Subject: POLITICO's Morning Score: Dem fundraisers expect Obama to crack $60M - Draft Perry group scopes Ames - McCotter will file today - Pawlenty pre-spins Minn. shutdown - Romney backtracks on economy claim - Colbert wins FEC fight
From: "Morning Score" <[email-masked]>
To: <[email-masked]>
Date: Fri, 01 Jul 2011 03:37:52 -0600

By James Hohmann (
mailto:[email-masked] 
[email-masked] ) and Alexander Burns (
mailto:[email-masked] 
[email-masked] )

MONEY TALKER - OBAMA'S QUARTER CLOSES - POLITICO's Glenn Thrush and Carrie Budoff Brown read the smoke signals on the reelect's finances: "The feverish dash to raise $60 million by June 30th - capped by a $500,000 Michelle Obama's own event in Vermont - was the first major test of Obama's hypercompetitive team since they dispatched John McCain 31 months ago... Democrats know that his failure to hit the $60 million mark could be a seismic, if not Greek default-level, event ... The campaign had tallied contributions from about 491,000 donors just before the midnight deadline, about 40,000 more than they initially expected ... Several Democratic fundraisers, speaking on condition of anonymity,
 predicted that the campaign would easily surpass its goal of raising $60 million. That would best George W. Bush's record-breaking $50.1 million haul for the third quarter of 2003 ... 'You can count on one hand the number of people on the campaign who know the total and you can be assured that anyone speculating about the total doesn't know what it is,' said campaign spokesman Ben LaBolt."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=7c5f34ef297b23bbba483d0f3ce42b03a7b1d2761c022236fef83ba30a9b604e 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=7c5f34ef297b23bbba483d0f3ce42b03a7b1d2761c022236fef83ba30a9b604e 

OBAMA'S LAST EMAIL APPEAL: "I wanted to say thank you before the midnight deadline passes. And I'm looking forward to thanking four of you in person over dinner sometime soon. If you haven't thrown your name in the hat yet, make a donation of $5 or more before midnight tonight -- you'll be automatically entered for a chance to be one of our guests."

HOW THE OTHER HALF LIVES - GOP CASH UPDATE - Here's what we know about the Republican field: Mitt Romney's camp has said it brought in between $15 million and $20 million. Ron Paul is the strongest contender for second place. Tim Pawlenty will reportedly bring in below $5 million. Newt Gingrich was seriously in debt just a few weeks ago. Jon Huntsman's camp claims a $4.1 million haul, but that's a hazy number: It includes an unspecified personal contribution of up to about $2 million and Huntsman won't file a second quarter report to confirm the details. The biggest question mark is Michele Bachmann: Her camp has been shy about setting expectations, but Bachmann had $2.9 million in her
 House account at the end of March and is a legendary small-dollar fundraiser.
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=7c5f34ef297b23bb1ea324af6d4c56027fa743a5c0dd1fac4756d6e05e1e164f 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=7c5f34ef297b23bb1ea324af6d4c56027fa743a5c0dd1fac4756d6e05e1e164f 

LAUNCHING TODAY - MCCOTTER GOES LIVE - Michigan Rep. Thaddeus McCotter will file paperwork to enter the 2012 presidential race Friday, creating a committee dubbed "McCotter 2012" and activating a campaign website around noon, an adviser told POLITICO. He'll start out with a six-figure sum in the bank, thanks to a transfer from his House committee. Former Iowa House Speaker Pro Tem Chris Rants, who helped guide McCotter on a four-day visit to Iowa this week, will serve as a senior adviser in the first-in-the-nation caucus state. USA Today reported that McCotter will hold his first campaign event this Saturday in Michigan.
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=7c5f34ef297b23bb7214fe1d0955ac6e7926f16b8fd3aeee2b603796d282b7ff 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=7c5f34ef297b23bb7214fe1d0955ac6e7926f16b8fd3aeee2b603796d282b7ff and
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=7c5f34ef297b23bbc3d0429171318e54aaa6764cada0a4f59108d4e71b7c0a74 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=7c5f34ef297b23bbc3d0429171318e54aaa6764cada0a4f59108d4e71b7c0a74 

As Rick Perry plans a trip to Michigan, outside groups blossom in the early states and Herman Cain visits John Wayne Drive, here's POLITICO's Morning Score: your daily guide to the permanent campaign.
BREAKING OVERNIGHT - SHUT IT DOWN - The Minnesota state government has closed its doors after Democratic Gov. Mark Dayton and the Republican legislature failed to cut a deal to close the state's $5 billion projected budget gap. Beyond the in-state implications, this could make life uncomfortable for former Gov. Tim Pawlenty, whose fiscal management has already come under attack from Democrats over the last few weeks. The Star Tribune: "Talks imploded Thursday between DFL Gov. Mark Dayton and Republican legislative leaders in the final hours before a midnight deadline ... The union-backed Alliance for a Better Minnesota, a key factor in Dayton's campaign last year, will run radio ads over
 the weekend in Bemidji, Brainerd and Duluth, focusing on reaching Minnesotans vacationing at the lakes."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=7c5f34ef297b23bbb21fdbd38aa926f6179c9dc78a22467b163eca753099b617 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=7c5f34ef297b23bbb21fdbd38aa926f6179c9dc78a22467b163eca753099b617 

