Subject: ​Correct The Record Monday February 2, 2015 Afternoon Roundup
From: Burns Strider <[email-masked]>
To: CTRFriendsFamily <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 2 Feb 2015 14:33:57 -0500
List-Id: <CTRFriendsFamily.americanbridge.org>

*​**Correct The Record Monday February 2, 2015 Afternoon Roundup:*

*Tweets:*

*Correct The Record* @CorrectRecord: .@HillaryClinton
<https://twitter.com/HillaryClinton> was the first Secretary of State to
travel to Dili, Timor-Leste#HRC365
<https://twitter.com/hashtag/HRC365?src=hash>
http://www.state.gov/secretary/20092013clinton/trvl/2012/196973.htm …
<http://t.co/7t8XXOKttm> [2/2/15, 10:47 a.m. EST
<https://twitter.com/CorrectRecord/status/562276183073894400>]

*Headlines:*

*Wall Street Journal blog: Washington Wire: “Ready for Hillary PAC Raised
Nearly $9 Million in 2014”
<http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2015/02/01/ready-for-hillary-pac-raised-nearly-9-million-in-2014/?KEYWORDS=hillary+clinton>*

“Ready for Hillary, a super PAC formed in 2013 to raise money for a
presidential campaign by Hillary Clinton, raised nearly $9 million in 2014,
more than twice as much as the previous year and more than the groups
affiliated with most Republicans known to be considering a 2016
presidential bid.”

*BuzzFeed: “Rand Hit Bush-Clinton On Dynasty, But Once Said His Famous Dad
Made His Run For Office Possible”
<http://www.buzzfeed.com/andrewkaczynski/rand-paul-hit-bush-clinton-on-dynasty-but-he-once-said-his-f#.iryggpZ7X>*

“Paul said ‘celebrity status’ does help in running for president, but it
wasn’t a criticism to have a famous family, adding that people create their
own way.”

*The Hill blog: Briefing Room: “Former Md. governor slams White House on
new drilling rules”
<http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/231412-omalley-slams-white-house-on-new-drilling-rules>*

“In the last year, as speculation has mounted that he might serve as a more
progressive challenger to a likely Hillary Clinton campaign, O'Malley has
served as a foil to more centrist Democrats.”

*The Daily Caller: “Hillary Clinton Wanted To Investigate Link Between
Autism And Vaccinations”
<http://dailycaller.com/2015/02/02/hillary-clinton-wanted-to-investigate-link-between-autism-and-vaccinations/>*

“As a U.S. senator and presidential candidate in 2008, Hillary Clinton
expressed support for the theory that childhood vaccinations contribute to
autism, writing in a campaign questionnaire that she was ‘committed’ to
finding the causes of autism, including “possible environmental causes like
vaccines.’”

*Articles:*

*Wall Street Journal blog: Washington Wire: “Ready for Hillary PAC Raised
Nearly $9 Million in 2014”
<http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2015/02/01/ready-for-hillary-pac-raised-nearly-9-million-in-2014/?KEYWORDS=hillary+clinton>*

By Rebecca Ballhaus

February 1, 2015, 4:04 p.m. EST

Ready for Hillary, a super PAC formed in 2013 to raise money for a
presidential campaign by Hillary Clinton, raised nearly $9 million in 2014,
more than twice as much as the previous year and more than the groups
affiliated with most Republicans known to be considering a 2016
presidential bid.

The Ready for Hillary group is not directly affiliated with Mrs. Clinton,
but is collecting names and email addresses of her supporters that it will
make available to her campaign should she decide to run. It has ramped up
its fundraising operation in the last year, hosting events featuring top
officials from the administration of former President Bill Clinton. Its
national finance council–which requires members to give or raise $25,000
each–now has more than 894 members, according to a spokesman for the group.
And though the group would be barred from coordinating with Mrs. Clinton’s
campaign should she decide to run, its fundraising success indicates the
pull Mrs. Clinton’s name would have among donors.

Ready for Hillary’s fundraising numbers were disclosed in a Federal
Election Commission report Saturday evening, the deadline to file year-end
reports for all political-action committees and campaign committees. Also
required to file were the leadership PACs affiliated with several potential
2016 candidates, including Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul and former Arkansas Gov.
Mike Huckabee, both Republicans.

