​Correct The Record Tuesday January 13, 2015 Morning Roundup

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*​**Correct The Record Tuesday January 13, 2015 Morning Roundup:* *Headlines:* *The Hill: “Dems’ next big issue” <http://thehill.com/regulation/business/229292-dems-next-big-issue>* “Democrats are seizing on the fight for mandatory paid leave in the United States as their next big pocketbook issue… In speeches ahead of a presumed presidential candidacy, Clinton has added her voice to the push, lamenting that the U.S. still lags behind other countries like Japan.” *Bloomberg: “Not a Single Person Has Donated to Dick Morris's Anti-Hillary Super PAC” <http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2015-01-12/not-a-single-person-has-donated-to-dick-morriss-antihillary-super-pac>* “No one has been giving money to his PAC. Literally, no one.” *National Journal: “Bush, Clinton and the Fatigue Factor” <http://www.nationaljournal.com/off-to-the-races/bush-clinton-and-the-fatigue-factor-20150112>* “Bush's challenges, and for that matter those of Hillary Clinton, were dramatically on display in an Aurora, Colo., focus group of 12 voters conducted last week by renowned Democratic pollster Peter Hart.” *Daily Caller: “Rubio: ‘I’m Very Comfortable With Who And Where I Come From’” <http://dailycaller.com/2015/01/12/rubio-im-very-comfortable-with-who-and-where-i-come-from/>* “Asked to describe why he thinks he could beat Hillary Clinton in a general election, Rubio said, ‘So far, Hillary Clinton looks like something that’s no better than the continuation of the Obama presidency,’ supporting programs and policies that have lost their effectiveness.” *NJ.com: “Group with ties to Hillary Clinton files another complaint over Chris Christie's Dallas trip” <http://www.nj.com/politics/index.ssf/2015/01/group_with_ties_to_hillary_clinton_files_another_complaint_over_chris_christies_dallas_trip.html>* “American Democracy Legal Fund charges Christie “knowingly violated federal criminal law” and wants the U.S. attorney to investigate the governor for accepting gifts from Cowboys’ owner Jerry Jones.” *New York Times: “New York City Promotes Diversity in Bid for 2016 Democratic National Convention” <http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/13/nyregion/new-york-city-promotes-diversity-in-bid-for-2016-democratic-national-convention.html?partner=rss&emc=rss>* “Each city is promoting imagery to show it is the ideal host.” *Washington Post: “Romney moves to reassemble campaign apparatus for 2016” <http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/romney-moves-to-reassemble-campaign-apparatus-for-2016/2015/01/12/d968592e-9a88-11e4-96cc-e858eba91ced_story.html>* “Mitt Romney is moving quickly to reassemble his national political network, spending the weekend and Monday calling former aides, donors and other supporters — as well as onetime foes such as Newt Gingrich.” *NBC News: “Paul Ryan Won't Run for President in 2016” <http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/first-read/paul-ryan-wont-run-president-2016-n284481>* “Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan, the Republican Party's vice presidential nominee in 2012, told NBC News in an interview Monday that he will not seek the presidency in 2016.” *Articles:* *The Hill: “Dems’ next big issue” <http://thehill.com/regulation/business/229292-dems-next-big-issue>* By Lydia Wheeler January 13, 2015, 6:00 a.m. EST Democrats are seizing on the fight for mandatory paid leave in the United States as their next big pocketbook issue. The Obama administration has for months called upon Congress to require employers to offer paid leave, with Labor Secretary Tom Perez relentlessly pressing the case to anyone who will listen. And while potential Democratic presidential candidates, including former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (Mass.), have voiced support for the proposal, the party has yet to elevate paid leave to the top tier of its policy agenda. That will soon change, according to Democratic operatives, administration officials and others on the political left. “It’s a big issue in our economy — and if you’re not paying attention to it now, you will be,” said Elizabeth Shuler, AFL-CIO secretary treasurer. “2016 will be the year people start making it a pillar of their economic platform.” Out of 185 countries and territories in the world surveyed by the International Labor Organization, the United States is one of only two that does not offer paid maternity leave. Papua New Guinea is the other. Democrats say the issue scores highly among voters across the political spectrum, making it a potential winner at the polls — especially if Republicans hold an opposing view. “This is something that has bipartisan support,” said Margie Omero, a former pollster and current Democratic strategist with the bipartisan firm Purple Strategies. “It’s something people can feel an immediate impact from.” Though the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) allows for time off from work for maternity leave or an illness, it often goes unpaid. According to the Labor Department, only 35 percent of workers are able to take some type of paid leave for their own illness, and only 39 percent can do so for the birth of a child. President Obama has long supported paid parental leave and more flexibility in the workplace. At