podesta-emails
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*Progressive Accountability Weekly Update -- July 18, 2008 *
* *
*New McCain Campaign Developments . . .***
* *
- McCain failed to deliver his promised Afghanistan speech after
criticism on his shifting policy.
- Today, the McCain campaign released their first negative
ad<http://link.johnmccain.com/?95-5601-698849-60641>,
attacking Obama's Iraq policy.
**The Associated Press reported that the Democratic National Committee will
be launching their independent expenditure
campaign<http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/17/AR2008071702568.html>and
expect to spend at least $118 million on advertising.
* *
*Progressive Accountability Highlights This Week*
* *
This week, ProgressiveAccountability.org (PAO) worked with partner
organizations to drive the message frame that *like Bush, McCain's failed
foreign policy ignores Afghanistan. *The publicly available research and
video detailing McCain's failed leadership on Afghanistan was *used by
Senator Obama to attack McCain and in a campaign memo*. PAO pushed *McCain
on his* *failure to fund Head Start*, while trackers *captured McCain's
contradictions on education policy *and shared them with the NEA. A McCain
awkward campaign moment created by PAO was used in a Planned Parenthood for
America ad that continued *exposing McCain's poor understanding and record
on birth control* *– *PAO press and media monitoring team worked to keep
this story in the news.
* *
*Progressive Accountability Reveals McCain's True Record on Education*
*Knowing that McCain would be promoting his education plan before the
National Council on La Raza and NAACP, PAO took the opportunity to expose
McCain's true record on education. PAO pushed research to press, partner
organizations, and blogs to prebut his speech. *
* *
*NAACP*
* *
Before McCain spoke to the NAACP convention in Cincinnati this week,
Progressive Accountability made sure the press and partner organizations on
the ground were aware of Senator McCain's poor record on civil rights and
his and other conservative's failure to attend the NAACP convention last
year.
· The Hotline used PAO
research.<http://hotlineblog.nationaljournal.com/archives/2008/07/hat_in_hand.html#more>
McCain skipped last year's NAACP convention, a point he is expected
to attribute in today's remarks to the "implosion in my campaign" at the
time. Still, *Democrats have released research to reporters* noting that the
NAACP has given McCain a grade of 'F' for the
106th<http://www.naacp.org/programs/bureau-dc/report_card/106th_Congressional_Report_Card.pdf>,
107th<http://www.naacp.org/programs/bureau-dc/report_card/107th_Congressional_Report_Card.pdf>,
108th<http://www.naacp.org/programs/bureau-dc/report_card/108th_Congressional_Report_Card.pdf>and
109th<http://www.naacp.org/programs/bureau-dc/report_card/109th_Congressional_Report_Card.pdf>Congresses.
More recently, he received an 'incomplete' rating.
*STATES:* Using PAO research and talking points, ProgressOhio promoted a
rally with the AFL-CIO during McCain's appearance at the NAACP convention –
the research was included in a press release, on their web
site<http://www.progressohio.org/page/s/McCainCivilRig>,
and in an email to their members.
- At the rally, signs said *"McCain for voting against MLK Day*". *See
the sign: *http://youtube.com/watch?v=2uKwuE6zWk0 Trackers captured the
synchronized message in the field.
*VIDEO: *PAO produced a video comparing Martin Luther King's "I have a dream
speech…" with McCain's poor record on civil rights. WATCH:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VlasZC11g0M.
*TRACKING: *During McCain's speech he claimed he would fully fund No Child
Left Behind, as well as Head Start. PAO's tracker on the ground flagged
McCain's responses immediately after the speech and fast tracked footage
back to Washington. PAO staff quickly alerted partner organizations, like
the NEA.
- McCain claims that he'll fully fund Head Start even though he's voted
against it. Watch: http://youtube.com/watch?v=rHUmFKPP55o
*BLOGS:*
· Jack and Jill
Politics<http://www.jackandjillpolitics.com/2008/07/john-mccain-has-the-gall-to-speak-at-naacp/>,
a leading African American blog, showcased PAO's MLK video.
