May 12 2013

Electoral Victory My Ass

Democratic strategist: Party ‘in decline’

By JAMES HOHMANN, Politico

5/10/13 5:05 AM EDT

“Since Obama was elected President, the Democrats have lost nine governorships, 56 members of the House and two Senate seats,” Doug Sosnik, the political director in Bill Clinton’s White House, writes in a new memo.

While Republican branding problems get the lion’s share of attention, the Democratic Party’s favorability rating has declined by 15 points since Obama took power. A Pew Research Center survey this January showed that the Democratic Party was viewed favorably by 47 percent of Americans, down from 62 percent in Jan. 2009.

With the likelihood of gridlock and near-record-low confidence in public institutions, Sosnik expects 2014 to bring the fourth change election in the past eight years.

…

Obama neither directly campaigned nor raised money for down-ticket Democrats last year. The post-election creation of Organizing for Action to push his own agenda has upset party regulars because it makes the Democratic National Committee less relevant than ever, squeezes fundraising for other Democratic groups and emphasizes issues that put moderates in a bind.

“Obama not only got elected by running against the party establishment, but he has governed as a President who does not emphasize his party label,” writes Sosnik. “It’s hard to be a change agent if you are lugging around a party label in an era where voters are so strongly disaffected from our institutions.”

rustymancuso581

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  2. He surrounded himself with people who supported the trickle down theory of economics and it was glaringly obvious when, as a candidate, he interviewed with a conservative paper in Nevada, had nothing but praise for Ronald Reagan’s “Shock Doctrine” style governing. If anyone thought he would govern differently after reelection, they were sadly deluded.  

  3. has nailed a prime spot with Bank of America, from Jason Linkins at Huff Po:

    Stephanie Cutter, Former Obama Adviser, To Help Bank Of America Elude Regulation

    “Big Banks Push Against Tighter Rules,” says the headline in this piece from the Wall Street Journal. ‘Twas ever thus, but now, “big banks” are doing so more overtly, and with more gusto, and with all kinds of interesting people helping them out. [..]

    Let’s go back to that Wall Street Journal piece:

       Regulators and lawmakers increasingly are signaling that more work is needed to lessen the risk posed by large, complex banks, including bigger capital cushions and minimum amounts of expensive long-term debt.

       The moves by banks include pushing back against bipartisan legislation sponsored by Sens. David Vitter, a Louisiana Republican, and Sherrod Brown, an Ohio Democrat, that would sharply increase capital cushions at large banks to the point where most analysts expect firms would be forced to shrink.

       Stephanie Cutter, a former adviser to President Barack Obama, and Ed Gillespie, a former Bush administration official, are providing strategic advice to Bank of America on several issues, including efforts to break up the banks. Morgan Stanley recently hired Michele Davis, a top aide to former Bush administration Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, to help bolster the firm’s credibility in Washington.

    So, Stephanie Cutter (who I guess may also soon be repping Bank Of America’s point of view on a rebooted “Crossfire” for CNN?) is working to undermine “tight rules” on banks? That seems like an odd thing for someone who supported Obama’s reelection to do. Or does it? Is the implication here that Obama would not sign Brown-Vitter? Or that he contends that “bigger capital cushions” are not required?

    Electoral victory, all right. For the TBTF banks

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