September 7th, 2010 by John Feehery
When Mayor Daley announced that he was resigning, it made Washington liberals very happy. It should have also put a smile on Republican Presidential candidates too.
Let me explain.
For most of his career, Daley has been a pretty effective mayor for the city of Big Shoulders. He was able to pick up the pieces after the Harold Washington debacle and move the city past the racial political war that typified Washington’s epic battles against the City Counsel.
For a decade or so, he made Chicago work again. He made peace with the business community, he worked hard on beautifying the city, and found ways to reach out to every different neighborhood in a way that brought the city together. He transformed his father’s political machine, making it more acceptable for the modern era.
But Daley was dogged by federal corruption investigations that ultimately took out many of his closest allies. He refused to back the police force when cops were charged with police brutality and racism (even when the cops were black). That led to the shooting gallery that is currently Chicago.
He pushed liberal (and ineffective) causes like gun control, making a name for himself, but taking away freedom from citizens who wanted to protect themselves from the bad guys. Read more...
Tags: Barack Obama, Chicago, Congress, DC mayor, election, mayor, Presidential election, White House
Posted in Government, Politics, Theory, election | No Comments »
September 7th, 2010 by John Feehery
“April is the cruelest month, breeding lilacs out of the dead land, mixing memory and desire, stirring dull roots with spring rain.” – T.S. Eliot–The Wasteland
Had T.S. Elliot just witnessed the August endured by the Obama Administration, he might have changed his opinion of the cruelest month. Because, politically, for Democrats, this August has been nothing, but a wasteland.
From the moment Michelle Obama set foot in Spain, to the moment her husband decided to wade into the New York City mosque mess, it has been nothing, but bad news for Congressional Democrats.
As the President’s popularity ratings have sunk, so have the fortunes of his close allies in Capitol Hill. According to Gallup, Republicans now enjoy the biggest advantage to the following question in the history of the poll: “Will you vote for the Republican candidate or the Democratic candidate this coming November?”
And in race after race, the polling is not getting any better for the Democrats. It was widely reported that Democratic operatives have already thrown in the towel on the House, and are now turning their attention to saving the Senate majority, a concern that was deemed unthinkable only four months ago. Read more...
Tags: Barack Obama, Congress, Conservatives, Democrats, Economy, election, George W Bush, Government, health care, Iraq, McCain, November elections, Presidential election, Republicans, White House
Posted in Economy, Government, Politics, Theory, election, health care, war | No Comments »
August 31st, 2010 by John Feehery
DC Mayor Adrian Fenty
My wife and I just dropped off our four year-old son for his first day of school. I was running a bit late, and we got there just in time for him to start his day with the Pledge of Allegiance and the Lord’s Prayer (we are sending him to the local Parochial school).
It is emotional for parents to send their kids to school for the first day. They want their kids to thrive (my wife likes that word), to learn, to become good citizens, and maybe to someday grow up to President. (If there is one thing we have learned from Barack Obama, it is that anybody can grow up to be President, no matter what their qualifications.)
But they also want their kids to behave, and on that first day, when your little boy is four years old, it is an open question if he is going to behave like he is supposed to behave. I could see the panic in other parents’ eyes as they left their little ones in the hands of the two teachers who now face the daunting task of corralling a bunch of little munchkins for the seven hours of school each day. That made me feel better, because surely, there was an element of panic inside me. There is strength in numbers. Read more...
Tags: Adrian Fenty, Barack Obama, Margaret Spellings, Michelle Rhee, Vincent Gray
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August 23rd, 2010 by John Feehery
I was on the treadmill this morning, enjoying my vacation, when I saw the DNC ad on the television. The Democratic National Committee, incredibly, has decided that the last two years of presidential leadership from Barack Hussien Obama has no bearing on the upcoming midterm election. They have decided to run against George W. Bush.
They are spending a lot of money to cast this election as a contest between George Bush and Barack Obama. So, I have to ask the question: If George Bush were to run against Obama right now, who would win?
The DNC seems convinced that Obama would win in a landslide. That is why they are so confident in their strategy. But is that true?
A recent poll showed that in the 40 most competitive seats held by Democrats, Bush is more popular than Obama. This poll was conducted by a Democrat, by the way.
Obama won a convincing victory against John McCain two short years ago. But there were a couple of things turning in Obama’s favor. First, the financial crisis reared its ugly head just two months before the election. Second, the Iraq War was just starting to turn around, not enough to help McCain. Third, McCain ran one of the worst Presidential campaigns in history, and was one of the most disappointing candidates in history. Fourth, after 8 years of President Bush, the American people were ready for a change. Read more...
