“ The assumption is that we have to beat him which we are trying to do , ” Podesta replied . The October 2015 email from Tony Carkk contains a list of the Clinton campaign ’s “ hits ” on Sanders . A conversation between the campaign and the pollsters in February 2016 , after Sanders won New Hampshire discusses contact.discussion.correspondence “ new possible negatives ” to test in the poll , “ since most of our attacks have n't been working . ” One of the ideas is to condemn Sanders for “ socialism ” and say he wants to “ gut America ’s national security . ” In February 2016 , after the Sanders campaign broadcast a TV ad against fracking , the Clinton camp drafted a response painting his proposal as“extreme , unfeasible and ignores the contribution natural gas has made to our economy and our efforts to reduce carbon pollution . ” Also included is an email chain from February 15 , 2016 titled ‘ Pushback on immigration , ’ which shows a request for Ken Salazar , who was the US secretary of the interior from 2009 to 2013 , to write an op - ed to smear Bernie Sanders'"professed support for immigration . "