RE: message to staff for later

From:Ki.Hong@skadden.com To: tom@zzranch.com, matthewsbutler@gmail.com CC: tmcguinness@progressivemediausa.org, davidbrockdc@gmail.com, pbegala@hatcreekent.com, Susan@messageinc.com, john.podesta@gmail.com Date: 2008-05-20 13:41 Subject: RE: message to staff for later

I've made a few more changes. See below. My only other question -- Do you feel comfortable stating that "The decisions about the next phase of the campaign will be made this week."? Are we sure about this? If not, you may simply want to say that there will be another update on the re-organization by the end of this week. I know there has been a lot of uncertainty since the announcement that we are not running ads. I want to make sure I put an end to any speculation of what might happen next. As someone deeply vested in what we have built together this has not been easy. First, I wanted to thank you for your head-down singular focus on knocking around the McCain team for their lobbyist ties. Working with our partners and relentlessly pursuing this you have broken through, despite the news about us not running ads. The last week has shown exactly how an aggressive earned media campaign can screw with the McCain campaign. They are thin-skinned about these stories and there is a lot more there. We need to keep that going. What is clear is that there are going to be changes in how we do our work. We are working on a restructuring plan. I wanted to share some of the possible options with you and a timeline of what you can expect. 1. WHOLE CAMPAIGN TAKEOVER -We might be subsumed into the work of a new organization. We would continue to co-locate and work together. 2. COMPONENT CAMPAIGN PARTS RESTRUCTURED -We may divide up the campaign projects and have partners take over various parts of the work, various staff pods and projects subsumed by partners. We would try to continue to co-locate and work together. Timeline: -The decisions about the next phase of the campaign will be made this week. -You still have your job. We are working to make sure the transition to a new organization or organizations is seamless and trying to figure out transition assistance (pay) when it might not be. I said it last week and I will say it again. No group of people on the planet is better prepared to take on John McCain right now. Back to work. ----- Good feedback, Matt. Revised below. This is a verbal message only. -tom I know there has been a lot of uncertainty since the announcement that we are not running ads. I want to make sure I put an end to any speculation of what might happen next. As someone deeply vested in what we have built together this has not been easy. First, I wanted to thank you for your head-down singular focus on knocking around the McCain team for their lobbyist ties. Working with our partners and relentlessly pursuing this you have broken through, despite the news about us not running ads. The last week has shown exactly how an aggressive earned media campaign can screw with the McCain campaign. They are thin-skinned about these stories and there is a lot more there. We need to keep that going. What is clear is that there are going to be changes in how we do our work-a restructuring. I wanted to share the possible options with you and a timeline of what you can expect. 1. WHOLE CAMPAIGN TAKEOVER -We might be subsumed into the work of a new organization. We would continue to co-locate and work together. 2. COMPONENT CAMPAIGN PARTS RESTRUCTURED -We may divide up the campaign projects and have partners take over various parts of the work, various staff pods and projects subsumed by partners. We would try to continue to co-locate and work together. Timeline and Guarantees: -The decisions about the next phase of the campaign will be made this week. -You still have your job. We are working to make sure the transition to a new organization or organizations is seamless and trying to figure out transition assistance (pay) when it might not be. I said it last week and I will say it again. No group of people on the planet is better prepared to take on John McCain right now. Back to work. On Tue, May 20, 2008 at 11:11 AM, Matthew Butler <matthewsbutler@gmail.com> wrote: > > Think we need to be clear that even in scenario 2 we're looking at options that keep the staff co-located and working together, they just may not all get paychecks from the same entity. > > > > On Tue, May 20, 2008 at 11:09 AM, Tom Matzzie <tom@zzranch.com> wrote: >> >> feedback welcome >> >> I know there has been a lot of uncertainty since the announcement that we are not running ads. I want to make sure I put an end to any speculation of what might happen next. As someone deeply vested in what we have built together this has not been easy. >> >> First, I wanted to thank you for your head-down singular focus on knocking around the McCain team for their lobbyist ties. Working with our partners and relentlessly pursuing this you have broken through, despite the news about us not running ads. >> >> The last week has shown exactly how an aggressive earned media campaign can screw with the McCain campaign. They are thin-skinned about these stories and there is a lot more there. We need to keep that going. >> >> What is clear is that there are going to be changes in how we do our work-a restructuring. >> >> I wanted to share the possible options with you and a timeline of what you can expect. >> >> 1. WHOLE CAMPAIGN TAKEOVER -We might be subsumed into the work of a new organization. We would continue to co-locate and work together. >> >> 2. COMPONENT CAMPAIGN PARTS RESTRUCTURED -We may divide up the campaign projects and have partners take over various parts of the work, various staff pods and projects subsumed by partners. >> >> Timeline and Guarantees: >> >> -The decisions about the next phase of the campaign will be made this week. >> >> -You still have your job. We are working to make sure the transition to a new organization or organizations is seamless and trying to figure out transition assistance (pay) when it might not be. >> >> I said it last week and I will say it again. No group of people on the planet is better prepared to take on John McCain right now. Back to work. > ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ **************************************************** To ensure compliance with Treasury Department regulations, we advise you that, unless otherwise expressly indicated, any federal tax advice contained in this message was not intended or written to be used, and cannot be used, for the purpose of (i) avoiding tax-related penalties under the Internal Revenue Code or applicable state or local tax law provisions or (ii) promoting, marketing or recommending to another party any tax-related matters addressed herein. **************************************************** **************************************************** This email and any attachments thereto, is intended only for use by the addressee(s) named herein and may contain legally privileged and/or confidential information. 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