Tags: Barack Obama, Democrats, George W Bush, Republicans, White House
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August 12th, 2010 by John Feehery
Tags: Democrats, election
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August 2nd, 2010 by John Feehery
Charlie Rangel
Four years ago, Charlie Rangel endorsed Hillary Clinton for President, and he stuck with that endorsement until the last possible moment, until it became clear to just about everybody that Barack Obama, and not Hillary Clinton, was going to be the Democratic nominee for President.
Rangel endorsed Clinton for a variety of reasons. Clinton was his home state Senator. Rangel didn’t think Obama was going to win. Rangel was a good friend of Clinton, urging her to run for Senator in the first place.
You could also surmise that the old bull Rangel didn’t think Obama was experienced enough to be President. You could also surmise that Rangel, as the House Ways and Means Chairman, was the most powerful black leader in the country, and frankly, he didn’t want his power challenged by a young upstart.
Like many other African-American leaders from the older generation, Rangel has had a frosty relationship with Mr. Obama. Jesse Jackson has been caught on tape several times saying derogatory things about the President. Bobby Rush, who was challenged in a Congressional primary by Obama, was the first to challenge his blackness. Read more...
Tags: African-Americans, Barack Obama, Charlie Rangel, Hillary Clinton
Posted in Politics, Theory, election | No Comments »
July 28th, 2010 by John Feehery
Potential Republican Presidential candidate, John Thune
I ran into Congressman Jimmy Duncan in the hall of the Capitol and we had a little chat.
Duncan is one of the nicest guys you will ever meet, a savvy politician who is completely honest and to the untrained eye, just an awe-shucks, country lawyer type of person.
Duncan has taken some tough votes in his career. He votes against pretty much all spending bills and he voted against the Iraq War, votes that in hindsight look pretty smart. He is an old-time conservative, but he isn’t one to beat his own chest or pontificate too much.
Anyway, I asked Mr. Duncan what he thought about the upcoming election, and he was upbeat. He told me that he hasn’t seen this kind of excitement from the Republican base since 1994. He said that each year he hosts a big event for his campaign in his hometown of Knoxville, Tennessee. He typically gets around 500 hundred to show up, but in 1994, Newt Gingrich drew 1200.
This year, he told me he invited John Thune. And guess what? Thune is expected to match Newt’s total from sixteen years ago. Read more...
Tags: Barack Obama, Jimmy Duncan, John Thune, Knoxville, Presidential election, Sarah Palin, Tennessee
Posted in GOP, election | No Comments »
July 16th, 2010 by John Feehery
“I felt the earth shake under my feet…” That’s how the song goes, and that is how many people in Washington felt this morning, when the nation’s capitol shook during a rare earthquake.
Was it caused by President Obama’s crashing ratings?
According to the latest Rasmussen poll, 54% of the American people fully disapprove of the President’s job performance. In a CBS poll, only 13% of the American people feel that the President’s economic program has helped them. And according to a Washington Post poll from earlier this week, nearly 60% of the American people don’t have confidence that the President will make the right decisions for our country.
The President and Congressional Democrats believe that their legislative agenda will help them climb out of this political mess. So, they exchange hi-fives when they pass a banking reform bill that puts government firmly in control of the financial markets.
They also exchanged hi-fives when they passed the health care reform bill, which did to the doctor’s office what the banking bill did to the bank. And they exchanged hi-fives when they passed the stimulus bill, which did the same thing to the economy that the banking bill and the health care bill did—put the government in the driver’s seat. Read more...
Tags: Barack Obama, earthquake, Washington, White House
Posted in Government, Theory, election | No Comments »
July 12th, 2010 by John Feehery
Robert Gibbs let the cat out of the bag over the weekend. He admitted that Republicans have a decent shot at getting majority in November.
That admission sent shock waves through the Washington punditocracy.
How could it be? What a mistake? Can you believe he said that?
When I was the Speaker’s press secretary, I was quoted saying something similar about our prospects in the 2000 elections and I remember the same kind of reaction from friends and enemies alike. A friend called and said surely I was misquoted. The DNC put out a press release using my words to buttress their claims.
Of course, back then, we had a much smaller majority than the Democrats have now, but perhaps what I said back then and what Gibbs said today can be classified as a Washington gaffe, which someone once said was speaking the truth inadvertently.
And the truth is that we had some real vulnerabilities back then and the Democrats are in real danger of losing their majority now.
I have been telling friends and I will tell you (because we are all friends here) that I think Republicans will pick up 60 seats in this coming election. Read more...
Tags: Democrats, election, GOP, Republicans, Robert Gibbs
Posted in GOP, Politics, election | No Comments »
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