Subject: Re: Hillary Clinton 2016: Bernie Sanders attack from her proxies
From: Brent Budowsky <[email-masked]>
To: John Podesta <[email-masked]>
Cc: Roy Spence <[email-masked]>
Date: Sun, 6 Sep 2015 08:49:39 -0400

My confidence in Politico as a source is zero, but the surrogate quotes are
accurate, and the pattern is Clinton surrogates starting to attack Bernie about
a week ago is indisputable, and when it begins repetitively happening it becomes
a pattern that cannot be ignored.  I talked to Joaquin privately, and did not write
about this subject publicly, and I can even roll my eyes at Andy Cuomo, from whom
this does not surprise me.  But when it happens as often as it has started happening
recently....and is consistent with the kind of behavior I would expect from some of
the people (not you) surrounding Hillary......pardon the analogy but I can make a
strong circumstantial case this is originating from within the campaign....if it is,
John, whoever is doing it might not even want you to know....

And BTW, I have had some strong exchanges with certain individuals within NBC
first about their Nightly News last night that led with the phrase "Hillary
Clinton confessed".....which I told them was grotesquely inappropriate and
unprofessional....and I just followed up this morning after the Today Show led
with the "Hillary Clinton confessed" cheap shot whereupon I privately suggested
this kind of thing had to originate with someone higher up with NBC corporate.

As for the surrogate attacks on Bernie, they are happening, it started fairly recently,
it came from a number of the surrogates simultaneously, and it is now in the news
even though I never wrote about it or discussed it with anyone outside the family....
I have been to enough rodeos to suspect that despite my low regard for Politico
the story is probably true.....the fact that it is now public means that whether true
or not Bernie and his people will now assume its true and the clock is ticking for
them possibly to react....and my point in the memo this morning is that if Hillary
Clinton heard my advice it would be for her to issue a direct command order to
ALL of her people to make certain these surrogate against Bernie stop right now,
period, regardless of their origin.....I am a friend reacting privately, but people who
are not friends will start reacting publicly if this continues and this will not be in 
her interest, at this time....Brent

Sent from my iPad

> On Sep 6, 2015, at 8:31 AM, John Podesta <[email-masked]> wrote:
> 
> We already discussed Castro. Beyond that, why do you think that story is not just a bunch of hyped up BS intended to have exactly the kind of reaction you are exhibiting?
> 
>> On Sep 6, 2015 7:48 AM, "Brent Budowsky" <[email-masked]> wrote:
>> I would not discourage either or both of you from sharing this note directly with
>> Hillary Clinton because if she wants to become president she needs to understand
>> the point I am making her with crystal clarity.
>> 
>> Someone sent me the story from Politico I link below suggesting that the Hillary
>> Clinton campaign is telling surrogates to attack Bernie Sanders and is so ashamed
>> and embarrassed by their own talking points that they refuse to put in writing what
>> they are telling surrogates to say about why she should become president.
>> 
>> I cannot think of anything more stupid and self-destructive for a campaign to do,
>> especially for a candidate who has dangerously low levels of public trust, than
>> writing surreptitious talking points to attack an opponent whose support is
>> premised on cleaning up politics and whose supporters----unlike some who surround
>> Hillary Clinton----are not in it for the money, or to get a job in her administration that
>> will not happen if this kind of thing continues, or to supplement their lobbying or consulting incomes.
>> 
>> I spent three hours yesterday at George Washington University's back to school
>> engagement fair where 500 campus groups and clubs had booths to interact
>> with incoming students.  There were Democratic and Republican booths, but the
>> only two candidates who had booths were Marco Rubio and Bernie Sanders.
>> 
>> There was no Hillary Clinton booth.
>> 
>> The Bernie Sanders booth---I talked to them and kept an eye on them---spent the
>> entire three hours getting names and contact information on a yellow pad for students
>> who want to actively support Bernie.  This is happening at every major campus
>> in America.
>> 
>> And at a major university in Washington, D.C., where many of the kids come here
>> because of an interest in politics and are already working as interns, there was not
>> one student who gave enough of a damn for Hillary to open a booth, or even wear
>> a Hillary button----I didn't see one and I was looking.
>> 
>> If there are secret Clinton talking points to surrogates to attack Bernie---and I now
>> believe the story is true-----she is going to create ill-will that neither she nor her
>> staff can even imagine.  There are people entering politics for the first time, especially
>> but not only young people, who begin with some level of distrust towards Hillary,
>> who will be disgusted by these attacks against him by Clinton through surrogates
>> and many----who she will desperately need in November if she is nominated----will
>> just stay home because they are not interested in a slightly better version of a
>> system they believe is corrupt.
>> 
>> Moreover, Bernie is a pro, and his inclination will be to play ball if Hillary is
>> nominated and urge his supporters to come around.  What will happen if
>> this continues is Bernie will get pissed off and lash back and I can write the
>> words he will say if Clinton tactics anger him----FBI investigation and aides
>> taking the Fifth will be among them---and it will not be pretty.
>> 
>> The way to handle Bernie is to do what I have done in my columns---give high
>> praise to Hillary, emphasize the historic moment for women and her vast
>> qualifications, counter-attack against the Republican inquisitions, make love
>> to Bernie and his idealistic supporters, and co-opt as many of his progressive
>> issues as possible, such as increasing social security benefits and paying for it
>> through a transaction tax on Wall Street.
>> 
>> The way NOT to handle Bernie is to telegraph how afraid the Clinton campaign
>> is of him, and then dispense covert talking points that cannot be put in writing
>> that embody the oldest politics that will only infuriate many liberal Democrats
>> and give an already-biased media a legitimate story line to push.
>> 
>> Read the Sunday NY Times story about all the tech wizards doing for Bernie for
>> free what Hillary has to pay for, and imagine how they will feel when they read the
>> Politico story I link below....imagine what the college kids for Bernie will feel when
>> these surrogate attacks on Bernie become more visible....what the Hillary campaign
>> should be doing is attracting her own student supports, especially women
>> students, with a vision and inspiration in talking points that should be so
>> powerful in everything good they say about Hillary that they should be leaked
>> with pride and not negative politics that can't be put in writing and have to be
>> hidden like grand jury testimony because her well-paid consultants do not want
>> anyone to know why they think she should become president.....
>> 
>> Candidly,  bluntly,  with all of the verbal brutality I can muster the Clinton campaign
>> has some very big problems and the kind of politics in the Politico story I link here
>> are Exhibit A of why the problems exist, and Exhibit B of why they must be
>> changed if she wants to be nominated and elected.
>> 
>> If nobody else will do it, I will volunteer to take an hour to write the talking points
>> about what surrogates should be saying, about why she should be president,
>> that will make voters so proud that the campaign should call a press conference
>> to publicly release the talking points---and I would not accept a dime and I damn
>> well do not want a job now or ever and I won't plead for her to write an endorsement
>> of the consultant business I won't ever do.....
>> 
>> Hillary Clinton needs to think seriously about these things while there is still time.
>> 
>> 
>> http://www.politico.com/story/2015/09/hillary-clinton-2016-proxies-attack-bernie-sanders-213359
>> 
>> 
>> Sent from my iPad