Saturday Night Live on the Health Bill

Some-Drama Obama

During the 2008 campaign, the Obama team was famous for its communication skill and its lack of internal divisions. Those days are gone. Lynn Sweet of The Chicago Sun-Times reports on the president's reaction to "White House infighting" stories:

Last Monday, I learned, Obama made clear to senior staff -- in an Oval Office meeting after he returned from a trip to Savannah, Ga. -- that he didn't like these stories. He reminded them that it is "one for all and all for one'' in his administration. They were there to get things done for the nation, and they were not in the White House to engage in what Obama considered petty Washington intrigue.

A New York Times profile of David Axelrod depicts a counselor who protests too much:

“For me, the question is, why haven’t we broken through more than we have?” Mr. Axelrod said. “Why haven’t we broken through?”

That question has dogged Mr. Axelrod in recent months and has preoccupied Mr. Obama’s inner circle, fueling speculation that the vaunted “No Drama Obama” team might be fracturing. Not surprisingly, the White House has no patience with the notion.

“You guys want to fit people into boxes and categories that are just not accurate,” Mr. Emanuel said.

Mr. Axelrod would not discuss what counsel he offered to Mr. Obama, though he denies any “fissure with my buddy Rahm” and any charge that he is too infatuated with the president to recognize the political risks of his ambitious agenda.

A Possible GOP Pickup

Stories of misconduct by Representative Eric Massa (D-NY) have not only damaged his party's image but his abrupt resignation has provided the GOP with another target. CQ reports:

New York’s 29th district was always going to be a competitive race in November, given its long tradition of electing Republicans and the anti-Democratic trends coursing through the country. But freshman Rep. Eric Massa ’s surprising decision not to seek re-election has transformed what was going to be a straightforward race between Massa and former Corning Mayor Tom Reed (R) into an open-seat free-for-all.

Given Democrats’ loss of incumbency advantage in the district, and the chance that the open seat could now lure a potentially stronger GOP candidate, CQ-Roll Call is changing its race rating for the general election to the more competitive Tossup from Leans Democratic.

A Bad Week for House Democrats

Ethic accusations have forced Ways and Means Chairman Charles Rangel (D-NY) to relinquish his gavel for the time being. The job then went to Pete Stark (D-CA), who then gave it up in favor of Sander Levin (D-MI). The Politico explains:

Officially, Stark stepped aside to keep the gavel of the panel's health subcommittee. But lawmakers and aides said Stark faced a rebellion within the committee and the caucus over his sometimes bizarre behavior and penchant for making offensive comments.

Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chairman Chris Van Hollen told Stark at a Ways and Means Committee meeting Wednesday that his stepping aside would be in the best interests of the party, according to a Democratic aide familiar with the meeting.

Panel members voted unanimously in favor of recommending Levin for the post once Stark stepped aside, according to Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-Texas).

Meanwhile, another case is not only causing further damage to the party image, but opening a seat to a GOP takeover. At Hotline, Reid Wilson writes:

And Rep. Eric Massa (D-NY) said he would retire after a single term in office; Capitol Hill buzzed with rumors that the ethics committee is investigating alleged harrassment of a male staffer, though Massa denied those reports and said a recurrence of cancer had forced him to step aside.

Dems are also dealing with a wave of retirements, many of which come in districts the GOP has its eye on. Of the 15 Dems who will not seek another term in the House, the GOP has a strong chance in at least 11, including Massa's.

Bad Feelings

Rasmussen finds that Americans are unhappy with the state of their nation:

Just 25% of U.S. voters now say the country is heading in the right direction, the lowest level of voter confidence since early January 2009.

Correspondingly, the latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 69% believe the nation is heading down the wrong track, the highest level measured in 14 months.

The employment situation may account for the gloom. Gallup reports: "Gallup Daily tracking finds that 19.8% of the U.S. workforce was underemployed in February, on par with January's 19.9% reading."

All Politics is Local, Except When It's National

In 1980 and 1994, Republicans gained ground by nationalizing congressional elections. Democrats did the same thing in 2006 and 2008. Now it's the GOP's turn again.

Former Representative Ed Bethune (R-AR), who was a leader of the House Republican revival of the late 1970s, lays out a line of attack against Blue Dog Democrats:

The modus operandi of these politicians: 1) Get elected to national office in Arkansas by claiming to be a conservative Democrat. 2) In Washington, use the “go along to get along” strategy to appease the liberals who control the national Democrat party. 3) When running for re-election deny “going along to get along.” Claim to be a conservative, not an enabler for the liberal agenda.

This year, thanks to the extreme agenda of President Barack Obama, the Blue Dog hoax is revealed. On the first day of this congress they voted for Nancy Pelosi, a San Francisco liberal, to be Speaker of the House. Then, there were votes for the $3.9 trillion Obama budget, the pork-laden and debt-producing stimulus bill, and the terribly flawed health care bill. These votes stripped away the façade behind which the Blue Dogs have been hiding for years. Their constituencies-spitting mad-saw what they were doing.

As political scientist William Connelly puts it, "All politics is local, except when it's national."

Senate Races

Though it seems unlikely that Republicans can win control of the Senate, President Obama's election made GOP gains more likely. He and Vice President Biden vacated Illinois and Delaware seats that are now ripe for pickup. The same goes for Interior Secretary Ken Salazar's old seat in Colorado. And although the New York seat once held by Secretary of State Clinton is more of a reach, a Republican might win it if the circumstances are just right.

Moreover, the president's sagging approval ratings put other seats into play. For instance, as a New York Times piece suggests, California's Barbara Boxer could have a fight. Up to now, she has had the luck of the Senate cycle. Her initial election took place in 1992 -- when Bill Clinton's double-digit lead in the state marked California's switch from red to blue in presidential elections. She ran again in 1998. Normally, midterms are tricky for incumbents of the president's party, but the Clinton impeachment drove voters away from the GOP and toward the Democrats. And in the gubernatorial election that year, Democrat Gray Davis won big. Six years later, the Bush campaign went dark in California, and GOP Senate candidate Bill Jones could not afford a single television ad.

Now she is running in a much more challenging year.