http://www.gop.com/index.php/comms/ en Copyright 2012 2012-02-10T21:07:37+00:00 http://www.gop.com/index.php/comms/comments/weekend_messaging_memo-obama_campaign_failures/ http://www.gop.com/index.php/comms/comments/weekend_messaging_memo-obama_campaign_failures/#When:21:07:37Z MEMORANDUM FROM: Sean Spicer, RNC Communications Director TO: Interested Parties RE: Weekend Messaging Memo – Obama Campaign Failures   If you’ve been following the Republican race lately, you may have missed another story: Barack Obama’s struggling campaign.  The cogs in the Obama campaign apparatus are spinning at full speed, but they just haven’t produced the money, message, or momentum of 2008. A failed presidency is producing a failing campaign. Money Woes In 2008, Barack Obama pledged to uphold the tradition of public financing. Then, when he discovered he could raise millions more without it, he broke his promise, blowing up the campaign finance system in the process. 2012 brings another installment of Obama’s campaign finance hypocrisy. In 2010, he called Super PACs a “threat to democracy.” Now, realizing the shortcomings of his own campaign fundraising, he has warmly embraced the Super PAC Priorities USA.  The trend is appalling: Barack Obama only stands on “principle” when he can afford to. A few million dollars can buy a change of heart. And his reelection desperately needed a few million. In four out of the last five months, the RNC outraised the DNC. In the fourth quarter, the RNC outraised the DNC. And the RNC and the Republican candidates outraised the DNC and Barack Obama. December was the first cash-positive month for the DNC since June. The poor fundraising isn’t for lack of trying. Obama has attended over 80 fundraising events since declaring reelection. In 2011, he held more fundraisers in the year before an election than each of his last five predecessors. The support just isn’t there for Obama. So he’s hoping a little hypocrisy will purchase some. Weak Message, Weak Polling The poll numbers aren’t adding up for the Obama campaign—an indication of their weak message. According to Gallup last week, Obama’s approval rating is down in 47 states from a year ago. (It’s worth noting that Wyoming is one of the three states where his approval went up – from 27.6 percent to 30.6 percent.) The president’s approval rating is above 50 percent in only D.C. and 10 reliably blue states. Meanwhile, the majority of Americans continue to believe the country is on the wrong track. Obama has also alienated important coalitions that propelled him to victory in 2008. Young voters, dispirited by a weak economy, are unengaged. Hispanic voters, suffering from higher than average unemployment, believe the president has failed; in Florida 60 percent of Hispanics say Obama’s campaign promises remain unfulfilled, according to a recent Resurgent Republic poll. And with his latest affront to religious organizations, Obama’s Catholic support may wane further. This is significant. Obama won many states by a slim margin. If he loses the support of even a sliver of the electorate, he loses these states.  Low Registration, Zero Momentum The Obama campaign has failed to generate momentum for their candidate—a certain source of anxiety in Chicago. As a result, the GOP is closing the registration gap. In every battleground state that maintains partisan registration records, the Democrats have a lower share of registered voters than in 2008.   In Nevada, for example, Republicans have cut the Democrats’ advantage from 2008 in half. In New Hampshire, Democrats held an advantage over Republicans in 2008; today, Republicans have the advantage.  In 2008, Democrats benefitted from a surge in registrations, but there is no such surge in 2012.  In short, Obama’s campaign struggles may not make the headlines, but they are undoubtedly bad news for Democrats as we head toward November. That’s something worth remembering – and reporting.   ### 2012-02-10T21:07:37+00:00 http://www.gop.com/index.php/comms/comments/exclusive_bonus_track_playlist/ http://www.gop.com/index.php/comms/comments/exclusive_bonus_track_playlist/#When:23:12:57Z Earlier today President Obama’s campaign sent out his playlist. Now get the hidden bonus tracks that are a little more applicable to how Americans are feeling these days! See below for the official hidden bonus tracks for President Obama’s campaign playlist: The Gambler                                       Kenny Rogers How Do You Like Me Now                      Toby Keith Spare Change                                     Matt & Kim Economy                                             John Mark McMillan Math Sucks                                         Jimmy Buffett Spiralling                                            Keane Highway to Hell                                   AC/DC Over My Head                                     The Fray I Can't Explain                                    Scorpions It Wasn’t Me                                       Shaggy Crossroads                                         Bone Thugs-n-Harmony Help!                                                 