Subject: Correct The Record Friday November 14, 2014 Morning Roundup
From: Burns Strider <[email-masked]>
To: CTRFriendsFamily <[email-masked]>
Date: Fri, 14 Nov 2014 08:05:56 -0500
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*​**Correct The Record Friday November 14, 2014 Morning Roundup:*

*Headlines:*

*CNN: “Hillary Clinton's favorite home state(s)”
<http://www.cnn.com/2014/11/14/politics/hillary-clinton-from/>*

“‘Hillary Clinton's roots in Arkansas run deep, and many Arkansans still
consider her their hometown girl,’ said Adrienne Elrod, a former Clinton
aide from Arkansas. ‘As a native Arkansan, I could not be more proud to
call her one of us.’”

*Politico: “Elizabeth Warren gets rock-star reception at liberal donors
confab”
<http://www.politico.com/story/2014/11/elizabeth-warren-liberal-donors-112888.html>*

“Priorities USA, a super PAC that’s part of a robust Clinton shadow
campaign that dwarfs anything supporters of Warren or other prospective
candidates have built, threw a cocktail party late Wednesday night in a
roped-off area of the Mandarin bar, which offers sweeping views of the
Tidal Basin. The hosts were a virtual all-star team of Democratic figures
who are backing a prospective Clinton campaign and are helping lead
Priorities USA…”

*Salon: “R.I.P., Elizabeth Warren ’16 fantasy: Why she’s really (probably)
not running for president now”
<http://www.salon.com/2014/11/14/r_i_p_elizabeth_warren_16_fantasy_why_shes_really_probably_not_running_for_president_now/>*

“So one of the party’s top fundraisers is being given a more visible perch.
[…] The biggest signal that this sends is that Warren, who has said she’s
not running for president about 50 million times but you never know, is …
still not running for president.”

*Bloomberg: “Should Democrats Obstruct or Compromise?”
<http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2014-11-14/should-democrats-obstruct-or-compromise>*

“Assuming she runs for president, [Democratic pollster Peter] Hart said, ‘I
wouldn't be surprised if Hillary  Clinton in 2016 talks more about her
Senate record and her ability to work within the congressional dynamic than
she does about her Secretary of State's record.’”

*Bloomberg: “Does Bill de Blasio's Populist Critique Apply to Hillary
Clinton?”
<http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2014-11-14/does-bill-de-blasios-populist-critique-apply-to-hillary-clinton>*

Bill de Blasio: “Oh, absolutely. … Clearly, throughout the 2016 election
cycle there will be a call for what we often call populism. But what I
really think is [there will be] sort of a sharp truth-telling about the
reality of the economy and the need for more profound answers, and I think
[Clinton will] be able to speak to that.”

*CNN opinion: CNN contributor Ruben Navarrette: “Presidential candidates:
Don't apply if you're over 60”
<http://www.cnn.com/2014/11/13/opinion/navarrette-age-limit-for-presidency/>*

“In 2016, the message to both parties should be: ‘Go young — or go home.’”

*Washington Times: “Joe Biden: Middle class was devastated during Clinton
years”
<http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/nov/13/joe-biden-middle-class-devastated-clinton-years/>*

“Vice President Joseph R. Biden took a swipe Thursday at the Clinton
administration — and at possible presidential rival Hillary Rodham Clinton
— by saying the middle class declined ‘all through the ‘90s.’”

*Talk Business Arkansas: “Banker, Attorney, Political Confidante Bill Bowen
Dies At 91”
<http://talkbusiness.net/2014/11/banker-attorney-political-confidante-bill-bowen-dies-at-91/>*

“President Bill Clinton also provided a statement on the passing of Bowen.
‘I was saddened to hear of the death of my good friend Bill Bowen, whose
fascinating life was a serial Arkansas success story,’ said Clinton.”

*Articles:*

*CNN: “Hillary Clinton's favorite home state(s)”
<http://www.cnn.com/2014/11/14/politics/hillary-clinton-from/>*

By Dan Merica

November 14, 2014, 6:04 a.m. EST

Washington (CNN) -- Hillary Clinton is a New Yorker. And an Arkansan. And
an Illinoisan. And at times also even a Pennsylvanian.

While the question -- Where is Hillary Clinton from? -- may seem simple,
the answer was made harder as Clinton traveled the country over the last
six months stumping for Democratic candidates during the midterms and
peddling her memoir. People from at least four states like to lay claim to
Clinton, and the former secretary of state never shied away from those
signs of citizenship.

Born in Park Ridge, Illinois in 1947, Clinton rose to prominence during her
20-year stay in Arkansas from 1974 to 1992. After living in Washington,
D.C., for eight years as first lady, Clinton moved to Chappaqua, New York
and represented the Empire State for eight years in the Senate.

Geographical identity politics are a core part of the American campaign
trail from local offices all the way up Pennsylvania Avenue -- just ask
Dick Lugar or Scott Brown -- and having home roots that are considered
authentic by voters is a key part of messaging for any presidential
hopeful, and that includes Clinton.

At times, she plays up her Arkansas roots and slight southern accent. In
other forums, she is the former senator from New York and resident of
Chappaqua. And when she is anywhere in the Midwest, Clinton is the Chicago
Cubs-loving child from Park Ridge, Illinois.

The Clintons currently maintain their primary residence in New York and
another home in the Washington, D.C.

Clinton's returning to one of these "home" states this weekend -- Arkansas
-- for a 10th anniversary celebration of the Clinton Presidential Center in
Little Rock.

