Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton’s campaign manager Robby Mook suggested that branding Republicans as “bigoted and extreme” was in the long-term interest of the campaign, according to hacked emails released by WikiLeaks.
“I think we should just be clear about exactly what news we want to make,” Mook wrote as part of a June 2015 email chain between campaign staff discussing how to respond to Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush’s attacks on Clinton.
“Personally, I think branding the GOP as bigoted and extreme is more in line with our bigger picture, long term goals, so I would favor sticking with asking why they didn’t speak out against what trump,” Mook said.
Clinton staffers were discussing ways to push back against Bush’s using of religious liberty to attack the former secretary of state. Bush specifically attacked Clinton for saying if religious groups oppose progressive policies their beliefs “have to be changed.”
Staffers argued Clinton was talking about religious groups in countries, like Afghanistan, where women are oppressed, and dedicated hours to figuring out how to hit back at Bush.
“Are there any women in Iowa who might be willing to push back on this—she was talking about some pretty horrible things here. And more importantly, what is Iowa’s take on raising the volume on this in Iowa, or would you like it to happen on a more national level?” Clinton aide Christina Reynolds wrote.
“[T]he first time HRC directly responds in person to Jeb, she really has to nail it and he crowd needs to respond well. I don’t think he crowd is going to get it in Charleston,” Clinton communications director Jennifer Palmieri wrote. “Think there is an easier way to build it into NALEO.”
NALEO is the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials, which is an advocacy group for Latino lawmakers and bureaucrats.
The campaign was also concerned about how their stance on religious practices would play in Muslim communities.
“I talked this over with John and he made good point that we need to work to get this into the Muslim space – meaning that we need to make clear that she is talking about groups like Boko Haram that prevent Islam to use as cover for barbaric practices,” Palmieri added.
“So think our language needs work to make that clear – like specifically name check groups that do these kinds of practices so it is clear who we are talking about. Maybe do a ‘catalog of sins,’ as Mandy calls it,” she wrote.
WikiLeaks has released thousands of emails from Clinton campaign manager John Podesta’s Gmail account that give an inside look at how the Clinton campaign has been run. Some emails even included the transcripts of paid speeches Clinton gave to Wall Street bankers the campaign had refused to release.
The Clinton campaign, however, has not confirmed the authenticity of all the emails, and instead has claimed to be victims of Russian hackers trying to swing the election in Trump’s favor.
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