Subject: Playbook PM: Ad campaign touts McCarthy’s border wall push
From: "Anna Palmer Jake Sherman Daniel Lippman" <[email-masked]>
To: <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 29 Oct 2018 11:10:58 -0600
List-Id: <1376319.xt.local>

Presented by Charter: Playbook is POLITICO's must-read briefing on what's driving the day in Washington                Oct 29, 2018 View in browser                   
 By Anna Palmer, Jake Sherman, Daniel Lippman, Eli Okun and Garrett Ross 
             
Presented by
             
JUST ANNOUNCED ... SARAH HUCKABEE SANDERS is briefing at 2 p.m.

WHAT HOUSE REPUBLICANS ARE TALKING ABOUT ... As the election season hits its peak, another campaign is being waged on the airwaves of America: a radio advertising campaign to boost HOUSE MAJORITY LEADER KEVIN MCCARTHY (R-CALIF.) and his bill to spend more than $20 billion on a border wall with Mexico.

WE'VE GOTTEN MULTIPLE CALLS from red-district Republican lawmakers about the ad playing in their district.

THE SCRIPT: "A 5-year-old brutalized. Law enforcement officers gunned down. These are the victims of illegal immigration. American lives destroyed by our broken immigration laws. But President Trump is fighting back. And conservative Congressman Kevin McCarthy is leading the fight. Kevin McCarthy's Build the Wall and Enforce the Law Act fully funds President Trump's border wall. Expands Kate's Law to penalize criminal illegal immigrants. 

"And ensures only American citizens have the right to vote. That's the tough conservative solution America deserves -- and the leadership President Trump needs. That's conservative Congressman Kevin McCarthy's Build the Wall and Enforce the Law Act. So help President Trump. Visit TimeForTheWall.com and tell Congress to pass Kevin McCarthy's Build the Wall and Enforce the Law Act now. Paid for by State Tea Party Express." The one-minute spot

READ BETWEEN THE LINES ... This group -- State Tea Party Express -- is a nonprofit, so its donors are not disclosed. But someone thought it was wise to spend money to push the McCarthy wall bill in the middle of an election season with a leadership election just weeks away. 

THE NRCC is going on TV on behalf of Katie Arrington in the First District of South Carolina. Arrington defeated Rep. Mark Sanford in a primary. And they're also going up in Maine's Second District on behalf of Rep. Bruce Poliquin -- that race is getting better for the GOP, a source told us.

NEW ... QUINNIPIAC POLL ... SEN. TED CRUZ 51%, REP. BETO O'ROURKE 46% Quinnipiac

FIRST IN PLAYBOOK -- DONALD TRUMP JR. and KIM GUILFOYLE go to Phoenix for three events to boost Martha McSally on Thursday. On Friday, they go to Nevada: They'll rally in Carson City and Reno with Sen. Dean Heller and Adam Laxalt, in Pahrump with Cresent Hardy and Las Vegas with Danny Tarkanian.

ON THE BORDER -- WSJ: "Military to Deploy 5,000 Troops to Southern Border, U.S. Officials Say," by Nancy Youssef in Washington and Alicia Caldwell in Los Angeles: "The new figure is a major increase from initial estimates of 800 troops and would represent a military force equal to about one-third the number of customs officials currently working at the border. ... The U.S. and federal law-enforcement officials said troops are likely to be deployed to ports of entry, at least in initial phases of the U.S. military mission ... 

"U.S. troops later expect to support border officials by doing things like building tents, providing medical support and helping staff command and control centers. ... The additional troops would mean that the number of U.S. forces deployed at the border would be greater than those currently in Syria and Iraq." WSJ

REBECCA MORIN: "Another suspicious package to CNN intercepted in Atlanta" 

-- CNN'S ELIZABETH LANDERS (@ElizLanders): "Wow: law enforcement officials tell @CNN that Cesar Sayoc had 'a list of more than 100 people' to whom he intended to send packages. Officials say he was working through that list- report @ShimonPro & @MaryKayMallonee."

Good Monday afternoon. PLAYBOOK ELECTIONS IN PHILLY -- REP. BRENDAN BOYLE (D-PA.) and retiring REP. RYAN COSTELLO (R-PA.) sat down with Anna and Jake for a Playbook Elections interview this morning to discuss the state of play with Election Day 8 DAYS away.

BOTH WERE HESITANT to draw any direct links between PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP'S rhetoric and the mass shooting at a synagogue in Pittsburgh on Saturday, but agreed broadly that the president is a factor in "shaking up the hornet's nest," as COSTELLO characterized it. BOYLE: "There is no question that this is the most toxic climate in my lifetime."