a White House summit on working families in June, Obama said that while work is important, “family is also the bedrock of our lives, and we don’t want a society where folks are having to make a choice between those two things.” But extending guaranteed paid leave to all workers would require congressional action, which would be extremely unlikely in the new Republican-controlled Congress. Business groups object to the proposal. “Our members are opposed to it because of real costs — and in a philosophical sense, they’re opposed to it because they don’t want the government telling them what to do,” National Federation of Independent Businesses spokesman National Federation of Independent Businesses spokesman Jack Mozloom said. said, adding that most of the group’s members are small mom and pop operations. “They’re down 10 percent if one employee is out for a week and that costs productivity, but the work still has to get done.” Employers then have three choices: hire a temp to fill in, pay someone overtime or leave the work unfinished, he said. “A lot of our members say ‘If an employee is sick, I want them to come to me and I’ll work something out with them, but I don’t want the government creating a personnel policy for my employees,’ ” Mozloom said. Still, Democrats see the issue working in their favor. A 2013 Huffington Post/YouGov poll on paid family and sick leave found that 74 percent of Americans thought companies should be required to offer paid sick leave to their employees. The figure included 84 percent of Democrats, 60 percent of Republicans and 68 percent of independents, the Huffington Post reported. Leading the charge for the administration has been Perez, who has called for paid leave legislation during speeches and public appearances around Washington in recent months. Perez declared paid leave a “sleeper issue that will sleep no more” during an event at the National Press Club in October, and vowed to keep pressing the argument, regardless of the political landscape. “We know that doing paid leave is not an impossible thing — every other industrialized country in the world has found a way to do it,” Labor Department spokeswoman Tania Mejia said. On Monday, the left-leaning Center for American Progress proposed a national paid leave policy and other policies to help U.S. families. The proposal comes on the heels of Obama’s call last week for free community college tuition, and as Democrats in Washington unveiled a new plan Monday to lower taxes on the middle class and foot the bill with higher taxes on the wealthy. Together, the proposals reflect Democrats’ intention to double down on their populist economic polices, even as they face a tougher road forward through the GOP-dominated Congress. Republicans who oppose paid leave are going to be forced to come up with an alternative plan, argued Celinda Lake, a Democratic pollster and president of the firm Lake Research Partners. “They won’t be able to get away with coming out against it outright, so you’ll see them try to come up with a confusing alternative,” she said. Lake said some Democratic candidates used the issue to drive voters to the polls in 2014, but only in a limited way. “To be truly successful, it needs to be tied into a broader economic platform,” she said. In speeches ahead of a presumed presidential candidacy, Clinton has added her voice to the push, lamenting that the U.S. still lags behind other countries like Japan. She has acknowledged, however, that it’s going to take time to achieve. “I don’t think, politically, we could get it now,” she said at a CNN town hall meeting in June. In the short term, proponents are focusing their efforts on enacting state policies. Warren, who has thus far resisted calls for her to launch a White House bid, praised a series of federal grants to fund feasibility studies on paid leave in the District of Columbia, Massachusetts, Montana and Rhode Island. “Having a new baby should not be a path to poverty, and working parents who stay home when they are sick should not have to worry about whether they can pay their bills,” Warren said. In Congress, Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) have introduced the Family and Medical Insurance Leave (FAMILY) Act, which would establish a national paid family and medical leave insurance program. Advocates of the law say they hope to see it pass Congress in the next five years. But they expect to see it emerge as a leading Democratic issue long before that. “We think this issue will become a point of demarcation in the election of 2016,” said Ellen Bravo, executive director of Family Values at Work. “We hope it will deliver a message that the electorate cares a lot about working families and wants to see progress on these issues.” *Bloomberg: “Not a Single Person Has Donated to Dick Morris's Anti-Hillary Super PAC” <http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2015-01-12/not-a-single-person-has-donated-to-dick-morriss-antihillary-super-pac>* By David Weigel January 12, 2015, 3:14 p.m. EST [Subtitle:] The lack of support is the latest evidence of declining influence for the original anti-Clintonite. Sixteen months ago, to some fanfare, Dick Morris re-entered the anti-Clinton fray with a new PAC. He launched Dick Morris's Just Say No to Hillary PAC, registering it from Tampa. From time to time, stories about the potential hurdles for a