Obama: Democrats get 'clobbered' in midterms
Flickr CC By: The White House
President Obama told Democratic donors last night that since the party tends to lose out in the midterm elections, voter turnout is increasingly important.
"In midterms we get clobbered — either because we don't think it's important, or we've become so discouraged about what's happening in Washington that we think it's not worth our while," Obama said.
The president made the candid remarks at a private fundraising event near Miami, adding that while he thinks Americans agree with his party on many issues, Washington politics have "become so toxic" that it's hurting voter turnout.
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.
Obama's comments were a pointed reference to the 2010 midterm "shellacking," when Republicans took back control of the House. While Democrats don't believe they can win back the House this time, they hope to maintain their majority in the Senate — though Republicans have a very strong chance of winning control of the upper chamber, too.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Jordan Valinsky is the lead writer for Speed Reads. Before joining The Week, he wrote for New York Observer's tech blog, Betabeat, and tracked the intersection between popular culture and the internet for The Daily Dot. He graduated with a degree in online journalism from Ohio University.
-
Pull over for these one-of-a-kind gas stationsThe Week Recommends Fill ’er up next to highland cows and a giant soda bottle
-
Trump tariff uncertainty casts a dark cloud over Black FridayIN THE SPOTLIGHT Retailers and shoppers alike are starting to reassess their seasonal prospects as the Trump administration’s efforts to upturn the global economy start hitting close to home
-
‘Chess’feature Imperial Theatre, New York City
-
Judge halts Trump’s DC Guard deploymentSpeed Read The Trump administration has ‘infringed upon the District’s right to govern itself,’ the judge ruled
-
Trump accuses Democrats of sedition meriting ‘death’Speed Read The president called for Democratic lawmakers to be arrested for urging the military to refuse illegal orders
-
Court strikes down Texas GOP gerrymanderSpeed Read The Texas congressional map ordered by Trump is likely an illegal racial gerrymander, the court ruled
-
Trump defends Saudi prince, shrugs off Khashoggi murderSpeed Read The president rebuked an ABC News reporter for asking Mohammed bin Salman about the death of a Washington Post journalist at the Saudi Consulate in 2018
-
Congress passes bill to force release of Epstein filesSpeed Read The Justice Department will release all files from its Jeffrey Epstein sex-trafficking investigation
-
Trump says he will sell F-35 jets to Saudi ArabiaSpeed Read The president plans to make several deals with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman this week
-
Judge blasts ‘profound’ errors in Comey caseSpeed Read ‘Government misconduct’ may necessitate dismissing the charges against the former FBI director altogether
-
Ecuador rejects push to allow US military basesSpeed Read Voters rejected a repeal of a constitutional ban on US and other foreign military bases in the country