Obama was Right, Struggling Senate Democrats Always Had His Back

To the chagrin of Senate Democrats now busy trying to run away from him, recently Barack Obama said they all had his back when it mattered.

It turns out, Obama was right.

A new CQ vote study shows vulnerable Senate Democrats almost always voted to support the president in 2014 — a fact that has been instantly seized upon by Republicans, given that Obama’s approval rating is languishing in the low 40s nationally and lower still in several battleground states.

Roll Call points out that Majority Leader Harry Reid deserves some of the blame given the way he runs the Senate. 

Indeed, all of the most vulnerable Democrats voted with President Obama at least 96 percent of the time on the 120 votes on which Obama has urged a “yes” or “no” vote.

Reid clamped down on amendments more than ever this year and the bills he brought to the floor were aimed at unifying Democrats and putting Republicans on defense — like a minimum wage hike, an unemployment extension, pay equity or refinancing student loans — rather than bills that would lead to Democratic defections.

Put another way, Obama’s self-serving media moments and the self-serving manner in which Harry Reid ran the Senate have combined to put struggling Democrats in even more trouble  than they were going in. So much for them being the smart party that exists to serve others.

Both arms of government they now control have served themselves more than anything else – and not very wisely at that.