Hillary Clinton run would cite the rise of PACs like Morris's. But there is a rather glaring problem with adding Morris to this narrative: No one has been giving money to his PAC. Literally, no one. In filings today, first flagged by Center for Public Integrity reporter Dave Levinthal, Just Say No to Hillary PAC reported no donors through all of 2014. That squares with data collected by the Center for Responsive Politics. If that finding is surprising, it's because other people have done perfectly good business in the sturdy ant i-Clinton industry. Dan Backer, a conservative attorney and strategist who won at the Supreme Court last year to undo some restrictions on individual donors to parties, launched the Stop Hillary PAC after Morris's PAC was already in the field. The Backer group has hauled in more than $1 million, and built a sizable social media presence. When I pointed out Morris's problems to Backer, the newer player sounded bemused. "Is he the cat from the Friskies commercials?" Backer asked in an e-mail. "I thought he died…" He did not, though his profile has never quite recovered from two events in 2012. First: He went further on a limb than any comparable commentator in saying Mitt Romney would win the presidency. He would take it in a "landslide," said Morris on Fox News. Since Romney lost, Morris hasn't appeared as much on Fox; his last prime time hit came before the 2014 midterms, when he was flogging his latest book about Hillary Clinton's radicalism. (She was as bad as Obama, said Morris, who wanted to make America a one party state. "That's why he wants to open the borders. That's why he's letting in 100,000 Syrian refugees.") Second: Morris played in the 2010 midterms via his Super PAC, which ended up paying most of what it took in—close to $1.7 million—to Newsmax Media. Newsmax Media operated the mailing list that Morris rigorously worked over to get donations. Morris was hardly the first prominent politico to anger donors over where their money went. His problem was that his cause was too popular, and when he stumbled, plenty of other people were ready to run "the" anti-Hillary PAC. *National Journal: “Bush, Clinton and the Fatigue Factor” <http://www.nationaljournal.com/off-to-the-races/bush-clinton-and-the-fatigue-factor-20150112>* By Charlie Cook January 12, 2015 There are some surprising events that warrant being taken very seriously; others, well, not so much. Prior to Thanksgiving, it looked pretty unlikely that former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush would actually pull the trigger and seek the 2016 Republican presidential nomination, even though it was obvious that he personally wanted to do it. Since then, things have changed dramatically, to the point that it is now essentially a done deal. It makes you wonder what transpired in the Bush household over turkey, dressing, and cranberries. Bush's entry is an unexpected event with huge consequences, whether he ultimately wins the GOP nomination or not. He represents the most formidable fundraising network in the party, has candidate skills that are probably better than those of anyone else in the party, and was a highly successful governor of a big-time state, one that is of great significance both in terms of the GOP nomination and the general election. Many others show potential. Jeb Bush's bona fides are more concrete. On the other hand, 2012 Republican nominee Mitt Romney's disclosure that he wants to run is a bit harder to take seriously. In fact, it takes considerable effort not to see Romney's words as anything but a pathetic attempt to stay relevant, a reaction to being all but ignored as those few in the Republican establishment who aren't enthusiastic for Bush instead push for New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie. The fact is that if the 2012 GOP field were stronger, Romney probably wouldn't have been the nominee. The center-right/establishment half of the Republican NCAA-like bracket gets pretty much filled by Bush and, even more so, by Christie, if in fact there is room for two. Bush's challenges, and for that matter those of Hillary Clinton, were dramatically on display in an Aurora, Colo., focus group of 12 voters conducted last week by renowned Democratic pollster Peter Hart. The gathering was part of a 10-year-old series Hart has conducted for the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania. While a focus group of just a dozen voters is hardly a cross section of the entire electorate, this kind of qualitative research provides a color and texture that is simply not available through normal quantitative polling that surveys hundreds or thousands of voters. By examining average Americans' actual words, voices, facial expressions, and body language, the "why" becomes more clear. The numbers just give you the "what." Having sat behind the glass during many of these groups and watched a video live-streaming of this one, I know that Hart is a master at getting voters to open up about their views of their lives and personal struggles, as well as their perceptions of the economy, the country, political issues, and specific politicians. The pushback from Thursday night's focus group would be jarring to anyone who assumed that the nominations of Bush and Clinton are inevitable. When half a dozen voters in a conversation say they would back a law that would ban any Bush