Here is how Clinton is linked to four states -- Illinois, Arkansas, New
York and Pennsylvania -- and why it matters.

Illinois:

In Chicago, Clinton is heralded as a native daughter.

Giving her an introduction at an October event in Chicago, Lester Knight
said he was "welcoming her home." Mayor Rahm Emanuel said in June that
Clinton "still and will forever be a Chicagoan at heart."

Clinton spent her first eighteen years of life in Park Ridge, Illinois, a
middle class neighborhood a few miles from downtown.

Clinton, however, left the state in 1965 to attend Wellesley College in
Massachusetts and since then has not lived in Illinois for any considerable
time.

Clinton maintains a small group of Park Ridge friends to this day. When she
visited the city in June, she had a small dinner with many of them and
reminisced about their years in at school and in their Methodist church
group.

"It is always great to be back in Chicago," Clinton said in October. "This
is where I was born, where I grew up. Where I made so many life long
friends and it is wonderful to be part of an extended community such as
Chicago represents."

Arkansas:

More than any other state, the Clinton family is most closely associated
with Arkansas.

Hillary Clinton moved to Fayetteville, Arkansas in 1974 to marry Bill
Clinton, a native son of the state and rising political star. For the next
18 years, the Clintons came to dominate the state's political scene. Bill
Clinton served one term as Attorney General before serving five terms as
governor.

Hillary Clinton was a high profile first lady in the state, but Arkansas
was never really home for her. Even her closest friends acknowledge that
Hillary was never in love with Arkansas and was at times put off by how
women were viewed.

Hillary Clinton does, however, occasionally returns to the state, as she
did when she spoke at two Little Rock events in July. And longtime
Democrats in the state still lay claim to the former first lady.

"Hillary Clinton's roots in Arkansas run deep, and many Arkansans still
consider her their hometown girl," said Adrienne Elrod, a former Clinton
aide from Arkansas. "As a native Arkansan, I could not be more proud to
call her one of us."

New York:

When Hillary Clinton decided to run for Senate in 2000, she had no
connection to New York. And Republicans knew it was a weakness.

"Name me three things Hillary Clinton has ever done for the people of New
York," Sean Hannity, then a New York radio host, proclaimed regularly
during his show at the time.

Aware of the challenges, Clinton traveled the state on a "listening tour"
and talked with voters in schools, labor halls and community buildings. She
also established residency in the Empire State by moving to Chappaqua, the
small hamlet that the Clintons still consider home today.

"I think I have some real work to do, to get out and listen and learn from
the people of New York and demonstrate that what I'm for is maybe as
important, if not more important, than where I'm from," Clinton told the
New York Times in 1999.

Clinton even played up her sporting allegiances to become closer to New
York.

"I am Cubs fan," she told an audience in Chicago before noting that because
she "couldn't stay hitched with a losing team" she "became a Yankees fan."

Clinton's supporters argue she was a Yankees fan as a child and photos from
1992 published in her 2003 memoir "Living History" show the first lady in a
New York hat.

"I'm wearing the hat of my lifelong favorite American League team," says
the description under the photo.

Today, Clinton identifies most with New York. She lives there, votes there
and her office is in Manhattan.

Pennsylvania:

Of the states that have laid claim to Clinton, Pennsylvania is the most
random.

Clinton's father -- Hugh Rodham -- was born in Scranton, a city in the
Northeast corner of the state. The Rodham family has deep ties to the
region and even after moving to Chicago, Hillary and her family would spend
summers at a rustic cabin on Lake Winola on the city's outskirts. (If
Scranton sounds familiar, that's because it's also from where another
potential 2016 Democratic hopeful Vice President Joe Biden.)

"The rustic cabin had no heat except for the cast-iron cook stove in the
kitchen, and no indoor bath or shower," Clinton wrote in her memoir "Living
History." "To stay clean, we swam in the lake or stood below the back porch
while someone poured a tub of water onto our heads."

So when Clinton campaigned for Pennsylvania Democrats in 2014, many used
those roots to tie her with the state.

Tom Wolf, the governor-elect of the state, said, "coursing through [Hillary
Clinton's] veins is blood that's tinged with Pennsylvania values and
Pennsylvania ideas."

At the event, Clinton also played up those roots and talked about her
father's side of the family, their interest in politics and her time on the
lake.

"I spent every summer of my growing up years traveling on the turnpike
going up to Scranton and often times during Christmas coming back," Clinton
said. "The state has been very good to my family and to my husband and to
me."

Clinton's ties to the state also came in handy when Clinton ran for
president in 2008. Because Clinton was able to better identify with the
hard scrabble, predominately white Democrats of central and North East
Pennsylvania, she won the state's primary.

"She's tough," Christopher Doherty, Scranton's mayor at the time told the
New York Times. "That's a real Scranton trait."

*Politico: “Elizabeth Warren gets rock-star reception at liberal donors
confab”
<http://www.politico.com/story/2014/11/elizabeth-warren-liberal-donors-112888.html>*

By Kenneth P. Vogel

November 13, 2014, 9:56 p.m. EST

Elizabeth Warren insists she has no interest in running for president in
2016, but the rich liberals to whom she spoke Thursday afternoon seemed
unwilling to take ‘no’ for an answer.

The Massachusetts senator got a rock stars’ welcome during a closed-door
speech to major donors, one of whom interrupted her by yelling “Run, Liz,
Run!”

Warren drew multiple standing ovations during her talk, held in a banquet
room at Washington’s Mandarin Oriental hotel during the annual winter
meeting of the Democracy Alliance, a club of major liberal donors.

