Political

MEMO

FROM: RNC Political Director Rick Wiley

TO: Interested Parties

RE: Michigan Strategy Memo

It’s primary day in Michigan. Voters are headed to the polls for their first chance to cast a vote against Barack Obama. 

Michiganders are ready for a new direction, and that means Barack Obama will face a skeptical electorate in the Wolverine State come November.

Indeed, last November, in an EPIC/MRA survey, only 19 percent of Michigan voters felt the country was on the right track. That’s not good news for an incumbent president counting on a win in the state. 

Michigan voters also don’t think much of the president’s job performance. Just last month, EPIC/MRA asked voters to rate how well Obama is doing his job. Only 43 percent said “excellent” or “very good,” and 56 percent said “just fair” or “poor.” Independents offered a harsher assessment. 38 percent said “excellent” or “very good,” and 59 percent said “just fair” or poor.” 

That’s a dramatic rebuke, especially in a blue state ... more

MEMO

FROM: RNC Political Director Rick Wiley

TO: Interested Parties

RE: Road to 270 – Debunking Messina’s Maps

Obama Campaign Manager Jim Messina claims he has multiple pathways to 270 electoral votes, and a few weeks ago he released a video to outline each one.

Well, it’s time someone set the record straight. 

So today, I released a video of my own to do a little debunking. Messina’s maps are laughable. They are not realistic, and here are the facts on each one of them.

Map 1: The Baseline

First, Messina says they can win all the states John Kerry won in 2004. But wait a minute. That means holding Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. That’s no walk in the park.

These states may have been blue for several presidential election cycles, but don’t discount the huge gains Republicans made in 2010 across the board.

In Michigan, we picked up the governorship and two U.S. House seats, while holding the attorney general and secretary of state offices. We had big pickups in ... more

MEMO

FROM: Rick Wiley, RNC Political Director

TO: Interested Parties

RE: The Youth Vote

Obama’s relationship with young voters has gotten complicated.

In 2008, young voters carried Obama to victory, but his campaign shouldn’t expect a repeat performance in 2012. Young Americans have become understandably disenchanted with the president and his policies. As a result, his reelection campaign will suffer. Polling predicts lower turnout and weaker support, and that in turn means fewer votes and volunteers.

ECONOMIC TOLL

Young voters have borne the brunt of the economic downturn. In the difficult Obama economy, jobs are hard to find for those entering the market. The unemployment rate for 20 to 24 year olds is 13.3 percent, a full five percentage points higher than the national average.

In addition, college costs have increased 25 percent since Obama took office, and student debt is at an all time high. And forget about the president’s much-touted loan refinancing program. It saves ... more

MEMO

FROM: Rick Wiley, RNC Political Director

TO: Interested Parties

RE: Republicans’ Wisconsin Momentum

President Obama lands in Wisconsin today, putting the political spotlight back on the presidential race. It’s no surprise that the president’s campaign team has sent him there. Wisconsinites are known for being less-than-hospitable to people from across the border in Illinois, and Obama hasn’t exactly endeared himself over the past three years.

In Wisconsin, as in every state, the November election will be a referendum on the policies of Barack Obama. And Wisconsinites are well aware of the failure of those policies. Obama has failed to deliver the kind of job creation and economic recovery he promised, and those broken promises have irreparably tarnished the ‘hope and change’ brand. Now, he just looks like a typical politician.

The president has made America’s economic recovery slower and more difficult. Now, his plans for regulations and mandates could come at significant ... more

Memorandum

To:          Interested Parties

From:    Rick Wiley, RNC Political Director

RE:          Greek Columns?  Remember That?

Date:     February 7, 2012

Remember the 2008 Democratic National Convention? Obama gave his acceptance speech on a stage bigger than even Joe Biden can exaggerate, flanked by gigantic Greek columns, and greeted by an audience reception reminiscent of young high school girls at a 1960’s Beatles concert. Democrats had chosen Denver as their convention site in support of a “Western strategy” to pick off electoral votes in traditional GOP states in the Mountain West and Southwest. To give credit where credit is due, Obama delivered a great speech, and the Democrats were successful at flipping Colorado, Nevada, and New Mexico into Barack Obama’s column. But that speech is also a perfect reminder of what typifies the Obama presidency – grandiose promises that sound great when spoken and ultimately ring hollow after providing no results. 

As Obama continues ... more

Memorandum

To:          Interested Parties

From:     Rick Wiley

RE:          What Happens in Vegas…

Date:      February 3, 2012

The economic statistics from Nevada are staggering. The Silver State has the highest unemployment rate in the nation at 12.6%, nearly 82,000 jobs have been lost there since Obama took office and Nevada has the highest rate of property foreclosure for the fifth consecutive year. Let’s toss in the fact that since the president took office, median household incomes have fallen by more than $5000 and you have a recipe for disaster brewing on the Vegas Strip. It is no wonder Obama insults Nevada every time he heads west to vacuum up campaign cash. There is no way the voters can think highly of a president whose policies have inflicted so much financial hardship on one state. 

To be fair, Nevada’s economic problems didn’t begin the day Obama took office. But it’s also fair to remind voters that Obama put himself on the clock three years ago when he promised ... more