“Well, There Are Certain Things That Government Can Do to Encourage an Economy

Date: January 16, 2012 To: Interested Parties From: Marcia Hale, President Re: New Hampshire & South Carolina Pilot Program-Week 19 Update

With the New Hampshire primary over and the South Carolina primary just six days away, I wanted to provide you with an update of our efforts to promote the infrastructure issue in those two critical states. As you may remember, the purpose of our pilot program is to create an environment for moderates, conservatives and progressives to join together to support infrastructure investments in an era of hyper-deficit sensitivity. I am happy to report that we have made a tremendous impact since we began our New Hampshire campaign in October by: • Growing the coalition from three members at launch to over two-dozen prominent local leaders, including State Senate President Peter Bragdon (R-11), State Senate Transportation Committee Chairman Jim Rausch (R-19), and Concord Mayor Jim Bouley (D) • Conducting over 20 radio interviews, placed four op-eds, and been the subject of eight separate news reports • Directly engaging leading presidential candidates, resulting in statements that publicly affirm their support for infrastructure investments • Growing the number of Facebook followers from zero to over 2,400 in a single month • Inserting the first infrastructure question of the election cycle during a nationally-televised presidential debate We continue to build on New Hampshire’s success as South Carolina is poised to take center stage over the coming days. In the pages that follow, you will find the details of the coalition’s achievements. We have clearly made progress in changing the debate and we have demonstrated that there is bi-partisan support for improving and investing in our infrastructure.

“Well, there are certain things that government can do to encourage an economy. And rebuilding an infrastructure that’s aging is one of those. We had in my state 550 structurally deficient bridges. We’ve got to improve our bridges, improve our roads, improve our rail beds, improve our air transportation system in order to be competitive…” (Mitt Romney, ABC News/Yahoo!/WMUR New Hampshire GOP Debate, 01/07/12)

“… Let’s stick with infrastructure then, because I think it’s a very big, very important topic. You cannot compete with China in the long run if you have an inferior infrastructure. You’ve got to move to a twenty first century model. That means you’ve got to be -- you’ve got to be technologically smart and you have to make investments…” (Newt Gingrich, ABC News/Yahoo!/WMUR New Hampshire GOP Debate, 01/07/12) TABLE OF CONTENTS: Opinion Survey Research p. 1 Coalition Members p. 2-3 Earned Media p. 4-6 Social Media p. 7 Television Advertising p. 8-9 Intercepts p. 10-12 Open Letter p. 13

2 OPINION SURVEY In September and October, we conducted four focus groups in Manchester, New Hampshire, and Charleston, South Carolina, among RESEARCH: “2012 Republican Primary Election Likely Voters” and then fielded statewide surveys in both states among the same populations. The conclusion we came to from our research is that voters are open to infrastructure spending, and even increased infrastructure spending, if it is coupled with reforms – the most important being increased accountability. The issue needs to be localized to voters and billed as a collaborative effort between federal, state,and local governments – along with the private sector – to accomplish these reforms.

Our challenge is: 1) To convince voters that a real reform agenda exists on infrastructure spending. 2) To convince voters that opposing reform-oriented infrastructure is bad politics.

Quite dramatically, our research in New Hampshire and South Carolina shows we can achieve these goals. In thinking about the economy and infrastructure, a simple formula explains voter perspective:

Strategic Planning + Smart/Innovative Infrastructure Strengthened Economy

The key is positioning the message around reform – and then driving home that sentiment through the legs of the message.

How? Transparency, accountability in cost overruns, planning, on-time performance, and consequences for failure to deliver. What? Innovative infrastructure that is built to last. Who? The private and public sectors working together.

These elements combine to make support for infrastructure very powerful.

