues, is November 5 at the Woodlands Resort near Houston. Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) will emcee.
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=58a69765662889141743bc2b3fa1d2619c591f22fda94ec3c617299e75669127 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=58a69765662889141743bc2b3fa1d2619c591f22fda94ec3c617299e75669127 

WHAT THE PRESIDENT IS UP TO - LENO IN LA, THEN SF AND DENVER: "In the morning, the President will sit down for an interview on the 'Tonight Show with Jay Leno' at the NBC Studios in Burbank, CA... In the afternoon, the President will deliver remarks at a campaign event at the W Hotel in San Francisco...In the evening, the President will deliver remarks at a campaign event at the Pepsi Center in Denver, CO...The President will spend the night in Denver, CO."

UNHAPPY BASE - LIBERALS TO PROTEST AS OBAMA HIRES PIPELINE LOBBYIST:Some environmental activists are unhappy that the Obama campaign has brought onboard Broderick Johnson, hired yesterday as a top campaign advisor, because of for his working lobbying for TransCanada on the Keystone XL pipeline. A group called Tar Sands Action is launching a national ad campaign this week to oppose the pipeline project. A strategist involved in planning tells Score that Obama will be met with the largest protest he's seen on the campaign trail this year in San Francisco today, with hundreds expected at his fundraiser. The newspaper ad:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=58a697656628891493351129a91cb12fc85b1aa036809f949f3a3df7232e4003 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=58a697656628891493351129a91cb12fc85b1aa036809f949f3a3df7232e4003 .

Ben Smith noted yesterday that Johnson also lobbied on behalf of Fannie Mae and Bank of America, but a campaign aide told him Johnson has deregistered and downplayed it because the Republicans all have lobbyists advising and donating to them.
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=58a6976566288914dcdf79e1361dbdb3d3f8ae4e42772a8d6e47eee2477900f0 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=58a6976566288914dcdf79e1361dbdb3d3f8ae4e42772a8d6e47eee2477900f0 

TOUGH FIGHT - OBAMA SAYS 2012 WON'T BE AS FUN AS 2008:"I've said this before - this election will not be as sexy as the first one,' the president said at a fundraising dinner last night. 'Back then it was still fresh and new. I didn't have any gray hair. Everybody loved the 'Hope' posters and all that. This time it's - we've got to grind it out a little bit. We've got to grind it out. But the cause is the same. And my passion is the same. And my commitment is the same.'
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=58a69765662889141a56a6ff49b3f1990bdfbe1dd262b5cbd51ea8960a339951 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=58a69765662889141a56a6ff49b3f1990bdfbe1dd262b5cbd51ea8960a339951 

NEBRASKA SENATE - EXCLUSIVE PREVIEW OF DSCC ATTACK ON DEB FISCHER:The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee will tee off today on Republican Senate candidateDeb Fischer (not the frontrunner) over a report that she's benefiting from a federal farm subsidy that saves her over $100,000 per year. National Democrats will say she has a "credibility problem." From Matt Canter's forthcoming statement: "If Deb Fischer really wants to look at places to rein in federal spending, she could start with the mirror." The original report:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=58a69765662889149ac83808e152539d3d2ed790561beff2ef1edf115516e7d5 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=58a69765662889149ac83808e152539d3d2ed790561beff2ef1edf115516e7d5 .

CALENDAR SETTLED - PRIEBUS PLEDGES TO STILL PUNISH FLORIDA:"There is no discretion. There is no coming back. There is no kumbaya that's going to happen. They're going to lose half of their delegates and that's a pretty serious penalty," Priebus said during an interview with ABC News' Jonathan Karl. He described the Nevada deal as a success. Still going after Florida is significant because they are hosting the convention.
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=58a6976566288914851e252f380ab32f5b122979edea7099b73fd3d7529df7d8 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=58a6976566288914851e252f380ab32f5b122979edea7099b73fd3d7529df7d8 

EMILY'S LIST - ENDORSING LOIS CAPPS TODAY:Theyfirst endorsed her in 1998. Now she could face a challenge. Stephanie Schriock, President of EMILY's List, calls her a "hero" in a forthcoming statement: "She has consistently been at the front of efforts to protect women's reproductive freedom, detect and prevent domestic violence against women, and defend Medicare from Republican attacks."

HOUSE TALKER - 107 HOUSE DEMOCRATIC HOUSE CANDIDATES COME TO WASHINGTON WEDNESDAY:The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee plans to host 107 candidates from 36 states Wednesday to help them as they prepare to run. Their schedule includes a reception for the DCCC's Women LEAD program, policy discussions about the economy and national security, media training with Anita Dunn and a presentation by DCCC Chairman Steve Israel and Recruitment Chair Alyson Schwartz. Confirmed attendees include Christie Vilsack (IA-04), Brendan Mullen (IN-02), Jose Hernandez (CA-10), Jamie Wall (WI-08), Pam Gulleson (ND-AL), Raul Ruiz (CA-36), Val Demings (FL-08) and Rob Wallace (OK-02).

2012 VEEPWATCH - RUBIO USES WASHINGTON POST STORY TO GALVANIZE CONSERVATIVE BASE:The Florida senator went on Fox last night to push back hard on accusations that he embellished his resume, part of a broader jujitsu strategy to channel an MSM attack into additional support from conservatives and Cubans. The St. Petersburg Times actually called Rubio a WINNER of the week on Sunday: "Rubio and his team did a virtuoso damage control job making him look like a victim after the Washington Post implied his family was not part of the exile community. Nothing like acting persecuted by the mainstream media to boost your conservative cred." A story on the pushback:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=58a6976566288914b8e57c5229a7c250a7e539707ab8f5dd07a4bdd1241f989f 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=58a6976566288914b8e57c5229a7c250a7e539707ab8f5dd07a4bdd1241f989f . Watch this in practice during last night's interview with Bill O'Reilly:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=58a69765662889140a42ea17b7a277aa24ae1807f308a95a2725d1869963bbb6 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=58a69765662889140a42ea17b7a277aa24ae1807f308a95a2725d1869963bbb6 .

CODA - QUOTE OF THE DAY:"Governor you may be at two percent. We're going to get you up to whole milk." - Stephen Colbert explaining to Jon Huntsman that he will get a bump in the polls for appearing on his comedy show
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=4b236bbd8aa6f805f9cec091d4a37c31d5e5a7cb73c0af65be5bb49df79942fc 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=4b236bbd8aa6f805f9cec091d4a37c31d5e5a7cb73c0af65be5bb49df79942fc 

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