Pelosi’s Engraved Invitation to Failure

Pelosi Invites Obama to Campaign With “Any One” of Her Democrats Despite Obama’s Cratering Approval Ratings and Electoral Drag

• Democrat Leader Nancy Pelosi likely infuriated a good many of her fellow Democrats last weekend when she invited President Obama to campaign with “any one” of her members in their districts.
• Pelosi’s invitation comes at a time when President Obama’s approval ratings are at record lows in every corner of the country and dragging Democrats down with him.
• That must be why many Democrats are keeping their distance from their unpopular president who continues to push for more of the same failed policies. Those who choose to associate with Obama do so at the risk of their political careers. It’s no wonder that Democrats are struggling to recruit candidates who must run with Obama at the top of the ticket.

BACKGROUND

Democrat Leader Nancy Pelosi likely infuriated a good many of her fellow Democrats last weekend when she invited President Obama to campaign with “any one” of her members in their districts: 

PELOSI: OBAMA “WOULD BE WELL RECEIVED BY ANY ONE OF OUR MEMBERS INTO THEIR DISTRICTS”: “House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi to Christiane Amanpour, in a bite for ABC’s ‘This Week’ that didn’t make the show, on whether she would advise vulnerable Dems to invite President Obama into their districts to campaign with them: …

“The president would be well received by any one of our members into their districts. … [T]he consensus in our caucus that we’re very proud of his coming forth with a jobs bill, with his speaking out about why it’s important to the American people. His reelection is very important to the country. … [H]e’s been a great president. And our members are very proud of him. And I think any one of us would love to have the president as a guest in our districts.” (Mike Allen, Politico‘sPlaybook, 10/9/2011)

Pelosi’s invitation comes at a time when President Obama’s approval ratings are at record lows in every corner of the country and dragging Democrats down with him:

QUINNIPIAC NEW JERSEY: OBAMA AT 43% APPROVAL, 52% DISAPPROVAL, HIS LOWEST EVER: (Steven Shepard, “Obama, Menendez Remain Vulnerable in NJ,” National Journal, 10/13/2011)

EPIC-MRA: OBAMA AT 38% APPROVAL IN MICHIGAN, 61% DISAPPROVAL: (“Poll: Obama, Snyder Fare Poorly in Mich,” Associated Press, 10/10/2011) 

NBC NEWS/MARIST: OBAMA APPROVAL RATING IN IOWA AT 42%, AT 38% IN NEW HAMPSHIRE: (Mark Murray, “Romney Leads in Iowa and New Hampshire,” NBC News, 10/11/2011) 

OBAMA TRAILING ROMNEY BY 9 IN NEW HAMPSHIRE: (Mark Murray, “Romney Leads in Iowa and New Hampshire,” NBC News, 10/11/2011) 

QUINNIPIAC VIRGINIA: OBAMA UNDERWATER AT 45/52: (“Cain, Romney Top Pack in Virginia GOP Race, Quinnipiac University Poll Finds; Both Tie Obama as Perry Fades,” Quinnipiac, 10/11/2011) 

PUBLIC POLICY POLLING IN NC: OBAMA UNDERWATER AT 44/53: (Tom Jensen, “Obama Leads All Republicans in North Carolina,” Public Policy Polling, 10/6/2011) 

AND IN CONNECTICUT: OBAMA UNDERWATER AT 48/49: (Tom Jensen, “Obama Leads Romney by Only 2 Points in CT, Perry by 12,” Public Policy Polling, 9/30/2011) 

FIELD POLL: OBAMA AT 46% APPROVAL IN CALIFORNIA, 44% DISAPPROVAL:(Gabriella Schwarz, “Poll: Obama’s Drop Out West,” CNN, 9/14/2011)

PPP: OBAMA AT 49% APPROVAL, 45% DISAPPROVAL IN MASSACHUSETTS: “You know Barack Obama’s going through a rough spot when his approval rating is under 50% even in Massachusetts.  49% of voters there now approve of the job he’s doing to 45% who disapprove.  That represents a 17 point drop on the margin from early June when he was at 58/37 in the state.” (“Massachusetts President Numbers,” Public Policy Polling, 9/21/2011) 

RHODE ISLAND POLL: ONLY 38% SAY THEY WILL VOTE TO RE-ELECT OBAMA, 35% TO VOTE AGAINST: (“Exclusive Poll: President has Lost Nearly Half His Support in RI,”Go Local Prov, 9/22/2011)

AND JUST ONE MONTH AGO, OBAMA’S UNPOPULARITY DRAGGED DOWN DEMOCRATS IN NEVADA SWING SEAT AND IN DEEP BLUE NEW YORK CITY:

PUBLIC POLICY POLLING: “THE INCREDIBLE UNPOPULARITY OF BARACK OBAMA IS DRAGGING HIS PARTY DOWN”—31% APPROVAL IN NY-09; 16% WITH INDIES, ONLY 46% APPROVAL WITH DEMOCRATS: (Tom Jensen, “Turner poised for big upset,”Public Policy Polling, 9/11/2011)

WHITE HOUSE CONCEDES THEY HAVE A PROBLEM WITH INDEPENDENTS. A BIG PROBLEM. “[Two Obama advisers] concede that the election might bring to the fore how difficult it will be for Obama to win back the trust of independents—no matter what their faith. This New York contest would seem to have implications beyond Brooklyn and Queens.” (Marc Ambinder, “White House Already Spinning Feared New York Loss,” National Journal, 9/12/2011) 

NATIONAL JOURNAL’s “THEHOTLINE“: OBAMA’S UNPOPULARITY “SHOULD WORRY DEMS EVERYWHERE”: (“Obama The Albatross,” National Journal’s “The Hotline”, 9/12/2011) 

NOTE TO DEMOCRAT INCUMBENTS: YOU CAN RUN, BUT YOU CAN’T HIDE FROM PRESIDENT OBAMA. “Weprin has awkwardly tried to distance himself from Obama, only telling the Jewish Weekly he’d ‘probably’ endorse the president’s reelection bid.” (Jessica Taylor, “Previewing the NY-09 Special Election,” National Journal‘sHotline On Call Blog, 9/13/11) 

IN NEVADA, “TERRIBLE CLIMATE FOR DEMOCRATS” AND “POOR POLLING NUMBERS” FOR OBAMA KEY TO KATE MARSHALL’S DEFEAT: (Kyle Trygstad, “Democrats Brace for Disappointment in Nevada,” Roll Call, 9/13/2011)

That must be why many Democrats are keeping their distance from their unpopular president who continues to push for more of the same failed policies. Those who choose to associate with Obama do so at the risk of their political careers. It’s no wonder that Democrats are struggling to recruit candidates who must run with Obama at the top of the ticket:

REUTERS: “DEMOCRATS WARY OF THEIR UNPOPULAR PRESIDENT”: “Many of McCaskill’s fellow Democrats in Congress may also decide they are too busy to be with Obama, whose approval rating of about 40 percent as the economy struggles threatens to be a drag on their own reelection chances next year.

” ‘You may see a number of Democrats say ‘Sorry, I have a scheduling conflict,’ ‘ said a senior Democratic lawmaker.” (Thomas Ferraro, “Democrats Wary of Their Unpopular President,” Reuters, 10/11/2011)

THE OBAMA DRAG IN ACTION: DCCC ALREADY STRUGGLING WITH RECRUITMENT POST-SEPT. SPECIAL ELECTIONS: “On @dccc list of 60 touted candidates, not only are 34 running against each other in primaries, 20 are running for Democratic seats. Hmm…” (Tweet from Dave Wasserman, Cook Political Report, 10/13/2011)

“DEMOCRATS FACE A BIG DECISION ABOUT WHETHER TO STAND BY THEIR MAN IN THE NOVEMBER 2012 ELECTIONS”: “Democrats face a big decision about whether to stand by their man in the November 2012 elections.

“Many, particularly those in difficult campaigns like McCaskill, are tempted to keep their distance.” (Thomas Ferraro, “Democrats Wary of Their Unpopular President,”Reuters, 10/11/2011) 

REP. JIM MORAN (D-VA) GOES FOR UNDERSTATEMENT: ENTHUSIASM FOR OBAMA “HAS DISSIPATED A LITTLE BIT”: “House Democrat Jim Moran of Virginia said: ‘The question is how vigorously we embrace him in terms of going the extra mile to get our people to knock on doors.’

“‘I think we will. But the passionate idealism that we were gripped with when he was first elected has dissipated a little bit.'” (Thomas Ferraro, “Democrats Wary of Their Unpopular President,” Reuters, 10/11/2011)

BLUE DOGS NOW “TRY[ING] TO PERSEVERE AMID LOW OBAMA POLL NUMBERS”: “Blue Dogs in Congress, already an endangered species following the last election, are bracing for another challenging campaign season. …Redistricting, coupled with President Obama’s low approval ratings, has buoyed GOP hopes of picking up seats in the 2012 election.” (Cameron Joseph, “Conservative Dems Try to Persevere Amid Low Obama Poll Numbers,” The Hill, 9/27/2011)