1 NEW HAMPSHIRE In implementing our strategy to make infrastructure more palatable to conservatives, we assembled a diverse, bi-partisan COALITION coalition of influential leaders in each of our pilot states. In MEMBERS: New Hampshire, this meant signing on Senate President Peter Bragdon as our co-chairman early in the process and using his stature to recruit others. We also enlisted Concord Mayor Jim Bouley and State Representative Sherman Packard to pen letters to their colleagues asking them to support the coalition and its goals.

Infrastructure spending has been mired in pork for too long; the results of which we see every day on the unsafe bridges and crumbling roads we drive on. We need to change this system now and make “spending choices based on need not political favors.” – Rockingham County Sheriff Mike Downing, BAF-New Hampshire Coalition Member

State Senator Peter Bragdon, Senate President (R-11), Councilor Ray Burton (District 1), Executive Council BAF-New Hampshire Coalition Co-Chair of the State of New Hampshire Garth Corriveau, Manchester Alderman, Councilor Dan St. Hilaire (District 2), BAF-New Hampshire Coalition Co-Chair (D) Executive Council of the State of New Hampshire Kevin Smith, GOP Gubernatorial Candidate Chairman John Lyons, New Hampshire State Board State Senator Chuck Morse (R-22), Senate Finance of Education Committee Chair Chairman Maureen Barrows, Rockingham County Commissioner State Senator Jim Rausch (R-19), Senate Transportation Rockingham County Sheriff Mike Downing (R) Committee Chair Hillsborough County Sheriff Jim Hardy (R) State Senator John Gallus (R-1) Tony Giunta, President/CEO of American Energy State Senator Bob Odell (R-8) Independence Company State Senator Gary Lambert (R-13) Former State Senator Bob Letourneau (R) Strong infrastructure in New Hampshire will State Representative Candace Bouchard (D-11) improve our neighbor’s safety, support local State Representative John Cloutier (D-4) “ businesses and commerce, increase global competition and help create jobs. Building State Representative Sherman Packard (R-3) America’s Future understands that the first step State Representative Norman Major (R-8) to rebuilding our aging infrastructure is to State Representative John Graham (R-18) demand reforms and increase accountability.” State Representative Kathleen Stroud (R-19) - New Hampshire State Senate President Peter Mayor Jim Bouley (D), Concord Bragdon (R-11), BAF-New Hampshire Mayor Paul Grenier (R), Berlin Coalition Co-Chair Town Councilor Bill Boyd (R), Merrimack

2 SOUTH CAROLINA In South Carolina, where the Charleston port is a keystone to the state’s economy, we recruited leaders, including COALITION state senate Transportation Committee Chairman Larry Grooms MEMBERS: (R-37) and Charleston Mayor Joe Riley Jr. (D).

We are here to support reform measures and a robust long-term infrastructure package that will generate economic growth locally and make us more competitive globally…I am proud of the work our port has undertaken“ to remain competitive and I’m proud of the work we’ve been doing here in Charleston. But the time for a long-term national plan has come; federal policymakers from both parties need to make this a priority.” - Charleston Mayor Joe“ Riley Jr., BAF-South Carolina Steering Committee Member.

State Senator Larry Grooms (R-37), Brad Dean, President/CEO, Myrtle Beach Senate Transportation Committee Chair Area Chamber of Commerce State Representative Kenny Bingham (R-89), Scott Fant, Vice President, Sloan Construction House Majority Leader Jake Rasor, President, Whitefords, Inc. State Representative Alan Clemmons (R-107) Allison Dean Love, Principal, ADL Consulting State Representative Bill Herbkersman (R-118) Marty McKee, Vice President, Thrift Development Corp. State Representative Gary Simrill (R-46) Randy Snow, Vice President, United Infrastructure Group, Inc. State Representative Murrell Smith (R-67) Mark Ashmore, President, Ashmore Bros. State Representative Leon Stravrinakis (D-119) American Automobile Association Carolinas State Representative Rick Quinn (R-69) State Representative James Smith (D-72) From BMW in the Upstate to our port in the State Representative Chip Huggins (R-85) Lowcountry, infrastructure is the lifeblood that Mayor Joe Riley Jr., (D), Charleston “ keeps South Carolina’s employers growing. For too long, Washington has fought about the best Mayor Steve Benjamin (D), Columbia way to fix our economy while wasting time Mayor Bobby Horton (NP), West Columbia and money through misguided earmarks and Mayor Randy Halfacre (R), Lexington short-sighted spending. It is time to attack Mayor Joseph McElveen (D), Sumter the challenges facing our port and the issues Mayor Billy Swails (R), Mt. Pleasant surrounding our crumbling bridges and unsafe roadways with a long-term strategy that Lewis Gossett, President/CEO, invests our infrastructure dollars in an accountable SC Manufacturers Alliance and transparent way.” John Hassell, Vice Chairman, SC State Ports Authority Board – South Carolina House Majority Leader Kenny Bingham (R-89)