The Beatles Money Grabber                                   Fitz and the Tantrums Funny the Way It Is                            Dave Matthews Band Apologize                                          One Republic/Timbaland Here I Go Again                                 Whitesnake Never Again                                       Kelly Clarkson Oops I Did it Again                             Brittany Spears Drown In My Own Tears                       Ray Charles You’ve Lost that Lovin’ Feelin’              Rightous Brothers Whatever Happened                           O.A.R. Should've Said No                               Taylor Swift Where Are You Going                          Dave Matthews Band Come Back                                        Ray Charles Don't Let the Sun Go Down On Me         Elton John I Think We're Alone Now                      Tiffany Dancing With Myself                            Billy Idol Goodbye Time                                    Blake Shelton   ### 2012-02-09T23:12:57+00:00 http://www.gop.com/index.php/comms/comments/obamaa/ http://www.gop.com/index.php/comms/comments/obamaa/#When:21:41:58Z Messaging Memo FROM: Kirsten Kukowski, RNC Press Secretary TO: Interested Parties RE: Obama’s Attack on Religious Freedom   Barack Obama’s new health insurance mandate is a direct attack on the Constitution and freedom of religion. The White House will try to spin otherwise, but that doesn’t change the central issue: the president does not have the power to undermine the Bill of Rights. Our message is principled and rooted in the Constitution. No American should be forced to violate his or her religious beliefs at the whim of the White House. No religious organization should be forced to violate tenets of its faith. Obama clearly disagrees. For him, a government takeover of healthcare is more important than the Bill of Rights. In pursuit of his big government agenda, he is willing to bully religious organizations and trample on constitutional freedoms. The impact on society could be significant. The religious organizations affected by this mandate include Catholic charities, hospitals, schools, shelters, and other groups that do a tremendous amount of good work for those in need. Obama is telling these groups that they cannot continue their work and stay true to their religious convictions.  Faced with that unconscionable demand, some of these organizations may decide that they must close their doors to avoid violating their beliefs. Many Americans could suffer as a result, most regrettably those who are already suffering in a difficult economy. If this mandate is allowed to stand, it ultimately opens the door for even greater constitutional violations. If the First Amendment is not sacred, then what other rights can be discarded at the president’s command? How much further can the federal government intrude into our lives?  The task for those who object to Obama’s overreach—Republicans, Democrats, and independents—is to challenge the White House on the issue of religious liberty. The implications of this mandate are much greater than the substance of the mandate itself. It threatens a foundational principle of our government: the federal government must operate within the limits of the Constitution, and religious rights are inviolable.  As we have seen over the past few days, this issue cuts across partisan lines. Four Democrat Senators, one Independent Senator, three House Democrats, and a former DNC Chairman have publicly spoken out, joining Republicans in expressing their disagreement with the White House. Liberal religious leaders—including those who supported Obamacare—have called on the administration to respect their faith. And both left-leaning and right-leaning commentators and editorial boards have condemned the White House in print. The bipartisan outcry reflects the importance of this issue. The Obama administration must reverse its decision because in America, government yields to the Constitution; the Constitution does not yield to government. ### 2012-02-09T21:41:58+00:00 http://www.gop.com/index.php/comms/comments/weekend_messaging_memo_more_than_a_number/ http://www.gop.com/index.php/comms/comments/weekend_messaging_memo_more_than_a_number/#When:21:13:36Z MEMO FROM: Sean Spicer, RNC Communications Director TO: Interested Parties RE: Weekend Messaging Memo – More than a Number   Once a month the Bureau of Labor Statistics releases its jobs report and the unemployment rate. And once a month commentators play the numbers game: How low must it go for Obama to win a second term? 7.3 percent? 6.8 percent? It’s a dangerous game. High unemployment has become the new normal so we’re tempted to think that slightly-less-high unemployment is good. We’re tempted to settle. It may get better, yes, but that doesn’t mean it’s good. It doesn’t mean the economy has recovered. The new normal isn’t really normal at all.  