· The CarpetbaggerReport<http://www.thecarpetbaggerreport.com/archives/16213.html>questioned
McCain's commitment to the African American community using PAO
research.
*Progressive Accountability Highlights McCain's Afghanistan Vulnerability*
*With the situation in Afghanistan unraveling quickly and McCain set to
deliver a policy speech this week, Progressive Accountability brought
together National Security Network, VoteVets, and Center for American
Progress Action **Fund **to frame and prebut Senator McCain's failure to
address Afghanistan.*
* *
*The Frame***
Working with our Partners, PAO framed McCain's position on Afghanistan as *a
third term of Bush's failed foreign policy*. McCain and Bush neglected the
fight in Afghanistan by focusing on an unnecessary war in Iraq.
*Results*
Before McCain could deliver his Afghanistan speech on Thursday, PAO and
partners turned the media's scrutiny towards his failed foreign
policy. *PARTNERS:
*PAO, National Security Network, VoteVets, and Center for American Progress
Action Fund worked together and through their networks to make the message
resonate.** * * · Jon Soltz of Vote Vets set the initial frame on
Huffington Post<http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jon-soltz/is-mccain-flip-flopping-c_b_112902.html>
** "I should also note here that McCain won't be able to count on NATO to
meet and expand its commitment to Afghanistan, either, because his stance on
Iraq is the same as President Bush's, and will be met with the same result.
Namely, that various Presidents and Prime Ministers will find it politically
impossible to send more troops to Afghanistan. So forget NATO providing the
troops."** * * · CAPAF, NSN, and Vote Vets held a conference call
with national security
experts<http://www.democracyarsenal.org/2008/07/amb-holbrooke-o.html>
Amb.
Richard Holbrooke, Rand Beers, and Larry Korb to frame McCain's expected
speech on Thursday.** * * · *ThinkProgress called McCain on his
"flip-flops"*<http://thinkprogress.org/2008/07/15/mccain-flip-flops-on-sending-three-more-brigades-to-afghanistan/>
During his townhall meeting in New Mexico today, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ)
said that "our commanders on the ground in Afghanistan say that they need at
least three additional brigades." "Thanks to the success of the surge, these
forces are becoming available," added McCain. "Our commanders in Afghanistan
must get them." ** * * *MEDIA: *The Politico, LA Times, and other media
outlets questioned McCain's sudden appreciation using selected parts of PAO
research on Afghanistan. Votevets had surrogates on MSNBC pushing the
research in on air debates. · Rosa Brooks penned a column for the
LA Times using PAO
research.<http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oe-brooks17-2008jul17,0,6581226.column>
**
*How else can you explain the spotty attention Bush and McCain have paid to
Afghanistan?*
Of course, we stayed in Afghanistan too, but McCain had gotten tired of it.
By April 2003, he said that "nobody in Afghanistan threatens the United
States of America," so we could focus instead on the shiny new war in Iraq.
"We don't read about [Afghanistan] anymore, because it's succeeded," he
explained in October 2005.
· *PAO press staff pushed the framing to
Politico<http://www.politico.com/blogs/jonathanmartin/0708/Talking_about_AfPak.html>
*
McCain hasn't made Afghanistan and Pakistan a political priority so far --
the "issues" section of his website only mentions it in passing, while it
dedicates a section to Iraq.
· *ABCNews blog posted on McCain's shifting
policy<http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2008/07/mccain-shifts-p.html>
*
While *Sen. Barack Obama, D-Illinois, was seeming defensive on Iraq today**,
* Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., was changing his position on Afghanistan.
· *Huffington Post followed PAO's
frame<http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/07/15/is-obama-forcing-mccain-t_n_112890.html>
*
*Did Obama Force McCain To Flip-Flop On Afghanistan? (Huffington Post
7/15/08)*
John McCain likes to paint Barack Obama as a naive follower on key national
security issues. But by moving up his planned Afghanistan speech by two days
to follow Obama's, and by agreeing that more U.S. troops are needed there,
McCain appears to be following the Illinois Democrat on a major proposed
shift for U.S. foreign policy.
