Re: NYT | Econ Story

Here's what I sent them, with one line added at their request of something we'd previously sent off the record. New line is in brackets. Expanding opportunities for hardworking Americans so that families can get ahead has been a constant fight she has waged in every job she's held. [She has a record of bringing people together to solve big problems, while also putting a real premium on accountability]. You heard it from her last fall when she was campaigning for Democrats all over the country and repeatedly laid out the challenges many Americans still face as our economy makes gains. She’s casting a wide net, talking to a wide range of people on a wide range of specific topics. There's no red X on a calendar somewhere, but make no mistake, if she runs, she will present solutions to our toughest challenges, she will take nothing for granted, and she will fight for every vote." On Feb 6, 2015, at 7:00 PM, Nick Merrill <nmerrill@hrcoffice.com> wrote: Looks like the NYT is getting close to closing their story. After our conversation yesterday, I think it makes the most sense to just repurpose what we have the Journal a week ago. I think it makes sense for us to be in this story, but no need to mix it up or complicate things. Same message, different paper. I'd like to send this this evening, let us know if disagree on approach. "Expanding opportunities for hardworking Americans so that families can get ahead has been a constant fight she has waged in every job she's held. You heard it from her last fall when she was campaigning for Democrats all over the country and repeatedly laid out the challenges many Americans still face as our economy makes gains. She’s casting a wide net, talking to a wide range of people on a wide range of specific topics. There's no red X on a calendar somewhere, but make no mistake, if she runs, she will present solutions to our toughest challenges, she will take nothing for granted, and she will fight for every vote." On Feb 6, 2015, at 12:18 PM, Nick Merrill <nmerrill@hrcoffice.com> wrote: I’m passing along a document that came from one of our friends, written for and sent directly to Amy Chozick for this NYT piece she’s working on. Gives you a sense of what we’re all up against! Mandy is right. We keep emphasizing that the most significant pain point for people is that the belief the decked is stacked against them in favor of this at the top. And they're not wrong. Sent from my iPhone On Feb 2, 2015, at 10:07 AM, Robby Mook <robbymook2015@gmail.com<mailto:robbymook2015@gmail.com>> wrote: Agree On Feb 2, 2015, at 9:41 AM, Mandy Grunwald <gruncom@aol.com<mailto:gruncom@aol.com>> wrote: I think this piece turned out well. But when we define our goals, we have to be clear that we are concerned with helping people who are getting crushed by rising costs and stagnant incomes, not that we're worried about offending high income groups (our donors). My guess is that this sentence will cause us some problems on the left. One of Mrs. Clinton’s broader goals is to develop ways to address economic anxiety without sounding like a combative populist or demonizing high-income groups, said a person familiar with her thinking. Mandy Grunwald Grunwald Communications 202 973-9400 ----- http://www.wsj.com/articles/clinton-consults-experts-to-define-economic-pitch-1422837490 Clinton Consults to Define Economic Pitch By Peter Nicholas Hillary Clinton <http://topics.wsj.com/person/C/Hillary-Clinton/6344> has been consulting with an array of economists and academics—including liberal Joseph Stiglitz, former Fed chairman Paul Volcker and new faces outside the traditional orbit of Democratic policy experts—as she prepares for a likely presidential campaign that would make sluggish wage growth and middle-class prosperity a central focus. One of Mrs. Clinton’s broader goals is to develop ways to address economic anxiety without sounding like a combative populist or demonizing high-income groups, said a person familiar with her thinking. It isn’t clear whether that particular question has come up in the meetings she has been having with various policy experts. She has been using the meetings to prepare herself for a possible campaign, ground herself in the issues and tease out fresh approaches to stubborn domestic and foreign policy problems, people familiar with the matter said. As the former secretary of state keeps a low public profile ahead of announcing her near-certain candidacy, the meetings offer clues to which issues she believes merit attention and whose advice she values. Many, but not all, participants served in Bill Clinton ’s administration; others are distinguished primarily by expertise in subjects that are certain to be front-and-center in the 2016 presidential race. Some of the meetings had the feeling of a high-octane faculty symposium and lasted for hours, say people familiar with the sessions. Pen and pad in hand, Mrs. Clinton typically has gone around the room to ask for ideas, offering comments now and then and inviting participants to make suggestions down the road. In December, Mrs. Clinton presided over a meeting at a midtown Manhattan hotel that focused on middle-class Americans feeling pinched by slow wage growth. Among those attending: Mr. Volcker, the architect of the “Volcker Rule,” a regulatory measure barring banks from making risky bets with their own money; Jonathan Cowan, co-founder of the centrist think tank Third Way, which has been critical of some of the populist rhetoric coming from the Democrats’ liberal wing; and Alan Blinder <http://topics.wsj.com/person/B/Alan-Blinder/4> , a Princeton professor and former Fed vice chairman and economics adviser to Mr. Clinton. Also at the meeting, according to people familiar with it, were Robert Hormats, who worked in the State Department during Mrs. Clinton’s tenure and was a former vice chairman of Goldman Sachs; Richard Ravitch <http://topics.wsj.com/person/R/Richard-Ravitch/5985> , a former Democratic lieutenant governor in New York, who helped New York City avert bankruptcy during a fiscal crisis in the 1970s; and Teresa Ghilarducci, a labor economist and proponent of ideas to shore up Americans’ retirement savings. The Clinton team has asked her to help evaluate various policy ideas. The participants examined a range of ideas to boost economic security, such as tax cuts for the middle class, expanded access to prekindergarten education and new ways to pay for improvements to roads and tunnels, said people familiar with the session. “One major focus of the meeting was the miserable