The economy is much more than a single statistic, and the vast majority of numeric indicators tell us we are far, far from the growing economy we need to guarantee widespread prosperity. Barack Obama’s presidency must be judged on his record, and his record is the health of the economy. In the Obama economy, most things are getting worse. Gas prices are high. Grocery prices are rising. Healthcare costs are rising. Poverty is up. Homelessness is up. The national debt is hurtling toward $16 trillion. This is the record of Barack Obama, and this is unsustainable. Taken together, this paints a depressing picture. But it still doesn’t capture the full story—the human story. Americans don’t judge the economy on a handful of statistics. They judge it on their own realities and their personal struggles. Do they feel better off? Are things getting better? The majority of Americans say no. Poll after poll shows 60 to 70 percent of Americans think the country is headed in the wrong direction. Gallup released state-by-state polling this week on Obama’s approval ratings. In 47 states, his approval rating is down from a year ago, and he is only above 50 percent in 10 states (all reliable blue states). It’s clear Americans understand that things are not where they should be. This week, a woman from Fort Worth, Jennifer Weddel, gave voice to that sense of frustration and in an online town hall voiced it directly to President Obama. Her husband, a semiconductor engineer, has faced chronic unemployment. When she asked the president why, he insisted that her husband really should be able to find work. It was “interesting,” said the president, that no one was hiring her husband. As Chairman Priebus wrote on Wednesday, Obama “responded with the coolness of a detached professor, intrigued by a complex case study.” Jennifer later assessed the exchange saying, “I just think I stumped him a little and he wanted me to hush about it.” In the president’s pursuit of reelection, he wants all of us to “hush” when we talk about his record.  Republicans, as we head toward November, must communicate to voters our dedication to fighting for hard-working taxpayers and for the unemployed, like Jennifer’s husband, who are working so hard just to find work. Our message has to be about more than just lowering an unemployment number. It has to be about raising America’s spirit and reviving American opportunity.  The election is a referendum on the president, and that in turn, is a referendum on the economy. So to win reelection, Barack Obama will attempt to convince Americans to settle for the new normal. But settling isn’t normal for Americans.     ### 2012-02-03T21:13:36+00:00 http://www.gop.com/index.php/comms/comments/weekend_messaging_memo_a_sotu_repeat/ http://www.gop.com/index.php/comms/comments/weekend_messaging_memo_a_sotu_repeat/#When:18:24:54Z MEMO FROM: Sean Spicer, RNC Communications Director TO: Interested Parties RE: Weekend Messaging Memo – A SOTU Repeat   Sitcoms are known for their reruns. State of the Union addresses usually aren’t. But if President Obama’s speech Tuesday night sounded like a repeat, you were right. He’d said much of it before. Within minutes of the president’s conclusion, the RNC released a video, “Familiar Rhetoric, Failed Record,” pairing excerpts of Tuesday’s speech with similar or identical excerpts from the 2011 and 2010 State of the Union speeches. Within two days, the video had 600,000 YouTube views. If you haven’t watched it, you need to. It struck a chord, proving yet again what we’ve long been saying: Attacking Obama with his own words resonates remarkably well. Our ad, crisp and straightforward, was played and replayed on cable news, on conservative radio, and, of course, across the Internet.  Bill O’Reilly called it “a brutal ad.” Rush Limbaugh declared it a “great video.” And it was simply Obama’s words. The president’s greatest liability in this election year is the heap of promises, now broken, that he made in years past. With broken promises on every issue from the economy to energy, healthcare to housing, the deficit, the debt, and White House ethics, the president’s new promises are not believable. He has zero credibility. As Chairman Priebus wrote in POLITICO on Tuesday, “Americans demand a president who can come to Congress with a plan and purpose. Obama arrives with a speech and a slogan.” The country is hungering for true leadership on jobs and the economy, and the president offers only more words—and recycled old words at that. Slogans are not solutions. The president has offered plenty of the former—We Can’t Wait, Winning the Future, An America Built to Last, Better Together, Hope and Change, Yes We Can—but none of the latter. He has no workable solutions for the debt, the deficit, or job creation. In fact, the policies Obama has pursued have done more to exacerbate our problems than fix them. Blocking the Keystone pipeline is the latest example. He killed thousands