Subject: Correct The Record Friday January 16, 2015 Morning Roundup
From: Burns Strider <[email-masked]>
To: CTRFriendsFamily <[email-masked]>
Date: Fri, 16 Jan 2015 08:10:17 -0500
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*​**Correct The Record Friday January 16, 2015 Morning Roundup:*

*Headlines:*

*Politico: “Poll: Democrats need to win over blue-collar voters, unmarried
women”
<http://www.politico.com/story/2015/01/poll-democrats-2016-blue-collar-unmarried-women-voters-114313.html#ixzz3OxR3vzhV>*

“Democrats’ future in 2016 hinges largely on performing better with white
working-class voters and unmarried women, as the party looks toward the
presidential election with Hillary Clinton as its frontrunner, a new
Democracy Corps poll shows.”

*Wall Street Journal blog: Washington Wire: “Carole King, Hillary Clinton,
Live. Top Tickets: $100,000”
<http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2015/01/15/carole-king-hillary-clinton-live-top-tickets-100000/>*

“On March 4 she is to appear at a Clinton Foundation fundraising dinner in
New York City that is offering tickets for up to $100,000 apiece, a copy of
the invitation shows.”

*The Economist: “Romney returns”
<http://www.economist.com/news/united-states/21639517-list-possible-republican-candidates-grows-longer-and-more-familiar-romney-returns>*

“The likely Democratic nominee, Hillary Clinton, currently looks a
formidable opponent for any of them, but she has hardly been tested yet
and, if she runs, will get little campaigning practice in her party’s
primary.”

*Politico: “Scott Walker hits Hillary Clinton in RNC speech”
<http://www.politico.com/story/2015/01/scott-walker-hillary-clinton-2016-114314.html>*

“Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, addressing GOP officials gathered here for
the Republican National Committee’s winter meeting, launched a fierce
broadside Thursday night against former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton,
whom he described as as creature of a dysfunctional nation’s capitol.”

*Washington Post blog: Post Politics: “RNC chair says Hillary Clinton is
‘not very good at politics’”
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-politics/wp/2015/01/15/rnc-chair-says-hillary-clinton-is-not-very-good-at-politics/>*

“The chairman of the Republican Party said Thursday he sees Hillary Rodham
Clinton as a "weaker" potential opponent than he did six months ago, but
still believes the GOP must be "just about perfect" to take back the White
House in 2016.”

*BuzzFeed: “GOP Congressman: Mitt Romney Can Raise ‘$1 Billion To Beat
Hillary Clinton’”
<http://www.buzzfeed.com/jacobfischler/gop-congressman-mitt-romney-can-raise-1-billion-to-beat-hill#.ndwY9E8pKb>*

“But chiefly, Chaffetz claimed Romney ‘can raise the $1 billion it’s going
to take in order to beat Hillary Clinton.’ And he said he’s better
positioned to do so than Jeb Bush is.”

*CNN: “Activists won't accept Warren's 'no'”
<http://edition.cnn.com/2015/01/16/politics/elizabeth-warren-activists-no/index.html>*

“These activists, who hunger for a 2016 option that fits their progressive
mold, look at the senator's refusals as a reason to up the ante, not
quietly back away.”

*Articles:*

*Politico: “Poll: Democrats need to win over blue-collar voters, unmarried
women”
<http://www.politico.com/story/2015/01/poll-democrats-2016-blue-collar-unmarried-women-voters-114313.html#ixzz3OxR3vzhV>*

By Maggie Haberman

January 16, 2015, 12:02 a.m. EST

Democrats’ future in 2016 hinges largely on performing better with white
working-class voters and unmarried women, as the party looks toward the
presidential election with Hillary Clinton as its frontrunner, a new
Democracy Corps poll shows.

The poll, which was a joint project between pollster Stan Greenberg and
Page Gardner of Women’s Voices Women’s Vote, will be released Friday. It
focuses on the direction of the Democratic Party moving forward after a
brutal midterms cycle that cost them the Senate majority and a number of
governorships.