MORE - PAWLENTY'S PREEMPTIVE PRESSER - Just hours before the shutdown, Pawlenty held an airport press conference to decry out-of-control spending in St. Paul and Washington and defend his record as governor, which included a 2005 shutdown over similar spending issues. In that situation, Pawlenty allowed the government to close before making a deal that involved placing "user fees" - a euphemism for taxes - on cigarettes. The Star Tribune: "Although he blamed DFL Gov. Mark Dayton for the current shutdown, Pawlenty did not take responsibility for the 2005 government closure. 'The equivalence is this both in '05 and now - You had Democrats demanding that we raise taxes and raise spending,'
 Pawlenty said." The avail landed Pawlenty on the local nightly newscasts, but those good clips of him talking up fiscal discipline could also increase his association with the current budget standoff.
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=2e759bb21e5344b6b7e8a9a55156d6271c5aa46728a00d246fc865ffe02c3b10 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=2e759bb21e5344b6b7e8a9a55156d6271c5aa46728a00d246fc865ffe02c3b10 

AND - THE DNC BLASTS - Democrats are likely to use the shutdown as an opportunity to pin Minnesota's fiscal woes on Pawlenty, who left office in January. DNC communications director Brad Woodhouse wrote in an email: "Tim Pawlenty is playing politics. He failed Minnesota as Governor and now he's trying to cover his tracks. When Tim Pawlenty left office Minnesotans were saddled with a $6.2 billion projected deficit, higher property taxes and higher tuition. Tim Pawlenty's disastrous record in Minnesota is wrong for America and if he wants to hold a press conference criticizing someone he should start with himself."

POPPING IN THE EARLY STATES - ROMNEY VET FORMS SUPER PACS: A former aide to Mitt Romney's 2008 presidential campaign has quietly formed state-level super PACs in the early primary states of Iowa, Florida and South Carolina, the Center for Responsive Politics reports. "The news super PACs, called 'Jobs for Iowa,' 'Jobs for Florida' and 'Jobs for South Carolina' are each focused on notable states ... It is unclear whether the new super PACs are designed to alone support Romney's presidential candidacy in what is an increasingly crowded GOP field. The PACs are the creations of Robert Jentgens, who left Romney's first presidential campaign team in August 2007 and later served as the director of
 accounting for the National Republican Senatorial Committee."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=2e759bb21e5344b63bc55d898095e3677f69bb5c79a55e26f086d9222c5559d4 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=2e759bb21e5344b63bc55d898095e3677f69bb5c79a55e26f086d9222c5559d4 

MITT IN ALLENTOWN - BRACKETING IS HARD - The Republican presidential frontrunner had his first real moment of message malfunction Thursday, backtracking on his questionable claim that the Obama administration has made the economy "worse." Pressed by an NBC producer during his visit to a shuttered factory in Allentown, Pa., Romney insisted: "I didn't say things are worse." But at the New Hampshire debate last month, he claimed flatly that Obama "didn't create the recession, but he made it worse and longer." Romney tried to focus more narrowly yesterday on the unemployment rate, arguing: "The president of the United States, when he put in place his stimulus plan and borrowed $787 billion,
 said he would hold unemployment below 8% -- and 8% seemed like an awfully high number. It hasn't been below 8% since. That's failure."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=2e759bb21e5344b6500bdf40955f42ebd21ccbdd903ed692ec9d6be0614b98f4 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=2e759bb21e5344b6500bdf40955f42ebd21ccbdd903ed692ec9d6be0614b98f4 

IOWA SIREN - "Draft Perry group seeks spot at Iowa straw poll" - The Des Moines Register's Jennifer Jacobs: "An advocacy group that wants Texas Republican Rick Perry to run for president is seeking a presence at the Iowa straw poll this summer. Americans for Rick Perry is taking steps to purchase a vendor spot, organizer Bob Schuman told The Des Moines Register today. 'We intend to have some kind of impact at the straw poll,' Schuman said. 'We just don't know what that is yet, but we're working on it' ... Vendors and advocacy groups [can still purchase straw poll space], but the purchase doesn't mean a candidate will be allowed to speak or get a slot on the ballot ... Schuman flew to Iowa
 Wednesday and has met with Jenifer Bowen of Iowa Right to Life, Bob Vander Plaats of the Family Leader, Steve Scheffler of the Iowa Faith and Freedom Coalition and others, he said."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=2e759bb21e5344b6c05de1a8e8e726dc17fbf722902393130d38cf4d76e19812 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=2e759bb21e5344b6c05de1a8e8e726dc17fbf722902393130d38cf4d76e19812 

