Subject: ​Correct The Record Thursday December 4, 2014 Afternoon Roundup
From: Burns Strider <[email-masked]>
To: CTRFriendsFamily <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 4 Dec 2014 15:34:27 -0500
List-Id: <CTRFriendsFamily.americanbridge.org>

*​**Correct The Record Thursday December 4, 2014 Afternoon Roundup:*

*Tweets:*

*Correct The Record* @CorrectRecord: .@HillaryClinton
<https://twitter.com/HillaryClinton>'s approach to 2016 is "thoughtful,
critical & with the best interest of our country in her heart."
http://www.rollcall.com/news/attacking_hillarys_strengths_lame_duck_gop_oughta_take_a_holiday_break-238400-1.html
…
<http://t.co/8do8edCIeP> [12/4/14, 12:32 p.m. EST
<https://twitter.com/CorrectRecord/status/540559168059367424>]

*Correct The Record* @CorrectRecord: .@HillaryClinton
<https://twitter.com/HillaryClinton> worked to increase the minimum wage
#HRC365 <https://twitter.com/hashtag/HRC365?src=hash>
http://correctrecord.org/memo-lame-duck-period-brings-lame-attacks/ …
<http://t.co/1a01Fq0jme> [12/3/14, 6:07 p.m. EST
<https://twitter.com/CorrectRecord/status/540281084164833280>]

*Correct The Record* @CorrectRecord: .@HillaryClinton
<https://twitter.com/HillaryClinton> pushed agencies "to think differently
about the role of women in conflicts and peacemaking"
http://correctrecord.org/hillary-clinton-keeping-the-peace/ …
<http://t.co/lei7ynXSrk> [12/3/14, 5:46 p.m. EST
<https://twitter.com/CorrectRecord/status/540275848733937664>]

*Headlines:*

*Boston Globe: “Hillary Clinton to speak at Boston conference”
<http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2014/12/04/hillary-clinton-speak-boston-conference/ikAQ8oJMhN1yppZdpn39zK/story.html>*

“Thursday’s conference is being held at the Boston Convention and
Exhibition Center in South Boston. It is sold out and more than 10,000
people are registered to attend, according to the confab’s website.”

*Time: “Hillary Clinton Backers Release Country Music Video”
<https://time.com/3618051/hillary-clinton-country-music-video/>*

“A new, three-and-a-half minute country music video featuring cute cowboys
in tight shirts, dusty tractors and Ken Burns-style shots of a young
Hillary Clinton cooing over baby Chelsea was released on YouTube this
morning.”

*National Journal: “The Annotated Lyrics of That Incredible Hillary 2016
Song”
<http://www.nationaljournal.com/politics/the-annotated-lyrics-of-that-incredible-hillary-2016-song-20141204>*

“A super PAC supporting Hillary Clinton, called Stand With Hillary, has
created a song that is sure to surpass Taylor Swift on the Billboard Top
100.”

*Washington Examiner column: Michael Barone: “Clinton's stock declining in
futures market”
<http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/clintons-stock-declining-in-futures-market/article/2556943>*

“Voters expect presidential candidates to look to the future. Hillary
Clinton has wide leads in polls for the Democratic nomination. But her
record is a bad fit for the Democratic primary electorate in which the
energy currently comes from the left.”

*Real Clear Politics: “Jeb Bush Putting Out Feelers in New Hampshire”
<http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2014/12/04/jeb_bush_putting_out_feelers_in_new_hampshire__124851.html>*

“Two top New Hampshire Republican strategists have been contacted this week
by a Jeb Bush confidant to discuss their interest in leading the former
Florida governor’s prospective presidential campaign there,
RealClearPolitics has learned from GOP sources in the Granite State.”

*Yahoo: “Obama’s attorney general pick wants to throw the book at convicted
Hillary Clinton bundler”
<https://news.yahoo.com/obama-s-attorney-general-pick-wants-to-throw-the-book-at-convicted-hillary-clinton-bundler-234614909.html>*

“The U.S. attorney nominated by President Barack Obama to be his next
attorney general is asking a federal judge to impose a stiff prison term of
up to four and a half years on a former Hillary Clinton fundraiser
convicted of making more than $180,000 in illegal campaign contributions.”

