Obama Fundraising For Landrieu, Vulnerable Dems Despite Vow Not To

President Barack Obama once claimed that funneling money into political action committees (PAC) was a “threat to democracy.” But, that commitment to vowing to not raise money himself for Super PAC’s is long gone, just in time for Obama to help out vulnerable senators like Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA) in November.

On Tuesday, Obama broke his promise that he would not be involved with raising money via outside, big-money groups, as he attended a Senate Majority PAC fundraiser, which helps elect Democrats to the Senate. The flip-flop by Obama was immediately slammed by the Republican National Committee.

“After railing against outside money, President Barack Obama will now raise money so Senate Majority PAC can fling mud against Republicans,” Mr. Wilcox said. “It’s just further proof that Democrats will do anything to stay in power.”

The Senate Majority PAC is the same group that has produced an ad conveniently attacking Landrieu’s opponent Rep. Bill Cassidy (R-LA), which FactCheck.org has savaged as stretching the truth.

However, the move by Obama to help raise money for Senate Democrats yielding a tough re-election in November may not be as surprising as expected. Take Landrieu’s record for instance:

Landrieu cast the deciding vote for Obama’s landmark healthcare overhaul known as Obamacare and apparently was rewarded with $100 million for doing so. Then there is Landrieu’s voting record, which shows that she has voted 95 percent of the time for Obama’s agenda.

Also, there is the fact that Landrieu has been somewhat of a weak Senate Energy and Natural Resources Chairwoman, something Obama may actually find comforting. Landrieu could not deliver the votes in the Senate for the Keystone XL Pipeline, which the President opposes.

However, Landrieu’s tenure/record as the Senate Energy Committee Chairwoman has been largely unsuccessful thus far on major pieces of legislation, such as the most recent regarding the Keystone XL Pipeline.

The southern Democrat’s first major test as committee chairwoman turned out the be a flop when she could not get enough Senate Democrats on-board with a plan that would have progressed the Keystone XL Pipeline forward, without approval from President Obama, who is speculated to be in opposition to the project.

And then there are the most recent reports where Landrieu takes back everything she once said about how much power she holds as the Senate Energy Chairwoman. Now, just in time to distance herself from Obama’s plans to cut carbon emissions by 30 percent via more regulations, Landrieu has admitted that her “clout” as Chairwoman is not what she thought it was.

For months, Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA), who is being challenged for her Senate seat this November, has touted her supposed “clout” and power as the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Chairwoman. But, since the Obama administration and the EPA released a plan to cut carbon emissions from power plants by 30 percent, Landrieu has retracted those previous claims, now admitting that she does not hold as much power as she once thought she did.

And then there is the friendly relationship that Landrieu has with First Lady Michelle Obama. Though Landrieu will not visit the President when he comes into town, Landrieu certainly will show up to see Michelle Obama, like when the two got together in New Orleans. 

As scheduled, vulnerable Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA) met up with First Lady Michelle Obama in New Orleans, La. to visit spouses of military veterans today. But, Landrieu got more than just her picture taken with Obama, she got an honorable mention.

Back in March, Landrieu was a no-show at a major event promoting Obamacare in New Orleans where outgoing Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius was in attendance. Landrieu’s brother, Mayor of New Orleans Mitch Landrieu did attend however. This occurred just after House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said that Democrats were not in fact running away from Obamacare.

And, when Obama visited New Orleans back in November, Landrieu traveled with him on Air Force One, but refused to do any press or public appearances with him while in the Big Easy.

Obama’s decision to start fundraising for Senate Democrats may be a change in position, but helping keep Democrats in the Senate who will fall in line with their political party when it comes to voting may have always been the ultimate goal.

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