3 NEW HAMPSHIRE EARNED MEDIA SUMMARY:

• Opinion-editorials in Nashua Telegraph and Concord Monitor • Stories in the Union Leader, Concord Monitor, Lobby New Hampshire, the Lawrence Eagle-Tribune, and New Hampshire Journal • Mulitple radio hits on all of the talk radio stations in New Hampshire: WKXL, WGIR, WKBK, WTPL • 16 radio hits as part of the New Hampshire’s primary radio row: five on New Hampshire stations, five on nationally synidcated the shows, and six on other local shows from around the country • Television hits on the only local news station in the state, WMUR-TV

“Republican presidential candidates address infrastructure issues at ABC News/Yahoo!/WMUR New Hampshire Republican Debate” “At the January 7th ABC News republican presidential debate at Saint Anselm College in Manchester, the candidates were asked their thoughts on infrastructure investments. WMUR’s Josh McElveen asked, ‘Infrastructure. With the increasing demands on our roads and bridges, and the aging roads and bridges, how committed would you be… to invest -- not so much as a stimulus package, but a true economic growth package on our infrastructure?’” (ABC News/Yahoo!/WMUR, 1/7/12)

Daily circulation 20,107 “Poor roads hurting the economy” “Infrastructure is the right kind of investment for government to make. It leverages the power and dollars of private partners, pays huge dividends in job creation and allows an economy to grow. Investing in our national network of highways and our rail system earlier in our history is what allowed businesses to thrive here.” (Sherman Packard, “Poor roads hurting the economy”, Concord Monitor, 12/29/11)

Daily circulation 48,342 NH Senate President Warns of Infrastructure Crisis “New Hampshire’s infrastructure, like many across the country, is in need of a makeover that will improve safety, quality of life, and the state’s ability to remain competitive in attracting new businesses and jobs. Over $38 billion in goods made in New Hampshire are transported annually over the highway system...If we need to get people back to work we need to create an environment where business can succeed.” (Julie Hanson, “New Hampshire Senate President Warns of Infrastructure Crisis”, Union Leader, 12/10/11)

4 CONTINUED NEW HAMPSHIRE EARNED MEDIA SUMMARY:

Daily circulation 48,342 I-93 Becomes Presidential Primary Issue “A national leader of a bipartisan coalition advocating investment in the nation’s infrastructure brought the Interstate 93 widening into the presidential primary campaign yesterday. A newly formed New Hampshire chapter has the support of state Sens. Chuck Morse of Salem and Jim Rausch of Derry, as well as former state Sen. Bob Letourneau of Derry. Letourneau is concerned about the I-93 funding. ‘I-93 is too important to business not to finish the job,’ Letourneau said. ‘You can’t get business to operate if they can’t move their products in, out and around.” (John Toole, “I-93 Becomes Presidential Primary Issue”, Lawrence Eagle Tribune, 11/17/11)