*Articles:*

*Boston Globe: “Hillary Clinton to speak at Boston conference”
<http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2014/12/04/hillary-clinton-speak-boston-conference/ikAQ8oJMhN1yppZdpn39zK/story.html>*

By Joshua Miller

December 4, 2014

Hillary Rodham Clinton is scheduled to give a keynote address at a Boston
conference Thursday afternoon.

The might-be 2016 White House hopeful is set to speak at the Massachusetts
Conference for Women, an annual one-day confab with workshops, seminars and
speeches on “the issues that matter most to women.”

Clinton, a former secretary of state, US senator and first lady, has said
she will probably decide on a second White House bid after 2015 begins.

If she jumps in, Clinton will begin her campaign as the frontrunner for the
Democratic nomination for president. She lost her 2008 primary run to
Barack Obama, who later picked her as his first secretary of state.

Although the 2016 election is just under two years away, positioning for
the race is already heating up.

Thursday’s conference is being held at the Boston Convention and Exhibition
Center in South Boston. It is sold out and more than 10,000 people are
registered to attend, according to the confab’s website.

Clinton’s remarks are set to be livestreamed online beginning at 2 p.m.

The media affairs director for the conference did not respond to emailed
questions about whether and how much Clinton is being paid for her
appearance.

The Boston Globe is among the media sponsors of the conference.

*Time: “Hillary Clinton Backers Release Country Music Video”
<https://time.com/3618051/hillary-clinton-country-music-video/>*

By Haley Sweetland Edwards

December 4, 2014, 12:20 p.m. EST

[Subtitle:] "She's a mother, a daughter, and through it all she's a loving
wife."

A new, three-and-a-half minute country music video featuring cute cowboys
in tight shirts, dusty tractors and Ken Burns-style shots of a young
Hillary Clinton cooing over baby Chelsea was released on YouTube this
morning.

While the video received mixed reviews at TIME’s D.C. office — a random
sample of reactions included phrases like “croon-tastic,” “cute!” “cute?”
and “oh, dear” — its mere existence underscores the reality that Hillary
Clinton’s as-yet-unannounced campaign is going to happen whether or not she
gets out in front of it.

The group behind the new country video is called Stand With Hillary, or
SWH. It was formed in Southern California this fall by Miguel Orozco,
Daniel Chavez and his daughter, Christina Chavez, “to create positive,
social media stories” designed to “reach out to working class and Latino
voters.”

Here are some of the lyrics the video features to do just that: “Thinking
about one great lady, like the women in my life. She’s a mother, a
daughter, and through it all she’s a loving wife. Oh, there’s something
about her, this great lady, caring, hard-working, once a First Lady, she
fights for country and the family and now it’s time for us to stand up with
Hillary.”

Orozco and the Chavezes self-funded this video and the website, but in the
future will be looking for small donations from supporters, Chavez told
TIME this morning.

Chavez, who worked as a deputy director in the Department of Labor under
Bill Clinton, said part of the motivation for starting SWH came from his
wife and daughter, who were “deeply inspired by the Clinton family.” In the
’90s, a young Christina Chavez, who is now 32, had the opportunity to meet
young Chelsea and Socks, the Clintons’ famous cat, during “take your
daughter to work day,” Chavez explained. “She’s had a lifelong love of the
Clintons ever since.”

*National Journal: “The Annotated Lyrics of That Incredible Hillary 2016
Song”
<http://www.nationaljournal.com/politics/the-annotated-lyrics-of-that-incredible-hillary-2016-song-20141204>*

By Emma Roller

December 4, 2014

[Subtitle:] Super-PAC ad or Ford truck commercial? You decide.

A super PAC supporting Hillary Clinton, called Stand With Hillary, has
created a song that is sure to surpass Taylor Swift on the Billboard Top
100.

Just watch:

[VIDEO]

The song, which went online in November, was written by Miguel Orozco, a
media producer who was also behind this much catchier Reggaeton tune about
Barack Obama in 2008. (The chorus of that one: "¿Cómo se dice? ¿Cómo se
llama? Obama, Obama!")

