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Mike Lux Memorandums
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Mike Lux Memorandums
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Alexis Herman's Files
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FOIA Number: 2012-0741-F
FOIA
MARKER
This is not a textual record. This is used as an
administrative marker by the William J. Clinton
Presidential Library Staff.
Collection/Record Group:
Clinton Presidential Records
Subgroup/Office of Origin:
Public Liaison
Series/Staff Member:
Alexis Herman/Ruby Moy
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OA/ID Number:
5914
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Folder Title:
Mike Lux Memorandums
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S
30
1
3
1
November 15, 1994
7661 NON
MEMORANDUM FOR ALEXIS HERMAN
FROM:
Mike Lux
SUBJECT: Projects Which Need to Happen
I fear that while the opposition is up and running, we sit stunned and paralyzed. There
are several projects which I believe we should begin working on immediately (we in this
sense doesn't necessarily mean OPL or even the WH -- but they are projects that should
be done by someone in the WH, DNC, an allied group or the Re-Elect):
1. Radio Talk Show Strategy. As you know, we are getting destroyed out there on the
radio talk show circuit, and their poison doesn't just effect talk show listeners, because
those listeners repeat what they hear everywhere. I think that we need to get someone
at either the DNC or an outside allied group to launch a multi-pronged radio talk show
strategy that would include:
Establish a coordinator in each targeted media market who would agree to recruit
people to call radio talk shows each week with our talking points (this assumes we
would have our act together to have weekly talking points).
Bring in local activists for training sessions.
Organize letter-writing campaigns and meetings with radio station owners and
managers, as well as the FTC, to ask for fairness/equal time for more Democratic
oriented talk show hosts.
Compile who are the talk show hosts in each market so that we know who out
there is right wing, who is more fair, and who is more Democratic oriented --
there are obviously many ways we can use that information.
2. Church/Synagogue Fax Network, Again assuming we would have weekly talking
points we could send out, we should adapt those for use by friendly church leaders.
Starting off with our natural base among African-American churches and Jewish
synagogues, through our friends in the NCC, Baptist Joint Co., Interfaith Alliance, and
other friendly groups, we should be able to identify a broad network of ministers, rabbis,
and lay leaders we could broadcast fax something out to every week.
3. Detailed Analysis in Every Targeted State, Starting right away, someone at the WH
or DNC should be charged with doing a detailed analysis of every targeted state in the
1996 election cycle. The analysis should include:
1992/94 voting patterns
local elected official breakdowns
demographic trends
economic trends
business analysis (what are the major businesses and industries, do we have
friendly relations with local CEOs, etc.)
media analysis (what are the media outlets in the state, who are the most
influential, what kind of history/relationships do we have, etc.)
local political analysis (our relationships with key local players, who are the early
Clinton supporters, which local players get along with each other/hate each other,
condition of the state and big county parties, etc.)
constituency analysis (who are the important organizations and constituencies,
who do we have relationships with, etc.)
This kind of report could be finished by the end of 1994 and updated every few months.
It could be used by every department in the White House, DNC, and Re-Elect
Committee. At a minimum, the state I would suggest we do it for are:
1. CA
6. MI
11. MN
16. OR
21. WA
2. NY
7. TX
12. IA
17. CO
22. KY
3. PA
8. FL
13. TN
18. MA
23. MD
4. OH
9. NJ
14. WI
19. CT
5. IL
10. MO
15. WA
20. WV
4. Develop an Early Targeting Plan and a Message Development System, Targeted
states, media markets, and congressional districts are where we should spend most of our
early energy when it comes to organizing activities including the radio talk show strategy,
the church fax network, surrogate speakers, and early rounds of voter registration. Our
strategy for re-taking control of Congress obviously needs to include candidate
recruitment and support in long-time Democratic districts where weak Republican
candidates were swept in by the tidal wave. For all of this to work requires two things:
first, there's no point building a network of activists to help us communicate if we aren't
telling them what to day: we need a mechanism to develop weekly themes/talking points
we can get out to people. Second, all this requires a set of early CD, media market, and
state targeting where we should focus our initial energy.
5. Base Voter/Swing Voter Projects. I would propose that OPL, the DNC and Re-Elect
all organize their constituency work around three tracks: a base voter track, a swing
voter track, and a business track. I would organize these tracks along the following lines:
A. Base Voters
Goals
1. Consistently get our message out to the sympathetic leaders of these communities,
and through their specialty press outlets.
2. Through a variety of mechanisms (private working of leadership, public meetings with
the President and other officials, aggressive working of specialty press, etc.), generate
higher levels of enthusiasm throughout the next two years.
