Going after the Republican levers of power
This might be uncoordinated. It might just be a lack of patience of a series of decisions to take on obstructionist Republican "third party" institutions on particular policies, but after the Obama administration's confrontation of FoxNews, challenging the very Republican Chamber of Commerce business organization seems to take on a little more meaning.
The Chamber has always been right leaning, but over the last decade, like so many other Republican leaning organizations, it has taken on new leadership become much more political, much more partisan, and much more politically active. This matters because Chamber members collectively donate big money to political campaigns and run influential "independent" television ads targeting local low money races.
According to this LATimes piece, the Obama folks are favoring/trying to raise up the smaller Business Roundtable group as a rival.
Overall, I don't know, but this feels important.It feels like confirmation of a trend to not just placate the Republican levers, but to shine a light on them and challenge them.
It feels like after losing control in the August of the ranting townhalls, they've decided to go after these third party Republican institutions.
The White House has lots of levers of soft power. We'll have to wait and see how it goes.
(It's like an attempt to dismantle some of the residual structures built off the K Street project.
And, do we tie this in with the repeated attempts to be "bipartisan" by reaching one or two Congressional Republicans? I mean, Specter and Snowe are classic Chamber and FoxNews targets. What are the ramifications of helping to protect moderate Republicans?)
The Chamber has always been right leaning, but over the last decade, like so many other Republican leaning organizations, it has taken on new leadership become much more political, much more partisan, and much more politically active. This matters because Chamber members collectively donate big money to political campaigns and run influential "independent" television ads targeting local low money races.
According to this LATimes piece, the Obama folks are favoring/trying to raise up the smaller Business Roundtable group as a rival.
Overall, I don't know, but this feels important.It feels like confirmation of a trend to not just placate the Republican levers, but to shine a light on them and challenge them.
It feels like after losing control in the August of the ranting townhalls, they've decided to go after these third party Republican institutions.
The White House has lots of levers of soft power. We'll have to wait and see how it goes.
(It's like an attempt to dismantle some of the residual structures built off the K Street project.
And, do we tie this in with the repeated attempts to be "bipartisan" by reaching one or two Congressional Republicans? I mean, Specter and Snowe are classic Chamber and FoxNews targets. What are the ramifications of helping to protect moderate Republicans?)
posted by mikevotes at
6:32 AM
3 Comments:
I think someone has told him he's too passive. Needs to fight back, take a stand, draw the line etc.
By
Anonymous, at 12:20 PM
Anon 1, that's true. He's probably of the mindset that if you ignore it, it will stop, somewhat like a child's behavior. Subtly addressing it and getting at the root of the problem will serve them well and not look like reactionary whiners.
By
Anonymous 2, at 12:53 PM
But I also think this has bigger ramifications. If they can somewhat sideline or marginalize these "third party" Republican organizations, it will have an effect on both message, media, and elections.
In the last decade, no one of authority has challenged FoxNEws, for instance, and simply by saying their partisan, they free the other networks from having to follow FoxNews' agenda stories.
On the Cahmber of Commerce, they're trying to pierce the idea that the Chamber speaks for all business to point out that they're a more agenda driven organization than the pro-business lobby they pretend to be, somewhat delegitimizing their cherished "non-partisan" claim of benign pro-business intersts.
They're undermining these folks' previously unchallenged credentials.
By
mikevotes, at 1:12 PM
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