Subject: Correct The Record Monday January 20, 2015 Afternoon Roundup
From: Burns Strider <[email-masked]>
To: CTRFriendsFamily <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 20 Jan 2015 13:59:15 -0500
List-Id: <CTRFriendsFamily.americanbridge.org>

*​**Correct The Record Monday January 20, 2015 Afternoon Roundup:*

*Tweets:*

*Sec. Hillary Rodham Clinton* @HillaryClinton: What would MLK say today?
Great strides but miles to go. We have to keep up the fight against
injustice. #MLKDay [1/19/15, 7:18 p.m. EST
<https://twitter.com/HillaryClinton/status/557331318527508480>]

*Headlines:*

*CNN: “Clinton critics jab at Obama camp hiring”
<http://edition.cnn.com/2015/01/20/politics/clinton-obama-sotu/index.html>*

“Adrienne Elrod, spokeswoman for Correct the Record, a pro-Clinton super
PAC, said Miller's energy behind the Clinton memo could have been dedicated
at another possible 2016 candidate. ‘America Rising, ​the Super PAC where
Tim Miller works, is essentially a pro-Romney organization founded by
staffers from Mitt Romney's failed 2012 presidential campaign. They would
serve themselves better to focus on their growing Romney shadow campaign
for their party's nomination.’”

*Huffington Post: “Hillary Clinton Announced Her 2008 Presidential Campaign
8 Years Ago Today”
<http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/01/20/hillary-clinton-2008-campaign_n_6507254.html>*

“On Jan. 20, 2007, then-Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) announced her 2008
White House presidential bid.”

*New York Times: First Draft: “McConnell Allies Start ‘Super PAC’ to Keep
Senate Majority”
<http://www.nytimes.com/politics/first-draft/2015/01/20/?entry=8565>*

“The party will be defending twice as many seats as the Democrats next
year, and expects to face a well-financed Democratic candidate, Hillary
Rodham Clinton, at the top of the opposing ticket.”

*Des Moines Register: “Rastetter to host presidential forum”
<http://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/politics/2015/01/20/bruce-rastetter-presidential-forum/22049311/>*

“In a news release Tuesday morning, Rastetter said he has invited both
Democratic and Republican presidential hopefuls to a new event called the
‘Iowa Agriculture Summit,’ which will focus on ‘issues of vital importance
to the Iowa and national economies.’”

*Articles:*

*CNN: “Clinton critics jab at Obama camp hiring”
<http://edition.cnn.com/2015/01/20/politics/clinton-obama-sotu/index.html>*

By Dan Merica

January 20, 2015

Hillary Clinton's most vocal critics have long tried to tie the former
secretary of state to President Barack Obama, hoping that her 2016 run
would be dragged down by the somewhat unpopular president.

But ahead of Tuesday's State of the Union address, critics say Clinton is
making their job easy.

Tim Miller, the executive director of America Rising, an anti-Clinton
communications and research super PAC, argues in talking points to other
Republicans that Clinton is tying herself to Obama by working with and
hiring many of his staffers ahead of her all-but-certain 2016 run.

"By hiring his key political and policy staff and making no public moves to
place clear distance between herself and the President on issues likely to
be front and center in the coming Congress, Clinton is signaling that she's
not just from the same party as the President, but that she's an Obama
Democrat, who will back his policies, pursue his agenda, and represent a
Third Term of the Obama Administration," Miller argues in a memo to the
group's supporters.

Since last year, Clinton has been meeting with a broad array of Democratic
operatives and possible campaign staffers ahead of a possible 2016 run. But
in the last month, Clinton has reportedly began to tap certain Democratic
operatives -- many with ties to Obama's two successful presidential runs --
for certain jobs on her nascent campaign.

John Podesta, a top aide on the Obama White House, has said a number of
times that he plans to leave the White House in early February and would
happily work for Clinton is she runs.

"If she runs, as I hope she will, I will do whatever she asks me to do,"
Podesta, who previously worked as chief of staff to former President Bill
Clinton, said on the Charlie Rose Show in November. "Right now she hasn't
made a decision to run, so I am expecting to return to what I was doing
before."

Democrats widely expect -- and other outlets have reported -- that Podesta
will serve as Clinton's campaign chairman, should she run.

In the memo, Miller argues that Podesta's inclusion on team Clinton is the
biggest sign of her joining with Obama. "He [Podesta] will bring that same
policy agenda, willingness to subvert Congress and rhetoric to Team
Clinton," he writes.