There are positive points for the Democrats, such as an improved voter mood
since the election nationally. President Barack Obama is also viewed more
positively, while congressional Republicans have not seen their brand
improve, according to the survey. The right track/wrong track numbers are
also trending more positively for the outgoing president.

“Obama’s stronger and people are more optimistic about where the country’s
going,” Greenberg said in an interview, noting that Obama is now at 48
percent approval.

Clinton beats out Mitt Romney by six points in the few horse-race match-ups
from the poll, and Jeb Bush by 12 points, the survey found.

But the Democrats will have work to do to leave a more positive impression
among blue-collar voters and unmarried women to get their support at the
levels necessary to win the White House.

“White working class voters will be key: Whether 2016 can be turned into a
big enough year to take back a lot of territory in the Congress and states
and whether the presidential candidate can build a formidable wall depends
on Democrats and Hillary Clinton doing better with white working class
voters, both men and women,” the pollsters say in their summary of key
findings.

The poll found that the “Rising American Electorate,” comprised changing
demographics, and key constituencies like college-educated women have
strong support for Clinton.

The challenge, the pollsters found, is for Democrats to tap into persuasive
economic messaging for blue-collar voters and for unmarried women, who tend
to vote on policies that are appealing to families. For instance, Clinton
gets just 32 percent of white non-college educated voters against Romney.

“Both unmarried women and blue collar whites see the path to the middle
class as increasingly precarious and feel that they are not doing as well
as they should be—Jobs do not pay enough to live on, and while the middle
class pays a lot in taxes they do not feel the country works for them,” the
pollsters wrote in their findings.

Still, those groups are likelier to be persuaded by a reform message about
fixing a broken system and “gridlocked government” than what Republicans
are offering, the pollsters say. And, in what could be critical for Clinton
as she begins to formulate her messaging, discussing pay equity doesn’t
appear to have a negative impact with male voters.

Democrats have been focused heavily on shifting demographics as critical to
success in upcoming elections, as Republicans have fared much better among
a slowly diminishing white-voter population. But the 2014 midterm races
showed that the coalition of voters that vaulted Obama to national victory
can’t be presumed to be Democratic voters. And Democratic strategists have
repeatedly said the party lacked a strong message to appeal to
working-class voters last November.

And gloominess about the country’s direction was among the worst among
unmarried women, with just 36 percent saying things are heading the right
way. Among white non-college educated voters, a mere 20 percent said the
country is going the right way, and a dismal 19 percent of white voters
said the same thing.

“Voters are still getting squeezed,” Gardner said. “But, the research
suggests that unmarried women could provide Democratic presidential
candidates with a winning advantage if their concerns about their economic
well-being are addressed.”

The pollsters surveyed 950 voters between Jan. 7 and Jan. 11. Every person
surveyed voted in the last presidential election or has registered since.
The margin of error is 3.2 percent.

*Wall Street Journal blog: Washington Wire: “Carole King, Hillary Clinton,
Live. Top Tickets: $100,000”
<http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2015/01/15/carole-king-hillary-clinton-live-top-tickets-100000/>*

By Peter Nicholas

January 15, 2015, 6:31 p.m. EST

Amid preparing for her likely presidential bid, Hillary Clinton is also
helping raise money for her family’s charitable foundation.

On March 4 she is to appear at a Clinton Foundation fundraising dinner in
New York City that is offering tickets for up to $100,000 apiece, a copy of
the invitation shows.

Carole King, the songwriter best known for her 1971 album, “Tapestry,” is
listed as the special musical guest. Unknown at this point whether she’ll
perform “I Feel the Earth Move.”

As is often the case at such events, the Clinton Foundation is selling
tickets on a sliding scale that offers more perks for higher donations.

For $100,000 a guest is designated an “event chair” and gets to attend a
“leadership reception” and is assured invitations to the foundation’s
annual briefing and retreat.

All of that presumably becomes more attractive to potential donors as Mrs.
Clinton moves closer to announcing her candidacy.

A $2,500 donation gets you in the door, earns you the title of “friend” and
locks down a seat at the dinner.