WILL DEMS TAKE BACK THE HOUSE? BOYLE said he remains confident his party will pick up enough seats to secure the majority, while COSTELLO signaled more caution: "I don't think we're going to know until the next week." He predicted there would be about 12 to 20 districts with a margin of less than 1 percentage point come Election Day.

COSTELLO said he wasn't sure what is next for him, but that he would like to continue work in politics and policy. We asked if he would he run for office again? "It won't be in 2019. ... But potentially, yeah."

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WAR REPORT -- "American ISIS Suspect Is Freed After Being Held More Than a Year," by NYT's Charlie Savage, Rukmini Callimachi and Eric Schmitt: "The Trump administration has freed an American citizen whom the military imprisoned without trial for more than 13 months as a suspected Islamic State member, United States officials said on Monday. His release brings a close to a legal saga that raised novel issues about the scope of the government's national security powers and individual rights.

"The man, a dual American and Saudi citizen, was captured in September 2017 by a Kurdish militia in Syria. The Kurds turned him over to the American military, which held him as a wartime detainee at a base in Iraq while a court battle over his fate played out. ... 

"His release means that a major question his detention raised about how the United States fights war - whether the government has authority to use wartime powers against the Islamic State without explicit congressional authorization - will evade a definitive court ruling, for now." NYT 

WHAT'S ON THE PRESIDENT'S MIND -- @realDonaldTrump at 8:03 a.m.: "There is great anger in our Country caused in part by inaccurate, and even fraudulent, reporting of the news. The Fake News Media, the true Enemy of the People, must stop the open & obvious hostility & report the news accurately & fairly. That will do much to put out the flame..." ... at 8:07 a.m.: "....of Anger and Outrage and we will then be able to bring all sides together in Peace and Harmony. Fake News Must End!"

... at 8:28 a.m.: "Had a very good conversation with the newly elected President of Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro, who won his race by a substantial margin. We agreed that Brazil and the United States will work closely together on Trade, Military and everything else! Excellent call, wished him congrats!"

... at 10:41 a.m.: "Many Gang Members and some very bad people are mixed into the Caravan heading to our Southern Border. Please go back, you will not be admitted into the United States unless you go through the legal process. This is an invasion of our Country and our Military is waiting for you!"

-- REMINDER: Applying for asylum at a U.S. port of entry is going through the legal process.

... at 10:54 a.m.: "In Florida there is a choice between a Harvard/Yale educated man named @RonDeSantisFL who has been a great Congressman and will be a great Governor - and a Dem who is a thief and who is Mayor of poorly run Tallahassee, said to be one of the most corrupt cities in the Country!"

MORE PITTSBURGH FALLOUT -- "'There Is Still So Much Evil': Growing Anti-Semitism Stuns American Jews," by NYT's Laurie Goodstein: "But it did not come out of nowhere, said experts in anti-Semitism. At the same time that Jews were feeling unprecedented acceptance in the United States, the climate was growing increasingly hostile, intensifying in the two years since Donald J. Trump was elected president. And it comes at a time when attacks on Jews are on the rise in Europe as well, with frequent anti-Semitic incidents in France and Germany. ... 

"What has changed, said several experts in interviews, is that conspiracy theories and 'dog whistles' that resonate with anti-Semites and white supremacists are being circulated by establishment sources, including the president and members of Congress. Bizarre claims about Jews have moved from the margins to the establishment." NYT

-- REBECCA MORIN: "McConnell on shootings: 'If these are not hate crimes, I don't know what a hate crime is'" 

-- CNN BUSINESS' IVANA KOTTASOVA: "Gab, the social network used by the Pittsburgh suspect, has been taken offline"

2018 WATCH -- AP'S STEVE PEOPLES and TOM BEAUMONT in Point Pleasant, N.J.: "Candidates sidestep Trump in midterm closing message": "In an election that hinges on Trump's standing, candidates from both parties are struggling to find the right balance when it comes to Trump. ... In an interview, Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna Romney McDaniel suggested the midterm elections are not a referendum on Trump. 