What's more, Clinton has reportedly selected pollsters Joel Benenson, John
Anzalone, David Binder and media adviser Jim Margolis for top roles in the
campaign. All have worked in similar capacities for either the President's
2008 or 2012 campaigns.

Clinton allies have long expressed concern that one of the most effective
critiques could be that her presidency, should she run and be elected,
would be nothing more than President Barack Obama's third term. But Clinton
allies have become more upbeat about being tied to Obama in the last few
months given improved economic indicators.

Adrienne Elrod, spokeswoman for Correct the Record, a pro-Clinton super
PAC, said Miller's energy behind the Clinton memo could have been dedicated
at another possible 2016 candidate.

"America Rising, ​the Super PAC where Tim Miller works, is essentially a
pro-Romney organization founded by staffers from Mitt Romney's failed 2012
presidential campaign. They would serve themselves better to focus on their
growing Romney shadow campaign for their party's nomination."

Republicans have been closely watching for Clinton to break with Obama on
certain issues, while at the same time labeling her 2016 run as "Obama's
Third Term."

"Beyond Clinton's issues agenda, her campaign's political leadership is
shaping up to be staffed not by her own former campaign advisers, but rely
heavily on President Obama's 2012 campaign leadership," Miller writes. "Put
bluntly: the state of the Obama-Clinton 2016 Union is strong."

*Huffington Post: “Hillary Clinton Announced Her 2008 Presidential Campaign
8 Years Ago Today”
<http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/01/20/hillary-clinton-2008-campaign_n_6507254.html>*

By Amber Ferguson

January 20, 2015, 10:16 a.m. EST

On Jan. 20, 2007, then-Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) announced her 2008
White House presidential bid.

“I’m in, and I’m in to win,” Clinton said.

According to The Washington Post, Clinton’s campaign advisers said her
announcement was intentionally timed to “come shortly before President
[George W.] Bush's State of the Union address on Tuesday night” in order to
“draw a contrast with the administration's record.”

"As a senator, I will spend two years doing everything in my power to limit
the damage George W. Bush can do. But only a new president will be able to
undo Bush's mistakes and restore our hope and optimism," Clinton said.

At the time of her announcement, a nationwide Washington Post-ABC News poll
showed Clinton as the Democratic front-runner, with support from 41 percent
of Democrats, compared with then-Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.), who had 17
percent of Democratic support.

“As we campaign to win the White House, we will make history and remake our
future,” the former first lady said.

Clinton is expected to make a decision on a 2016 presidential bid later
this year.

*New York Times: First Draft: “McConnell Allies Start ‘Super PAC’ to Keep
Senate Majority”
<http://www.nytimes.com/politics/first-draft/2015/01/20/?entry=8565>*

By Nicholas Confessore and Ashley Parker

January 20, 2015, 10:43 a.m. EST

Allies of Senator Mitch McConnell, the new majority leader, are moving to
impose order on the profusion of Republican outside groups that have sprung
up over the last two years by setting up a “super PAC” devoted exclusively
to helping Republicans keep control of the Senate in 2016.

The new group, known as the Senate Leadership Fund, will seek to become the
main vehicle for donors wanting to help Mr. McConnell’s fledgling majority.
Like the outside groups that supported Mr. McConnell’s re-election campaign
in Kentucky last year, the Senate Leadership Fund will work in tandem with
American Crossroads, the most prominent Republican super PAC, which is led
by Mr. McConnell’s former chief of staff Steven J. Law. Mr. Law will sit on
the board of the new organization, and the two groups will coordinate
advertising purchases, messaging and fund-raising efforts, though they will
not necessarily use the same vendors to buy advertising.

“The U.S. Senate is under new management — and is taking on President
Obama’s freedom-constricting, big-government agenda,” the group’s website
says. “As a new, independent super PAC, the Senate Leadership Fund has one
goal: to protect and expand the Republican Senate majority when Harry Reid,
Elizabeth Warren and their army of left-wing activists try to take it back
in 2016.”

The new group could also provide Mr. McConnell a powerful tool for
exercising leadership of his caucus — albeit an indirect one, given that
the Senate leader may not coordinate spending decisions with the group, or
explicitly solicit funds for it. Strategists involved in setting up the
Senate Leadership Fund said it would not rule out intervening in primaries
or backing candidates for open seats in its quest to preserve Republican
control of the Senate. The party will be defending twice as many seats as
the Democrats next year, and expects to face a well-financed Democratic
candidate, Hillary Rodham Clinton, at the top of the opposing ticket.