*The Economist: “Romney returns”
<http://www.economist.com/news/united-states/21639517-list-possible-republican-candidates-grows-longer-and-more-familiar-romney-returns>*

[No Writer Mentioned]

January 17, 2015

WHEN a man wishes to run for president, he no longer announces the fact to
voters, or chooses an issue on which to take a stand. Instead, he lets a
group of donors know that he is “exploring” the possibility of a bid, as if
the campaign trail were some inaccessible region inhabited by polar bears.
For Mitt Romney, who told donors on January 9th that he might run again,
after months of scoffing at the idea, it is hardly unfamiliar terrain.
Should he give it a go, 2016 would see the third Romney presidential
campaign (not counting his father’s).

Why Mr Romney—a decent man who in 2012 was pounded by adverts painting him
as a heartless capitalist and careless pet owner, then denounced as useless
by fellow Republicans when he lost—should want to make another attempt on
the presidency is a puzzle. Perhaps the best explanation was given by
another explorer: because it is there. In very early polling, Mr Romney
tops a list of possible Republican candidates so long that it is sometimes
quicker to mention who is not running. The likely Democratic nominee,
Hillary Clinton, currently looks a formidable opponent for any of them, but
she has hardly been tested yet and, if she runs, will get little
campaigning practice in her party’s primary.

Also in Mr Romney’s favour is his surname. He would begin any campaign with
the sort of recognition that costs many millions of dollars. More
important, his name is not Bush, which polling suggests is not a popular
one among independent voters. Republicans last won the White House without
a Bush on the ticket in 1972. But if feelings were to harden against Jeb
Bush, the former governor of Florida and a fellow 2016 explorer, it would
create some space on the business wing of the party, which thought it had
found a winner until Chris Christie, the governor of New Jersey, got into a
kerfuffle over a bridge and saw his state’s bonds downgraded.

Were that gap to open, one of Mr Romney’s immediate tasks would be to write
a campaign book. Even for a life as lively as his, a third autobiography
may seem like overkill. Though he is a self-described turnaround
specialist, a Romney presidency seems unlikely. But that’s what they said
about Ronald Reagan, whose first two bids also failed.

*Politico: “Scott Walker hits Hillary Clinton in RNC speech”
<http://www.politico.com/story/2015/01/scott-walker-hillary-clinton-2016-114314.html>*

By Alex Isenstadt

January 16, 2015, 6:02 a.m. EST

CORONADO, Calif. — Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, addressing GOP officials
gathered here for the Republican National Committee’s winter meeting,
launched a fierce broadside Thursday night against former Secretary of
State Hillary Clinton, whom he described as as creature of a dysfunctional
nation’s capitol.

“She lives in Washington. She works in Washington. She came to Washington
through this president and his administration,” Walker said of Clinton,
whom he described as the all-but-certain Democratic presidential nominee.
“She was in Washington when she was a United States senator. She was in
Washington when her husband was president of the United States. You look at
everything that people dislike about Washington, and she embodies it.”

Walker, a likely 2016 presidential candidate, was the keynote speaker at
the three-day conference. Aside from attacking Clinton, his 35-minute
speech also offered a possible preview of how he planned to distinguish
himself from his would-be Republican presidential rivals, none of whom he
mentioned by name.

Walker, who was reelected to a second term last November, offered an
implicit contrast with congressional figures who are exploring 2016
campaigns, including Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio.
He spent much of the address highlighting his accomplishments as governor —
namely his high-profile battle against organized labor and his efforts to
reform Wisconsin’s tax code.

“Washington isn’t the place with the answers that we’re looking for,”
Walker said. “I think the states are where we get things done.”

Walker, 47, also offered an indirect contrast with some of the more veteran
political figures who may run, including former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt
Romney, who will address party officials Friday evening, and former Florida
Gov. Jeb Bush. He said that he had found political success in his state by
being a figure of “fresh new ideas.”

“I think we can carry that message in 2016 as well,” he said.

