President Barack Obama dusted off old campaign slogans at an 11th-hour rally here Sunday, hoping to mobilize African-American and youth voters to back Democrats with three weeks to go before November's midterm election.
"On Nov. 2, I need you as fired up as you were in 2008," Mr. Obama said, with Vice President Joe Biden at his side. "They said 'No you can't elect a skinny guy with a funny name to the presidency of the United States.' What did you say?"
The crowd, which included union members, African-Americans and young people, responded, "Yes we can!"
Democrats are launching a final push to try to reignite their base, as they face a potential Republican takeover of the House and possibly the Senate. Many Republican voters, especially tea party supporters, are unhappy with Mr. Obama and the Democrat-controlled Congress, and say they are eager to vote in November. Democrats, in contrast, are showing little enthusiasm for the election, according to numerous public opinion polls.
It's a sharp reversal from 2008, when strong Democratic-voter participation sent Mr. Obama to the White House and gave Democrats control of both chambers of Congress.
The White House has said Democrats' best chance at victory is getting likely Democratic voters who had voted for the first time in 2008 to vote again.
Democrats have turned to Mr. Obama, who, despite his low approval ratings in recent polls, is still able to draw crowds. In Madison, Wisc., last week, the president appeared at a rally for Sen. Russ Feingold and other Democrats, with the crowd estimated by police to exceed 26,000.
On Sunday, people lined up along the streets in Germantown, a neighborhood in Northwest Philadelphia with a large African-American population. Many wore union local T-shirts; street artists sold portraits of First Lady Michelle Obama; and vendors peddled Obama buttons at two for $3. Philadelphia city officials put the crowd number at 18,500.
There are more than one million more registered Democrats than Republicans in the Keystone State. In 2008, Mr. Obama carried the state by 11 points. But this year, the Democrats face potential losses in the races for senator, governor and the state's congressional delegation.
Pennsylvania's Democratic Senate candidate, Rep. Joe Sestak, has trailed his Republican opponent, Pat Toomey, in polls since early June. As many as 10 of the state's 19 U.S. congressional districts are considered battlegrounds this year by D.C. race watchers. Rep. Patrick Murphy, who represents suburban Philadelphia, faces a tough reelection fight after voting for much of the White House's agenda.
Rep. Murphy, like some other Pennsylvania Democratic congressional candidates in close races, didn't speak at Sunday's event, apparently reflecting concerns that a link to Mr. Obama could further hurt their chances of victory.
With the exception of Mr. Sestak and the Democratic candidate for governor, Dan Onorato, many of the other Pennsylvania Democrats who attended the rally were well ahead in their races, or not up for reelection. They included Rep. Robert Brady, who represents south and central Philadelphia and is expected to easily win reelection; Gov. Ed Rendell, who has hit his term limit; and Sen. Arlen Spector, a Republican-turned-Democrat who lost to Mr. Sestak in the primary.
Mr. Obama devoted much of his speech to criticizing Republican policies, including what he described as a GOP proposal to extend tax cuts to the rich. Republicans are pushing to extend all tax cuts introduced under the Bush administration and which are due to expire at the end of the year, on the grounds that raising taxes would hurt the country's nascent economic recovery. Mr. Obama and other Democrats want to extend cuts only for families making less than $250,000 a year.
Referring to Republicans' "Pledge to America" manifesto detailing their candidates' positions on issues, including a call to roll back the health-care overhaul, Mr. Obama said: "Republicans might have a new name for it. But it's the same old stuff they've been peddling for years."
The GOP has countered that Mr. Obama's spending programs have created unsustainable deficits and that raising taxes would kill jobs.
Last Sunday, the Rev. Melvin McAllister hosted Mr. Sestak at Mount Tabor Baptist Church, a black congregation of about 200 that worships a block from the Philadelphia rally.
Mr. McAllister said his flock may have tuned out election politics this summer, but he compared it to a long baseball season. "When the playoffs come, all of a sudden you're interested," he said.
In 2008, Lynette Washington knocked on doors and attended weekly Democratic campaign meetings, to support Mr. Obama's candidacy. She hasn't done so this year, but on Sunday, she drove to Philadelphia from southern New Jersey to attend Mr. Obama's rally.
"I'm going to sign up" to volunteer to support Democrats' mid-term campaigns, said Ms. Washington, 54 year old. "I still get the emails."
No comments:
Post a Comment