of jobs and a reliable, affordable energy source. Obama says he cares about jobs and energy security, but the rhetoric doesn’t match reality. Finally, the State of the Union was also notable for what the president did not say. He only barely mentioned Obamacare, his signature legislative achievement. He’s conceded the fact that its failure has made it unpopular and politically toxic. He also dodged discussing the debt he’s created; only 2.8 percent of the speech addressed the issue. Then there’s jobs. As a Columbus Dispatch editorial noted Thursday, “The big fact missing in President Barack Obama’s State of the Union speech on Tuesday was this one: 13 million Americans remain unemployed. About 10 million remain underemployed.” In 2012, the state of our union is defined by our persistent unemployment problem and the millions of families suffering as a result. A president afraid to acknowledge that reality is a president unwilling to address the problem head on. Holding Obama accountable to his own record is the key to defeating him in 2012. Using his words against him is the most effective line of attack for the GOP, and it leaves Democrats defenseless. They can’t argue with the president’s own words. As the president crisscrossed the country this week on a three-day, five-state campaign tour, the RNC bracketed him with this message at each stop—Iowa, Arizona, Nevada, Colorado, and Michigan. Wherever he goes, from now until Election Day, voters will hear that message. We will hold him accountable for his record, using his own words. The State of the Union, like the Obama presidency, was a thorough disappointment, lacking in fresh ideas and full of stale rhetoric. But you don’t have to take the GOP’s word for it. Just listen to Obama’s.  ### 2012-01-27T18:24:54+00:00 http://www.gop.com/index.php/comms/comments/obamas_college_affordability_farce/ http://www.gop.com/index.php/comms/comments/obamas_college_affordability_farce/#When:14:52:33Z Good morning, the president is set to discuss college affordability and student loans today in Michigan but we’ve heard this all before. See the following comment from the RNC as well as stories from late 2011 – the last time we heard this same rhetoric. “While focusing on student loans and college affordability is important for our country, the problem is we’ve heard this all before from President Obama. As with so many other important issues, President Obama is really good at making promises and is really bad at following through on them. Trying to jumpstart his reelection campaign, President Obama may think he can fool voters by traveling across the country, repeating the same promises he’s failed to deliver on the past three years.  He should give voters more credit. Americans have had enough of the rhetoric, it’s time for results.” – RNC Spokesperson Kirsten Kukowski   Detroit News:  Student Loan Program A Farce “That's more money than Americans owe on credit cards, huge numbers are defaulting, and here comes President Barack Obama with a solution. Only it's not. It's a farce.   In full campaign mode while once more neglecting the duties of office, Obama showed up at a Denver high school to outline more of his executive orders that will do absolutely nothing for 29 million of the 36 million paying off these loans, and something on the order of a smidgen for most of the others.” (Jay Ambrose, “Student Loan Program A Farce,” Detroit News, 10/31/2011)   Obama’s Student Loan Program Saves Average Grad Less Than $10 a Month President Obama seeks to respond to this question with an executive order in the next part of his "We Can't Wait" unilateral stimulus effort. While the president's heart may be in the right place, his effort isn't like to have much impact. (Daniel Indiviglio, “Obama's Student-Loan Order Saves the Average Grad Less Than $10 a Month,” The Atlantic, 10/27/2011)   ### 2012-01-27T14:52:33+00:00 http://www.gop.com/index.php/comms/comments/talking_points_president_obamas_last_state_of_the_union_address/ http://www.gop.com/index.php/comms/comments/talking_points_president_obamas_last_state_of_the_union_address/#When:14:49:20Z It was abundantly clear that President Obama has given up on governing and used the State of the Union address more as a campaign prop than actual forum to put ideas forth that will get America back on track.   We’ve heard this all before.   Despite unfulfilled promises and failed economic policies from previous State of the Union addresses, Barack Obama tried to use tonight as a platform to boost his campaign, but Americans deserve better. It didn’t work previously, and it won’t work again.   This shouldn’t come as a surprise, though, for our campaigner-in-chief: He’s courting wealthy donors for campaign cash across the country, from L.A. to NYC. He’s crisscrossing the country rallying disaffected voters in battleground states. And he’s running disingenuous ads in five battleground states.   