Walker’s speech came as he’s taking steps to explore a 2016 bid. He
recently announced that he’d hired Rick Wiley, a veteran party operative,
to help him. In his speech to party officials, he stressed his
electability, pointing out that he’s been elected to govern a swing state
that has supported Democrats in the past seven presidential campaigns.

Over the course of the meeting, some GOP officials have said that the
Wisconsin governor would need to prove that he can address foreign policy
issues. Those concerns were not likely to be alleviated with the address,
in which mostly stuck to domestic themes. Walker only briefly mentioned
that the country needed a muscular leader to address the threat posed by
the Islamic State.

“I think Scott Walker is going to be a great candidate,” said Henry
Barbour, a Mississippi Republican National Committeeman, said earlier in
the week. “But he will have to grow. Just ask [Texas Gov.] Rick Perry.”

*Washington Post blog: Post Politics: “RNC chair says Hillary Clinton is
‘not very good at politics’”
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-politics/wp/2015/01/15/rnc-chair-says-hillary-clinton-is-not-very-good-at-politics/>*

By Dan Balz and Philip Rucker

January 15, 2015, 4:21 p.m. EST

SAN DIEGO -- The chairman of the Republican Party said Thursday he sees
Hillary Rodham Clinton as a "weaker" potential opponent than he did six
months ago, but still believes the GOP must be "just about perfect" to take
back the White House in 2016.

"I think she's just not very good at politics," Reince Priebus, chairman of
the Republican National Committee, said in an interview here. "She stumbles
all the time. I'm just not impressed with her political acumen...It's just
surprising how many mistakes she makes for someone that's supposed to be as
good as she is."

Priebus ticked through what he sees as Clinton's vulnerabilities: "Her book
rollout. The issue with Benghazi. Her time as first lady was riddled with
controversy. Very little done in the Senate. Secretary of state -- not much
to point to, if not fairly negative results. She's an accomplished person,
there's no question. But I think if you peel back the onion a little bit
and examine the results, I don't think it's very impressive."

Clinton is the heavy favorite for the Democratic presidential nomination,
should she choose to run. Despite his negative assessment of her skills and
record, Priebus said she would make a formidable opponent.

"We have to be just about perfect to win a presidential election," Priebus
said. He added, "She’s got high name identification, she’s a known
commodity, obviously. It’s a big cultural vote in this country [and] we
have to figure out how to win cultural votes in this country. We’re a good
midterm party. We’ve had trouble winning presidential elections. I think
all of that together is a challenge for us."

*BuzzFeed: “GOP Congressman: Mitt Romney Can Raise ‘$1 Billion To Beat
Hillary Clinton’”
<http://www.buzzfeed.com/jacobfischler/gop-congressman-mitt-romney-can-raise-1-billion-to-beat-hill#.ndwY9E8pKb>*

By Jacob Fischer

January 15, 2015, 3:18 p.m. EST

[Subtitle:] Romney called Rep. Jason Chaffetz on Saturday to talk 2016.

HERSHEY, Pennsylvania — A top GOP congressman said Thursday he would fully
support Mitt Romney if he chooses to run a third time.

Rep. Jason Chaffetz, the new chairman of the House Oversight Committee,
told reporters at the Republican retreat in Hershey, Pennsylvania he
received a call from Romney on Saturday to discuss a potential third run
for president from the twice unsuccessful presidential candidate.

“I told him if Ann Romney isn’t going to run, I’d be 100% supportive of
Mitt,” Chaffetz said.

Chaffetz added that Romney has been “vindicated” over the past year on both
domestic politics and foreign policy.

But chiefly, Chaffetz claimed Romney “can raise the $1 billion it’s going
to take in order to beat Hillary Clinton.” And he said he’s better
positioned to do so than Jeb Bush is.

Chaffetz has been one of Romney’s strongest and most vocal supporters on
the Hill in the past.

