RAPID RESPONSES from the Democratic National Committee
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Haley Barbour
Mitch Daniels
Newt Gingrich
Tim Pawlenty
Mitt Romney
Paul Ryan
John Thune

PRESS RELEASE from the Democratic National Committee on Feb. 14, 2011

The Democratic National Committee released new web video this morning, “Past versus Future,” comparing the message from Republicans at CPAC to the message the President and leading Democrats have offered about how to move this country forward.  As the video makes clear, the Republicans have no message and nothing to offer the public accept re-fighting the political and legislative battles - battles they have already lost.  While President Obama and Democrats are fighting to win the future by out-educating, out-innovating and out-building the rest of the world, the Republican Party on the other hand, as evidenced by its luminaries who spoke at CPAC and what they had to say there, wants to re-fight past battles and have no ideas for creating jobs or making America more globally competitive.   
 
 
NYT: “VIDEO: Democrats Take Aim At Rhetoric From CPAC.” Conservatives hailed the record turnout at the Conservative Political Action Committee last week. More than 10,000 people crammed the Marriott hotel in Washington to see the party’s leading 2012 presidential hopefuls.But the three-day party also provided plenty of fodder for Democrats as they seek to portray the Republican Party as an extreme ideology that is out of the mainstream for most Americans.That effort began Monday as the Democratic Party offered a Web video that contrasts the rhetoric from CPAC to President Obama’s State of the Union address last month.The video shows Senator Rand Paul, Republican of Kentucky, calling for an end to the Department of Education. And it shows the audience at CPAC cheering the idea of opting out of Social Security.It then shows Democratic lawmakers talking about Democratic efforts to increase jobs in the country and President Obama talking about the nation’s optimism and drive to “do big things.” LINK

Huffington Post: “DNC Blasts Republicans Over CPAC Talking Points.” The Democratic National Committee launched a new web video over the weekend meant to portray the GOP as a party committed to driving regressive policies.Pulling clips from some of the biggest speeches at the Conservative Political Action Conference, the video shows leading Republicans arguing for such things as abolishing the Department of Education and the Environmental Protection Agency, repealing the health care law, and pushing for the privatization of Social Security. In one of the DNC's first official forays into the forthcoming campaign, their video argues that the messages given in the speeches by top conservatives and potential 2012 candidates such as Tim Pawlenty, Newt Gingrich, Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) and Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) don't work toward the GOP's stated goal of addressing jobs and the economy. LINK

USA Today:  “Democrats fight back GOP claims from conservative conference.” Democrats are hitting back after three days of GOP conservatives slamming President Obama's handling of the economy.In a new video entitled "Past Versus Future," the Democratic National Committee has woven together snippets from last week's Conservative Political Action Conference of leading Republicans to abolish the Department of Education and the Environmental Protection Agency, end Social Security and -- in one of the top applause lines of the conference -- to repeal the nation's health care law signed by Obama.The video quickly moves to Obama from his State of the Union Address in January, talking about America's chance to "win the future." LINK

ABC: “DNC SLAMS GOP’S CPAC MESSAGE.” The Democratic National Committee released a new Web video this morning contrasting the rhetoric from Republicans at CPAC to the message of President Obama and Democratic leaders. A DNC spokesperson tells the Note, “The biggest winners coming out of CPAC were Democrats and the President as it is clear based on the presentations there that Republicans have no message and nothing to offer the public accept re-fighting the political and legislative battles -- battles they have already lost.” LINK

CNN: “Dem web video takes aim at CPAC.” The Democratic National Committee is out with a new web video Monday that takes aim at several of the positions advocated last week at the Conservative Political Action Conference, the high-profile gathering that serves as an early proving ground for GOP presidential hopefuls.The 90-second video called "Pass Versus Future" highlights positions as abolishing the Department of Education and the Environmental Protection Agency, repealing the health care law, and allowing people to opt out of social security. It then transitions to Democrats – including President Obama – advocating for innovation, education initiatives and job creation."While President Obama and Democrats are fighting to win the future by out-educating, out-innovating and out-building the rest of the world, the Republican Party on the other hand, as evidenced by its luminaries who spoke at CPAC and what they had to say there, wants to re-fight past battles and have no ideas for creating jobs or making America more globally competitive," said DNC Communications Director Brad Woodhouse. LINK
 
The Hill: “Democrats claim political victory from CPAC.”Democrats and President Obama gathered the most momentum from this past weekend's gathering of conservative activists, the party claimed Monday.The Democratic National Committee (DNC) sought to spin the now-concluded Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in their own favor, releasing a web video framing the Republicans who spoke at CPAC -- including a number of possible presidential candidates -- as focused on issues from the past. "The biggest winners coming out of CPAC were Democrats and the president, as it is clear, based on the presentations there, that Republicans have no message and nothing to offer the public accept re-fighting the political and legislative battles - battles they have already lost," DNC communications director Brad Woodhouse wrote in an email about the new video. CPAC, the annual gathering of conservatives in Washington, is typically seen as a moment for the GOP's grassroots to organize, and for the party's elected leaders to impress would-be voters. LINK
 
Politico: “DNC: C-BACK to the Future.” Democrats want the message out of CPAC to be a simple one: Republicans are living in the past. The Democratic National Committee has put together its own highlight reel from the weekend conference, heavy on speech clips in which potential 2012ers called for abolishing the departments of education and environmental protection. The remix is the DNC’s first real salvo since the midterms, and aims to define the messaging battle of the next two years. The “Past Versus Future” video juxtaposes President Barack Obama with CPAC speeches by some of his potential 2012 opponents, including Michele Bachmann, Newt Gingrich and and Tim Pawlenty.In the video, Gingrich talks about doing away with the Environmental Protection Agency, while Bachmann rallies conference attendees with references to socialism. Debbie Wasserman Schultz saying the American economy has turned the corner, and clips from Obama’s State of the Union address. LINK
 
Roll Call: “DNC Video Samples CPAC Lines to Show ‘Past Versus Future’.” The Democratic National Committee on Sunday released a new Web video highlighting Republican speeches from the Conservative Political Action Conference in an attempt to portray President Barack Obama as more focused on the future while the GOP aims to “rekindle the battles of the past.”Roll Call obtained an early look at the video, which shows Sen.Rand Paul (R-Ky.) and possible presidential contenders Rep.Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.), former Speaker Newt Gingrich and former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty speaking at CPAC last week.In the video, Pawlenty talks about repealing “Obamacare,” and Paul gets cheers for talking about the elimination of the Department of Education and for asking who would opt out of Social Security. Bachmann decries “socialism.”Those scenes are contrasted to Obama’s State of the Union speech and recent television interviews with Democrats House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (Md.) and Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (Fla.) talking about the party’s economic plan to “win the future.”A Democratic official said the conservative gathering in Washington proved “Republicans have no message.” The video is the first messaging test of the political cycle and “will be how the political and legislative battles over the next two years will be defined,” the official said. LINK

Minnesota Independent: “DNC video highlights Pawlenty, Bachmann CPAC speeches.” “We do big things,” President Barack Obama says in a clip from the State of the Union that closes a new Democratic National Committee video. The 90-second video, “Pass Versus Future,” splices Obama’s message with the “big things” planned by Republicans and shared at the Conservative Political Action Committee (CPAC) conference last week. Making the highlights reel are Michele Bachmann, Tim Pawlenty and Rand Paul, among others. “We believe in abolishing the Department of Education,” Paul says, while Pawlenty shouts, “Repeal ‘ObamaCara,’” a law that Bachmann, again, calls the “the crown jewel of socialism.” LINK