From Day One, President Obama has been concerned about saving his job, not putting forth policies that will actually get Americans back to work and now that the calendar reads 2012, it is all campaign, all the time.   Every move this president makes, every utterance from his mouth, every photo he takes will be with one thing in mind – will this help my reelection.   He is trying his best not to govern, but to secure a second term, while Americans are still waiting for him to deliver on the promises of his campaign and first term.   The president ignored his failures and is trying to build his case on faulty premises and empty promises. That worked in 2008 because he had no record, but it won’t work in 2012 because he has a crystal clear record.   What you didn’t hear tonight were the promises he failed to keep.  On the economy, jobs, health care, energy, the deficit, the debt, housing, lobbyists, ethics, and energy policy -- all of these issues -- the president has broken his promises to the American people.   ### 2012-01-24T14:49:20+00:00 http://www.gop.com/index.php/comms/comments/weekend_memo-_the_campaigner_in_chief/ http://www.gop.com/index.php/comms/comments/weekend_memo-_the_campaigner_in_chief/#When:21:57:57Z  MEMO FROM: Sean Spicer, RNC Communications Director TO: Interested Parties RE: Weekend Messaging Memo – The Campaigner-in-Chief   Wonder what happens when a president stops governing? Look around. Three weeks into the new year, over 290 days till the election, the president has gone into full-time campaign mode. Yesterday’s agenda: Visit Disney World  Fundraise at a swanky Manhattan restaurant Fundraise (a second time) at swanky Manhattan restaurant Fundraise at Spike Lee’s house Fundraise at the Apollo Theater   Next week’s agenda: Campaign in Iowa Campaign in Nevada Campaign in Colorado Campaign in Michigan Campaign in Arizona And, finally, he’s up with a defensive campaign ad in multiple battleground states. (Ironically, the ad, which tries to defend Obama’s ethical lapses, grossly misrepresents its own sources. For more on Obama’s countless ethical failings, see Chairman Priebus’ op-ed, “The Ethics of Audacity.”) The message from the White House here is two-fold. First, Barack Obama is desperate to keep his job—at all costs.  Second, he knows he has a failed record. A good record could speak for itself. But a bad record must be covered up. So, the president is doing an awful lot of speaking lately. Meanwhile, the campaign has effectively taken over his administration. See: Keystone Pipeline. Terrified of alienating his vocal, liberal base, Obama sacrificed 20,000 jobs and affordable, secure energy. The pipeline had bipartisan support, union support, Canadian support, and, judging by the outcry from America’s newspapers, widespread support from the country’s editorial boards. By axing the Keystone project, the president now can rightly claim he’s a job creator—in China. Americans lose the chance for jobs and economic growth. Obama wins donations and left-wing supporters. The campaigner-in-chief has made his priorities clear. This week, the RNC launched Ottack2012.com to highlight the president’s desperate campaign tactics. Earlier, we launched FailedPromise.com to document the president’s top 10 broken promises. Next week, we’ll continue holding the president accountable for his hypocrisy, his broken promises, and his non-stop campaigning on multiple media fronts. Stay tuned. Also next week, the president will give his State of the Union address. But America doesn’t need another speech from the president to tell us what we already know: after three years of the Obama agenda, the state of our union is weak, fractured, and distressing. And the president has given up on fixing it. It’s time for a new direction. ### 2012-01-20T21:57:57+00:00 http://www.gop.com/index.php/comms/comments/weekend_memo_substance_over_style/ http://www.gop.com/index.php/comms/comments/weekend_memo_substance_over_style/#When:18:11:39Z  MEMO FROM: Sean Spicer, RNC Communications Director TO: Interested Parties RE: Weekend Memo – Substance over Style   Substance trumps style in 2012. In this economy, Americans are hurting. They need results, not rhetoric. That’s bad news for Barack Obama, purveyor of empty slogans and hollow promises. And it’s bad news for a dysfunctional White House that prioritizes the demands of politics over the duties of governing. “We are the change we’ve been waiting for” and similar catchphrases worked in 2008, but they won’t work today. Now that Obama has proven the hollowness of his 2008 rhetoric, voters are looking for something different. They’ve learned their lesson. Promises of “hope and change” mobilized many in 2008. In 2012, they fall on deaf ears—the ears of voters painfully aware of Obama’s destructive economic policies. It’s no secret Obama is a skilled promise-maker. It’s also no secret that he can’t keep his promises. Voters demand an alternative in 2012—a proven leader. Our nation needs a leader with demonstrable competence, dedicated to policies that