Research Briefing

Los Angeles Times: “Obama's appearance came at a time when the party's core membership has been demoralized.” (Peter Nicholas, “Obama Tries To Rally Democrats, Defends Healthcare Overhaul,” Los Angeles Times, 2/7/10)

• LAT: “With the president's poll numbers dropping, some Democratic congressional campaigns are weighing whether to distance themselves from Obama before the midterm elections in November.” (Peter Nicholas, “Obama Tries To Rally Democrats, Defends Healthcare Overhaul,” Los Angeles Times, 2/7/10) 

• LAT: “The president urges the party not to abandon his agenda. Some members express skepticism toward their leaders.” (Peter Nicholas, “Obama Tries To Rally Democrats, Defends Healthcare Overhaul,” Los Angeles Times, 2/7/10)

Former DNC Member Steven Ybarra: “The DNC is a disaster.” (Peter Nicholas, “Obama Tries To Rally Democrats, Defends Healthcare Overhaul,” Los Angeles Times, 2/7/10)

• Ybarra: “Have we seen the chairman of the DNC [Tim Kaine] on any of the Sunday programs talking about how the party is going to react to any of this? Does anybody know who the chairman of the Democratic National Committee is?” (Peter Nicholas, “Obama Tries To Rally Democrats, Defends Healthcare Overhaul,” Los Angeles Times, 2/7/10)

New Hampshire Democratic Party Vice Chair State Sen. Martha Fuller Clark: “We are nervous — we are all nervous.” (Jonathan Martin & Alex Isenstadt, “November Chill Seizes DNC Meeting,” Politico, 2/6/10)

New York Democratic chairman Jay Jacobs: “The mood generally is very sour.” (Jonathan Martin & Alex Isenstadt, “November Chill Seizes DNC Meeting,” Politico, 2/6/10)

“Roberto Prats, a DNC member from Puerto Rico who attended the conference, said, ‘The mood is one of shock.’ He said members had found it tough to digest the loss of Kennedy's seat to Republican Scott Brown.” (Peter Nicholas, “Obama Tries To Rally Democrats, Defends Healthcare Overhaul,” Los Angeles Times, 2/7/10)

“New Jersey Democratic executive director Rob Angelo lamented that some moderate Democratic elected officials in his state are ‘freaking out’ over being pegged as overly liberal heading into November.” (Jonathan Martin & Alex Isenstadt, “November Chill Seizes DNC Meeting,” Politico, 2/6/10)

• “Angelo said after the meeting that he was referring to John Adler, the freshman Democrat from a suburban district in his state. ‘Certainly people are nervous,’ he said. ‘The momentum cycle shifts so quickly now.’” (Jonathan Martin & Alex Isenstadt, “November Chill Seizes DNC Meeting,” Politico, 2/6/10)

Former Tennessee Democratic Party Chairman Will Cheek: “We feel like we’ve got some real uphill fights… Everything is going to be hard this cycle, we know it’s going to be hard and I hope we know it’s going to be hard.” (Jonathan Martin & Alex Isenstadt, “November Chill Seizes DNC Meeting,” Politico, 2/6/10)

• “Cheek said he was worried about the governor’s race in his state… and was even more fretful about the seat held by retiring Democratic Rep. Bart Gordon. ‘We don’t have a candidate [for the Gordon seat] as we speak,’ he said, saying it was likely to flip to the GOP if they don’t find someone soon.” (Jonathan Martin & Alex Isenstadt, “November Chill Seizes DNC Meeting,” Politico, 2/6/10)

“Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.) was making the rounds to the regional party sessions with a frank message that, as she said in the Eastern region meeting, 2010 is going to be ‘a challenge to us at every turn.’” (Jonathan Martin & Alex Isenstadt, “November Chill Seizes DNC Meeting,” Politico, 2/6/10)

Democratic Governors Association Chair Delaware Gov. Jack Markell: “It’s obviously a challenging landscape… We’ve got tough races in the House, tough races in the Senate, and for that matter it’s going to be tough races for governorships.” (Jonathan Martin & Alex Isenstadt, “November Chill Seizes DNC Meeting,” Politico, 2/6/10)

Politico: “November Chill Seizes DNC Meeting” (Jonathan Martin & Alex Isenstadt, Politico, 2/6/10)

• Politico: “While the sense of anxiety was pervasive, there was little consensus on how exactly to mitigate the party’s problems.” (Jonathan Martin & Alex Isenstadt, “November Chill Seizes DNC Meeting,” Politico, 2/6/10) 

• Politico: “[D]NC members voiced frustration about their fortunes and, with a measure of urgency, plotted about how best to navigate through what is shaping up to be one of their most difficult election cycles in recent history.” (Jonathan Martin & Alex Isenstadt, “November Chill Seizes DNC Meeting,” Politico, 2/6/10)

The New York Times: “The applause and standing ovation for the president on Saturday belied a nervous mood among Democratic officials who gathered here for a two-day meeting.” (Jeff Zeleny, “Obama Rallies The Party Faithful,” The New York Times, 2/6/10)

The Associated Press: “Obama Seeks To Rally Glum Dems Amid GOP Challenges” (Philip Elliott, The Associated Press, 2/6/10)

• AP: “Just a year after celebrating Barack Obama's inauguration, despondent Democrats on Saturday heard from their party leader who urged optimism in the face of Republicans' strong challenge to their congressional dominance.” (Philip Elliott, “Obama Seeks To Rally Glum Dems Amid GOP Challenges,” The Associated Press, 2/6/10) 

• AP: “[L]oyalists acknowledged the prospect of several defeats in November.” (Philip Elliott, “Obama Seeks To Rally Glum Dems Amid GOP Challenges,” The Associated Press, 2/6/10) 

• AP: “President Bill Clinton, the last Democratic commander in chief, lost control of Congress in his first term and Democrats privately are predicting it could happen again.” (Philip Elliott, “Obama Seeks To Rally Glum Dems Amid GOP Challenges,” The Associated Press, 2/6/10)

The Washington Post: “Obama Tries To Boost Beleaguered Democratic National Committee” (Michael A. Fletcher, The Washington Post, 2/6/10)

• WaPo: “Even as Obama urged bipartisanship, Democrats remain divided about the best way to move their stalled agenda …” (Michael A. Fletcher, “Obama Tries To Boost Beleaguered Democratic National Committee,” The Washington Post, 2/6/10)

• WaPo: “Despite the president's desire to move quickly, some of his proposals have been met with skepticism on Capitol Hill …” (Michael A. Fletcher, “Obama Tries To Boost Beleaguered Democratic National Committee,” The Washington Post, 2/6/10)