Throughout the day, donors repeatedly broached the question of whether
Warren would run to Paul Egerman, a Democracy Alliance board member who was
the national finance chairman of her Senate race and introduced Warren for
her speech Thursday. He patiently but firmly told each that she would not
seek the Democratic presidential nomination.

That didn’t stop a donor from asking Warren herself with the first question
during a question-and-answer session following her speech, according to a
Democracy Alliance source who was in the room. She also answered
definitively in the negative, said the source.

Yet the continued interest in a Warren 2016 campaign from the ranks of the
Democracy Alliance could, at the least, hint at trouble for Hillary
Clinton, the presumed Democratic front-runner, when it comes to winning
over liberal donors and activists.

The Democracy Alliance has had an outsized influence in Democratic
politics. It works to leverage its donors’ massive bank accounts to steer
the party to the left on causes dear to liberals — including fighting to
reduce economic inequality and the role of money in politics. Warren has
emerged as a standard-bearer for those fights, and her address on Thursday
dealt with economic inequality.

Another attendee asked Warren after the speech why Senate Democrats didn’t
aggressively push the liberal economic policies she champions.

“The fight is to frame the issues for the next few elections,” she said,
according to the source in the room. “We have moved the Democrats over the
last four years.”

Earlier Thursday, Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid tapped Warren for a
leadership position that will utilize her appeal by making her an official
liaison to the liberal base. Reid is set to talk to donors Friday morning
on the sidelines of the Mandarin Oriental conference at a session hosted by
a group called iVote, which raises cash to try to elect Democratic
secretaries of state. Reid’s office did not respond to a request for
comment on his participation in the event.

The Democracy Alliance has suggested it is considering opening up some of
its activities and funding recommendations to the media, but all of the
sessions on Thursday were closed to the press.

Democracy Alliance staff and private security retained by the club stood
sentry outside the basement banquet room where Warren spoke, preventing
reporters from getting too close. And she avoided the media gathered for
the conference by utilizing a side door to enter and exit the room.

POLITICO caught up with her as she made her way to a car waiting outside.
But she ignored a question about whether her appearance — a closed-door
speech to major donors who write huge checks, sometimes anonymously, to
influence the political process — conflicted with her public denunciations
of the role of conservative big money in politics.

“Excuse me,” an aide said, blocking access to Warren as she slid into the
front passenger seat.

Democracy Alliance partners, as the group calls its members, pay annual
dues of $30,000 and are required to contribute a total of at least $200,000
a year to recommended groups. Since its inception in 2005, the club’s
partners have combined to give more than $500 million to recommended
groups, and they played a pivotal early role in boosting Barack Obama
during his 2008 Democratic presidential primary bid against Clinton.

In addition to Warren, Vice President Joe Biden, who is considering
challenging Clinton in the 2016 presidential primary, is set to appear
Friday night at a Democracy Alliance gala at the Newseum with donors.

Clinton was not invited to any part of the Mandarin meeting, which some of
her supporters interpreted as a snub. Democracy Alliance staff and board
members rejected that characterization, asserting the meeting was about the
future of the progressive movement generally, and not the 2016 presidential
race specifically.

“I don’t think who speaks here and who does not speak here is illustrative
of anything,” said David desJardins, an engineer who was one of the first
20 people hired by Google, and also was an early Obama backer. He said
Clinton would be welcome to speak to the group anytime and called a
POLITICO article highlighting the fact that she wasn’t invited this time
“dumb.”

Clinton would be considered the prohibitive frontrunner for the 2016
Democratic nomination if she entered the race, as she is widely expected to
do. But Democracy Alliance members have expressed concerns that she would
be insufficiently liberal on the issues dear to their hearts.

At the Mandarin, Democracy Alliance partners told POLITICO they’d like to
see Clinton challenged in 2016 – even if it’s only to push her to become
more aggressive on liberal issues – and several suggested that Warren
should be the one to do it.

Her issues match up well with those of Democracy Alliance partners, said
Boston philanthropist Charles Rodgers, who shrugged suggestively when asked
if he’d support Warren over Clinton. “I am from Massachusetts,” said
Rodgers, who co-owned a Watertown, Massachusetts, consulting firm and was
an early Democracy Alliance partner.

“We love her,” real estate mogul Lawrence Hess said, when asked about a
possible Warren presidential campaign.

Erica Sagrans, who runs a super PAC called Ready for Warren seeking to
draft Warren into the race, spoke in the hotel lobby with multiple donors,
including desJardins.

“There’s a lot of support here,” she said. “Post-midterms, there are a lot
of depressed Democrats. Warren gives them something to get excited about. I
don’t have any doubt that if she were to run, tons of donors and activists
would be behind her.”

To be sure, there were plenty of folks at the Mandarin who have supported
Clinton, including some who argue that she and her more centrist bearing
offer the brightest future for the Democratic Party.

Center for American Progress president Neera Tanden, who was a top adviser
to Clinton’s 2008 campaign and has remained in the inner circle, is set to
speak on a Friday morning panel entitled, “The Well-Funded Push by the
Religious Right that Threatens the Progressive Movement.” She is highly
regarded among DA members, who help fund her think tank, and she mingled in
the hotel lobby bar on Thursday, but declined requests for comment.

Priorities USA, a super PAC that’s part of a robust Clinton shadow campaign
that dwarfs anything supporters of Warren or other prospective candidates
have built, threw a cocktail party late Wednesday night in a roped-off area
of the Mandarin bar, which offers sweeping views of the Tidal Basin.