Though money raised through leadership PACs can be used only for
non-campaign-related expenses, such as travel, or to give to other
candidates, the groups can often provide a good test of potential
candidates’ fundraising prowess. Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, for
instance, launched a PAC last month along with a fundraising initiative his
team dubbed a “shock and awe” campaign–an effort to raise enough money to
give other Republicans second thoughts about entering the race.

Of the PACs affiliated with a potential 2016 Republican presidential
candidate, the only one that raised more than Ready for Hillary was a super
PAC backing Ben Carson, a retired neurosurgeon, which raised a formidable
$12 million in 2014 and spent nearly that amount. But Mr. Carson, who has a
campaign-in-waiting, has distanced himself from the group amid questions
about how it has spent its money. USA First PAC, a committee that is
affiliated with Mr. Carson, raised around $430,000 in 2014.

Mr. Paul and Mr. Huckabee saw their leadership PACs raise the most in 2014
of other groups affiliated with potential 2016 GOP presidential candidates.
Mr. Paul’s leadership PAC, Reinventing a New Direction, brought in more
than $2.1 million, while Mr. Huckabee’s raised just shy of $1.9 million.

Both groups also spent much of what they raised. In 2013 and 2014, Mr.
Paul’s PAC spent at least $1.7 million on fundraising expenses, including
consulting fees, events, and mailings, according to the nonpartisan Center
for Responsive Politics. It also spent around $500,000 on staffers’
salaries, as Mr. Paul builds up his operation for a potential 2016 bid. On
Thursday, Texas GOP Chairman Steve Munisteri announced he would join Mr.
Paul’s team of advisers in March.

Mr. Huckabee’s group, called Huck PAC, gave nearly $1 million to House and
Senate candidates’ campaigns in the 2014 election cycle. It also spent
around $1 million on fundraising.

Other Republicans whose leadership PACs raised substantial sums last year
include Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio and former
Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum.

Mr. Cruz’s group raised $1.7 million in 2014, and had about $130,000 in the
bank as of Dec. 31, 2014. Mr. Rubio’s group raised $1.6 million, and had
$30,000 on hand at yearend. Mr. Santorum’s PAC raised nearly $1.6 million.

Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry’s leadership PAC, which just started raising
money in July 2014, has raised around $300,000 since then. Mr. Perry, a
Republican, is currently facing an indictment on two felony charges for
allegedly improperly threatening to veto funding for a prosecutorial unit
if the prosecutor didn’t resign following a drunken-driving arrest, which
could complicate his prospects for another presidential bid.

The leadership PAC for Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, a Republican who is
also considering a presidential campaign, raised around $275,000.
Supporters of the governor last week filed paperwork for a super PAC called
Believe Again, and Mr. Jindal last week changed the name of his PAC to
match that of the super PAC, according to a spokesman.

On the Democratic side, Mrs. Clinton far outraised her potential rivals for
the party’s nomination, a sign of her strong support.  Some Democrats fear
her early dominance will deprive the party of a competitive primary in
which candidates could refine their stances and skills for the general
election. The leadership PAC for former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley, who
has said he is considering a 2016 bid, raised around $750,000 in 2014. It
does have considerably more in the bank than most of the other leadership
PACs–nearly $600,000. As a former state official, Mr. O’Malley also
operates a non-federal PAC, which raised $1.6 million in 2014 and has
nearly $330,000 in the bank.

Progressive Voters of America, the leadership PAC for Vermont Sen. Bernie
Sanders, an independent, raised around $200,000. Mr. Sanders, who has won
some support from the progressive wing of the Democratic Party, has said he
is considering a campaign and wants to test whether he can raise enough
money.

*BuzzFeed: “Rand Hit Bush-Clinton On Dynasty, But Once Said His Famous Dad
Made His Run For Office Possible”
<http://www.buzzfeed.com/andrewkaczynski/rand-paul-hit-bush-clinton-on-dynasty-but-he-once-said-his-f#.iryggpZ7X>*

By Andrew Kaczynski

February 2, 2015, 10:07 a.m. EST

[Subtitle:] “So it has opened doors, it hopefully will open doors in
fundraising. But to be embarrassed by that no, I’m absolutely ecstatic that
I’m able to participate in this process and that I can help be a leader in
the freedom movement.”

Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, a potential contender for the
presidency in 2016, released a parody tape of a phone call between former
Florida Gov. Jeb Bush of Florida and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton,
hitting his presidential rivals on the issue of political dynasty.