recent performance of wages in general and middle-class wages in particular, and what if anything the government can do about that,” said Mr. Blinder. Bernard Schwartz, a longtime Democratic donor and contributor to the Clinton Foundation, was among those who helped arrange the meeting, said people familiar with the session. Mr. Schwartz is a former chairman of Loral Space & Communications Ltd. Mrs. Clinton also has consulted with Mr. Stiglitz, a former economic adviser to Bill Clinton and author of a book about the perils of economic inequality. The policy interests of some participants point to the issues Mrs. Clinton is likely to prioritize, notably the financial pressures faced by middle-class families. Prospective Republican presidential candidates also are talking about shoring up the middle class and, in some cases, narrowing the wage gap in America—a sign that those topics will be flashpoints in the general election. Mrs. Clinton is the overwhelming front-runner for the Democratic nomination, but some liberals would like to see her challenged by U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren <http://topics.wsj.com/person/W/Elizabeth-Warren/8131> (D., Mass.), a populist firebrand who has described the American economic system as “rigged” in favor of the wealthy. Ms. Warren has said she won’t run. In targeting income inequality, Mrs. Clinton would address a substantive issue facing the country while also making inroads with Ms. Warren’s liberal followers. Mrs. Clinton also has held foreign policy meetings in New York and Washington. A New York meeting in the summer was a “tour” of global hot spots, among them the war in Syria and Russia’s incursions into Ukraine, according to people familiar with what took place. Mrs. Clinton asked for a diagnosis of the problem and a “strategic” view of how the U.S. should act, one person familiar with the meeting said. Those who attended included Richard Haass, president of the Council on Foreign Relations, who worked under both Republican presidents George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush; David Rothkopf, author of a new book on foreign policy-making in the George W. Bush and Obama <http://topics.wsj.com/person/O/Obama/4328> administrations; and Dennis Ross, a diplomat with many years of experience in the Middle East peace negotiations. More informally, Mrs. Clinton has also spoken to trusted Democratic confidants about appointments to high-level positions in her campaign, should she decide to run. A campaign apparatus is already taking shape. John Podesta, a senior adviser to President Barack Obama, is likely to become a senior adviser to the campaign, while two Obama campaign veterans, pollster Joel Benenson and media adviser Jim Margolis, are expected to take top positions on Mrs. Clinton’s campaign team, people familiar with the matter said. “She’s casting a wide net, talking to a wide range of people on a wide range of specific topics” said Nick Merrill, a spokesman for Mrs. Clinton. “Make no mistake, if she runs, she will present solutions to our toughest challenges, she will take nothing for granted, and she will fight for every vote.” On Feb 1, 2015, at 6:54 PM, Nick Merrill < nmerrill@hrcoffice.com<mailto:nmerrill@hrcoffice.com>> wrote: Ran the quote past HRC and she asked (with no prompting) that “average” come out. So here’s what I shipped off to Peter Nicholas at the Journal. AS for the NYT, looks like it won’t run for a few days if not next Sunday, so will circle back on that as it develops. Thanks again to all for the feedback. Go Seahawks! "Expanding opportunities for hardworking Americans so that families can get ahead has been a constant fight she has waged in every job she's held. You heard it from her last fall when she was campaigning for Democrats all over the country and repeatedly laid out the challenges many Americans still face as our economy makes gains. She’s casting a wide net, talking to a wide range of people on a wide range of specific topics. There's no red X on a calendar somewhere, but make no mistake, if she runs, she will present solutions to our toughest challenges, she will take nothing for granted, and she will fight for every vote. ” Definitely can we test every day americans next time? On Sun, Feb 1, 2015 at 5:27 PM, Joel Benenson <jbenenson@bsgco.com<mailto:jbenenson@bsgco.com>> wrote: When we tested deck is stacked against “average Americans, with too many breaks for those at the top” vs. Gov regs and rules hurging biz and stopping them from creating jobs – by 49-41 among all voters and 56-33 with our MOR (middle of the road voters) . I think it’s how they see themselves in this environment, which remains their big pain point that she is fighting to fix. For the moment it also creates a slight language difference with POTUS – not a big deal but a nuance. Joel Looks good. I think you can take out average and still communicate you mean folks in middle with "hardworking" (who likes to be average?) if average is important I might use everyday. cdm On Sun, Feb 1, 2015 at 4:36 PM, Nick Merrill <nmerrill@hrcoffice.com<mailto:nmerrill@hrcoffice.com>> wrote: Great, thank you. Robby to your point about letting her speak for herself, I¹ve been reminding people that they should be careful to acknowledge that this is part of a process. She laid out challenges that we face in the midterms, and now she¹s thinking through how we would address them should she run. Will reinforce that when I circle back with these guys today. Here¹s the quote again incorporating peoples¹ thoughts. John Anzalone, I think Joel addressed what you were trying to get at so I left his edits as is, but let me know if you think we¹re missing anything. Otherwise will push this in the next little while. Thanks all. "Expanding opportunities for average hardworking Americans so that they and their families can get ahead has been a constant fight she has waged in every job she's held. You heard it from her last fall when she was campaigning for Democrats all over the country and repeatedly laid out the challenges many Americans still face as our economy makes gains. She's casting a wide net, talking to a wide range of people on a range of specific topics. There's no red X on a calendar somewhere, but make no mistake, if she runs, she will present solutions to our toughest challenges, she will take nothing for granted, and she will fight for every vote." > On 2/1/15, 4:05 PM, "Joel Benenson" <jbenenson@bsgco.com<mailto:jbenenson@bsgco.com>> wrote: > > Yes. > > ----- > <Rothschild Econ Doc for Chozick.pdf>