or Clinton from running, it makes you sit up and take notice. When participants were asked to associate words or phrases with Clinton, some were positive, describing her as "strong" and a "spitfire" and just "I like her." Some were mixed—"politician, but gets things done"—but many more offerings were pejorative: One reference was to "Benghazi," and others included "crazy," "I don't like her," "more of the same," "next candidate, please," and "untrustworthy." For Bush, the positives were "intriguing" and "interesting," but like with Clinton, the negatives were far more numerous: "again?" "bad seed," "clown," "don't need him," "greedy," "joke," "no thank you," "scion," and "a wannabe." Some of these are simply manifestations of the oft-discussed "dynasty" issue, the view that in a country of over 300 million people, aren't there qualified people from more than just two families that would be worthy of electing as our president? The retort is obviously that just because Bill Clinton served as president for eight years and Jeb Bush's father and brother served for a total of 12, can no other member of their families even be considered, no matter what their qualifications and attributes? But when people make the dynasty argument, it's unclear how much of that is a real, specific objection and how much is a roundabout way of saying they don't like this Bush and/or this Clinton personally. Some of the words and phrases seem awfully targeted beyond simply the concept of legacy candidacies. For Bush, the unusually high negative ratings he scores in the polls, the focus-group reaction, and other anecdotal evidence suggest that he is like the guy whose older brother banged up the family car. Jeb Bush is being perceived more as part of a brand that was badly damaged by his brother and less by anything specifically related to him. How closely did critics watch his time as governor, and are they actually familiar with own political positions? This looks more like guilt by association than anything else; maybe voters will end up liking and agreeing with him, maybe they won't, but it doesn't look like he is being judged on his own terms. To succeed with rank-and-file voters—first Republicans, and later all general-election voters—he has to rebrand himself so that he will be perceived independently of his brother. Republican elites of the Wall Street, Fortune 500-executive, and GOP donor classes get the distinction, but it appears to be lost on nonelites. Bush starts off with a lot of big advantages over the rest of the field but he has a major image challenge that no other Republican has to face. *Daily Caller: “Rubio: ‘I’m Very Comfortable With Who And Where I Come From’” <http://dailycaller.com/2015/01/12/rubio-im-very-comfortable-with-who-and-where-i-come-from/>* By Alex Pappas January 12, 2015, 10:24 p.m. EST Florida Sen. Marco Rubio understands running for president will bring “a whole new level of scrutiny and attention,” but tells The Daily Caller he is “very comfortable with who and where I come from.” In an interview about his new book set for release Tuesday, Rubio acknowledged that he is still deciding whether to run for the White House in 2016 or for re-election the U.S. Senate in Florida. Asked what a presidential vetting would reveal about him that the public doesn’t already know, Rubio said much of his background has already been examined over the last several years—he referenced his autobiography in 2012, another book written about him that year, speculation he would be Mitt Romney’s vice presidential nominee and his 2010 Senate campaign. “I think in many respects, a lot of those things have been looked at and talked about for quite sometime,” Rubio said. “But I’m very comfortable with who and where I come from and how that has translated to my positions on public policy.” Rubio’s new book, “American Dreams: Restoring Economic Opportunity For Everyone,” is an uplifting compilation of Rubio’s policy ideas “told through the stories of real people in their real lives,” Rubio explained. “The message is that the American Dream–which is embodied in the ability of hard-working people to make it to the middle class and leave their children better off than themselves–is in a lot of trouble right now,” Rubio said. “It’s in a lot of trouble because people’s wages aren’t keeping pace with the cost of living. And that’s happening, not because of a cyclical downturn in our economy, but because of structural changes to our economy, and government policies that are counter productive or basically irrelevant to the challenges of our time.” As he mulls a bid for president, Rubio still faces skepticism from some conservatives over his views on immigration. Asked if he regrets being part of the Gang of 8 — a bi-partisan group of senators that authored a comprehensive immigration reform bill that called for a pathway to citizenship in 2013 — Rubio said, “No.” “Primarily because I think you learn lessons from it that are going to ultimately help us solve the problem one day,” the senator said. “And the primary lesson is the level of mistrust that people have that the government will ever enforce immigration law. And a central argument against the bill that we proposed was not that we shouldn’t do anything with the people who are here illegally. The central argument was we shouldn’t do anything with the people here illegally until first the government proves that they’re going to bring illegal immigration under control.” Rubio’s favored immigration plan, detailed in his book, doesn’t call for an explicit pathway to citizenship but rather eventually grants permanent residency to some illegal immigrants after a long process. “The only way you’re ever going to deal with the rest of immigration is to first bring illegal immigration under control,” Rubio said Monday. “And that’s why I argue for the sequential approach to it.” Rubio wouldn’t say, when asked, what percentage of a chance he thinks there is that he will run for president in 2016. “I’m not sure there is such a thing, that there is a percentage one way or another.”’ He said the question he has to answer is whether the U.S. Senate or the White House is the best place for him to further his policy goals. “And that’s the last remaining question for me to answer,” Rubio said of his thought process of running for president. Asked about Romney acknowledging to donors last week that he will consider another run for president, Rubio said: “I think he certainly deserves the opportunity to consider running, and if he decides to run, he’ll be a very formidable candidate. He’s run twice before, and has the experience of running.” Rubio and Rand Paul, the libertarian-leaning senator from Kentucky, have clashed in recent weeks over foreign policy, specifically over the Obama administration’s stance on Cuba. Asked about Paul’s call for a restrained foreign policy, Rubio argued for a much stronger American hand in the world. “I think now more now than ever, the Republican Party and the American people want our next president to be someone who understands the unique and important role America has to play in the global order,” Rubio said. “I mean, without American leadership and American engagement, international affairs devolve into chaos.” Asked to describe why he thinks he could beat Hillary Clinton in a general election, Rubio said, “So far, Hillary Clinton looks like something that’s no better than the continuation of the Obama presidency,” supporting programs and policies that have lost their effectiveness. “I think we can make a very compelling argument to why our agenda is the right one for the future,” Rubio said. “Because it’s focused on the future. And focused on the reality of a new era.” *NJ.com: “Group with ties to Hillary Clinton files another complaint over Chris Christie's Dallas trip” <http://www.nj.com/politics/index.ssf/2015/01/group_with_ties_to_hillary_clinton_files_another_complaint_over_chris_christies_dallas_trip.html>* By Matt Arco January 12, 2015, 1:44 p.m. EST TRENTON — A Democratic group with ties to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton today filed another complaint against Gov. Chris Christie over his recent trip to Dallas to root for the Cowboys. American Democracy Legal Fund charges Christie “knowingly violated federal criminal law” and wants the U.S. attorney to investigate the governor for accepting gifts from Cowboys’ owner Jerry Jones. The request for a criminal complaint against the governor comes after the group last week filed a complaint with the New Jersey State Ethics Commission over the trip. The group claims Christie violated federal law that “prohibits extortion that interferes with interstate commerce,” arguing the governor accepted gifts in return for his influence. They argue the flight and seats inside the owner’s luxury box at NFL games violated state rules because Jones is a part-owner of a hospitality company – Legends Hospitality – that was awarded a lucrative Port Authority of New York and New Jersey hospitality services contract, according to published reports. “If your office's investigation confirms that Governor Christie accepted gifts from Mr. Jones in violation of federal criminal law, it should prosecute the alleged violation and all other violations discovered as a result of your investigation to the fullest extent permitted by law,” wrote Brad Woodhouse, treasurer for American Democracy Legal Fund, in the letter. Woodhouse is also the president of American Bridge, a group that conducts opposition research on Republican officials. American Democracy Legal Fund and American Bridge were founded by Clinton ally and Media Matters founder David Brock. The governor’s office didn’t immediately respond for comment, but dismissed American Democracy Legal Fund ‘s earlier complaint with the state’s ethics commission as partisan politics. “Is anyone surprised pro-Hilary PACs like American Bridge and partisan organizations like the DNC are using the governor’s support of a football team for a political hit?” Maria Comella, Christie’s spokeswoman, said last week. American Bridge has gone after Christie several times before. In June 2014, the group criticized the governor for using the state helicopter to get to a town hall event located a short drive to Trenton – about 40 minutes without traffic. *New York Times: “New York City Promotes Diversity in Bid for 2016 Democratic National Convention” <http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/13/nyregion/new-york-city-promotes-diversity-in-bid-for-2016-democratic-national-convention.html?partner=rss&emc=rss>* By Nikita Stewart January 12, 2015 New York’s diversity, beginning with more than 2.4 million Hispanic residents, puts the city ahead of its rivals for the 2016 Democratic