5 SOUTH CAROLINA EARNED MEDIA SUMMARY:

• Stories in the Post and Courier, FITS News, The State, Palmetto Morning, South Carolina Business Blog, and Charleston Business Journal • Television hits on WIS and WCBD • Radio hits on the podcast Pub Politics and South Carolina Radio Network, which feeds to 30 radio stations across the state

Daily circulation of 86,084 Coalition to Petition for Road Funding Changes If South Carolina and the rest of the country are to remain viable on the world stage, Wash- ington needs to develop a long-term strategy toward repairing our highways, ports and other facilities and services necessary for economic production, a new organization of state and business leaders says.” (Yvonne Wagner, “Coalition to petition for road funding changes,” Post and Courier, 10/27/11)

Over 70,000 visitors per month On Infrastructure “‘We don’t look at infrastructure investment as being a “stimulus,” that’s a short sighted objective,’ [Mesa, AZ Mayor Scott] Smith said of [Building America’s Future]’s focus. ‘We’re looking at long term investment and long term planning.’” (Will Folks, “On Infrastructure”, Fitsnews.com, 10/27/11)

Over 12,000 viewers Port, Business Leaders Call for Infrastructure Strategy State Senator Larry Grooms: “South Carolina helps elect presidents and it’s high time that South Carolina stood up and said what we want to hear. It’s time for the candidates to tell us what they will do to insure our future.” (State Senator Larry Grooms, BAF-South Carolina Coalition Member, “News 2 at 5”, WCBD, 12/14/11)

6 NEW HAMPSHIRE AND SOUTH CAROLINA FACEBOOK:

In coordination with our New Hampshire television buy, we increased our presence and activity on Facebook. As a result of this effort, we have seen a significant increase in the size of our followers and have begun to reach a critical mass, which has created synergy in this social media space and is increasing our percentage of organic “likes”.

New Hampshire South Carolina

1 Month Growth Data Analysis of 1 Month Growth Data Analysis of Facebook Likes Facebook Likes

7 NEW HAMPSHIRE TELEVISION ADVERTISING: Buy Specifics: • Three week Manchester, New Hampshire buy ran on WMUR and local cable (NECN, CNN, MSNBC, and FOX News) from December 1–21, 2011. • Ads were targeted towards adults 35+, and programming includes daytime and news shows, including Sunday news programming.

Script: WIFE: You are so stubborn… I mean, come on, admit it. HUSBAND: No, we don’t need to spend more money [THEY HIT A BUMP/POTHOLE] on roads and bridges. WIFE: [BUMP] Really? HUSBAND: Really. [BUMP] WIFE: What if we do it right – [BUMP] build it to last, base it on a real plan, not earmarks, and stop sticking taxpayers with cost overruns. HUSBAND: If someone did that, I’m for spending more. [BUMP] WIFE: Great. So now admit we’re lost and ask for directions. ANNOUNCER: Done right, we can build America’s future. Visual: Reform. Renew. Rebuild. NEW HAMPSHIRE TV ADVERTISING IN THE NEWS:

15,000 daily visits Infrastructure Group Airs TV Ads Aimed at Presidential Candidates “For the first time in the 2012 New Hampshire presidential primary campaign, a national organization has launched a television advertising campaign in New Hampshire aimed at influencing candidates on the issue of infrastructure…Building America’s Future is the only group with a local organization in New Hampshire and they are now advertising more heavily than 7 of the 9 major presidential candidates.” (Sean Millerick, “Infrastructure Group Airs TV Ads Aimed at Presidential Candidates,” NHJournal.com, 12/01/11)

100,000 nightly viewers News 9 Day Break “A new ad campaign targets poor roads and bridges across the state. The ad is from the national bi-partisan group Building America’s Future which promotes fixing the country’s infrastructure through straightforward funding rather than earmarks.” (WMUR, “News 9 Day Break,” 12/7/11)

8 SOUTH CAROLINA TELEVISION ADVERTISING: Buy Specifics: • One week Charleston, South Carolina buy running on local news programming (WCIV, WCSC, WTAT, WCBD) and local cable (CNN, MSNBC, and FOX News) from January 10-16, 2012. • Ads are targeted towards adults 35+ and programming includes daytime and news shows.