enhance, rather than limit, economic opportunity. Obama’s record is the opposite. It’s riddled with examples of devotion to self-interest. It’s a record of failure. And, through Obamacare, regulations, mandates, and misplaced priorities, he’s done more to deeply wound our economy than to repair it. It’s no surprise at least 70 percent of Americans say the country is on the “wrong track.” Obama talks a good talk. It’s the walking-the-walk part that’s just so hard for him. Roughly once a week the White House plans a happy photo-op where Obama puts on his presidential face and delivers remarks on the importance of jobs and how he so seriously wants to create them. But then, once reporters file their stories, he scurries off to a couple campaign fundraisers. As of early December, Obama had averaged one fundraiser every 5 days in 2011. And by September, he had attended more fundraising events than either Bush or Clinton did in the entire year before their re-election bids. Clearly, this is a president who cares more about saving his own job than creating jobs for the unemployed. This week’s photo-op was a “jobs forum.” Obama offered a few recycled thoughts as bold new ideas, gave shout-outs to swing states, and introduced the day’s catchphrase: “in-sourcing.” It was the choreographed work of a White House outsourcing its work to campaign strategists.  Next on the agenda: three fundraisers in Chicago. Plouffe, Messina, & Co. just hope they can keep up the charade through November.  But like Oz’s storied wizard, Obama’s cover has been blown, leaving him scrambling to maintain a self-inflated false image of himself. Slogans and stagecraft won’t cut it.  “We Can’t Wait” won’t win an election anymore than Obama’s promises could produce good policy. 2008 was the story of a candidate who won with his rhetoric. 2012 will be the story of a president who lost with his record.   More next week. For now, enjoy your weekend!   ### 2012-01-13T18:11:39+00:00 http://www.gop.com/index.php/comms/comments/weekend_memo_a/ http://www.gop.com/index.php/comms/comments/weekend_memo_a/#When:22:30:33Z MEMO FROM: Sean Spicer (@SeanSpicer), RNC Communications Director TO: Interested Parties RE: Weekend Memo – Failed Promises, Successful Strategy   Promises, promises. The president can make them, but he sure can’t keep them. Happy Friday. With the Iowa Caucuses this week, the RNC took a look back at the many promises Candidate Obama made in Iowa four years ago. We released a hard-hitting video contrasting his promises with his record, we launched FailedPromise.com to list his Top 10 broken promises, and Chairman Priebus penned an op-ed for the Des Moines Register outlining the “Case for a New President.” As the Chairman wrote, “Voters judge an incumbent president on one criterion: his record. A president is elected because of what he promises the country; he’s re-elected if he fulfills those promises. And today, even President Obama’s own team knows that he does not meet this most basic condition for re-election.” Whether it’s on the economy, jobs, healthcare, housing, energy, the deficit, the debt, or ethics, President Obama has broken countless promises to the American people. And at the RNC, we have them all documented. Our Research Department has written the Book on Obama’s promises—literally, the Book. It’s a 500-page electronically searchable database of quotes and videos—a catalog of every Obama utterance that, just as the Washington Post reported, “will form the backbone of the party’s attack strategy against the president leading up to Election Day 2012.” These aren’t just generic, empty promises (though there are plenty of those, too). They are very specific, quantifiable promises—spending cuts, deficit reduction, unemployment numbers, and more. They are hard facts that the president has either ignored or forgotten. So it’s up to us to hold him accountable to himself.  Our analysis tells us this is a winning strategy. Poll after poll, focus group after focus group tells us this argument rings true with voters. It appeals to people’s sense of reason and responsibility. It’s a logical, reasonable, non-partisan argument. And it’s especially salient with independent voters. This weekend, the Republican candidates will debate in New Hampshire. Once again, the focus will be on Republicans’ vision for America. And once again, the RNC will use the primary as an opportunity to highlight Obama’s broken promises, his failed policies, and his disastrous record. On Fox News Sunday this weekend, Chairman Priebus will make the same case. You can expect DNC Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz to make a feeble attempt at claiming that Obama has kept his promises. She can argue that all she wants, but she can’t argue with the facts.  Those facts are located, for your convenience, at FailedPromise.com. And don’t worry. We’ve got a whole lot more. Over 500 pages, in fact. That and much more, coming soon. Have a great weekend!   ### 2012-01-06T22:30:33+00:00