The hosts were a virtual all-star team of Democratic figures who are
backing a prospective Clinton campaign and are helping lead Priorities USA
— longtime strategist and Clinton loyalist Paul Begala, former Michigan
Gov. Jennifer Granholm, Obama 2012 campaign manager Jim Messina and
conservative-turned-liberal attack dog David Brock. He oversees a fleet of
non-profit groups that intend to be supportive of a Clinton 2016 campaign —
the flagship of which, Media Matters, has long been blessed by the
Democracy Alliance.

Priorities USA intends to raise big checks to air ads blistering Clinton’s
presidential rivals – including possibly in the Democratic primary.

Some Clinton backers asserted a primary could actually help her by allowing
her to hone her message and become battle tested.

“I’m for Hillary, so whatever is best to get her to the point where she can
win, I’m for it,” said Jack Martin, a Democracy Alliance partner who is the
Chief Executive Officer of the international consulting firm Hill+Knowlton
Strategies.

Still other partners said Democrats would be wise to focus on the issues on
which the party should concentrate before picking politicians who may or
may not run for president.

“We got our butts kicked last week and until we get our stuff together it
doesn’t matter,” said Democracy Alliance member Nick Hanauer, who was one
of the first investors in Amazon.com and has warned of worsening
inequality. “What matters more is for progressives to unite around an
affirmative theory of growth that the American people can benefit from
rather than just who we stick up.”

Rep. Alan Grayson (D-Fla.), a liberal firebrand who is also a Democracy
Alliance partner, said the lusty response to Warren is what “normally what
happens when she addresses this crowd.” But he added that it comes at a
moment when Democrats should be embracing more populist and progressive
policies like those Warren espouses, which he said should be the lesson of
the party’s midterm thrashing.

“When someone like Sen. Pryor loses by 18 points and when someone like me
wins by 11 points that should tell people something,” he said.

*Salon: “R.I.P., Elizabeth Warren ’16 fantasy: Why she’s really (probably)
not running for president now”
<http://www.salon.com/2014/11/14/r_i_p_elizabeth_warren_16_fantasy_why_shes_really_probably_not_running_for_president_now/>*

By Jim Newell

November 14, 2014, 7:00 a.m. EST

[Subtitle:] The liberal star will now be an official Senate Democratic
message-maker. Here's why Hillary can breathe easier now

Congratulations to Elizabeth Warren! She has been knighted as a member of
the Senate Democratic leadership, just in time for Democrats to hand over
power to the Republican Party.

She will serve in a newly created position as a “liaison to liberal
groups.” Her official title will be “strategic policy adviser to the
Democratic Policy and Communications Committee,” where she will “[help]
craft the party’s policy positions and priorities.” (Just in time for the
Democratic Senate leadership to bring up a vote on building the Keystone XL
pipeline.)

What does this mean? First thing is that “Elizabeth Warren raises a lot of
money for the Democratic Party and is being rewarded with a title.” As it
happens, she addressed the Democracy Alliance of wealthy liberal donors
yesterday, and this time, it was as an emissary from the Senate Democratic
leadership.

So one of the party’s top fundraisers is being given a more visible perch.
But how influential will she be? She’ll still rank behind Sens. Harry Reid,
Dick Durbin and Chuck Schumer, the sort of people who feel plenty confident
in their own abilities to “craft the party’s positions and priorities.” The
main positions and priorities that the new Senate minority will have to
decide is: do we filibuster this thing or not filibuster this thing? No
small task, but the question of determining which bills to bring to the
floor no longer rest in this leadership’s hands.

The biggest signal that this sends is that Warren, who has said she’s not
running for president about 50 million times but you never know, is … still
not running for president. In accepting this leadership position, she’s
helping craft the party’s top position and priority, all right, ensuring
smooth sailing for Hillary Clinton to win the Democratic presidential
nomination.

You don’t set the groundwork for an outsider campaign against the
Democratic establishment by moving further inside the Democratic
establishment. Especially right now, when we’re nearing
form-an-exploratory-committee season. As Vox writes, “if she intended to
challenge the powerful front-runner Hillary Clinton for the Democratic
nomination, she’d really have to start planning about now.”

Warren’s decision to improve her standing within the Senate, rather than
start building a groundwork for a presidential campaign, may represent an
overall shift within the “liberal groups” with whom she intends to liaise.
Rather than rally around an alternative to Hillary Clinton, the goal ahead
of 2016 may now be to get some assurances from Hillary Clinton on
progressive issues. Consider this statement today from the Progressive
Change Campaign Committee, a group that’s made its name by affixing itself
to the Warren brand:

“‘As Elizabeth Warren advocates for big ideas like reforming Wall Street,
making college affordable, and expanding Social Security benefits, her
voice will now be even louder — because she’ll be at the Democratic
leadership table,’ the PCCC said in an email to supporters on Thursday.”

So Elizabeth Warren can do her Elizabeth Warren stuff from the Democratic
leadership table. This comes a few days after MSNBC reported that the PCCC
is trying to open some sort of diplomatic channel with Clinton. There are
conversations about conversations and meetings about meetings in the works!

“Adam Green, the co-founder of the Progressive Change Campaign Committee,
one of the groups most closely associated with the so-called ‘Warren wing
of the Democratic Party,’ said his organization reached out to Clinton’s
camp before the election and that a meeting was coming ‘very soon.’

“He declined to name the Clinton advisers with whom he’s been in contact,
saying discussions have so far been limited to ‘conversations about having
conversations.’ ‘We want to keep as open a line of communication with
Hillary Clinton and her team as possible,’ he told msnbc. [...]