3. Get their leaders and activists to carry our message to the general public throughout
the two year cycle (not just right before the election): radio talk shows, letters to the
editor, public meetings/rallies/press conferences, newsletters, etc.
4. Voter registration, beginning earlier in 1995 than in past cycles.
5. Fundraising from these constituencies for the DNC and Re-Elect, including specific
projects which are appealing to them.
Base Constituencies
African-American
Hispanic
Jewish
Labor
Teachers
Feminists
Working Women
Gays/Lesbians
Environmentalists
People with Disabilities
Liberal Activists (consumer, civil libertarian, etc.)
B. Swing Voters
Goals
1. Identify and recruit visible leaders, both nationally and in key media markets, who are
supporters, and engage them in helping us get our message out through a variety of
means, including an aggressive surrogate program.
2. Work potentially sympathetic national and regional opinion leaders hard through
briefings, meetings and WH receptions.
3. Make certain that the President and other senior officials do a series of visible public
events targeted to these constituencies throughout the next two years.
4. Work the specialty press far more aggressively than we have in the past.
5. Identify through public opinion research and opinion leader discussions the wedge
issues most important to these constituencies, and develop a strategy for highlighting
those issues in these communities.
Swing Constituencies
Senior Citizens
White Catholics
Mainline Protestants
Republican Moderates
Young People
Rural Voters
C. Business
Business people really don't fit into either of the above categories, but we are going to
have to have an aggressive strategy to keep them from aligning themselves totally with
the new Republican Congressional majorities. I will not address myself to the specifics
because you and others, such as Caren Wilcox, are far better and more experienced
strategists in this area. My one comment is an obvious one: our strategy is going to have
to be a highly targeted sector-by-sector strategy to see where we can find wedge issues to
divide certain sectors from the Republican leadership.
November 22, 1994
MEMORANDUM
TO: Alexis Herman
22 AUN
FROM: Mike Lux
RE: Dinners
Attached are draft lists for three dinners - labor, women
and the coalitional dinner. Suzanna is working on the Hispanic
list, although she is extremely tied up with the Summit. She may
need to get a call from you stressing the importance of getting
the list to us. I understand from Ben that you and he are
working together on a separate track for the African-American
part of this project.
Next Steps:
1. You should revise and approve these lists.
2. We need to pin down dates and hosts for each of the
dinners and get them on Leon's and/or Harold's schedules. I have
asked Debbie Fine to work with Ruby and Danny on that project.
3. I will ask the appropriate OPL staff to do the invites
once steps #1 & #2 are finished.
milking mike
Dinners
Labor meeting
Jerry McEntee, President of AFSCME
John Sweeney, President of SEIU
Tom Donahue, AFL-CIO
Rachel Horowitz, AFT
Owen Bieber, President of UAW
George Kourpias, President of IAM
Rich Trumka, President of UMW
Dennis Rivera, 1199
Morty Bahr, President of CWA
Keith Geiger, President of NEA
Douglas Dority, President of UFCW
Bob Georgine, President of Building Trades
Coalition meeting
14th
Justin Dart
Becky Ogle
Marian Wright Edelman, President of Children's Defense Fund
David Saperstein, Executive Director of Religious Action Center
Paul Marchand, The ARC
Ron Pollack, Executive Director of Families USA
Larry Smedley, Executive Director of the National Council of
Senior Citizens
Ira Arlook, Citizen Action
Gina Betts, American Nurses Association
Joan Campbell, General Secretary of NCC
James Dunn, Joint Baptist Committee
Dan Weiss, Sierra Club
Larry Mitchell, National Farmer's Union
James Maddy, President of the League of Conservation Voters
Ann Abbott, President of NASW
November 21, 1994
MEMORANDUM TO ALEXIS HERMAN
FROM:
DORIS MATSUI DM
RE:
PROPOSED INVITEES
SMALL DINNER (WOMEN)
8
Judy Lichtman--Women's Legal Defense Fund
Marcia Greenberger--National Women's Law Center
Anne Bryant--AAUW
Linda Tarr Whelan--Center for Policy Alternatives
Becky Cain--League of Women Voters
Kate Michelman--NARAL
14
Pam Maraldo--Planned Parenthood
Cindy Marano--Wider Opportunities for Women
Lynn Cutler
Anne Lewis
Ellen Malcolm--Emily's List
Prema Mathai-Davis--YWCA
543
Susan Hager
Joanne Howes
3054
CC Mike Lux