House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., woke up to bad news Tuesday: The Democrats impeachment strategy against President Donald Trump was leaked by a party insider.
Included in the secret four-page memo, written by Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee chairwoman Cheri Bustos, are critical Democratic strategies and polling data.
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The memo, obtained by Axios on Friday, includes specific Democratic talking points for the media. It outlines what Democrats want to say and what supporters should discuss to help Pelosi’s impeachment inquiry gain public support.
The memo’s contents are proof the Pelosi-led impeachment efforts are politically motivated, critics say.
It instructs Democratic congressmen and women to use simple and direct language in the media, and to repeat the message that Trump is “abusing his power” and that “no one is above the law.”
It also outlined how to defend the anonymous whistleblower from critics. It tells Democrats that no one should question the whistleblower’s motives in the media.
The memo tells Democrats to stress concerns about health care, wages, and “local issues” because they “out-rank impeachment as priorities for voters, especially swing voters.”
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The leaked instructions also include secret internal Democratic polling conducted by GBAO strategies and ALG Research —
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The text from the leaked email reads as follows:
Alexi McCammond [email protected]
DCCC Impeachment Inquiry Message Guidance
October 18, 2019 at 12:12 AM
Alexi McCammond [email protected]From: Cheri Bustos <[email protected]>
Sent: Thursday, October 17, 2019 6:26 PM
To: Cheri Bustos <[email protected]>
Subject: DCCC Impeachment Inquiry Message GuidanceColleagues,
Below is a memo with messaging guidance on the impeachment inquiry.
This comes from 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.We hope you will find this guidance useful and we appreciate you keeping this within our Caucus. Thank you.
Kindest Personal Regards,
Cheri Bustos—
October 17, 2019To: DCCC
Fr: ALG + GBAO
Re: Message Guidance on Moving Impeachment Inquiry ForwardRecent 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.
In comparison, messaging from the House Republicans and national Republican surrogates tests much more weakly.
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.Cheri Bustos
Chairwoman · DCCC
The Horn editorial team