“Their message is that Clinton should adopt the kind of economic inequality
issues championed by Warren, both for substantive and political reasons.
‘This is the path to victory in the primary and general election,’ Green
and co-founder Stephanie Taylor wrote in an Op-Ed in The Hill.”

These are indications that the organized left is moving toward making a
peace treaty with Clinton and the Democratic Party leadership at large,
rather than going all-in and trying to defeat her. The terms of the peace
treaty are that Warren — who seems like the only person with a potential to
put a real scare in Clinton — will stay in the Senate and get a leadership
role there, from which she will help the party Craft Its Messaging. Maybe a
Bernie Sanders or someone similarly unthreatening will be thrown into the
race in order to keep Clinton on-point, message-wise. It’s all being sorted
out, in conversations about conversations.

*Bloomberg: “Should Democrats Obstruct or Compromise?”
<http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2014-11-14/should-democrats-obstruct-or-compromise>*

By Margaret Talev

November 14, 2014, 5:46 a.m. EST

[Subtitle:] Senate Democrats weigh their options as the incoming minority.

To obstruct or not? It's the question churning inside the Democratic Party
after its historic Senate losses a week ago. Add to that a secondary one:
Just how much legitimate, ideological resistance to Republican proposals
will voters tolerate?

"The reason for Democrats to filibuster isn't obstruction for its own sake.
It's to stick up for millions of everyday people who will be harmed by
right-wing politics," said Adam Green, co-founder of the Progressive Change
Campaign Committee. His sinking fear is that Democrats will play it too
safe and lose anyway. "Is the theory about winning in 2016 that passing
Republican bills that hurt Americans will do it?"

Senator Tim Kaine, a Democrat who represents swing-state Virginia,
advocates a more nuanced approach.  "I came here to do stuff. I didn't come
here to novel-y figure out new ways not to do stuff. I'm just going to be
looking for partners to find solutions. I'm sure that a Republican majority
will have some things they want to do that I don't want to do, but my goal
is not to obstruct them. I'll probably vote no if I don't like it. But I
hope and I fully expect" that "we'll be able to find a number of areas" for
compromise.

Those intraparty calculations were evident Thursday when Senate Democrats
tapped a hero of the progressive movement and leading critic of Wall
Street, Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, as the caucus' strategic
policy adviser, while making Jon Tester of Montana, a proponent of the
Keystone XL pipeline project who has bragged about how he would cross party
lines to help Republicans fend off filibusters, chairman of the Democratic
Senatorial Campaign Committee. That means Tester's prime mission will be to
recruit and helped elect enough senators in 2016 to retake the majority.

Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid of Nevada, who will stay on as minority
leader despite divisions within his caucus' ranks, is taking the high
road—for now. "I do not intend to run the Democratic Caucus like the
Republican Caucus has been run in the minority. I am not going to do that.
We want to legislate.  We’re not for stalling.  We want to move on to the
next Congress with a record of accomplishment."

Despite those assurances, at least five senators who voted in a secret
ballot against his re-election as their caucus leader made their objections
public: Joe Manchin of West Virginia, Claire McCaskill of Missouri, Mark
Warner of Virginia, Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota and Mary Landrieu, the
Louisiana senator who faces a Dec. 6 runoff.

Democrats have many factors to consider as they seek a balance between
serving the demands of a liberal base, middle-class voters and a shrinking
fan base among the white working class. "Each cycle the voters have been
saying, 'Please change,'" Democratic pollster Peter Hart said Thursday at a
breakfast panel organized by the Wall Street Journal. "I think if the
perception is that this is another cycle where nothing gets done and
there's 'gridlock,' I think the voters will once again try and look for
somebody that is going to provide a sense of the coalition, a sense of
being able to work across the party aisle." Assuming she runs for
president, Hart said, "I wouldn't be surprised if Hillary  Clinton in 2016
talks more about her Senate record and her ability to work within the
congressional dynamic than she does about her Secretary of State's record."

While progressive activists praised Democrats' move to elevate Warren, they
are fretting over how the leadership will respond when faced with
Republican legislation they oppose on taxes, health care, Social Security
and the environment. "The reason voters didn't vote was because Democrats
didn't stand for a big, bold, populist agenda like the one Elizabeth Warren
is pushing Democrats to adopt," Green said.

"There is some tension," he added. "The large majority of the Democratic
caucus agrees we need to fight but there are certainly some that crazily
believe voters want Washington to pass something—anything—even if it means
cutting Social Security for Grandma."

Republicans, who went through their own Civil War between the Tea Party and
business wings of their base coalition in the run-up to the 2014 midterms,
are monitoring the debate with bemused curiosity.

The move with Warren shows that Reid is "worried about his left flank,"
said Senator Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina Republican. "We've had people
drive our party into a ditch at times. Nobody likes being in the 'right'
ditch; I doubt they're going to like being in the 'left' ditch. My belief
is that people on the Democratic side are probably going to get the message
from the election that working together is good politics."

"If Harry Reid continues the pattern of the last two years, then we would
have to assume he will use every tool available to obstruct and shut the
Senate down," said Senator Ted Cruz of Texas. "If, however, Senate
Democrats heard the message of the voters on election day, which is they
were tired of a U.S. Senate under Democratic control that does nothing and
that ignores the priorities of the American people, then they won't
obstruct."

*Bloomberg: “Does Bill de Blasio's Populist Critique Apply to Hillary
Clinton?”
<http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2014-11-14/does-bill-de-blasios-populist-critique-apply-to-hillary-clinton>*

By Arit John

November 14, 2014, 5:31 a.m. EST

[Subtitle:] The New York mayor says Democrats will lose if they don’t
embrace progressive ideas.