"'I don't see it,' she said. 'The candidates that we have that are doing better are the candidates that are focused on district specific issues and not nationalizing the race.'" AP 

-- THE KANSAS CITY STAR'S BRYAN LOWRY: "Financial industry bets big on McCaskill with control of Senate at stake"

-- NYT'S STEPHANIE SAUL in El Paso, Texas: "Beto O'Rourke Once Supported an El Paso Real Estate Deal. Barrio Residents Remember," by NYT's Stephanie Saul in El Paso, Texas: "Business owners who opposed the plan accused Mr. O'Rourke of a conflict, citing the involvement of his father-in-law ... [H]is involvement in the proposed El Paso redevelopment highlights a side of his record that, on its surface, seems to contradict the populist image he has cultivated in Texas and nationally.

"Mr. O'Rourke was perceived by many as siding with the moneyed elite against angry barrio residents, small business owners and even the Jesuit priests who ministered to the immigrant community at Sacred Heart Church. ... [H]e has said in the past that he never voted for eminent domain, that no property was ever taken by the city through eminent domain and that he had no financial interest in the project." NYT

-- AP'S BILL BARROW in Atlanta: "Jimmy Carter wades into Georgia governor's race": "Former President Jimmy Carter is wading into the contentious Georgia governor's race with a personal appeal to Republican candidate Brian Kemp: Resign as secretary of state to avoid damaging public confidence in the outcome of his hotly contested matchup with Democrat Stacey Abrams." AP

AD WARS -- CNN'S DANA BASH: "Trump campaign manager explains new unprecedented ad, defends President's rhetoric": "Donald Trump busts through so many norms of politics that it shouldn't be surprising he is at it again this final full week of campaigning before the midterms -- launching a 2018 ad for Republicans, paid for and produced by his own 2020 campaign.

"Trump campaign manager Brad Parscale tells CNN it is a $6 million ad buy on television and digital. The 60-second spot is focused on the booming economy, with flashbacks to the economic crisis that started 10 years ago, warning that it 'could all go away if we don't remember where we came from.' The move is unprecedented, considering the President is not actually on the ballot November 6." CNN ... The ad

KNOWING GAVIN NEWSOM -- "Golden Boy 2.0," by The New Yorker's Tad Friend: "Newsom seeks to embody [Bobby] Kennedy's grainy glamour, to provide moral clarity in a bewildering hour. If R.F.K. came across as a bare-knuckle fighter converted to humility, Newsom presents an image that an adviser describes as 'pretty boy with a slide rule.' ... Newsom lacks the God-given gifts of, say, Eric Garcetti, the Los Angeles mayor who dazzled voters as a break-dancing Rhodes Scholar. But, he told me, 'I will outwork you. I will read more, I will think more, I will reflect more. I just will.' ... 

"He takes Trump's jabs at California personally, because he takes nearly everything personally. ... When Newsom can't defuse a challenge, he sometimes gets sulky. ... [F]or someone as personable as Newsom is, he doesn't seem to have many intimates. ... Newsom prefers to emphasize his childhood's Cinderella struggles, because the rescue-by-fairy-godmother aspect gets used against him. ... He longs to merge his personas." The New Yorker

TRANSITIONS -- Lauren Claffey has launched Claffey Communications, a consulting firm. She previously was deputy assistant secretary of strategic communications at DHS. ... Katie McBreen is now VP of communications and research at the Grocery Manufacturers Association. She previously worked at the National Retail Federation.

-- NATIONAL JOURNAL'S HANNA TRUDO (@HCTrudo): "News: @SenWarren's chief of staff, Dan Geldon, has left that role. I'm told by a source familiar that he has moved to Warren's campaign to help with the last leg of her Senate re-election bid."

ENGAGED -- Abram Olmstead, digital director for the National Automobile Dealers Association and a U.S. Chamber alum, proposed to Katie Finnell, a teacher at Trinity in Fairfax. The couple got engaged on a beach in Acadia National Park this weekend. Pic ... The ring

WEEKEND WEDDING -- Thomas "T.M." Gibbons-Neff, a defense and national security reporter for the NYT and a former Marine infantryman, married Muireann Mageras, an energy and sustainability consultant, at the New York Yacht Club in Newport, R.I. Pool report: "The couple, who met in high school, treated guests to Aperol spritzes and an evening of dancing starring the 1st Battalion 6th Marines and guests from as far as Ireland and Switzerland, where the bride previously lived." Pic ... Another pic

WELCOME TO THE WORLD -- Adam Hepburn, director of strategic advocacy at United Airlines and a Richard Hanna and House Republican Conference alum, and Carly Hepburn, associate general counsel at Love Funding Corporation, welcomed Henry John Hepburn and Penelope Marie Hepburn. Pic ... Another pic

                        
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