*CNN: “Activists won't accept Warren's 'no'”
<http://edition.cnn.com/2015/01/16/politics/elizabeth-warren-activists-no/index.html>*

By Dan Merica

January 16, 2015

Elizabeth Warren has tried to discourage the groups urging her to run for
president. The senator flatly said "no" when asked about running in 2016.
She backed Hillary Clinton's likely candidacy in a 2013 letter. And she
told CNN a whopping six times -- in one interview -- that she wasn't
running.

All of that, though, matters little to the coalition of liberal groups
behind Run Warren Run, a liberal draft campaign for the first-term senator.
These activists, who hunger for a 2016 option that fits their progressive
mold, look at the senator's refusals as a reason to up the ante, not
quietly back away.

Their hope that is that their money, organization and manpower can convince
Warren, the once little-known Harvard professor, that she could become the
first Madam President.

This dance played out clearly on Thursday when the liberal coalition of
MoveOn.org and Democracy for Action announced that they are expanding their
early presidential state action by opening an office in Iowa and hiring a
former Obama staffer -- Blair Lawton -- to run their state operation.

Their announcement comes two days after Warren told former Federal Deposit
Insurance Corporation Chairman Sheila Bair, in an interview with Fortune
Magazine, that she wasn't running for president.

"So are you going to run for president?" questioned Bair.

"No," said Warren.

Some Democrats -- especially those who want to see another Democratic
president -- saw this as a reason for the groups to stop their persistence.
But the Run Warren Run reaction to Warren's statement was simple and
different: This is why we are doing what we are doing.

"Sen. Warren is not planning to run for president," said Ben Wikler, head
of MoveOn's Washington office. "The whole point is to make the case to her
and encourage her to change her mind."

And in an apparent shot at Hillary Clinton, the Democratic frontrunner who
has been quietly building a political staff before a likely presidential
run, Wikler added, "She is not building a secret campaign apparatus and
hoping someone taps her shoulder. She is not floating trial balloons."

MoveOn, who pledged at the start to spend $1 million on the Warren draft
effort, has started to fundraise from their members to prolong the project.

"Yes, we have been fundraising for the Run Warren Run effort," Brian
Stewart, the group's spokesman. "We're confident that our initial $1
million investment is a beginning floor."

The key words there are "beginning floor."

In addition to their Iowa office and organizers, the group announced
earlier this week (on the same day Warren said "no") that they were kicking
off their efforts in New Hampshire, another critical presidential state.
These efforts will include multiple offices in the state and a local staff.
None of that is cheap.

For liberal groups, though, propping up Warren is not a selfless act,
either. When Warren is involved, MoveOn organizers say, their members
become more engaged and excited. And by keeping Warren's name in the mix of
prospective 2016 candidates, the groups are also raising their profile and
importance.

For that reason, Wikler and MoveOn are not prepared to say at what point
they will buy Warren's "no."

"So much can change in politics, so much is fluid," the organizer said.
"Things that are certain one day, may not be the next. Our focus is on
maximizing the possibility that she does."

*Calendar:*

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

·  January 21 – Saskatchewan, Canada: Sec. Clinton keynotes the Canadian
Imperial Bank of Commerce’s “Global Perspectives” series (MarketWired
<http://www.marketwired.com/press-release/former-us-secretary-state-hillary-rodham-clinton-deliver-keynote-address-saskatoon-1972651.htm>
)

·  January 21 – Winnipeg, Canada: Sec. Clinton keynotes the Global
Perspectives series (Winnipeg Free Press
<http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/Clinton-coming-to-Winnipeg--284282491.html>
)

·  February 24 – Santa Clara, CA: Sec. Clinton to Keynote Address at
Inaugural Watermark Conference for Women (PR Newswire
<http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/hillary-rodham-clinton-to-deliver-keynote-address-at-inaugural-watermark-conference-for-women-283200361.html>
)

·  March 4 – New York, NY: Sec. Clinton to fundraise for the Clinton
Foundation (WSJ
<http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2015/01/15/carole-king-hillary-clinton-live-top-tickets-100000/>
)

·  March 19 – Atlantic City, NJ: Sec. Clinton keynotes  American Camp
Association conference (PR Newswire <http://www.sys-con.com/node/3254649>)