Bill de Blasio, New York City’s progressive mayor, has some
too-little-too-late advice for all the red-state Democrats who lost last
week: embrace progressivism. But while the mayor has been lecturing the
Alison Lundergan Grimes and Kay Hagans of the party, he might also want to
address his good friend Hillary Clinton.

Over the last few days de Blasio has—in a Huffington Post op-ed, a press
conference and an appearance on MSNBC’s “All In With Chris
Hayes”—criticized red-state Democrats for not focusing on income inequality

“These clear messages of addressing economic reality, and … being proud,
progressive Democrats—folks are gonna vote for the real thing,” he told
Hayes. “Democrats who ran from those angles got paid back for it.” That
message, he said, will stay true heading into the presidential election.

Hayes countered with the most obvious weak point in the mayor’s argument:
“So what category is Andrew Cuomo in?” he asked. De Blasio has been
attacked by his fellow liberals for embracing Cuomo’s policies and
candidates, but Hayes could have easily asked the same thing about Hillary
Clinton.

The red-state candidates the mayor mentioned in his op-ed—who, according to
de Blasio, lost because they didn’t focus on income inequality or go after
Wall Street—are all candidates Hillary and Bill Clinton campaigned for over
the last few months.

De Blasio was the campaign manager for Hillary Clinton’s Senate run in
2000, and has stayed close ever since. But despite that closeness, the two
belong to opposing wings of the Democratic party. De Blasio is part of the
Elizabeth Warren/anti-Wall Street side, and Clinton is a centrist who’s
been knocked for being too hawkish and too closely aligned with the wealthy.

The Clintons know that, which is why they buddied up to de Blasio when he
was sworn into office earlier this year. As Politico reported in December:

“At a time when the Democratic Party is tacking to the populist left, and
Sen. Elizabeth Warren is galvanizing the base by taking on Wall Street,
Clinton will need to show she’s in sync with the liberal grass roots should
she wage another bid for the White House. There aren’t many figures who
could do more to shore up her progressive cred than de Blasio, who swept
into office on an unabashedly populist message.

“‘As church people say, he can ‘witness’ for them,’ said James Carville,
the longtime Democratic strategist and former Bill Clinton adviser. ‘He can
go up, talk about her, how she stands up for people. It could be very, very
helpful.’”

De Blasio has been happy to witness for his former boss. This fall Politico
magazine called him “The New Icon of the Left,” and, in an accompanying
interview, asked him if he thinks Hillary Clinton is a “true progressive.”
He replied:

“Oh, absolutely. … Clearly, throughout the 2016 election cycle there will
be a call for what we often call populism. But what I really think is
[there will be] sort of a sharp truth-telling about the reality of the
economy and the need for more profound answers, and I think she’ll be able
to speak to that.”

Regardless of your stance on his assessment of her progressivism, Hillary
Clinton will need to protect herself from attacks on the left if she runs
in 2016. The New Yorker profiled three possible nominees who might try to
do just that: former Senator Jim Webb, Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley
and Independent Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders. Senator Warren, meanwhile,
the populist’s dream candidate, was just given a leadership position in the
Senate.

In a column for The New Republic on Wednesday, Noam Scheiber argued that,
in 2016, Democrats need someone who can make “economic populism the party’s
centerpiece” to get white working class, minority and college educated
liberal voters to turn out, both in 2016 and 2018. Clinton might manage
that, he writes, or her “extensive ties to the one percent will strangle
the populist project before it ever gets going” and the challengers from
the left start looking pretty good.

*CNN opinion: CNN contributor Ruben Navarrette: “Presidential candidates:
Don't apply if you're over 60”
<http://www.cnn.com/2014/11/13/opinion/navarrette-age-limit-for-presidency/>*

By Ruben Navarrette

November 13, 2014, 4:10 p.m. EST

"Let the word go forth from this time and place, to friend and foe alike,
that the torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans -- born in
this century, tempered by war, disciplined by a hard and bitter peace,
proud of our ancient heritage ..." — John F. Kennedy, inaugural address,
1961

At the risk of being accused of ageism, let me suggest that the Republican
Party should set its mind in 2016 to nominating a presidential candidate
who is young enough to make their likely Democratic opponent look, well,
not so young.

In November 2016, Hillary Clinton — who won't be the only Democrat running
in the primaries, but will surely be the frontrunner — will be 69 years
old. Already, we've seen one headline that spells out what a lot of
Americans may be thinking: "Is Hillary Clinton Too Old to be President?"

We're not supposed to ask that question or mention Hillary's age. That's
because she's a woman and a Democrat and we're only allowed to bring up a
candidate's age when we're talking about men and Republicans.

Besides, Clinton is a baby Boomer, and that demographic of 70 million
Americans is determined -- by virtue of sheer size -- to redefine every
stage of life. We can expect to read plenty of articles in the months to
come, green lit by baby boomer editors, about how 70 is the new 40. Or
something like that.

All spinning aside, here's the bad news for Democrats: While Americans have
come to expect that being president tends to prematurely age whomever
occupies the office, when it comes to electing a president, they still seem
prefer to vote for people for whom the aging process isn't already too far
along.

That's a polite way of saying that voters often prefer younger candidates
to older ones. In the field of politics -- as in sports and entertainment
-- many people worship at the altar of youth and what President Kennedy
used to call "vigor."

