The DCCC Sure Has Changed Its Tune On Impeachment! New Memo To All Democratic Members

This DCCC messaging memo on impeachment isn't something you would expect to come from them, considering it seems like just minutes ago when they were raging against Democratic candidates who dared to even talk about impeachment. Cheri Bustos sent this memo out to all House Dems last night. I wonder what she's telling candidates now. She wrote that she was sharing messaging based on "research conducted by the DCCC’s pollsters over the past weeks. It reaffirms the strong position Democrats hold on this issue, due to the focus and restraint with which our Caucus has approached this pressing and serious matter." She also said the research is not public but I don't think she meant to include DWT readers.

October 17, 2019

To: DCCC
Fr:  ALG + GBAO
Re: Message Guidance on Moving Impeachment Inquiry Forward

Recent polling in national and battleground surveys has demonstrated that voters’ views on impeachment have shifted since the summer, with support for the impeachment inquiry growing as Democrats consolidate support and independent voters reject President Trump’s actions regarding Ukraine.

Further, the numbers do not back up Republicans’ posture that impeachment worsens the political environment for House Democrats. National polling conducted by the DCCC finds voters back a Democrat who supports an impeachment investigation over a Republican who opposes an impeachment investigation by 11 points. Even in the 57 most competitive battleground districts, moving the inquiry forward is slightly favorable at 49-48. Additionally, Democrats’ lead in the generic ballot remains steady in national polling (+8 average) and in battleground districts (+3 average).

This shift toward support for an impeachment inquiry, coupled with the steady generic ballot over the course of many months, underlines the strong position Democratic congressional incumbents and challengers continue to hold as they pursue the facts and address voters’ concerns about Trump abusing his power and putting himself above the law.

Message Guidance:

1.    When discussing Trump’s actions, keep the language simple, direct and values-based: President Trump abused his power and put himself above the law when he asked the Ukrainian President to interfere in the U.S. election.

2.    Emphasize the core value that no one is above the law. Incumbent members who support the inquiry are simply working to uphold the rule of law and Republicans who oppose the inquiry are failing to fulfill their oath of office.

3.    The whistleblower did the right thing by coming forward – members of Congress have a duty to protect this person, and Trump is wrong to threaten this person and impugn their character or motives.

4.    Demonstrate your constant focus on the biggest issues facing families in the country, specifically health care and wages. These issues continue to out-rank impeachment as priorities for voters, especially swing voters. By focusing on these and local issues, you can show voters that you know how to focus on their top priorities, while also navigating the impeachment inquiry.

How Republican and Democratic messages test in competitive battleground districts:

Democrats’ best frames for kitchen table issues:

[HEALTH CARE]: Democrats are working to bring down the cost of health care and prescription drugs, while we protect people with pre-existing conditions from more attacks from Washington Republicans.

[JOBS AND THE ECONOMY]: The economy might be working for some Americans, but it isn’t working for many of us who are seeing the cost of living increase while paychecks don’t keep up. Democrats are working to invest in everyday people by prioritizing skills training and better access to trade school classes.

[ANTI-CORRUPTION]: Democrats are leading the fight to clean-up corruption and limit the power of special interests in Washington by forcing politicians to disclose where their dark money campaign funds come from.

Flagstaff progressive Eva Putzova is running for the vast Arizona district (AZ-01) that is currently held by a Republican pretending to be a Blue Dog Democrat, Tom O'Halleran. She applauds the DCCC finally joining progressives in moving to protect society from Trump and his regime. "I guess now we can welcome the better-late-than-never DCCC to the club of those of us who have been calling for Trump's impeachment for months now. Where was the DCCC earlier when the Mueller Report found Trump guilty of obstruction of justice? Or when he openly and deliberately referred to Mexican immigrants as rapists, etc? Or violated the law by putting children in cages? Now the DCCC is giving House Democrats 'message guidance' so they can carefully parse their words about impeachment in a clinical, sterile, poll-tested manner so as not to offend anyone. This is not leadership! It won't even win elections, since so many non-voters at least  see the Democrats as not much different than the Republicans. The 'best frames' they propose for Democrats to use is an example. One of the categories is 'Jobs and the Economy.' It says 'Democrats are working to invest in everyday people by prioritizing skills training and better access to trade school classes.' Are they kidding? Do they think that will raise wages and reduce inequality? Why not mention the House passage of the Raise the Wage Act which increased the minimum wage and the sub-minimum tipped wage to $15 per hour? Or mention House Democrats overwhelming support for the Protect the Right to Organize act which would result in millions of new union members who would be able to engage in real collective bargaining with their employers? Why be afraid to talk about what really might work and galvanize millions to vote for Democrats?"

Rachel Ventura is also running for Congress against a conservative DCCC favorite, New Dem Bill Foster (IL-11). "It is good to see the DCCC taking a more assertive stand against Donald Trump," she told me last night. "The president has broken the law and Nancy Pelosi should not be afraid to call a vote for a formal impeachment hearing in the House Judiciary Committee, chaired by Jerry Nadler. It would be smart for Democrats to go on offense and ask the country to become engaged in holding Donald Trump accountable for his ongoing profiteering off the presidency, his clear cut efforts to ask foreign countries to interfere in U.S. elections, and his overt obstruction of justice. At a minimum, after I entered the race, my opponent shifted his position on impeachment and now has come out in favor of it. I wonder how this talking points memo will reflect his new position. Just last week in a closed door meeting he talked about the potential political ramifications of an impeachment vote; stating, 'Even if we are guaranteed success, it still might not be the right thing for the fortunes of the Democratic Party.' When discussing a formal vote on impeachment hearings he said, 'There’s a debate if we should have a formal vote the way they did as the Nixon impeachment proceeded. For example, [the hearings] allows the Republicans to call witnesses. Because everyone is convinced that they will call Joe Biden and Joe Biden’s son and try to change the narrative of this wonderful president.' I assume that Foster is joking when he references Trump as 'this wonderful president.' We need to uphold the rule of law, regardless of the politics, and go one step further than the talking points memo. We need to get Republicans on record for how they would vote for a formal impeachment hearing."

And the last of our trio of courageous pro-accountability challengers is Rebecca Parson, the progressive candidate in northwest Washington, running for a seat held by conservative New Dem chief Derek Kilmer. "It is sad," she said after she had read the memo, "that the majority of Democrats had to wait to receive permission from Nancy Pelosi to do the right thing instead of doing the right thing because it's the right thing to do. Now they finally have taken a 'stand,' they're taking a milquetoast, poll-driven approach to the matter. Facts are facts. Donald Trump is a domestic enemy of the Constitution and must be impeached." Please consider contributing to Rachel, Rebecca and Eva by clicking on the 2020 congressional primaries thermometer above.