Here are some quotes from unnamed (and you’ll understand why in a moment) Obama administration officials after Blanche Lincoln defeated Bill Halter in the Arkansas Democratic Primary last night, eliminating the Dems’ best chance to retain the seat in November:
Shortly after Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.) emerged victorious, an anonymous White House aide began spreading word that the President Obama’s political team thought that the money unions had spent on Halter’s candidacy was a massive waste and damaging to the party.
“Organized labor just flushed $10 million of their members’ money down the toiled on a pointless exercise,” the unnamed official said to Politico’s Ben Smith. “If even half that total had been well-targeted and applied in key House races across this country, that could have made a real difference in November.”
Another senior Democrat (who also would not be quoted by name) echoed the point in an exchange with the Huffington Post. “Labor is humiliated,” the source said. “$10 million flushed down the toilet at a time when Democrats across the country are fighting for their lives, they look like absolute idiots.”
In an environment where real unemployment rate is running well over 15% (see page 26 for the U6 rate currently at 16.6%), I don’t think taking shots at unions is a smart move. Union members vote after all. And they sure as hell are not going to be inclined to vote for corporate Democrats like Blanche Lincoln.
Nor are Unions inclined to pour money or volunteers or get out the vote in races where the Democratic candidate is likely to ignore their issues once they get elected. Insulting them in this manner is just stupid besides being bad politics. It only alienates a significant portion of the Democratic Party’s base, while also being an indirect slap at other progressive organizations without which Dems cannot win elections.
All that corporate money the Establishment Democrats have been chasing since the DLC was formed is not going to flow into Blue Dog coffers when a more conservative, reliably pro-business Republican candidate is in the field. You can take that to the bank (or perhaps I should say you can not take that to the bank).
Corporations are going to flood the airwaves this Fall with ads for Republicans and against Democrats, no matter how many of those Democrats may claim to be “Pro-business” or “Deficit Hawks.” The only hope many Democrats have on retaining seats in the face of that coming corporate money tsunami is to energize their base of supporters.
Sadly, it seems they prefer to slap progressives and liberals in the face and kick them every chance they get. That’s hardly a strategy designed to encourage people to vote for you if you keep trashing your your strongest supporters. Makes independents wonder what is the difference between Democrats and Republicans, and in that game the Republicans win because they have most of the media in their pocket or at least willing to parrot GOP talking points.
This is not to say that Obama and the Democratic Congress has not achieved some significant successes, even if the measures they passed (health care reform and “hopefully” financial reform) fall far short of the mark we hoped they’d reach, and more importantly which our country needed to reach. Still we should be thankful anything at all was accomplished in the face of so much corporate opposition, fake grass roots bullying at town hall meetings, biased media coverage and Republican and Blue Dog obstructionism.
But any success Democrats have achieved will not trump massive ad spending campaigns from the right which will lie continuously about the benefits of that legislation, and Democrats are going to be outgunned in the money arena when it comes to buying ad time to set the record straight. In an environment where unemployment remains staggeringly high, many people are going to believe those lies.
And Republican supporters, no matter what I believe about the basis for their rage against Obama, are energized to turn out. Can we say the same thing about the base of the Democratic party? I have serious doubts that we can.
So, what purpose was served by these cowardly Obama officials anonymously attacking unions for supporting a Democratic candidate who wasn’t a bought and paid for corporate shrill like Blanche Lincoln, the same Blanche Lincoln who trailed all potential Republican challengers badly in the polls? Will such comments encourage other progressive groups to work hard this Fall for Democratic candidates?
Will it encourage Unions to spend money and rally their members to volunteer for Democrats who don’t support Unions when it counts — with their votes in the House and Senate? Will it encourage progressives like myself to make donations to the DNC, DSCC and DCCC? I don’t think so.
In fact, I think it was a pretty stupid and craven thing to do, not just to the unions, but to every member of the base of the Democratic party who wants to see it stop embracing the Specters, Liebermans and Lincolns of the political universe when better alternatives are available, both from an electoral and an ideological standpoint.
But then, when has the establishment of the Democratic party ever been known for its intelligence or political courage. Those Obama officials who spoke last night against union support for Bill Halter should be outed publicly and forced to repeat their remarks for attribution rather than hiding behind the media’s skirts.
I’d like to see them fired for their crass and classless behavior, but I suspect they are too high up in the administration for anyone to mount a serious campaign for their dismissal. At a minimum, we deserve to know who made those nasty comments. They made them so they should also own up to them.
And if anyone knows who did say these things feel free to email me at stevendbt@yahoo.com. I’ll be happy to put a name to the people who reacted in such a condescending and dismissive manner to people who merely asserted their right to have a say in who Democrats nominate for high national office.