Even in the best of times -- economic prosperity, a healthy job market, no
threats to our national security and so on -- being president is a tough
gig. The job is intellectually taxing, emotionally draining, and physically
demanding. I would imagine that just the daily terror briefings alone,
where the president is informed of all the plots that were foiled by
authorities the night before, is enough to turn one's hair white.

There have been exceptions. In 1984, President Reagan -- at 73 -- famously
quipped during a debate with his 56-year-old Democratic opponent, Walter
Mondale, that he wouldn't "exploit for political purposes my opponent's
youth and inexperience." In his runaway bid for re-election, Reagan carried
49 states.

But there are lots of examples of youth carrying the day.

-- Kennedy had no qualms about exploiting youth for political purposes. In
1946, the Massachusetts Democrat vied for the state's 11th congressional
district. Campaign posters offered the slogan: "A New Generation Offers a
Leader." Kennedy won; he was just 29 years old. It was 15 years later, at
44, as he was sworn in as president, that he talked about how the "torch"
of leadership had been passed to his cohort -- the fabled "World War II
Generation."

-- In 1992, 46-year-old Bill Clinton went on MTV, played the saxophone on
"The Arsenio Hall Show" and told Americans -- in the words of Fleetwood Mac
-- "don't stop thinking about tomorrow." In that race, Clinton defeated the
incumbent president, 68-year-old George H.W. Bush. In 1996, a 50-year-old
Clinton beat Sen. Bob Dole of Kansas, who was 73 years old.

-- In 2008, after a campaign full of whispers about his opponent's health
and vitality, 47-year-old Barack Obama handily defeated Sen. John McCain of
Arizona, who was 72 at the time. Four years later, in 2012, a 51-year-old
Obama cruised to victory over 65-year-old Mitt Romney, the former
Massachusetts governor.

Now imagine how 2016 could shape up. By then, a 69-year-old Hillary Clinton
could find herself slugging through a tougher-than-expected Democratic
primary against a 73-year-old Joe Biden or Sen. Elizabeth Warren of
Massachusetts, who will then be 67 years old. Democrats should take a good
hard look at more youthful candidates such as New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo,
who will be 58 years old, or a 53-year-old Martin O'Malley, the governor of
Maryland.

Meanwhile, Republicans should definitely be looking for a younger candidate
on the assumption that Clinton will be the nominee. In fact, Republican
National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus should just flat-out declare
that -- for this job -- anyone over 60 years old need not apply.

Some might consider this requirement unfair, even tantamount to age
discrimination. Not so. All sorts of jobs have mandatory age limits
attached to them.

Why not the presidency? It's true that, in 2016, there will be millions of
Americans who are older than 60. But I would wager that more of them will
-- at that stage of life -- be interested in easing into retirement than
running for president. Older voters don't necessarily vote for older
candidates, just as younger voters don't always support younger candidates.

A GOP age limit would still leave an opening for what will be, in 2016, a
pair of promising 45-year-old Hispanic senators — Ted Cruz of Texas and
Marco Rubio of Florida. Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky would also make the cut
since he'll only be 53 years old. Rounding out the top tier of GOP
hopefuls, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker will be 49 years old, and New Jersey
Gov. Chris Christie will be 54 years old.

The bad news: Capping applicants at 60 would exclude one of the best
Republican prospects — former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, who will be 63 in
2016. The good news: It'll also spare the country another Quixotic
presidential campaign by Mitt Romney, who would be 69.

This isn't about ability. It's about electability. So the question isn't
whether a given candidate is too old to serve as president. It's whether
voters are willing to hand the presidency over to someone who they perceive
as too old.

In 2016, the message to both parties should be: "Go young — or go home."

*Washington Times: “Joe Biden: Middle class was devastated during Clinton
years”
<http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/nov/13/joe-biden-middle-class-devastated-clinton-years/>*

By Dave Boyer

November 13, 2014

Vice President Joseph R. Biden took a swipe Thursday at the Clinton
administration — and at possible presidential rival Hillary Rodham Clinton
— by saying the middle class declined “all through the ‘90s.”

“The middle class started to get into trouble in the late ‘80s, all through
the ‘90s with the exception of two years, the middle class was declining,”
Mr. Biden told an audience of unionized teachers in Washington. “We need to
deal with income inequity.”

The vice president, who is still considering a bid for the White House in
2016, also told the gathering that manufacturing jobs during the Obama
administration are growing “more than any time, even the ‘90s.”

“The bridge to the middle class was absolutely blown away by the great
recession,” Mr. Biden said. “When we came into office, we knew we had to
build the foundation to the middle class just like a bridge. We knew we
literally had to rebuild the economy from the ground up.”

As Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Massachusetts Democrat, is gaining popularity
among progressives with her rhetoric against big banks and income
inequality, Mr. Biden is seeking to downplay the fact that income disparity
has grown during the Obama administration. In his address Thursday, the
vice president said the gap between rich and poor has been expanding for
decades.

“When you have 24.5 percent of all the income going to one percent of the
people, and 17 percent of income going to 50 percent of the people, it
doesn’t work, man,” Mr. Biden said. “We haven’t seen this since 1921. It’s
not anybody’s fault — not like anybody set out to do this. This is not any
cabal. It’s just how it’s drifted.”

“Cabal” has a negative connotation in the history of anti-Semitism. Mr.
Biden got in trouble with the Anti-Defamation League earlier this year for
using the word “shylock” to describe people who make unfair loans to U.S.
service members.

The vice president said Washington needs to address tax reform to boost the
fortunes of the middle class.

