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September 27, 2009 10:58 PM UTC

Denver Post: Obama Aide Messina Caught "Trying to Buy Off" Romanoff

  • 9 Comments
  • by: davidsirota

I’ve made my position on the Emanuel administration’s attempts to crush Democratic primaries pretty plain: Beyond it being a disgusting effort to crush the kind of local democracy Barack Obama used to make Rahm Emanuel president, it also makes Democratic legislative unity even tougher to achieve. Additionally, the aggressiveness of the effort reveals a double-standard: The Emanuel administration that categorically refuses to twist the arms of congresspeople to pass legislation is the same Emanuel administration that is more than happy to break the arms of Democratic primary candidates.

As I said in my last column, that’s the power-worshiping, incumbent-protecting country-club etiquette at work: Just like, say, Tim Russert, would ask upstart presidential candidate Howard Dean much tougher questions than sitting Vice President Dick Cheney, President Emanuel is willing to punch those outside of D.C., but not those inside.

Now, the Denver Post gives us a sense of just how hard those punches are being thrown. The front-page Sunday story details how President Emanuel dispatched former Max Baucus aide and current Vice President Jim Messina to, as the Post says, “try to buy off” former House Speaker Andrew Romanoff (D) with a job before he announced his primary challenge to appointed Sen. Michael Bennet (D).

There’s probably nothing illegal about this – although you can’t really say that for sure. Let’s not forget that Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich was indicted and impeached for allegedly trying to horse-trade jobs for senate seats. But legal questions aside, it shows that while President Emanuel may do nothing to stop insurance and pharmaceutical companies write health care legislation, he’s going to do everything he can to make sure that incumbents are not bothered by local primary challenges – even those that might create a dynamic that helps pass President Emanuel’s legislative agenda.

The danger for President Emanuel, of course, is that the big foot strategy make backfire, especially out here in the West:

“It may make the situation worse for Bennet for them to play the game this way,” said state Rep. Kathleen Curry, a Gunnison lawmaker who is supporting Romanoff.

“People in Colorado have an adverse reaction to the external forces coming down and telling them how to think,” she said.

The timing of Messina’s latest intervention sparked particular concern – because of the appearance that the administration was trying to buy off a nettlesome opponent, to some; to others, because the timing made the effort appear so ham-handed.

As I’ve said, I have no dog in the primary fight – I just want to see local democracy be allowed to run its course. Like Barack Obama said on the campaign trail, primaries and local democracy strengthen the Democratic Party. Unfortunately, President Emanuel and Vice President Messina don’t subscribe to that belief.

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9 thoughts on “Denver Post: Obama Aide Messina Caught “Trying to Buy Off” Romanoff”

  1.  The national party hasn’t wanted a primary from day one. Paul Begala told me at the JJ just as much when I was supporting Speaker Romanoff. I was ridiculed in February on Colorado Pols for uriging him to run. Many of his current supporters were then silent.  He put out that he wasn’t and I believed his sources. Since then he  states that the Governor was suggesting he become  Lt.Gov. That fell through.In like manner, does this qualify as a Blago-gate to you? If it does then the Speaker admits open involvement. It’s clear that these efforts don’t consittute anything wrong.

    I don’t understand why you attack the President so much from the left. We will have a tough enough time manttianing our majorities in 2010. If you do it for ratings or notoriety, then I guess that I can understand it from a personal incentive.

    Sen Bennet has never decieved me(neither has the Speaker.I believe that he changed his mind honestly) and I believe that he will win the primary and the election.

      1.  Referring to President Emanuel is rather offensive. I don’t see that coming from the right. Honestly, I prefer Jay Marvin.

        You say that you have no preference in the race, but your posts attack Sen. Bennet.

  2. USAID has been without a director for a spell now. I have friends at that agency who really would love to have a strong leader or leadership team with some legislative experience. If Andrew was offered the top, or near top, spot at USAID, I would’ve been happy.I think that would have been a good fit for him.

    That said, I’ll be equally content if Andrew is our next US Senator.  

    1. .

      If you’ve read anything written by Henrietta Fore, or followed the track record of Andy Natsios, you might think the Agency was better off without anyone in charge.  Did your friends say anything about that ?  

      Their one competent leader in the last 8 years, Tobias, was forced to resign when his number turned up in the client list of an escort service.  

      So they’ve been without sentient leadership for the better part of a decade, and orthodoxy has ossified so much that the multi-billion dollar USAID programs in the countries where we are warring have degenerated into mere adjuncts of kinetic military operations.  

      For what its worth, I DEMAND that the Obama Administration put someone in charge who didn’t go to Georgetown or Fletcher.

      .

  3. Since the guy wasn’t a candidate yet at the time, it made sense to try and head off a primary at the pass. It didn’t work, but invoking Blago is a bit rich. Good luck with that one.

    And since the story was out that Romanoff was piqued about the Lt. Gov. communication breakdown with Ritter’s office, it stood to reason that this was all really about Andrew wanting a job. Made sense to offer him one, and thereby save a lot of money and reduce the risk of handing over a US Senate seat to a Republican. It didn’t work, but that doesn’t make it any less prudent.

    But the administration, at Ritter’s urging, should have sorted this out in January of February, instead of in August or September. The failure to do so is the real “scandal” here.

  5. Just out of curiosity though, are you going to be the first Colorado Pols poster to go so far as to say that President Obama needs a primary opponent in 2012? It sure as hell sounds like it.

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