Allies of the Senate leader are hoping that the new vehicle will discourage
the formation of single-candidate “buddy PACs” that popped up during the
2014 election cycle to focus on individual races, steering donors and their
dollars to a single overarching organization with a clear strategic
direction.

It is also a response to the party’s biggest donors, who are now confronted
with requests for cash from a dizzying array of super PACs and political
nonprofit groups with varied missions. American Crossroads has spent
heavily on Senate races in the past, but its priority in 2016 is most
likely to be helping the Republican nominee for president.

The new group is also inspired in part by the Senate Democrats’
stronger-than-expected outside spending effort last fall, when the party
established a single go-to Senate group, run by former aides to Senator
Harry Reid, then the majority leader, to back challengers and incumbents
around the country. The setup allowed Democrats donors to channel their
money to a single entity, exploit economies of scale in buying advertising,
and achieve a more unified message.

The formation of the new group gives Republican leaders a matched set of
semiofficial super PACs devoted to defending their congressional
majorities. Another pair of Republican groups — a super PAC called the
Congressional Leadership Fund and a nonprofit known as the American Action
Network — already focus on House races.

*Des Moines Register: “Rastetter to host presidential forum”
<http://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/politics/2015/01/20/bruce-rastetter-presidential-forum/22049311/>*

By Jennifer Jacobs

January 20, 2015, 11:34 a.m. CST

Republican campaign donor Bruce Rastetter, who earned his wealth in Iowa
pork and ethanol, is jumping into the multi-candidate forum game, hoping to
influence the outcome of the 2016 presidential election.

In a news release Tuesday morning, Rastetter said he has invited both
Democratic and Republican presidential hopefuls to a new event called the
“Iowa Agriculture Summit,” which will focus on “issues of vital importance
to the Iowa and national economies.”

“Each speaker will appear alone with Rastetter on stage for 20 minutes to
discuss a range of issues that includes modern agriculture, renewable
fuels, biosciences, genetically modified organisms, grain and livestock
markets, land conservation and federal subsidies,” the release says.

Rastetter, former CEO of Hawkeye Energy and a prominent financial backer of
GOP candidates and causes, was appointed in 2011 by Republican Gov. Terry
Branstad to a seat on the board that oversees the state’s university
system. He became board president in 2013.

His presidential forum will be Saturday, March 7 at the Elwell Family Food
Center on the Iowa State Fairgrounds in Des Moines.

There are already several annual multi-candidate events organized by
religious conservatives and Republicans who fall further to the right on
the GOP spectrum, including U.S. Rep. Steve King. King announced in
November that his inaugural “Iowa Freedom Summit” would bethis Saturday in
Des Moines. Conservative evangelical Christian leaders Steve Scheffler of
the Iowa Faith & Freedom Coalition and Bob Vander Plaats of the Family
Leader also host events that more mainstream presidential candidates have
shied away from.

Rastetter said he hopes to draw potential 2016 candidates from both
parties. He noted that both Branstad and Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds, who have
pushed to keep the Iowa welcome mat out for a range of Republican
presidential hopefuls, not just Christian conservatives, are “very
supportive of the ag summit.”

“Invited speakers include Vice President Joe Biden, former Gov. Jeb Bush of
Florida, Dr. Ben Carson, Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey, former
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, Gov.
Andrew Cuomo of New York, former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina, U.S.
Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, former Gov. Mike Huckabee of
Arkansas, Gov. Bobby Jindal of Louisiana, Gov. John Kasich of Ohio, Gov.
Martin O’Malley of Maryland, U.S. Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, former Gov.
Rick Perry of Texas, 2012 GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney, U.S. Sen.
Marco Rubio of Florida, former U.S. Senator Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania,
New York businessman Donald Trump, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom
Vilsack, Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin, U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren of
Massachusetts and U.S. Sen. Jim Webb of Virginia,” the news release says.

In the statement, Rastetter said: “Every four years, Iowa becomes an
epicenter of American politics, often shaping and almost always reflecting
national policy movements. Unfortunately, until now, there has not been a
forum solely dedicated to matters that directly affect Iowa farmers who
feed and fuel not just the country, but the world.”

Rastetter said his summit will promote agriculture as well as other issues.
The event will allow various elected officials and public policy leaders
time on stage as well, he said.