Mediaboss Marketing

With Election Day drawing near, the countrys most influential Democrat is finally weighing in on the midterm elections. But the big question for some worried Democrats is whether President Obama could do them more harm than good.

On Tuesday, Republicans were celebrating what they saw was a political gift from Obama in the form of sound bite perfect for an anti-Democratic attack ad. Obama told the Rev. Al Sharpton that even vulnerable Democrats trying to keep their distance from him are all folks who vote with me. They have supported my agenda in Congress.

The remark seemed to undercut the efforts of many embattled Democrats to distance themselves from an unpopular president. It was the second time this month that Obama has put himself front and center in the midterm debate, giving Republicans a quote to tie himself to Democrats who are trying hard to keep their distance.

Already despairing about their midterm prospects, some Democrats say they are not happy with the approach Obama took with Sharpton.

If this is a strategy, its not one that was devised with any input from Senate leadership, said one senior Democratic Senate aide, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to talk freely about his partys troubles.

The White House stressed Tuesday that Obama has been supporting Democratic candidates all along behind the scenes. He has headlined dozens of fundrasiers and provided logistical and tactical support from his 2012 campaign. And he has been key to motivating party base voters ahead of the Nov.4 election.

Democrats who are running in red states, blue states and in so-called purple states are going to need the strong support of those voters who supported the president in his reelection campaign, said White House press secretary Josh Earnest.

But Democrats on Capitol Hill worry privately that Obamas remarks will complicate the final leg of the campaign, which is shaping up as an uphill climb for the party. Senior Senate aides said Tuesday that Senate Democratic leaders never asked the White House for Obamas help in explaining the difficulty some Democrats have in being too closely associated with him, and they said that his remarks were not part of any coordinated effort to gin up turnout among young and minority voters, who have been less eager to vote in midterm elections.

Obama told Sharpton on Tuesday that he sees his job as getting out his base in that case, African American voters.

These are folks who are strong allies and supporters of me, Obama told Sharpton of the candidates that are telling him to stay away. I tell them I said, you do what you need to do to win. I will be responsible for making sure that our voters turn out.

Original post:
Some Democrats worry about whether Obamas campaigning will help or hurt

These are hard and emotional times for Arkansas Democrats. They are fighting for their political lives.

Theyre not going against the grain; theyre trying to climb against an avalanche, one by which utter disdain for Barack Obama crashes hard on top of their heads.

Arkansas Republicans tried for decades to build their party in Arkansas. And now Obama has done it for them in four years, from 2010 until now.

Yet Arkansas Democrats nobly trudge onward, which is not to say upward.

They always have Bill Clinton. But hes getting a tad shop-worn, coming around weekly for the same visual presentation and message. A world statesman doing his politicking in a global context cant quite preach fire and brimstone the way Clinton used to preach it against Frank White.

At this stage of life, Clinton on the Arkansas campaign trail is a rarefied figure trying to impose himself on a pedestrian game.

Beyond that, Clinton tends to remind independent voters that they liked him and the state of affairs when he was president, but that they certainly dont like the guy in office now or the state of affairs currently.

A leading Arkansas Democrat told me over the phone the other day that the future of the Arkansas Democratic Party was well, in my hands, he said.

He said that if if I kept writing that the Democrats were in big trouble, likely to lose, then it would sap the vital energy the party needs for its best shot, which is to drive an unprecedented midterm turnout of Democratic voters.

He said that a U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton and a Gov. Asa Hutchinson would be my fault.

See more here:
Dwindling Democrats

IMMIGRATION REFORM - UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT SUPPORTS SLAVE LABOR
IMMIGRATION REFORM - UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT SUPPORTS SLAVE LABOR. NEWS. Immigration, some legal some ILLEGAL are entering into agreements with special recruiters that lie to ...

By: FreedomForceUSA

See original here:
IMMIGRATION REFORM - UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT SUPPORTS SLAVE LABOR - Video

To the editor: It took African Americans hundreds of years to gain their freedom. Still, to this day, young blacks are gunned down for walking down the street, playing music too loud or simply for asking for assistance. Legislation does not end the struggle. ("Latinos, angry with Obama, may sit out midterm vote, hurting Democrats," Oct. 20)

I understand the frustration that many Latinos feel with the perceived inaction of this president; his hands are tied. But if Latinos do not turn out in November, immigration reform would be dead on arrival with an anti-immigrant GOP controlling the Senate and the House.

If African Americans can wait, suffer and struggle for centuries, certainly others can do the same for another few weeks or months. Vote because it is always darkest just before the dawn.

Eugene Sison, San Dimas

..

To the editor: What immediately came to mind reading this article was the saying "cut off one's nose to spite one's face." It seems to me that's what the Latinos in this article are threatening to do in November. A minority voter staying home on election day is a vote for a Republican.

Weighing which party has best treated Latinos, there is no contest. Last year, the Democrat-controlled Senate passed comprehensive immigration reform, while the Republican-controlled House did nothing.

President Obama has used his executive authority to implement several pro-immigrant measures. Could he have done more? Sure. But would Latinos be better off with Republicans controlling both houses of Congress? Not a chance.

Gale Poppen, Ridgecrest, Calif.

Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion

Read more from the original source:
Immigration inaction shouldn't keep Latinos from voting

WASHINGTON (AP) The Homeland Security Department appears to be preparing for an increase in the number of immigrants applying for work permits after President Barack Obama announces his long-promised plans for executive actions on immigration reform later this year.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services confirmed to The Associated Press that it has published a draft contract proposal to buy the card stock needed to make work permits and Permanent Resident Cards, more commonly known as green cards. The proposal calls for providing material for at least 5 million cards a year, with as many as 9 million "during the initial period ... to support possible future immigration reform initiative requirements." The contract calls for as many 34 million cards over five years.

USCIS, the Homeland Security agency that oversees immigration benefits, produces about 3 million work permits and Green Cards annually, so the new contract would at least provide the Obama administration with the flexibility to issue far more work permits or green cards even if it chose not to exercise that option.

USCIS spokesman Christopher Bentley described the proposal posted earlier this month a routine contract solicitation.

"Solicitations of this nature are frequent practice," Bentley said. He said the number of immigration applications can rise "for any number of any reasons."

The contract proposal was first reported by the online news site Breitbart.com.

Obama said earlier this year that he would act on his own if Congress failed to pass immigration legislation. He has twice delayed making any changes, saying as recently as last month that he would hold off on executive actions until after November's midterm elections.

The administration has repeatedly declined to say what options Obama was considering, but it is widely believed that he will expand protections from deportation already extended to more than 500,000 young immigrants who came to the United States as children. Under that program, known as Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, many young immigrants who are in school or who have graduated and don't have a criminal record can win protection from deportation for up to two years. They are also eligible for work permits.

The president does not have the legal authority to unilaterally offer immigrants in the country illegally green cards or any other permanent immigration status. But administration officials have said the president can authorize protection from deportation for immigrants on a case-by-case basis, such as with the DACA program, and issue work permits.

USCIS Director Leon Rodriguez told an audience at a Georgetown University Law Center conference Tuesday that his agency was ready for whatever immigration changes Obama may announce. He declined to provide details.

Here is the original post:
Gov't Ordering Supplies for More Immigration Documents