National Convention, supporters of the bid said. That is the estimated number of Hispanics living in the country’s most populous city, far outpacing Columbus, Ohio, and Philadelphia, which are also seeking to host the event. The Democratic National Committee is expected to announce the convention location no later than next month, and New York City is looking for an edge during its final pitch. On Monday, Mayor Bill de Blasio started a municipal-identification program that would give undocumented immigrants, among others, government-issued IDs. New York’s convention negotiating team is using the program as a launching pad this week to publicize the city’s immigrant-friendly policies and its Hispanic population as assets. The outreach includes sending the Democrats’ site selection committee an open letter promoting the city as an unequaled backdrop for the 2016 convention. Nearly 29 percent of New York City residents are Hispanic, and the population is more than 9 times that of Columbus’s 49,851 and Philadelphia’s 206,033 Latino residents combined, census data show. Laura Santucci, the mayor’s chief of staff overseeing the bid, said New York had no competition “when you look at which city has a community that represents the face of the country and has the leadership that’s moving the needle on these issues.” Aides said Hispanics and immigrants had benefited from several of Mr. de Blasio’s policies, including the expansions of paid sick leave and prekindergarten classes, an increase in living wage and an end to stop-and-frisk police tactics. Each city is promoting imagery to show it is the ideal host. On the official website for Philadelphia’s bid, a slogan reads, “Let’s Make History Again,” and adds, “Because it all started here.” Columbus is the state capital and largest city in Ohio, a swing state that has served as a star of presidential elections. On the official website for that city’s bid, its slogan reads, “As Ohio goes, so goes the nation.” In recent weeks, New York City has faced doubts about its convention prospects because of the rift between Mr. de Blasio and rank-and-file police officers, after Eric Garner, a black Staten Island man, died in police custody, and the more recent murders of two officers by a gunman who cited the deaths of unarmed black men on social media. A Democratic National Committee aide familiar with the selection process but not authorized to speak publicly said the site committee was not as concerned with optics and symbolism as it was with the nuts and bolts of hosting a major event. “Primarily what’s being discussed,” the aide said, “are logistical, financial and security considerations.” Diversity issues were limited officially to a requirement in the bids to outline cities’ engagement of minority vendors who would vie for convention contracts. But representatives from host committees in each city said they believed the Democratic National Committee was taking a much broader look at diversity. In 2012, both Republicans and Democrats sought to woo Latino voters at their conventions. Julián Castro, the mayor of San Antonio at the time, was the first Latino to deliver a keynote address at a Democratic National Convention, and Antonio Villaraigosa, then the mayor of Los Angeles, served as its chairman. Meanwhile, Hispanic speakers were placed in prime slots at the Republican convention. Cheerleaders for Columbus and Philadelphia, however, challenged New York promoters’ beliefs that the city had a clear lead in diversity. “We are as diverse as New York,” said Edward G. Rendell, the former governor of Pennsylvania who was lending his support to Philadelphia, where he was mayor. “I don’t think that will be a deciding factor.” He described “robust” political engagement of Hispanics, pointing to two Latino candidates in the 2015 mayoral election. Ohio, like other states, has seen its Hispanic population grow exponentially. But Nancy Kramer, a businesswoman who is a leader in Columbus’s bid committee, boasted about the city’s overall diversity and its oft-overlooked advantage as a microcosm of the country. “In terms of general diversity, Columbus, in many ways, is an exact replica of the United States,” said Ms. Kramer, founder and chairman of Resource/Ammirati, an advertising firm. “There’s a reason the election comes down to Ohio.” But New York boosters were confident they would beat the competition, citing a larger police force, a massive public transportation system and a base of donors for the event. The city’s politics and policies, such as the municipal ID program, are also advantages, said Melissa Mark-Viverito, the speaker of the City Council. “We’re clearly sending a message that everyone is welcome here,” she said. *Washington Post: “Romney moves to reassemble campaign apparatus for 2016” <http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/romney-moves-to-reassemble-campaign-apparatus-for-2016/2015/01/12/d968592e-9a88-11e4-96cc-e858eba91ced_story.html>* By Robert Costa, Philip Rucker, and Karen Tumulty January 12, 2015, 4:08 p.m. EST Mitt Romney is moving quickly to reassemble his national political network, spending the weekend and Monday calling former aides, donors and other supporters — as well as onetime foes such as Newt Gingrich. Romney’s message was that he is serious about making a 2016 presidential bid. He told one senior Republican he “almost certainly