The parody, released by Paul’s political action committee RAND PAC, used
actors to envision the two talking about the dynasties in their political
families.

In a 2009 interview with AntiWar.com radio, however, the son of two-time
Republican presidential candidate and longtime Congressman Ron Paul cited
his father as making his 2010 run for Senate possible.

The question to Paul focused on the topic of political families.

“I couldn’t have done this in 2006 because, ya know, my father’s campaign
hadn’t grown to a national level,” Paul said. “I hadn’t gone out and helped
him in many different states and become well known to some people in the
movement. No, I couldn’t have done this in 2006 in a statewide race, but it
does allow me now to run a statewide race and be treated as a credible
candidate.”

Paul said his father’s 2008 presidential campaign “opened doors” for him,
and hopefully would lead to more fundraising.

“So it has opened doors, it hopefully will open doors in fundraising. But
to be embarrassed by that no, I’m absolutely ecstatic that I’m able to
participate in this process and that I can help be a leader in the freedom
movement.”

“That’s for better or worse the way it is,” Paul would add. “But at the
same time we should hopefully glorify in the fact that we’ve gotten a lot
of political families that have been pretty crummy, maybe we can get a
political family that will be a little bit better for individual freedom.”

Earlier in his response, Paul said the problem centered around incumbency,
and the difficulty in challenging incumbent politicians.

“Well I think the problem is the electoral process makes it very difficult
for anybody to run for office to beat incumbents. Once you have incumbents,
incumbents almost never lose. If you look at the rate of incumbency in the
United States vs. the Soviet Politburo, actually the Politburo had a higher
rate of turnover. So there’s a problem with that and people try to look at
this and say, ‘how do we fix the system?’ But nobody’s been able to come up
with a way to fix the system where very wealthy people don’t have an
advantage by spending their own money.”

Paul said “celebrity status” does help in running for president, but it
wasn’t a criticism to have a famous family, adding that people create their
own way.

“And does celebrity status or being well-known help, yeah, Jesse Ventura
won because of his celebrity, Arnold Schwarzenegger won. And then some
people win on the celebrity name’s of their families. And is there a way to
make the world perfect, I’m not sure there is. And I don’t also think it’s
a criticism that says ‘hmm you’re family’s famous, therefore that
disqualifies you from participating in the process.’ I think you create
you’re own way and it may open some doors in the beginning.”

Via Politico, here’s the transcript of Paul’s fake call. It can be listened
to here.

Bush: “Hey, Hill. It’s Jeb.”

Clinton: “Hey, Jeb. To what do I owe this pleasure?”

Bush: “Well, it’s true — I’m thinking about running for president.”

Clinton: “Well, Jeb, so am I.”

Bush: “I just wanted to call and give you a heads up in hopes we could work
something out.”

Clinton: “What do you mean, Jeb? It’s clearly my turn: Bush, Clinton, Bush.
Now, Clinton.”

Bush: “Well, Hillary, there hasn’t been a Republican White House without a
Bush since 1977, and we’re ready to be back.”

Clinton: “Let me shoot straight with you, Jeb, OK? Bill and I are dead
broke and need a place to stay. 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. is calling me home —
I’ve still got the back door key. Being president offers a lot more job
security than writing another memoir.”

Bush: “Well, the Bushes have weathered attacks before. And, READ MY LIPS,
Hillary: We’re not backing down this time.”

Clinton: “Well, you’re right — maybe we can work something out. We both
agree on so many issues: bigger government, Common Core and amnesty for
illegal immigrants.”

Bush: “Well, we’ve both got problems. You’ve got problems with the grass
roots, and I’ve got all those damn conservatives. What say, we make a deal?”

[Call beeps in.]

Bush: “Sorry, Hillary, but I have to go. Mitt keeps calling.”

Clinton: “Oh, for crying out loud.”

*The Hill blog: Briefing Room: “Former Md. governor slams White House on
new drilling rules”
<http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/231412-omalley-slams-white-house-on-new-drilling-rules>*

By David McCabe

February 2, 2015, 8:19 a.m. EST

Former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley (D), a possible candidate for
president in 2016, on Monday called the White House's decision to allow
drilling along parts of the East Coast "a big mistake."

"The BP Deepwater Horizon disaster should remind us that the benefits of
drilling do not outweigh the threat to local economies, public health and
the environment when an inevitable spill occurs," he wrote in an op-ed
published in The New York Times.

