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Trump’s “domestic policies would lead to recession. His foreign policies would make America and the world less safe,” Romney says.
TBT: House Dems see leverage on security with Trump ahead
Politico
By Lauren French
March 1, 2016
House Democrats are testing ways they can cash in on Trumpmania.
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee will unveil internal polling Tuesday morning, showing that nearly 60 percent of likely voters in key congressional districts have “fairly major” or “very major” doubts about GOP House candidates connected to the national security views of Republican front-runner Donald Trump or Texas Sen. Ted Cruz.
The polling data, shared by sources familiar with a strategy meeting where they were unveiled, were the result of asking voters in 55 districts about a generic Republican House candidate who “stands with national figures like Donald Trump and Ted Cruz who are willing to ignore Constitutional freedoms in the name of tough talk.”
Painting Republicans as “reckless” on security has emerged as a pivotal plank of House Democrats’ 2016 messaging strategy. The party has long struggled with the idea that Republicans are tougher and more assertive on national security — a perception DCCC Ben Ray Lujan will look to overturn in key House races this cycle.
“As Donald Trump and Ted Cruz tout a ‘make the sand glow’ approach to national security, there’s a real likelihood that the American people will be turned off by Republicans’ reckless tactics, knowing full well that they put us in danger,” Lujan, a New Mexico Democrat, told lawmakers, according to a source.
The polling also found that more voters — 49 percent to 38 percent of those surveyed — feel it is a bigger concern to have a leader who is “too reckless” and likely to get involved in a Middle East war over a president that is “too passive.”
Democrats argue that with Trump at the top of a Republican ticket, likely voters are more likely to gravitate to them.
The polling was unveiled at a meeting at the DNC hosted by Lujan and Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.). It was conducted by Garin Hart Yang and Global Strategy Group.
“We must be ready to step in with the information and approaches related to national security that voters need and want. We must be ready to seize the opportunities that the extreme Republican Party presents on all issues, including national security,” Lujan told House Democrats.
The Democrats’ findings were quickly dismissed by the Republican campaign arm.
Bob Salera, a spokesperson for the National Republican Congressional Committee, said it was “laughable” that Democrats think they can win over voters on national security.
“From their complicity with President [Barack] Obama’s deal with Iran that the administration admits will fund terrorists, to their support for President Obama’s reckless plan to bring the terrorists being detained at Guantanamo Bay to U.S. soil, House Democrats have been key partners in the disastrous and deeply unpopular Obama-Clinton foreign policy legacy,” Salera said. “The DCCC’s suggestion, based on a push poll, that they will have the upper hand on foreign policy in November is laughable.”
The fight over national security voters comes as Trump is expected to win a bulk of the Super Tuesday contests — solidifying his lead as the presumptive nominee for Republicans. He’s successfully tapped into the worries of voters who are wary about the future of the U.S. — signaling that national security could be a major factor in 2016 decisions, from the presidential contest to down-ticket races.
The presentation found that national security and terrorism are the chief issues among likely voters — challenging the economy and jobs as the top issue for the cycle. Rep. Steve Israel, the New York lawmaker charged with House Democrats 2016 messaging, has said previously Democrats could see success in at least a dozen seats if the party is unified on a security message that touches on voters fears over unrest abroad and economically.
House Democrats hold about 30 fewer seats in the House than their GOP counterparts.
But capitalizing on Trump’s influence in House elections will require House Democrats to paint Republican candidates as “reckless” or standing with Trump and Cruz’s “outlandish policies.” That’s according to language and messaging suggestions presented to the House Democrats.
The DCCC has identified 19 congressional seats it will aggressively target in 2016 in its Red to Blue Program in hopes of knocking out Republican incumbents and electing Democrats. It’s an uphill battle for Democrats to win the majority in 2016, but the party could pick up seats because of the demographics of swing races. Republican pollsters have also predicted that the GOP could see negative down-ballot implications if Trump or Cruz is named the party’s nominee.