We at National Journal take such super-PAC media campaigns very seriously.
And thus, we decided to provide you, dear reader, with a fully annotated
version of the "Stand With Hillary" lyrics.

VERSE 1:

Lookin' back in time, learnin' hindsight's always right

We came together in a way [also sounds like he's saying "in no way"]

A defining moment we all can celebrate [with hamburgers and French fries!]

And now it's 2016 [not really, no] and this time I'm a thinkin'

Guys put your boots on, and let's smash this ceiling! [smashes what appears
to be a car window with '2016' spray painted on it]

CHORUS:

I've been thinkin' about one great lady like the women in my life ["Women"
≠ "one great lady"]

She's a mother, a daughter, and through it all, she's a lovin' wife [Are
these really the first credentials you want to cite for supporting someone
running for president?]

Oh, there is something about her, this great lady, caring, hard-working,
once a First Lady [expertly rhymes "lady" with "lady"]

She fights for country and my family, now it's time for us to stand up

*BOOM BOOM CLAP*

*BOOM BOOM CLAP* [very "We Will Rock You"!]

With Hillary

Hillary!

Stand up

With Hillary

VERSE 2:

Don't matter if you're livin' across this great land in a red or blue state

'Cuz our American Dream is at stake

And there's some Hard Choices that need to be made [Your royalty check from
Simon & Schuster is in the mail.]

We're needing a leader who is tough and ready [Unnecessary use of the
present continuous tense]

Who's got vision

For me it's Hillary

And that's my final decision!

CHORUS:

I've been thinkin' about one great lady like the women in my life

She's a mother, a daughter, and through it all, she's a lovin' wife

Oh, there is something about her, this great lady, caring, hard-working,
once a First Lady

She fights for country and my family

Now it's time for us to stand up

*BOOM BOOM CLAP*

*BOOM BOOM CLAP*

With Hillary

Hillary!

Stand up, America

With Hillary.

Surely, "Stand With Hillary" will go down in the pantheon of such amateur
campaign songs as "Cocoa Tea's Barack Obama Reggae Song," "Ron Paul
Revolution" and "Hillary 4U&Me". GRAMMY Awards voting members, call your
office!

*Washington Examiner column: Michael Barone: “Clinton's stock declining in
futures market”
<http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/clintons-stock-declining-in-futures-market/article/2556943>*

By Michael Barone

December 4, 2014, 5:00 a.m. EST

Is the market in Hillary Clinton futures collapsing? Quite possibly so.

A year ago Clinton seemed likely to become the next president. Presumably
she and her husband had not yet started to call themselves, Bush style, 42
and 45. But she had an overwhelming lead in the polls for the Democratic
nomination and was getting 50 percent or more in most polls against
possible Republican candidates in general election pairings.

Ratings of Clinton’s performance as secretary of state were positive. She
seemed poised to hold and add onto Barack Obama’s 2008 and 2012 majorities.

Things look different now. Obama now gets negative marks on foreign policy,
and some of the luster is off Clinton’s record as well. With the Islamic
State ravaging much of Iraq and Syria, the decision to withdraw all U.S.
troops from Iraq looks dubious. With Vladimir Putin’s Russia rampaging
through much of Ukraine, Clinton’s reset button looks ludicrous.

Most Americans may have been content with a foreign policy of “leading from
behind.” But as the world spins out of control, they don’t like the results.

And over the course of 2014 Clinton’s favorability ratings have declined.
Her memoir of her Cabinet service had a curiously defensive title — Hard
Choices — and her book tour was something like the opposite of a ringing
success. Sales were slim and readership probably even slimmer. The prospect
of a Clinton presidency may thrill a few aging feminists, but few others
seem to find her very interesting.

There’s plenty of bad news for Clinton in last month’s Quinnipiac poll, the
first national survey conducted since the November election. Clinton runs 1
point behind Mitt Romney, 1 point ahead of Chris Christie, 4 points ahead
of Paul Ryan and 5 points ahead of Jeb Bush, Rand Paul and Mike Huckabee.
None of this can be blamed on low off-year turnout; the poll is of
registered voters.

