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DNC: The GOP's Extreme Aims in the News

WASHINGTON, Aug. 8, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The following was released today by the Democratic National Committee:

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20100929/DNCLOGO)

Today the Democratic National Committee announced its Extreme Aims: Wrong for Seniors. Wrong for the Middle Class campaign in the lead-up to Thursday's Republican debate in Iowa and the Ames straw poll on Saturday. The new campaign will further define the 2012 Republican presidential field and their extreme out-of-touch policies to appease the far-right. Below please find stories on the DNC's new campaign.

Democrats countering 2012 Republican hopefuls' 'Extreme Aims' ahead of Ames straw poll

Iowa Caucus// James Q. Lynch

This week, however, the DNC will be highlighting what it calls the GOP candidates' "extreme aims to please the far-right, Tea Party wing of their party and they are following the extreme agenda of congressional Republicans instead of leading - all while the country's future hangs in the balance." To counter the attention the straw poll will give the GOP 2012 hopefuls, the DNC will have a presence on the ground in Iowa beginning on Aug. 11 - the same day as the Republican Party of Iowa/Fox News debate at Iowa State University - which will include DNC Communications Director Brad Woodhouse and Wasserman Schultz, who will arrive Aug. 12, as well as other surrogates. In addition to her state fair visit, Wasserman Schultz will participate in a round-table discussion with Iowans the morning of Aug. 12 in Des Moines. Following her visit to the fair - where it's rumored she will eat something on a stick - Wasserman Schultz will head to Ames to meet with national and local media.

Dems plan weeklong blitz in Iowa to counter GOP straw poll

The Hill// Michael O'Brien

The DNC launched its weeklong blitz, "Extreme Aims: Wrong for Seniors. Wrong for the Middle Class," with a Web video characterizing the different presidential candidates as extremists who would threaten to undo popular social programs. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.), the chairwoman of the DNC, will take that message on the road this week in Iowa ahead of Thursday's GOP presidential debate and Saturday's influential straw poll in Ames. Wasserman Schultz will participate in a roundtable, along with Rep. Leonard Boswell (D-Iowa), organized by the Iowa Democratic Party on Friday. ("Rumor has it she will also eat something fried on a stick," a DNC official said about the chairwoman's trip to Des Moines, from where she'll head to Ames.)

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Politico// Mike Allen

SNEAK PEEK: "Iowa Democratic Party to Host Series of Roundtables On Disastrous GOP Agenda In Advance of GOP Debate, Straw Poll: Participants to include Rep. Leonard Boswell, DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz, local elected officials ... In the lead up to the Republican debate and Straw Poll in Ames, GOP candidates are touting their support for disastrous policies like the Ryan Plan or Cut, Cap & Balance which would slash Social Security and end Medicare as we know it while protecting tax breaks for millionaires and billionaires."

2012: Extreme Aims (get it?)

NBC First Read// Staff Writers

Today, the Democratic National Committee is announcing a campaign -- "Extreme Aims: Wrong for Seniors. Wrong for the Middle Class" - in the build-up to Saturday's Ames Straw Poll. "When it comes to the GOP presidential candidates and what America will hear from them in Ames this week, they have extreme aims to please the far-right, Tea Party wing of their party and they are following the extreme agenda of Congressional Republicans instead of leading," the DNC says in an email. "All this while our country's future hangs in the balance." The New Hampshire Democratic Party gets into the act, too. "Whether it is the candidates' Duck, Dodge, Dismantle proposal, the GOP budget that ends Medicare as we know it or their insistence on keeping tax cuts for corporate jet owners while shifting the burden to working families and seniors, Mitt Romney, Michele Bachmann, Jon Huntsman and Tim Pawlenty are representing an agenda that is far outside the mainstream," NH Dem Party Chairman Ray Buckley plans to say in a memo to reporters. "Most egregiously, almost without exception the GOP presidential candidates would have allowed America to default on its obligations and send our economy into calamity rather than upset their Tea Party base."

Democrats seek to counter Republicans' Iowa blitz

LA Times// Michael A. Memoli

The Democratic National Committee produced a Web video saying the candidates running for the White House are, just like their counterparts in Congress, "offering no new ideas." "Just like Washington Republicans and the tea party, Republican presidential candidates want to end Medicare as we know it, slash funding for education and job creation [and] protect the wealthy, corporate CEOs and big oil," an announcer says. Democratic surrogates, including the party chair, Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Florida, will be on the ground - including a speaking slot on the "soapbox" at the Iowa State Fair.

Democrats launching Iowa campaign

CNN// Paul Steinhauser

From the first Republican presidential debate in two months, to the Iowa State Fair, to a crucial GOP presidential straw poll in Ames, the Hawkeye State will be firmly in the national political spotlight this week. Now, Democrats are trying to get in on some of the action. The Democratic National Committee announced Monday morning that it's launching a campaign to define the Republican presidential candidates as extremists trying to please "the far-right Tea Party wing of their party and they are following the extreme agenda of Congressional Republicans instead of leading." As part of the push, the DNC is putting up a Web video titled "Extreme Aims: Wrong for Seniors. Wrong for the Middle Class." The party committee says to make its case it will put up a website that profiles the records of each GOP candidate. The DNC also promises an "innovative" Twitter campaign and events on the ground in Iowa throughout the week.

The Note: Survivor Iowa: Will This Week Winnow The GOP Presidential Field?

ABC// Michael Falcone

DEMOCRATS' COUNTER-PROGRAMMING. The Democratic National Committee today announced its push-back to the Republicans' week in Iowa. Their theme - "Extreme Aims: Wrong for Seniors. Wrong for the Middle Class." The effort will include a website, a Twitter campaign and on-the-ground events. Today, the DNC launched a Web video featuring sound bytes from all of the major GOP presidential candidates. WATCH: http://bit.ly/oJPyCS. "When it comes to the GOP presidential candidates and what America will hear from them in Ames this week, they have extreme aims to please the far-right, Tea Party wing of their party and they are following the extreme agenda of Congressional Republicans instead of leading," said a statement from the DNC. Also, the Iowa Democratic Party is holding a series of roundtables this week to highlight what they call the "disastrous GOP agenda." The roundtables, which will be held with state representatives throughout Iowa will culminate with an appearance by Rep. Leonard Boswell, D-Iowa, and DNC Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz in Des Moines on Friday.

DNC looks to organize in Iowa ahead of Ames Straw Poll event

Daily Caller// Amanda Carey

The Ames Straw Poll and debate is just days away, but Republican candidates aren't the only ones who are gearing up for the event. The Democrat National Committee (DNC) is looking to sway the conversation in the Hawkeye State, too. On Monday, the DNC released a Web video titled, "Extreme Aims." The goal, according to the release announcing the video, is to define the GOP candidates as ideologically extreme, out to undercut senior citizens and the middle class. The DNC release also blasts the candidates for supporting the House Republican budget "that would end Medicare as we know it and gives more tax giveaways to millionaires, billionaires, and the special interests."

SOURCE Democratic National Committee