Subject: Re: John and Roy
From: Brent Budowsky <[email-masked]>
To: John Podesta <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 17 Mar 2016 23:27:33 +0000

Will do.  That's great.  The only contact I have had with Bernie's people about the People's PAC was a short note I sent to Michael Briggs just letting him know I would mention it in the column as I did today. Didn't seek or expect any response, it was more of a courtesy note that I would include it.  If he had a big problem he would have told me but I wouldn't draw any conclusions from that.

You and Roy and the mayor are the only one's who have seen the extended version about the convention that I sent you this morning, plus anyone you show it two.

Soon I am probably going to lay the People's PAC/Convention plan out in some detail, either in The Hill or the Observer.

I am being very diplomatic handling the Bernie people about this. While in the column I briefly said assume for purposes of argument today that its Hillary v. Donald in the longer version with more detail I will probably include a sentence that this works regardless of who this is nominated, and that I think it would be good if Bernie stays in for a while so long as he avoids being negative...and I will probably explicitly state the both candidates might agree to remain positive.....

I want to gently ease the Bernie side into this, rather than let them think I am writing him off or suggesting he drop out....I am very optimistic about this (which I do not always say)....in conversation with liberals who support both Hillary and Bernie they all LOVED the People's PAC idea....and while I have not yet gone to Reid or Pelosi I am sure they will love it because it helps their people big time...

I will keep you posted, the longer piece could be as early as tomorrow or as late as next week mid-week....only a matter of when I think I have it right to navigate both campaigns correctly at a sensitive time.....

And feel free to make any suggestions that I will not publicly quote unless you want me to....I need to navigate this right for both HRC and Bernie.

p.s. I have always been a big supporter of the mayor, I supported him in The Hill during his last campaign and now I occasionally
write for the Observer in his home base (which does not always have friendly politics to Democrats though I do)......and let him know any way I can ever be helpful to him that he or his people should always let me know and I will always do it.  He is a very good man, and the favorable react you received from him is what I  have received from libs of all kinds....Brent

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On Mar 17, 2016, at 7:04 PM, John Podesta <[email-masked]<mailto:[email-masked]>> wrote:

Let me know if Bernie's people reacted to the people's PAC. Bill dB liked it.

On Thursday, March 17, 2016, Brent Budowsky <[email-masked]<mailto:[email-masked]>> wrote:
Absolutely, share with anyone you believe makes sense! Brent

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On Mar 17, 2016, at 10:31 AM, John Podesta <[email-masked]<javascript:_e(%7B%7D,'cvml',[email-masked]');>> wrote:

Can I share with Bill Db?

On Thursday, March 17, 2016, Brent Budowsky <[email-masked]<javascript:_e(%7B%7D,'cvml',[email-masked]');>> wrote:
Please think about this and feel free to share it.  My column in The Hill today was about how Bernie and Hillary need to unite to defeat Trump was highlighted in bold at the center of the front page of the paper today.

It is no secret that I support Hillary without profound enthusiasm and have spent months praising Bernie with huge enthusiasm.  I have a ton of credibility with Bernie, his senior staff and above all his grassroots and small donor base, who consider me the mainstream columnist who has given Bernie the most fair shake in the media.

Now, I am beginning to cash in the chips by setting the stage carefully and tactfully for Bernie's people to gravitate to Hillary by convention time.  Most but not all of them will support Hillary, some will stay home, I worry about the younger people especially who do not view politics as we do.

The next thing I am doing to suggest is an idea I slipped into the column today to get Bernie people thinking---for him to create a People's PAC to amass small donors to support liberal Democrats for the House and Senate in November.

Bernie's small donor base has revolutionary potential.  $42 million in February alone.  Their natural tendency after the primaries will be to largely disperse.  Some, but not a huge number, will give to Hillary.

The next thing I intend to propose is that Bernie, Elizabeth Warren and Bill de Blasio announce before the convention the People's PAC, raise a huge amount of money from small donors using the convention as a launching pad, to support liberal Dems in the House and Senate (and Hillary).

The convention itself would be an ideal launching pad combining old and new media, television and social media, for fundraising and organizing.  A reasonable goal would be to raise from small donors $100 million to $200 million which could help elect some very key liberals to the House and Senate.  That's a lot of dough to influence 8 key Senate races and 35 swing House races and would make a material difference in who controls Congress.  The project would help fuse together the Clinton and Sanders people, and Democrats in the presidential and Congressional campaigns using the convention as an organizing and motivating vehicle.

One of the reasons I made it a point to praise Podesta in my column today as a genuine progressive is not only that I believe it is true, but that I wanted to put my credibility as a progressive behind John's credibility.  The Sanders insiders know this already, and I assume some of these conversations are privately going on now, but the Sanders grassroots know me well by now, since I was writing about Bernie long before others in the media would give Bernie the time of day.

What I want to do is keep the Sanders grassroots and small donor movements in place and behind liberals running for Congress, rather than fading away.  Simply being the party that is not Trump alone is not nearly enough--we need to create a sense as conservatives have done that this is a movement for change which the People's PAC would help motivate and quantify with real money that can help us win Congress, without which a Democratic presidency will be a formula for frustration.

If Republicans nominate Trump, we have a strong chance of regaining the Senate and winning enough House seats to be within reach of a working majority and long shot chance of control.

http://thehill.com/opinion/brent-budowsky/273308-budowsky-hillary-bernie-must-unite-to-beat-trump

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