O'Malley argued that placing oil rigs off the East Coast would result in
accidents with broad consequences — noting recent, strong storms like
Hurricane Sandy in 2012.

"If a single hurricane has the power to damage or destroy more than 650,000
homes in its path, we should consider what might become of an oil rig," he
wrote.

"Expanding offshore drilling is irreconcilable with the realities of
climate science and irrelevant, at best, to taking advantage of the vast
economic opportunities clean energy presents," he added later in the piece.

The Obama administration said last week that it would allow drilling off
one part of the Atlantic Seaboard and open up more portions of the Gulf of
Mexico to drilling. The plan would also ban drilling in parts of Alaska.

In addition to the obvious proximity of O'Malley's home state to the
coastal area in question, the former governor might be trying to stake out
territory to the left of Obama as he mulls a presidential campaign.

In the last year, as speculation has mounted that he might serve as a more
progressive challenger to a likely Hillary Clinton campaign, O'Malley has
served as a foil to more centrist Democrats.

Last summer, he said the Obama administration's position to send
unaccompanied child migrants back to Central America would be akin to
sending them to "certain death." The White House fired back, and O'Malley
accused the administration of misrepresenting his comments.

In September, O'Malley said that he was "seriously considering" a run. He
has also said that Clinton's thinking about a run will not change his own.

*The Daily Caller: “Hillary Clinton Wanted To Investigate Link Between
Autism And Vaccinations”
<http://dailycaller.com/2015/02/02/hillary-clinton-wanted-to-investigate-link-between-autism-and-vaccinations/>*

By Chuck Ross

February 2, 2015, 12:40 p.m. EST

As a U.S. senator and presidential candidate in 2008, Hillary Clinton
expressed support for the theory that childhood vaccinations contribute to
autism, writing in a campaign questionnaire that she was “committed” to
finding the causes of autism, including “possible environmental causes like
vaccines.”

Childhood vaccinations became a political issue on Monday after New Jersey
Gov. Chris Christie was roundly criticized for telling reporters, “It’s
more important what you think as a parent than what you think as a public
official.”

“So that’s the balance that the government has to decide,” Christie
continued, adding that, “Not every vaccine is created equal, and not every
disease type is as great a public-health threat as others.”

The subject of childhood vaccinations and the activist groups who oppose
the safeguard — so-called anti-vaxxers — has come to the fore amid an
outbreak of measles in the U.S.

Christie’s stance on the issue took another twist after The Daily Beast
reported on a letter Christie wrote to campaign supporters in 2009 in which
he expressed sympathy for parents concerned by New Jersey’s
“highest-in-the-nation vaccination rate.”

“I stand with them now, and will stand with them as their governor in their
fight for greater parental involvement in vaccination decisions that affect
their children,” Christie wrote.

Those comments were cited by many as problematic:

This @olivianuzzi article on Chris Christie’s suck-up to anti-vaxx parents
hits like a punch to the face http://t.co/eQ3JstBVst — Tim Mak
(@timkmak) February
2, 2015

Chris Christie, call your office. http://t.co/U6AWU3whaG — Chris Cillizza
(@TheFix) February 2, 2015

But as a 2008 presidential contender, then-Sen. Hillary Clinton indicated
that she was a vaccination skeptic as well.

As The Huffington Post and The American Prospect reported in April of that
year, Clinton called for more research into the autism-vaccination link in
response to a questionnaire from A-CHAMP, an autism awareness group.

Clinton wrote that she was “committed to make investments to find the
causes of autism, including possible environmental causes like vaccines.”

And in response to the question of whether she would support more research
into a link between vaccinations and autism rates, Clinton wrote: “Yes. We
don’t know what, if any, kind of link there is between vaccines and autism
– but we should find out.”

As was reported at the time, Clinton was joined in her skeptical views by
then-Sen. Barack Obama and Sen. John McCain, the Republican nominee for
president in 2008.

“We’ve seen just a skyrocketing autism rate. Some people are suspicious
that it’s connected to the vaccines. This person included. The science
right now is inconclusive, but we have to research it,” Obama said at a
campaign rally in Pennsylvania in April 2008.

Later on Monday, Christie’s office clarified the comments he made in London:

“To be clear: The governor believes vaccines are an important public health
protection and with a disease like measles there is no question kids should
be vaccinated. At the same time different states require different degrees
of vaccination, which is why he was calling for balance in which ones
government should mandate.”