SOUTH CAROLINA TV ADVERTISING IN THE NEWS:

Group tries to draw road building interest in ads “Building America’s Future said Monday it would be spend about $75,000 on television and radio ads around the state in the days leading up to South Carolina’s Jan. 21 primary to talk up the need for fixing roads, bridges and ports…The group says GOP candidates support more infrastructure money if there are spending reforms, accountability and more openness. The ad features a husband and wife driving down a road with potholes.” (“Group tries to draw road building interest in ads,” Associated Press, 01/09/12)

This story was picked up in the Columbia and Myrtle Beach media markets by: WLTX, WOLO, WMBF

(“News 19 at 6”, WLTX, 01/09/12) (“America This Morning”,WOLO, 01/10/12) (“News Today”, WMBF, 01/10/12)

9 NEW HAMPSHIRE Publicly and privately engaging presidential candidates elevates infrastructure issues to a front page story in key primary states. In INTERCEPTS: New Hampshire, where all candidates are under the most powerful microscope, we engaged GOP frontrunner Mitt Romney.

Debate Intercept: “Republican presidential candidates address infrastructure issues at ABC News debate” At the January 7th ABC News republican presidential debate at Saint Anselm College in Manchester, the candidates were asked their thoughts on infrastructure investments. WMUR’s Josh McElveen asked, “Infrastructure. With the increasing demands on our roads and bridges, and the aging roads and bridges, how committed would you be… to invest -- not so much as a stimulus package, but a true economic growth package on our infrastructure?” Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney and Former Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Newt Gingrich responded to this question by saying: “Well, there are certain things that government can do to encourage an economy. And rebuilding an infrastructure that’s aging is one of those. We had in my state 550 structurally deficient bridges. We’ve got to improve our bridges, improve our roads, improve our rail beds, improve our air transportation system in order to be competitive…” Former Governor Mitt Romney (Mitt Romney, ABC News/Yahoo!/WMUR New Hampshire GOP Debate, 01/07/12) (R-Massachusetts) “… Let’s stick with infrastructure then, because I think it’s a very big, very important topic. You cannot compete with China in the long run if you have an inferior infrastructure. You’ve got to move to a twenty first century model. That means you’ve got to be -- you’ve got to be technologically smart and you have to make investments…” Former Speaker of the U.S. House (Newt Gingrich, ABC News/Yahoo!/WMUR New Hampshire GOP Debate, 01/07/12) of Representatives Newt Gingrich (R-Georgia)

Presidential Intercept: Former Governor Mitt Romney (R-Massachusetts) On December 11th, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney appeared at the “We the People” town hall event in Hudson, New Hampshire. At that event he was asked by a Building America’s Future – New Hampshire member, “As President, if you are faced with fixing a problem by spending on one hand, and spending reduction on the other, how will you address our nation’s infrastructure?” To which he responded, “We are going to have to make an investment to repair our bridges, our roads and have a specific dedicated revenue stream of some kind paying back those costs. Because we can’t have a highway system that makes it almost impossible for our commerce to occur on an effective basis…. I believe we do need to invest more in our basic infrastructure.”

Intercept In The News: “Romney Visits Hudson For Town Hall Meeting”, WMUR-TV “…Romney took questions for almost an hour. Topics included roads bridges. He said he would repair them because it’s essential to maintain commerce.” (Mitt Romney, “We the People” Town Hall, Hudson, New Hampshire, 12/11/11)

10 CONTINUED NEW HAMPSHIRE INTERCEPTS

Congressional Intercept: U.S. Senator Kelly Ayotte (R-New Hampshire) At an October 26th Hillsborough County town hall, Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R) was asked by Building America’s Future - New Hampshire member and Town of Rye Public Works Director Dennis McCarthy about the importance of infrastructure.

