Senate Democrats want to avoid ISIS vote to improve their election chances
The Hill reports that several aides to Democratic senators have revealed their bosses' unwillingness to vote on war powers for President Obama to deal with ISIS in the run-up to the 2014 elections. Association with the president and his policy goals has become a liability in the eyes of many Democrats, and the vote could provide ammunition for the senators' Republican opponents.
"Asking anybody to take that vote within two months of an election is just stupid. Why would you put people in that position?" said a Senate Democratic aide. [...]
"I think it's dumb," said the second Democratic aide. "The less the president is in the news with anything right now, the better." [The Hill]
That Obama may be a dead weight for prospective candidates is a theme which has surfaced among Democrats repeatedly in recent days. Last week, Hillary Clinton's camp expressed concern that calling Clinton "Obama's third term" could be an effective attack against her 2016 ambitions. Several Democratic governors who may have presidential aspirations have publicly shifted away from Obama's immigration policy, and Democratic Sen. Kay Hagan (N.C.) issued a statement strongly criticizing the president's VA policy in advance of his visit to her state.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
6 of the world’s most accessible destinationsThe Week Recommends Experience all of Berlin, Singapore and Sydney
-
How the FCC’s ‘equal time’ rule worksIn the Spotlight The law is at the heart of the Colbert-CBS conflict
-
What is the endgame in the DHS shutdown?Today’s Big Question Democrats want to rein in ICE’s immigration crackdown
-
Witkoff and Kushner tackle Ukraine, Iran in GenevaSpeed Read Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner held negotiations aimed at securing a nuclear deal with Iran and an end to Russia’s war in Ukraine
-
Pentagon spokesperson forced out as DHS’s resignsSpeed Read Senior military adviser Col. David Butler was fired by Pete Hegseth and Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin is resigning
-
Judge orders Washington slavery exhibit restoredSpeed Read The Trump administration took down displays about slavery at the President’s House Site in Philadelphia
-
Hyatt chair joins growing list of Epstein files losersSpeed Read Thomas Pritzker stepped down as executive chair of the Hyatt Hotels Corporation over his ties with Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell
-
Judge blocks Hegseth from punishing Kelly over videoSpeed Read Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth pushed for the senator to be demoted over a video in which he reminds military officials they should refuse illegal orders
-
Trump’s EPA kills legal basis for federal climate policySpeed Read The government’s authority to regulate several planet-warming pollutants has been repealed
-
House votes to end Trump’s Canada tariffsSpeed Read Six Republicans joined with Democrats to repeal the president’s tariffs
-
Bondi, Democrats clash over Epstein in hearingSpeed Read Attorney General Pam Bondi ignored survivors of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and demanded that Democrats apologize to Trump