will” run in what would be his third campaign for the White House, this person said. His aggressive outreach over the past three days indicates that Romney’s declaration of interest to a group of donors in New York Friday was more than the release of a trial balloon but rather was the start of a concerted push by the 2012 nominee to be an active participant in the 2016 campaign. Over the past few days, Romney has been in touch with an array of key allies to discuss his potential 2016 campaign, according to people with knowledge of the calls. They include Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), his former vice presidential running mate; former Minnesota governor Tim Pawlenty (R); Hewlett-Packard chief executive Meg Whitman; former Massachusetts senator Scott Brown; former Missouri senator Jim Talent; and Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah). In the conversations, Romney has said he is intent on running to the right of Jeb Bush, the former Florida governor who also is working aggressively to court donors and other party establishment figures for a 2016 bid. Romney has signaled to conservatives that, should he enter the race, he shares their views on immigration and on taxes — and that he will not run from party orthodoxy. On New Year’s Eve, Romney welcomed Laura Ingraham, the firebrand conservative and nationally syndicated talk-radio host, to his ski home in Deer Valley, Utah. The setting was informal and came about because Ingraham was vacationing in the area. Romney prepared a light lunch for Ingraham and her family as they spent more than one hour discussing politics and policy, according to sources familiar with the meeting. “He was relaxed, reflective and was interested in hearing my thoughts on the American working class,” Ingraham said in an e-mail Monday. “He was fully engaged and up to speed on everything happening on domestic and international front. To me it didn’t seem like he was content to be just a passive player in American politics.” On Friday, Romney told a private gathering of powerful GOP donors in New York, “I want to be president.” That began a concerted effort to re-engage and court anew the party’s leading financial and political players. Romney’s efforts come as Bush — another favorite of the Republican establishment — is holding meetings with top GOP figures and financiers as he explores his own campaign, revealing an early level of competitiveness between the Romney and Bush camps as they navigate their overlapping political circles. Over the weekend, Romney called Gingrich, the former House speaker who relentlessly attacked Romney on the stump and debate stage in 2012 during his own presidential run. Gingrich said he told Romney, “There are no frontrunners” in the 2016 race. “We have runners, but no frontrunners.” Romney is measuring how much of his old operation would remain in what would be his third try for the presidency. As of Monday, he had secured the backing of two New Hampshire-based advisers, Thomas D. Rath and Jim Merrill, should Romney formally launch a campaign. “He called me right after the Patriots beat the Ravens, so we were both in good moods,” Merrill said. “It was a good conversation. He was very clear that he is seriously considering a run. I’ve been with Mitt Romney since March 2006, so if he decides to do it, I’ll be there for him.” Rath, a former New Hampshire state attorney general, concurred in a separate interview. “I’ve been with Mitt Romney for eight years,” Rath said. “If he’s in, I’ll make the coffee or drive the car — whatever he needs.” Romney is intent on swiftly rebuilding his past political infrastructure in New Hampshire, which holds the first presidential primary and which ignited his 2012 campaign when he finished first in a crowded Republican field. Romney also has called Brown, who ran unsuccessfully for Senate from New Hampshire last year, as well as former governor John Sununu, who was a surrogate for Romney in 2012 but has close ties to the Bush camp after serving as White House chief of staff to former president George H.W. Bush. “He’s reaching out to people,” said former New Hampshire senator Judd Gregg, a Romney supporter in 2008 and 2012. “My sense is he feels strongly he has an opportunity to do what was incomplete last time. He figures there’s a lot of buyer’s remorse now and that his message is a good message and it’ll resonate.” Romney is also paying attention to Iowa, which holds the first-in-the-nation caucuses. One of his weekend calls was to David Kochel, who served as Romney’s Iowa strategist in 2008 and 2012. One Romney adviser, who requested anonymity to speak candidly, said, “Mitt’s a very restless character. He is not the type to retire happily, to read books on the beach. That’s not who he is. Ann better than most people knows that about him. And she wants him to be satisfied and I don’t think Mitt is satisfied. He believes he has something to offer the country and the only way he can do that is by running for president again.” Eric Fehrnstrom, a longtime Romney spokesman, ticked through issues that he said were motivating Romney to try again. “At home our economy is still not as strong as it could be,” he said. “Long-term growth is in doubt. And around the world there’s really deep concern that America’s leadership has unraveled and hostile forces have filled that vacuum. There are things