All these Republicans except Romney are significantly less well known than
Clinton. When asked whether their feelings are favorable or unfavorable,
only 5 percent of poll respondents have no opinion on Clinton and 14
percent on Romney; the numbers for the other Republicans run between 29 and
39 percent. So she’s running even with the best-known candidate while the
others all have room to grow.

Even more significant are Clinton’s percentages against these candidates:
44, 45, 46, 46, 46 and 46. In seriously contested 2014 Senate races,
Democratic incumbents tended to run about even with their poll numbers,
while their Republican challengers ran well ahead of theirs. If you apply
the same rule to Clinton’s Quinnipiac numbers, she ends up with about the
same percentage as John McCain in 2008 or Democratic House candidates in
2010 and 2014.

Now, things may be different by 2016. Obama’s job approval could rise, and
Democrats generally could regain the advantage over Republicans they
enjoyed a year ago. Increased economic growth could strengthen the
incumbent party — although, as RealClearPolitics.com analyst Sean Trende
points out, even significantly greater growth would not point to a
Democratic victory under most political scientists’ election prediction
formulas.

But it’s hard to avoid the conclusion of FiveThirtyEight.com analyst Harry
Enten. Clinton, he wrote last Monday, “no longer looks like such a
juggernaut. Not only are her numbers dropping, but she is running on par
with a Democratic brand in its weakest shape in a decade.”

That’s not what optimistic Democrats were expecting earlier this year. They
thought nostalgia for Bill Clinton’s presidency would enable Hillary
Clinton to run ahead of party lines. Voters not eager for a third Obama
term might welcome a third Clinton term.

But those are appeals that look to the past. Voters expect presidential
candidates to look to the future. Hillary Clinton has wide leads in polls
for the Democratic nomination. But her record is a bad fit for the
Democratic primary electorate in which the energy currently comes from the
left. Lurching to the left and then tacking toward the center doesn’t
project a clear vision of the future.

In 1991, candidate Bill Clinton gave three policy speeches to overflow
crowds at Georgetown University’s Gaston Hall. When Hillary Clinton spoke
there last week, the balcony was almost empty and there were empty seats in
the lower level, too.

Clinton futures were on the rise 23 years ago. They seem to be in decline
23 years later.

*Real Clear Politics: “Jeb Bush Putting Out Feelers in New Hampshire”
<http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2014/12/04/jeb_bush_putting_out_feelers_in_new_hampshire__124851.html>*

By Scott Conroy

December 4, 2014

Two top New Hampshire Republican strategists have been contacted this week
by a Jeb Bush confidant to discuss their interest in leading the former
Florida governor’s prospective presidential campaign there,
RealClearPolitics has learned from GOP sources in the Granite State.

The new outreach from Bush’s camp was directed at a pair of experienced and
well-respected New Hampshire GOP operatives, each of whom has previously
helmed presidential campaigns in the state.

Both were given the proverbial instruction to “keep your powder dry,”
suggesting that Bush is leaning toward entering the race early next year.

“I think the decision’s been made, personally,” said one of the strategists
who was contacted by Bush’s camp and who spoke to RCP under the condition
of anonymity.

Neither of the operatives has been contacted by Bush himself, but they were
asked if they'd be interested in speaking with the would-be candidate.

The calls represent the typical form of indirect outreach that likely
candidates extend to prospective top staffers before finalizing their
decisions to make a White House run.

“I’ve definitely perceived an uptick in the perception of him doing this,”
one of the consultants said of the conversation this week with the Bush
confidant.

On Monday, the former two-term governor made headlines when he said that
the next Republican presidential nominee should be willing to "lose the
primary to win the general.”

The comment was widely taken to mean that Bush would not back away from his
staunch advocacy of comprehensive immigration reform and the Common Core
educational standards -- two positions at odds with a majority of the
Republican base -- in order to secure the GOP nomination.

If Bush does enter the race, New Hampshire -- with its wide swatch of
moderate Republicans and independents who vote in the presidential primary
-- figures to be the early voting state most critical to his chances.

