According to a recent Washington Post report, Obama is having some trouble getting large donations for his reelection campaign, and is even lagging behind his 2008 pace – not exactly what one expects from an incumbent President. This turn of events is putting Obama’s high expectations of raising $1 billion for reelection in jeopardy.
One of the reasons listed for Obama’s disappointing numbers is that the Democrats believe the “ailing” economy has put a wet blanket on everyone’s fundraising expectations. This is rich coming from the party that wants us to reelect President Obama for allegedly saving the economy and supposedly leading America into recovery. How the economy can be both “ailing” and “recovering” at the same might be something the DNC spin room should start working on.
Here’s a theory: Given Obama’s voiced support for the Occupy Wall Street “movement,” if I were a big dollar donor I’d be a little hesitant to donate to the guy, too. Occupy’s main message seems to be raising taxes on higher-income citizens – the 1% – for the purposes of “fairness.”
This is also the same President who has repeatedly called on Congress to pass a Buffett Rule that would raise taxes on anyone who makes $1 million dollars a year or more to 30 percent. Maybe wealthy Democrats are saving their money in preparation for all the taxes their going to have to pay if Obama gets his way.
The effects of Obama’s polices may be beginning to manifest themselves in decreased support for Obama among big bundlers and supporters in the financial sector. The Post points out at least one voter who talks about a sense of “buyers remorse” among people like him; former Obama voters who are dissatisfied with Obama’s actions in the White House, including excessive regulations.
In the end, that’s what it all boils down to: the Obama magic is gone. No longer the underdog against Hillary Clinton and the agent of “change” against John McCain, the Obama campaign will insist it’s just trying to focus on ginning up small donor support. But realistically, Obama’s campaign is being forced to reboot it’s ground operation in the face of Obama’s vastly decreased popularity, and the big bucks just aren’t flowing like they used to.