*VIDEO*: PAO uncovered a McCain statement with video from 2003 where McCain
flounders: "In the long term, we may muddle through Afghanistan." Over 3,000
people have watched the video in the past two days. Watch:
http://progressiveaccountability.org/2259/09/11/in-the-long-term-we-may-muddle-through-in-afghanistan/
* *
· Senator
Obama<http://www.boston.com/news/politics/politicalintelligence/2008/07/skirmishing_con.html>began
using McCain's "muddle through" quote after PAO made it public.
o "By contrast, John McCain's priority is continuing George Bush's war in
Iraq indefinitely—at the expense of our efforts in Afghanistan and real
security. And as he tried to turn his attention to Afghanistan yesterday – a
conflict he once said we may *"muddle through"* – it became painfully clear
that he had no plan to win the war there, offering no less than three
different explanations for how he would increase our troop presence in a
matter of hours."
As well as Senator Obama using the quote PAO found, Obama released a
memo<http://thepage.time.com/obama-camp-response-to-mccain-memo-on-iraq/>regarding
McCain's positioning on Iraq and Afghanistan. The memo included
research from PAO that is publicly available at
ProgressiveAccountability.org <http://www.progressiveaccountability.org/>.
· ThinkProgress, VoteVets, and NSN each posted the "unearthed" video
to their blogs.
· VoteVets
<http://ga3.org/campaign/muddle/search-zip?rk=&preview=f>sent the
video to their 100,000 members and asked their members to take
action and write letters to the media
o "The video offers a glimpse into the true thinking of those, like
McCain, who backed launching the war in Iraq and committing our forces there
indefinitely. Particularly, they believed that Afghanistan wasn't a concern
and we didn't need to take it seriously. In fact, just a year earlier, on
CBS' Face the Nation, McCain said capturing Osama bin Laden wasn't "that
important.""
*McCAIN: *While McCain announced he would deliver a major speech on
Afghanistan, the speech never materialized. PAO's pre-framing forced the
press to question McCain's sudden shift in position and prompted McCain to
cancel his speech.**
*Progressive Accountability Rapid Response Leads to PPAF Ad Campaign*
*This week, Planned Parenthood Action Fund (PPAF) launched their first
advertising
campaign<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kX2pPQfYGfQ&eurl=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/07/16/planned-parenthood-uses-m_n_113017.html>of
this cycle, using footage captured by ProgressiveAccountability.org
(PAO). McCain's awkward moment, featured in the ad, was the result of PAO's
rapid response work. ***
Last week, PAO's press team quickly moved comments by McCain adviser Carly
Fiorina, regarding birth control, to reporters traveling with McCain.
McCain, caught off guard, refused to answer the reporter's question. PAO's
media monitors captured the moment and moved it to partner organization
PPAF.
The ad is airing in Colorado, Iowa, Minnesota, New Mexico, Ohio, Wisconsin,
and Washington, D.C. See the ad:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kX2pPQfYGfQ&eurl=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/07/16/planned-parenthood-uses-m_n_113017.html
.
PPAF's ad received wide attention, continuing the story for another week,
which led the Washington Times to headline, McCain's Straight Talk Spins
Wheels<http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2008/jul/18/mccains-straight-talk-spins-wheels/>
:
· At times it appears Sen. John
McCain<http://www.washingtontimes.com/themes/?Theme=John+McCain>'s
Straight Talk Express should stop and ask for directions.
From signature issues such as immigration and climate change to tax
cuts, the presumed Republican presidential nominee sometimes just seems lost
as to his own record and his stance on hot-button social issues.