This new outreach to top strategists there signals that New Jersey Gov.
Chris Christie -- for whom New Hampshire will be an equally important piece
on his electoral chess board -- may not be able to wait much longer before
soliciting top Granite State talent for his own expected campaign.

Both New Hampshire operatives expressed interest in speaking with Bush.

“Of the Bushes, he’s the guy I like the best,” said one of the strategists.
“If I were betting money on it, I’d bet he’d be the nominee because you’ll
have eight to 10 conservatives beating each other up, and someone will take
the middle, and it’ll be either him or Christie.”

*Yahoo: “Obama’s attorney general pick wants to throw the book at convicted
Hillary Clinton bundler”
<https://news.yahoo.com/obama-s-attorney-general-pick-wants-to-throw-the-book-at-convicted-hillary-clinton-bundler-234614909.html>*

By Michael Isikoff

December 3, 2014

[Subtitle:] As she faces confirmation battle, U.S. Attorney Loretta Lynch’s
hard line could help with Republicans

The U.S. attorney nominated by President Barack Obama to be his next
attorney general is asking a federal judge to impose a stiff prison term of
up to four and a half years on a former Hillary Clinton fundraiser
convicted of making more than $180,000 in illegal campaign contributions.

The request by Loretta Lynch, the U.S. attorney in Brooklyn, to reject
leniency for wealthy hotelier Sant Singh Chatwal and have him sent to
federal prison is the latest example of the tough stance Justice Department
prosecutors are taking with those convicted of making so-called conduit
contributions — campaign cash that is falsely reported as being made in the
name of others.

But the court filing by Lynch’s office this week also comes at a time when
she is facing a potentially tough grilling from Republican lawmakers on her
nomination to succeed Attorney General Eric Holder. “It won’t hurt for
Loretta Lynch to be sending a major Democratic fundraiser to prison right
before her confirmation hearing for attorney general,” said Brett Kappel, a
Washington campaign-finance lawyer who closely tracks federal election law
enforcement.

Chatwal, 70, is an immigrant from India who is chairman of the $1.5 billion
Hampshire Hotels & Resorts empire, which owns luxury hotels around the
world. He has long been close to both Bill and Hillary Clinton; he raised
more than $100,000 for Hillary Clinton’s 2008 campaign and, according to
his lawyer’s own filings in his case, was a founder of the Clinton Global
Initiative, a charitable arm of the former first couple’s foundation. He
once accompanied Bill Clinton on a trip to India.

In April, Chatwal pleaded guilty to violating federal election law by
illegally raising funds for Hillary Clinton and two other federal
candidates through the use of straw donors. He also pleaded guilty to
witness tampering after he was caught on tape coaching one of those donors,
who turned out to be a government informant, to lie to investigators.

Chatwal’s case has gotten some attention because of his blunt words —
caught on tape by the wired informant — about the role of big money in
politics, and why fundraisers such as himself give so much cash in the
first place. “Without [money] nobody will ever talk to you,” Chatwal told
the informant, according to court filings. “That’s the only way to buy
them, get into the system.”

In a recent court filing, Chatwal’s lawyer, Jonathan Sack, said his client
“comes before this court humbled — filled with remorse and shame for what
he has done.” But Sack asked that the court show leniency for Chatwal and
not send him to prison, citing a long history of humanitarian causes,
including his work with Bill Clinton and relief efforts in India.

But Lynch’s prosecutors took a hard line, saying he should receive an
enhanced prison sentence of between 46 and 57 months because of his efforts
to obstruct justice. “The evidence in this case reveals a man who believes
that either the rules do not apply to him or that they can be subverted in
pursuit of his own ends," Lynch wrote in a court filing cosigned by Jack
Smith, chief of the Justice Department's Public Integrity Section.

There is no evidence in the case that Hillary Clinton or any of her
campaign team were aware of Chatwal’s illegal contributions. But he is the
latest in a series of fundraisers from her 2008 campaign — seven all told —
who have been prosecuted for illegal campaign contributions, a record that
has been attributed by campaign finance experts to the then senator’s heavy
reliance on wealthy “bundlers” to raise cash for her run against Barack
Obama.