PERRY'S IN FOR MACKINAC - The Michigan Republican Party has confirmed that the Texas governor will speak at the Mackinac Republican Leadership Conference in September. There are already multiple 2012 candidates who have committed to participate, including Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich, and the event features a presidential straw poll. Michigan GOP Chairman Bobby Schostak hailed Perry's participation as a sign of "the national importance of this signature event."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=2e759bb21e5344b6e318814eeea17c431ac628c5fb2e35e27903c8d2931ccebd 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=2e759bb21e5344b6e318814eeea17c431ac628c5fb2e35e27903c8d2931ccebd 

PLUS - HE MEETS SPANOS - Perry met with San Diego Chargers owner and deep-pocketed political donor Alex Spanos during a trip to California this week, CNN reports: "Perry on Thursday [was] meeting with businessmen in Los Angeles as well as a group of politicians in Orange County and several dozen state legislators in Sacramento ... In some of these meetings Perry 'is mostly getting advice,' is asking about the political and economic landscape but is not requesting money or commitments if he decides to mount a campaign, David Carney, an adviser to Perry told CNN."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=2e759bb21e5344b69fdac3460723b07bded8e047509392212d2a9b94dce68d50 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=2e759bb21e5344b69fdac3460723b07bded8e047509392212d2a9b94dce68d50 

COLBERT WINS - WITH NARROW IMPACT - It's not necessarily a sweeping precedent, but the Federal Election Commission has ruled that Stephen Colbert can forge ahead with his super PAC. Ken Vogel details what the implications are and aren't: "The Federal Election Commission in a 5-1 vote Thursday morning granted permission to Comedy Central satirist Stephen Colbert to use his network's resources to run his newly formed political action committee ... [C]ommissioners granted Colbert a so-called media exemption to campaign finance rules that will allow him to use his show to produce and air ads supporting or opposing federal candidates. But if the group, Colbert Super PAC, wants to pay to run its
 ads on networks other than Comedy Central, it will have to disclose details about how much Comedy Central parent company Viacom spent administering the PAC and producing the ads."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=2e759bb21e5344b69e1497b7016630667d0b60f3f93def83c8fcff09140e115a 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=2e759bb21e5344b69e1497b7016630667d0b60f3f93def83c8fcff09140e115a 

ALSO AT THE FEC - SUPER PACS LIMITED - ONLY A LITTLE: The FEC ruled unanimously that federal candidates cannot solicit unlimited donations for super PACs that support their campaigns. But, they can still pitch donations within normal limits: "[T]he ruling confirmed that party leaders, lawmakers and candidates - 'covered officials' in campaign finance legal parlance - could ask for contributions within the $5,000-per-contribution federal limits for super PACs. Under the ruling, they can even attend fundraisers for them at which unlimited checks are collected."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=2e759bb21e5344b60f0c997ef80fac4a89067940579f02bc8181f6d7fb0d6700 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=2e759bb21e5344b60f0c997ef80fac4a89067940579f02bc8181f6d7fb0d6700 

COMING UP THIS WEEKEND - BACHMANN'S IOWA BUS TOUR - The Minnesota congresswoman heads back to Iowa Saturday morning for a three-day jaunt through the state. Her six published stops will allow her to start building a statewide base of support. Bachmann's itinerary - Saturday: Breakfast in Iowa City, lunch in Marshalltown, 5 p.m. tea party rally at the state capitol; Sunday: Lunch in Carroll and 4 p.m. meet-and-greet in Le Mars; Monday: 10 a.m. holiday parade in Clear Lake.

AND - CAIN RIDES INTO WINTERSET - On Sunday afternoon, the former Godfather's Pizza CEO will appear at a Godfather's franchise in Winterset, Iowa - the birthplace of John Wayne. The pizza joint happens to be on John Wayne Drive. The Des Moines Register story on Cain's trip notes that it was less than a week ago that Michele Bachmann mixed up the actor's birthplace in Winterset with the Waterloo home of serial killer John Wayne Gacy. In a Thursday TV appearance, Cain denied that he was taking a veiled shot at Bachmann, but the two are in obvious competition at this point.
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=2e759bb21e5344b698d723e52629a680064c48ca04c92908bbaf970948dbeb05 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=2e759bb21e5344b698d723e52629a680064c48ca04c92908bbaf970948dbeb05 

CODA - QUOTE OF THE DAY: "It has been said that freedom isn't free. Today, we have placed a sizable down payment. Today, we put liberty on layaway." - Stephen Colbert, on his victory at the FEC
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=2e759bb21e5344b69e1497b7016630667d0b60f3f93def83c8fcff09140e115a 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=2e759bb21e5344b69e1497b7016630667d0b60f3f93def83c8fcff09140e115a 

Go to POLITICO Morning Score Now >> http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=2e759bb21e5344b66bd63b8e08c45c3323dc5d225ad8e5a9289255a94988d200

=================================
2011 POLITICO, LLC
POLITICO Morning Score.
To unsubscribe, http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=6fd583aceee1de3e985293e6c05f206cf3c36517083c1300e9596fb06bfebd75
=================================