Michelle Obama Goes Out on Campaign Trail to Help Democrats
Steve Malzberg gives his take on Michelle Obama going out on the campaign trail to help Democrats.
By: NewsmaxTV
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Michelle Obama Goes Out on Campaign Trail to Help Democrats - Video
Laura Ingraham: Democrats Want to Keep Black People on Their Plantation
Laura Ingraham went off on the Democratic Party for attacking any African-American who isn #39;t on their liberal plantation and has a different view of the world than what Democrats want...
By: TheRedEye
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Laura Ingraham: Democrats Want to Keep Black People on Their Plantation - Video
October 29, 2014, 4:26 PM Last updated: Wednesday, October 29, 2014, 4:26 PM
AP FILE PHOTO
The dome of the Capitol is reflected in a skylight of the Capitol Visitor's Center in Washington.
WASHINGTON Desperate Democrats are scrambling to save suddenly vulnerable House incumbents, even in states where President Barack Obama cruised to double-digit victories, amid fresh signs of Republican momentum less than a week before the midterm elections.
The once friendly terrain of New York, California, Obama's native state of Hawaii and adopted state of Illinois all now pose stiff challenges to Democrats who are determined to limit their losses next Tuesday. Both parties agree that the GOP will hold its House majority; the question is whether Republicans can gain enough seats to rival their post-World War II high water mark of 246.
The current breakdown is 233-199 in favor of the Republicans with three vacancies.
In a clear sign of Democratic woes, Vice President Joe Biden was heading to Massachusetts on Wednesday for a rally with Seth Moulton, who is trying to hold onto a Democratic seat against Republican Richard Tisei. Then Biden was traveling to California on Saturday to campaign in an open-seat contest east of Los Angeles that surprisingly looks closer than a sure-fire Democratic gain.
"Heck, it's been so long since a Republican was elected to the Congress in Massachusetts, most Republicans don't know how to spell Massachusetts," joked Rep. Greg Walden of Oregon, chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee. He said the GOP is spending 78 percent of its independent money in districts that Obama won.
National Democrats are coordinating with local campaigns in Nevada, Hawaii and California in hopes of holding seats.
In one example, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has bought $99,000 in radio ads for eight-term Rep. Lois Capps in her Santa Barbara-area race against Chris Mitchum, the son of the late actor Robert Mitchum. The GOP candidate has relatively little money still on hand for his campaign $96,108 but the contest is considered close.
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Democrats rush to save suddenly vulnerable incumbents
Running away from an unpopular president of your own party is a time-honored tactic in midterm elections. The problem is that it rarely works.
That is even truer than usual for the current crop of endangered Senate Democrats. Their efforts to distance themselves from President Obamas record rather than defend it has become a source of friction with the White House.
Ive always believed that its not an effective strategy to run against a president of your own party, unless youve been actively opposed to that president, said David Axelrod, who was Obamas top political strategist in his two presidential campaigns and a senior adviser in his White House. Youre going to get tagged with it anyway.
With so many Democrats trying to suggest a distance from Obama that doesnt exist, Axelrod added, its natural for the president and his team to be a little frustrated.
Another senior Democrat who advises the White House, speaking on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter, said the current feeling among Obama and his aides is exasperation.
He doesnt think they have any reason to run away from him, the adviser said. He thinks there is a strong message there.
The president has hinted at the tension in recent remarks. Make no mistake, these policies are on the ballot, every single one of them, Obama said earlier this month. He restated the obvious a few weeks later in a radio interview when he said of the Democratic senators who are struggling this year: The bottom line is ... these are all folks who vote with me; they have supported my agenda in Congress.
Those comments spawned a barrage of Republican attack ads and a bout of frustration with Obama among Democrats at the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue. Even Axelrod deemed the first one a mistake, telling NBCs Meet the Press, I wouldnt put that line in there.
But a new issue of Congressional Quarterly brings fresh evidence that Senate Democrats have maintained a tight formation behind the president, even as his approval ratings have sunk. It analyzed the 120 Senate votes on which Obama has urged a yes or no this year, and found that the most vulnerable Democrats stood behind him a minimum of 96percent of the time.
Those kinds of numbers have become standard fare in Republican ads and speeches, but they stand in contrast to the Democrats own campaign rhetoric. Colorados Mark Udall (99percent support, by CQs count) has said that he is the last person they want to see coming at the White House, while Alaskas Mark Begich (98percent) has described himself as a thorn in [Obamas posterior]. Theres times when Im a total thorn, you know, and he doesnt appreciate it.
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Can Democrats hold the Senate by running away from Obama and their own records?
Dialing for dollars: House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, Democrat of California
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) Attention, Democratic lawmakers: Your party needs money for the midterms.
Thats what Nancy Pelosi, the House minority leader, told colleagues on Tuesday, according to Politico. She said theres an urgent need to give money to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee in the final days before next weeks elections. Politico reported on a caucus-wide, members-only conference call in which Pelosi and DCCC Chairman Steve Israel stressed members needed to quickly pay their party dues so Democrats would have cash for last-minute ads and get-out-the-vote programs.
Pelosi and John Boehner, the House speaker, are both hitting the road this week for the home stretch before the midterms, National Journal writes. Boehner, the Ohio Republican, will be in West Virginia on Wednesday to campaign for state Sen. Evan Jenkins in his bid to unseat Democrat Rep. Nick Rahall. Boehner was in Illinois on Tuesday, campaigning for state Rep. Mike Bost. Pelosi will be in her hometown of San Francisco on Thursday for a gathering of major donors. Her staff said she may also travel to Florida, New York and Puerto Rico before Tuesdays elections.
Clinton in Colorado: Democrats are pulling out all the stops, including appearances by former President Bill Clinton, in their uphill battle to keep the Colorado governors mansion and one of the states two Senate seats. USA Today writes President Barack Obamas unpopularity is weighing down both Gov. John Hickenlooper and Sen. Mark Udall. Clinton appeared at Denver-area rallies Monday night and Tuesday morning, calling on voters to reject Republicans and keep the Democrats in office. Last week, a USA Today/Suffolk University poll showed Republican Cory Gardner leading Udall 46% to 39%.
Reconsidering reconciliation: Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said Tuesday it would take 60 votes in the Senate to repeal Obamacare, despite previously suggesting the law could be erased with a simple majority. McConnell, a Kentucky Republican who will be majority leader if the GOP wins the Senate, previously suggested the so-called reconciliation process could be used to repeal Obamacare. That process requires just 51 votes. McConnell said no one thinks President Obama would sign full repeal. But, as the Hill reports, McConnell did say the GOP will adopt a piecemeal approach to rolling back the law if Republicans win the majority. He listed the individual mandate to buy insurance and the medical-device tax as targets.
Shift for business groups: The Wall Street Journal reports business groups gave more money to Republican candidates than to Democrats in seven of the most competitive Senate races in recent months. Thats a significant shift, the Journal explains. Political-action committees created by businesses had given 61% of their donations in those races to Democrats this election cycle through June. That reversed in the closing months of the campaign, with just 42% going to Democrats and 58% to Republicans in the July-to-September quarter, according to a Journal analysis of Federal Election Commission filings.
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Capitol Report: Democrats have urgent need for cash, Nancy Pelosi says