MEMO
FROM: Sean Spicer, RNC Communications Director @seanspicer
TO: Interested Parties
RE: Weekend Messaging Memo
"Stats are for losers." --New England Patriots Coach Bill Belichick
For months, Democrats have been bragging about their ground game stats--touting this-many office openings and that-many volunteers. But when game time came, they lost.
The Wisconsin recall exposed Democrats' weaknesses heading toward November. DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz declared the election "a test run" for their much-vaunted ground game. The day after Gov. Walker's victory, she told CNN's Piers Morgan, "The president deployed his entire machinery" in Wisconsin, calling the grassroots operation an "unprecedented effort."
To summarize: In an election of their making, a "test run" of their choosing, with the Obama campaign's "entire machinery" deploying an "unprecedented effort," the Democrats lost by 7 points in a state they won by 14 points in 2008.
The GOP operation, in contrast, delivered. We successfully mobilized voters with an extensive volunteer network, and Gov. Walker won even more votes than he did in 2010 and claimed a larger margin of victory. This is the organizational strength we take into November. Wisconsin--a state Republicans haven't won in a presidential contest since 1984--now presents our party and nominee an opportunity to put the state in our win column in 2012.
Apparently the president's record-setting 150 fundraisers didn't buy OFA quite the ground game they thought. They better hope George Clooney, Anna Wintour, Harvey Weinstein, and Sarah Jessica Parker can clear their schedules through November.
There is a demonstrable disconnect between the OFA rhetoric and election results. The RNC has pointed this out before. The president won only 57 percent of the vote in Oklahoma's Super Tuesday primary. He lost 42 percent of the vote to "uncommitted" in Kentucky, 41 percent to an unknown lawyer in Arkansas, 41 percent to a convicted felon in West Virginia, and 21 percent to "no preference" in North Carolina, home of the Democratic National Convention.
It turns out boasting about the Obama ground game cannot compensate for a miserable record. That record--high unemployment, massive debt, and countless broken promises--is at the front of most Americans' minds.
And there are even more signs this week that his record is taking a toll:
Wisconsin, Iowa, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Florida, Ohio, Nevada, Colorado, and Iowa: President Obama won all these states in 2008, and they're must-wins for him in November. They are now trending toward Republicans.
Even among his base, his influence is waning. In a New Jersey congressional primary, President Obama's endorsed candidate, Rep. Steve Rothman, was thumped by Bill Clinton's candidate, Rep. Bill Pascrell.
Despite their poor "test run" performance this week, we can expect the Obama camp to continue bragging about their ground game. But the jig is up. As Belichick says, "The final score is for winners."
Thus ends yet another bad week for the Obama campaign. Or, as the Washington Post's Chris Cillizza called it, a "terrible, horrible, no-good very bad week."
P.S. Thanks to all the donors who helped make last month the best May ever for the RNC. The RNC, Romney Victory, and Romney for President raised over $76.8 million in May, $16.8 million more than the Obama Campaign/DNC's $60 million.
P.P.S. Go Celtics.
WASHINGTON, June 5, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Former Presidential Candidate Gary Bauer congratulated Governor Scott Walker for his win in Wisconsin's recall election, calling it "another sign that taxpayers will award office holders ready to do the hard work of reigning in out-of-control government spending."
Bauer, the chairman of the Campaign for Working Families, made the following statement:
"I congratulate Governor Scott Walker for his hard-fought victory tonight, and most especially for having the courage of his convictions to fight the good fight. But the victory in Wisconsin is not Scott Walker's alone. It is a victory for the hard-working taxpayers of Wisconsin, who foot the bill year after year. It is a victory for common sense over powerful special interests. It is a victory that taxpayers in every state can celebrate. It is a victory, yes, even for some union members.
"Since Gov. Walker's reforms were enacted, tens of thousands of state employees have opted to keep more of the money they earn rather than let the public employees union siphon off their hard-earned dollars. In other words, once given the choice, more than half of the public employees union's members decided that they didn't need the union. These reforms will pay real dividends for the taxpayers of Wisconsin. They are the real winners tonight.
"The recall election is a sign of good things to come. The power of the Big Labor bosses has finally been checked, not just in Wisconsin, but also in scores of other states across the country. More governors, legislators and taxpayers will be inspired to stand up against the liberal labor unions and do what is truly in the best interests of their communities. Wisconsin's 10 Electoral College votes are now in play, and the anti-tax, small government movement that swept the country in 2010 is about to sweep Barack Obama out of office in 154 days!"
Source: PR Newswire (http://s.tt/1drYR)