Mitt talked about in the last campaign.” Many of Romney’s past supporters could feel torn, not only between him and Bush, but also with other Republicans exploring a presidential run, including New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker and Sen. Marco Rubio (Fla.). And one former Romney campaign adviser, who requested anonymity, offered this reality check: “His problems as the guy who lost to Obama are substantial. Jeb has ‘Bush’ problems, but to most of America still has the opportunity to introduce himself in a positive way.” Romney’s national finance network — which raised roughly $1 billion on his behalf for the 2012 campaign — came alive in the hours after Romney declared his interest in a 2016 bid. “When the news broke Friday, my phone started blowing up with texts, calls and e-mails from people that had donated to the campaign before and pledging their help,” said Travis Hawkes, a Republican donor in Idaho who served on Romney’s national finance council. “They say, ‘Let me know when you need my credit card number.’ My response to everyone has been, ‘Let’s just slow down and see what happens.’ ” Another GOP bundler received a phone message from Romney on Monday in which he said, “What you saw in the paper is true.” Romney added that he was giving “some consideration” to running again “for a lot of reasons.” Among the factors he cited: “I have a strong sense of duty.” *NBC News: “Paul Ryan Won't Run for President in 2016” <http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/first-read/paul-ryan-wont-run-president-2016-n284481>* By Alex Moe January 12, 2015 Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan, the Republican Party's vice presidential nominee in 2012, told NBC News in an interview Monday that he will not seek the presidency in 2016. "I have decided that I am not going to run for president in 2016," Ryan said in a phone interview, noting that he is "at peace" with the decision he made "weeks ago" to forgo a bid for the White House. "It is amazing the amount of encouragement I have gotten from people - from friends and supporters - but I feel like I am in a position to make a big difference where I am and I want to do that," he said. The nine-term congressman believes he can make that "big difference" in his new role as chairman of the influential House Ways and Means Committee rather than as a presidential contender. The committee will meet Tuesday to kick off the new Congress. By announcing that he'll pass on a White House run, Ryan hopes to demonstrate that he'll devote his "undivided attention" to the committee, although he admits that it will be "bittersweet not being on the trail" as a candidate this upcoming cycle. Ryan, who is married with three young children, said he reached his decision over the holidays last year, well before Friday's news that his former running mate, Mitt Romney, is once again eyeing a presidential bid. "It is no secret that I have always thought Mitt would make a great president," he said. "As for his plans for 2016, I don't know what he is ultimately going to do and the last thing I want to do is get ahead of his own decision making process." The congressman would not throw his support behind any potential 2016 presidential candidate during the interview, saying that any endorsement would be "premature." But, Ryan added, he believes that a Republican can "absolutely" win. "I think we've got a number of very capable candidates who have every ability to become president. There are a lot of talented people," he said. "I think it is critical that our party puts forward bold, conservative ideas and give people a choice. I think we have a number of capable leaders who can do that." Ryan said he plans to do whatever he can to help the Republican Party and its eventual nominee win the White House in 2016. "It's clear the country needs a change in direction and our party has a responsibility to offer a real alternative," he said, adding that, as chairman of his House committee, he will help "lay out conservative solutions that will help our nominee lead us to victory." Ryan's decision to stay out of the presidential race this go-around hasn't prevented the Wisconsin lawmaker, a die-hard Green Bay Packers, from some gentle ribbing of another potential 2016 candidate, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie. *Calendar:* *Sec. Clinton's upcoming appearances as reported online. Not an official schedule.* · January 21 – Saskatchewan, Canada: Sec. Clinton keynotes the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce’s “Global Perspectives” series (MarketWired <http://www.marketwired.com/press-release/former-us-secretary-state-hillary-rodham-clinton-deliver-keynote-address-saskatoon-1972651.htm> ) · January 21 – Winnipeg, Canada: Sec. Clinton keynotes the Global Perspectives series (Winnipeg Free Press <http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/Clinton-coming-to-Winnipeg--284282491.html> ) · February 24 – Santa Clara, CA: Sec. Clinton to Keynote Address at Inaugural Watermark Conference for Women (PR Newswire <http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/hillary-rodham-clinton-to-deliver-keynote-address-at-inaugural-watermark-conference-for-women-283200361.html> ) · March 19 – Atlantic City, NJ: Sec. Clinton keynotes American Camp Association conference (PR Newswire <http://www.sys-con.com/node/3254649>)