Tag Archives: Democrats
Move to Center
The president had to fend off angry Democrats after Republicans said “yes” to an extension of the Bush tax cuts. Democrats didn’t come away empty handed. The deal included a 13 month extension of unemployment benefits, a payroll tax reduction and lower income tax credits. No need to fend off voters. According to Gallup two thirds are okay with the deal.
Snub It
Our prickly president has added Frank Caprio, the Democrat running for governor of Rhode Island, to his snub list. Caprio’s opponent is Independent Lincoln Chafee, a serial snubber of his own former party – the Republicans. One such snub was Chafee’s endorsement of Obama in ’08. The President returned the favor on Monday by refusing to endorse Caprio. Hurt and humiliated, Caprio blurted that Obama can “take his endorsement and really shove it“.
Fear not, the unrequited candidate is already on the rebound. Politico reports this morning that Bill Clinton has swooped in with smooth and soothing words of endorsement. Caprio will now be making the rounds with the president the Donkey Party really loves.
The Voters Have Spoken… The Bastards.
Actually, the voters haven’t spoken yet but Rich Lowry, in a column about Democratic leaders’ current contempt for the electorate, remembered that quip from Mo Udall in 1976. President Obama’s quip is that Democrats need to “buck up”. John Dickerson in Slate says this suggests he considers them “ignorant, inattentive, or lazy”. Biden just calls them “whiners”. And John Kerry adds that, “We have an electorate that doesn’t always pay that much attention to what’s going on.” Washington Post columnist Eugene Robinson sums it up this way, “The American people are acting like a bunch of spoiled brats.” All this flattery is nicely covered in Victor Davis Hanson’s column here.
Campaign Slogan Tryouts
Robert Gibbs said Republicans could win the House. Pelosi slammed Gibbs. Joe Biden claimed, “we’re going to win the House and the Senate”. Rep. Bill Pascrell (D., N.J.) felt compelled to announce “…an end to a growing rumor that the president doesn’t want the House, only the Senate, and feels he can get more done with a split Congress…” . Jonathan Weisman and Naftali Bendavid have the story in the WSJ.