“Ayotte says voters must hold Congress to task on budget”, Intercept In The News: Lawrence Eagle Tribune “…The audience was mostly supportive of Ayotte, though Dennis McCarthy of Salem questioned her over a vote against infrastructure investment…Ayotte said she would support responsible infrastructure spending, but had reservations over the President’s inclusion of money for high-speed rail.” (John Toole, “Ayotte Says Voters Must Hold Congress to Task On Budget,” Lawrence Eagle Tribune, 10/27/11)

11 SOUTH CAROLINA Publicly and privately engaging presidential candidates elevates infrastructure issues to a front page story in key primary states. INTERCEPTS: In South Carolina, where most of the candidates have a campaign organization, we have been able to put most of the GOP frontrunners on the record supporting infrastructure investment. Presidential Intercepts: Former Governor Mitt Romney (R-Massachusetts) On December 17th, at a town hall sponsored by Congressman Tim Scott (R-1) Governor Romney was asked about his position on investing in infrastructure to which he responded. “I recognize that America has to compete, and for us to compete and have good jobs we need to have good infrastructure. And I’ll stand behind, by the way, the decision as to which ports to dredge and which rail lines to improve and which highways to get upgraded. That’s a decision that should be based upon analysis of need and a potential for return and opportunity, not based upon politics. You gotta (sic) get politics out of the plan first.” (Mitt Romney, Tim Scott’s Charleston Town Hall, Charleston, SC, 12/17/11) Former Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Newt Gingrich (R-Georgia) On November 28th BAF-South Carolina member state senator Larry Grooms (R-37) met with Speaker Gingrich. In that meeting, Sen. Grooms briefed the Speaker on how important infrastructure is to South Carolina voters. As a result of this briefing, Speaker Gingrich began to include positive infrastructure and port language in his South Carolina stump speech. The first evidence of this occured later during a town hall meeting sponsored by Congressman Tim Scott (R-1). Speaker Gingrich said, “I’d like to see a sustainable part of that money go to modernize the port of Charleston and I’d like to see the corp’s of engineers modernize and stream line to get the job done in the most rapid possible time so we can actually have the port ready by the time the Panama Canal is ready so the largest ships carrying freight could come right here.” (CNN, “Tim Scott Town Hall,” 11/28/11) Former Governor Jon Huntsman (R-Utah) On December 3rd, BAF-South Carolina member and South Carolina state senator Rick Quinn (R-69) discussed the importance of the Charleston Port to the state’s economy with Gov. Huntsman. Following that conversation, the Huntsman campaign inserted the following language into his South Carolina stump speech, “The South Carolina port and other ports around the country are key to our economic future. We need a president who is committed to growing and building that infrastructure to compete in our global economy.” U.S. Representative Michele Bachmann (R-Minnesota) Following the November 17th open letter that BAF-South Carolina sent to all of the GOP presidential candidates and ran on fitsnews.com, Sheri Few, Michelle Bachmann’s South Carolina State Director, reached out to our local team. The team gave her a brochure and encouraged the campaign to have Rep. Bachmann discuss infrastructure issues on the campaign trail. Governor Rick Perry(R-Texas) On December 8th, BAF-South Carolina member, member of Governor Perry’s South Carolina campaign team, and South Carolina state senator Grooms, met with Governor Perry personally to encourage him to discuss port and infrastructure issues.

12 SOUTH CAROLINA COALTION OPEN LETTER TO PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES:

13 Prepared by

Contact Information www.bafuture.org Building America’s Future Educational Fund 1301 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Suite 350 Washington, DC 20004

Marcia Hale, President [email protected], Phone: 202-624-5924

Kerry O’Hare, Vice President, Director of Policy: [email protected], Phone: 202-624-5924

Project of Building America’s Future Educational Fund