Communications

So now we know why the Obama campaign rushed the rollout of their desperate attacks on private enterprise the same day they fundraised with a private equity donor. He’s down in the polls. Between Wisconsin, North Carolina, housing as a major issue in Arizona, Florida, Nevada, North Carolina and Pennsylvania and the dour national mood, it can’t be a great day in Chicago. Yesterday, they lashed out at The New York Times, who or what is next for Chicago to take out its anger on. I guess we’ll have to wait for the next strategy meeting in the White House this Sunday.

Wisconsin Poll: Among Likely Voters This November, Romney And Obama Are Tied At 46 Percent.  (Marquette University, 604 LV, MoE 4.1%, 5/9-5/12/12)

• Among Registered Voters, 49 Percent Of Wisconsin Voters Disapprove Of President Obama’s Job Performance While 45 Percent Approve. (Marquette University, 704 RV, MoE 3.8%, 5/9-5/12/12)

Walker Opens Up Lead Over Barrett In Wisconsin Recall. NBC: Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker has ... more

The president is pushing his to-do list on Congress today even though he hasn’t received a single vote for his budget in 2 years and he has plenty of other things on his to-do list he should probably focus on. See our infographic highlighting Obama’s “not done list.” The big question is will the Democrats finally produce a budget today? VP Biden is in Ohio today where he’ll try the campaign’s awkward Bain attack again. Maybe he’ll go and fundraise with a private equity donor after he’s done… something that’s put everyone from Carney to Cutter and LaBolt on defense, watch here.

The GOP will continue talking about an important issue for Americans – the deficit and debt and Obama’s inability to cut either as promised. RNC Research is out with a new piece and former NH Senator Sununu is doing a press call at 10:30 a.m. after a round of battleground state events on debt yesterday. Obama’s fundraising numbers came in under last month showing the Fundraiser-in-Chief is struggling to sell ... more

From Stef Cutter on Daily Rundown, Jay Carney at the White House briefing and Ben Labolt on CNN, Team Obama has been on defense all day over their mixed messages on private equity. I guess that’s what will happen when you fundraise with a private equity firm president the same day you criticize your opponent or when you say you aren’t against ALL private equity firms – just your opponent’s. Is this what Chicago considers a win these days? 

Cutter on Daily Rundown:

TODD: The president himself last night raising money at a hedge fund, the home of a hedge fund president whose hedge fund is twice the size of Bain seemed to also praise the idea of risk taking and this or that. So what are you attacking there, why are you attacking this one failure essentially of Bain Capital out of others. Why are you singling this one out?

Watch here: http://bit.ly/LOHFOi

Carney at the White House briefing: 

TAPPER: “The president has been making a very strong case against Mitt Romney’s form of ... more

The RNC and Romney campaign are continuing to hammer away at the president’s failure on the debt and telling Americans what it means for future generations. Governor Romney will be in Iowa today and the RNC Chairman has an op-ed in the Union Leader, we’ll be doing conference calls in key battleground states and RNC Research has a piece. Last night the CBS/New York Times poll came out showing Romney over Obama, Romney over Obama with women, and Americans recognizing the president’s gay marriage decision was all politics. Obama press secretary Ben Labolt took to the Twitters attacking the poll and they are still at it today…thinking Chicago is a little defensive.

Team Obama’s Bain attack attempt seems to have the chattering class questioning their campaign tactics as the president raises money from private equity donors on the very same day. Politico also notes they are spending $71,000 on what can now be called an earned media blitz. Lastly, more trouble in North Carolina with ... more

Today the RNC is again messaging on the deficit and debt with an op-ed in the Union Leader from Chairman Priebus, a series of conference calls in battleground states and a research piece talking about what Obama’s failure to address the debt means for future generations of Americans. Yesterday we kicked off the week of joint messaging with a web video “Empty Promises: Debt and Deficits”. – Kirsten

Reince Priebus Union Leader Op-Ed: President Obama’s Massive Debt Threatens Our Freedom. “I don’t want to wake up four years from now and find out that our children’s future was mortgaged by another mountain of debt.” That was then-candidate Obama in 2008. But four years later, a “mountain of debt” is exactly what we’re waking up to — all thanks to President Obama. We all know the national debt poses a grave threat to our economy, our national security, and ultimately our freedom. But President Obama ignored that reality and made matters worse. He broke his promises to control ... more