And the USAToday's editorial
board<http://blogs.usatoday.com/oped/2008/07/telling-moments.html#more>promoted
PPAF's ad and questioned McCain's "gaffes or senior moments":
· "Eight seconds of dead air is an eternity on TV, so when
Republican presidential candidate John McCain struggled that long to answer
a reporter who had just asked whether it's fair that some health insurance
plans cover Viagra for men but not birth control medication for women, it
drew plenty of attention. It even spawned an attack ad from Planned
Parenthood.
"I'll try to get back to you on it," McCain finally gasped, ducking another
question about how he had voted against requiring insurance companies that
pay for erectile dysfunction drugs to also pay for birth
control<http://www.prochoiceamerica.org/elections/obama-or-mccain-fp.html>
.
Revealing gaffe or inconsequential flub? Senior moment or
understandable lapse?"
*Progressive Accountability Highlight Bush Team Crack-down on "Public" Town
halls*
*
Three New Mexican NARAL members, with tickets, were ejected from John
McCain's town hall meeting Tuesday. The members left quietly after being
hand-picked out of the entrance line and being informed by hotel staff that
they were trespassing on hotel property. PAO worked with NARAL and
ThinkProgress to make sure the story made it into the national press.*
- The Politico Reports on NARAL member
ejections<http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/0708/Naral_Prochoice_tshirtwearers_barred_from_McCain_event.html>
"The McCain campaign is sharply disputing a claim by the New Mexico arm
of NARAL Pro-Choice that it had three of the group's members barred from the
Arizona Senator's event in Albuquerque yesterday. A McCain aide, Jeff
Sadosky, said hotel security and the Albuquerque police asked the abortion
rights activists to leave the event after McCain's campaign had given them
passes to enter..."
- Local press detailed the
event<http://clearlynewmexico.com/page/community/post/tracydingmann/BpP>
"Three NARAL Pro-Choice New Mexico members were ejected from Arizona
senator John McCain's town hall meeting Tuesday at the Hotel Albuquerque.
They had tickets, just like the 500 or so people who were let in and given a
chance to pose a question. But they apparently made the fatal mistake of
wearing NARAL T-shirts to the event..."
*McCain Continues to be Just like Bush*
* *
*PAO released a new analysis detailing McCain's dependence on Bush bundlers
for raising money. Despite Bush's unpopularity, McCain has no qualms about
tapping Bush's fundraising prowess to fund his own campaign. The list of
121 bundlers who raised large amounts of cash for Bush during his 2000 and
2004 campaigns and are now raising the same large amounts for McCain was
pushed to reporters. This was shared with the media along with a background
memo detailing that more Americans view McCain's policies on Iraq and the
economy as the same as Bush. **In the CBS/NYT poll released Wednesday, six
in 10 (61 percent) of Americans said McCain will continue Bush's economic
policies and nearly eight in 10 (78 percent) agreed McCain will continue
Bush's Iraq policies.***
* *
*Clips of the Week*
* *
*To highlight the lack of media coverage in McCain town halls, every day, in
real-time, the team highlights a "not to be missed" McCain town hall video
clip for bloggers, progressives and the press. The top clips this week are:
*
- *McCain says Czechoslovakia … AGAIN!*
http://youtube.com/watch?v=i0XQ6zlP518
* *
- *McCain claims he'll fully fund Head Start even though he's voted
against it *http://youtube.com/watch?v=rHUmFKPP55o
- *McCain calls immigration reform "top priority," promises "one single
comprehensive bill" that includes path to legalization *
http://youtube.com/watch?v=C0xB5buJyqI
- *McCain: "I'm an unapologetic supporter of NAFTA"*
http://youtube.com/watch?v=-NQ3IrSUWj0
- *Sign outside McCain NAACP event: 'McCain Voted Against MLK Day' *
http://youtube.com/watch?v=2uKwuE6zWk0
· *McSame demonstrators outside Wisconsin Town Hall Meeting*
http://youtube.com/watch?v=xIDP0mLOmUM
ℹ️ Document Details
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89d40cec805e24c2d7d036c6b999760fd2328d3f1139c0f5c86cf846043793ed
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podesta-emails
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