“Why should a hedge fund manager — and by the way, a lot of them support me
— gambling with somebody else’s money in New York or anywhere else, making
$700-800 million a year pay 17 percent, when … one of your schoolteachers
making $56,000 pays at 24.5 percent,” he said. “I’ve not seen any
rationale. We’re going to start to see discussions about it.”

In a reference that sounded vaguely like former President George W. Bush’s
call to “make the pie higher,” Mr. Biden said the middle class needs to
gain a larger slice of overall income.

“When ordinary people aren’t making money, the pie does not expand,” he
said. “The pie does not expand.”

*Talk Business Arkansas: “Banker, Attorney, Political Confidante Bill Bowen
Dies At 91”
<http://talkbusiness.net/2014/11/banker-attorney-political-confidante-bill-bowen-dies-at-91/>*

[No Writer Mentioned]

November 13, 2014

Little Rock banker, attorney, veteran and political confidante William H.
“Bill” Bowen has passed away at the age of 91.

Bowen was known as one of the most powerful men in Arkansas through his
business and political connections.

Born in Altheimer, Arkansas (Jefferson County), Bowen was a World War II
veteran of the U.S. Naval Reserve. He earned his law degree from New York
University and eventually practiced law in Little Rock with what is now the
Friday, Eldredge and Clark law firm.

The University of Arkansas at Little Rock named its law school, the William
H. Bowen School of Law, after him in 2000. He served as the law school’s
dean in the 1990’s.

Bowen had a distinguished career in the banking arena, where he was lured
away from his prestigious legal work. Bowen became president of Commercial
National Bank and helped transform the financial institution into a major
statewide operation known as First Commercial Bank. Eventually, the bank
sold to Regions Corp.

Bowen was a 2008 inductee in the Arkansas Business Hall of Fame.

With a knack for remembering people instantly and his business influence,
Bowen was also active in politics. His name was frequently mentioned as a
possible gubernatorial candidate, but as an ally to then Governors Dale
Bumpers, David Pryor and Bill Clinton, Bowen never seemed to have the
opening.

When Clinton ran for President in 1991-92, Bowen served as his chief of
staff and kept state government running on schedule despite Clinton’s
lengthy travels out-of-state on the campaign trail. Bowen also served a
short stint as an appointee to the Arkansas Supreme Court.

Attorney General Dustin McDaniel released a statement on Thursday morning
saying, “With the death of William H. Bowen, Arkansas has lost a man who
was without equal in Arkansas in terms of his success, kindness and
commitment to public service. Bill will be missed, but his legacy will live
on forever, and through that legacy, Arkansas will be a better place.”

McDaniel added, “When I met Bill Bowen, I was a first-year law student, and
he was the dean of the law school that now bears his name. I was inspired
simply to be in his presence. In the years that followed, I learned more
about his accomplishments and service to his state and nation, and was
honored to build a friendship with him. I am a proud graduate of the
William H. Bowen School of Law, and I am even more proud to have been able
to call Bill my friend.”

Bowen is survived by his wife, Connie, three children, and 12 grandchildren.

UPDATE: President Bill Clinton also provided a statement on the passing of
Bowen.

“I was saddened to hear of the death of my good friend Bill Bowen, whose
fascinating life was a serial Arkansas success story,” said Clinton. “From
his humble beginnings in Altheimer to his service as a Naval fighter pilot
in World War II, to his distinguished career in law and banking, to his
public service as a tireless advocate for education and economic
development, and as Chief of Staff in the governor’s office when I ran for
President, something I couldn’t have done without him. Arkansas is a better
place because of Bill Bowen’s fine mind, larger-than-life spirit, and true
service. My thoughts and prayers are with Connie, his children, and his
entire family.”

*Calendar:*

*Sec. Clinton's upcoming appearances as reported online. Not an official
schedule.*

·  November 14  – Little Rock, AR:  Sec. Clinton attends picnic for
10thAnniversary
of the Clinton Center (NYT
<http://www.nytimes.com/politics/first-draft/2014/10/17/?entry=2674&_php=true&_type=blogs&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&_r=0>
)

·  November 15  – Little Rock, AR: Sec. Clinton hosts No Ceilings event (NYT
<http://www.nytimes.com/politics/first-draft/2014/10/17/?entry=2674&_php=true&_type=blogs&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&_r=0>
)

·  November 19  – New York, NY: Sec. Clinton is honored by the National
Breast Cancer Coalition (Breast Cancer Deadline
<http://www.breastcancerdeadline2020.org/donate/fundraising-events/2014-NY-Gala-Evite.html>
)

·  November 21  – New York, NY: Sec. Clinton presides over meeting of the
Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves (Bloomberg
<http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2014-11-02/clinton-aides-resist-calls-to-jump-early-into-2016-race>
)

·  November 21  – New York, NY: Sec. Clinton is honored by the New York
Historical Society (Bloomberg
<http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2014-11-02/clinton-aides-resist-calls-to-jump-early-into-2016-race>
)

·  December 1 – New York, NY: Sec. Clinton keynotes a League of
Conservation Voters dinner (Politico
<http://www.politico.com/story/2014/09/hillary-clinton-green-groups-las-vegas-111430.html?hp=l11>
)

·  December 4 – Boston, MA: Sec. Clinton speaks at the Massachusetts
Conference for Women (MCFW <http://www.maconferenceforwomen.org/speakers/>)

·  December 16 – New York, NY: Sec. Clinton honored by Robert F. Kennedy
Center for Justice and Human Rights (Politico
<http://www.politico.com/story/2014/11/hillary-clinton-ripple-of-hope-award-112478.html>
)