The White House today announced they are “cracking down” on conference spending – capping all conferences at the low, low price of $500,000 (unless they are granted “special permission”). Please consider the following response from the RNC:

“At $500,000 per conference, “Debt King” Obama is setting such a strict spending limit that next year’s GSA conference will be forced to decide: mindreader or magician, not both. With wasteful policies like this it’s not hard to figure out why Obama has run the three largest deficits in history.” – RNC Spokesperson Kirsten Kukowski

White House cracks down on conference spending after GSA scandal

Politico

Donovan Slack

May 14, 2012

http://www.politico.com/politico44/2012/05/white-house-cracks-down-on-conference-spending-after-123359.html

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This week Republicans are campaigning against the president’s failure to deliver on his promises to cut the deficit in half. Three and a half years later Obama has become the undisputed debt king, increasing government spending while wasting taxpayer dollars with debacles like Solyndra and the GSA. The RNC is out with a new web video “Empty Promises: Debt and Deficits” and both the Romney campaign and the RNC are out with research pieces this morning. We’ll have our first swing state call on the debt messaging in Iowa this morning at 10:30 ET. Details below – stay tuned for more this week.

Chicago is up with a new ad attacking Romney on Bain and even one of President Obama’s former advisors Steve Rattner criticizes the ad calling it unfair. Don’t forget about Obama’s warped view of the free market where the government makes bets on companies like Solyndra losing thousands of jobs and hundreds of millions in tax dollars. See the Romney response below. Also, Julianna Goldman points ... more

There are a few questions about Obama’s latest ad. Obama claimed to have helped the star of his latest ad campaign get a job even though his Facebook page says he was employed since 2006. Can Team Obama verify they helped him with his job? It’s interesting his Facebook page would change when questions were asked. Also, is this the best Stimulus success story the administration can point to? A company that took $299 million in taxpayer dollars only to close a factory and outsource to Hungry. With success stories like these, no wonder independents rate the Stimulus negatively by 50-44 percent.

Did Obama Help Get Ad Star A Job? When Was He Really Employed?

The Weekly Standard: Obama Ad Claims to Have Helped Man Get a Job, but Man Claims Employment Since 2006. “Matt Negrin of ABC reports that "A new ad by Obama tells the story of Brian Slagle, an autoworker in Ohio who says he was laid off and 'scared to death' until the president swooped in to save the industry." In the spot, ... more

MEMO

FROM: Sean Spicer, RNC Communications Director @seanspicer

TO: Interested Parties

RE: Weekend Messaging Memo

In the West Virginia primary this week, President Obama lost 41 percent of the vote and 10 counties to Keith Judd, also known as Federal Inmate No. 11593-051. The convicted prisoner may earn a delegate to the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte.

That alone would make for a bad night. But there was more. In North Carolina, a state the president desperately wants to win again in November, he also had a weak showing. On Tuesday, 21 percent of those voting in the Democratic primary chose “no preference” over the sitting president. Meanwhile, the number of Republican ballots cast in the primary was up 87 percent from 2008.

Team Obama insists they have an impressive ground game. Their ground game suggests otherwise.

Here’s Obama Campaign Manager Jim Messina in February: “We have a simple, audacious goal: to run the best grassroots campaign in ... more

Last night President Obama admitted what we already knew – he forgot about the recession. It explains why he’s been talking about everything but jobs lately. See the new video “Forgetting the Recession” and RNC comment below. We’re also using the hashtag #ObamaForgot. Today, the AP headline says it best: “Obama Heads To Struggling Nev. After Fundraising.”  Chairman Priebus has an op-ed in the Reno Gazette Journal talking about Obama’s policies hurting the middle class and RNC Research is out with a new piece detailing the president’s failed promises on housing.

ABC News is out with a new poll this morning showing voters trust Mitt Romney to handle the economy more than the president and independents don’t like Obama’s failed stimulus. Chicago is up with a new ad on the auto industry but it seems there might be some questions. Lastly, we’re keeping an eye on North Carolina and the heart burn the key swing state is giving the president these days from 20 percent of Democrats voting ... more