After Fox News, next on Obama hit list: Chamber of Commerce?
By Mark Sappenfield | 10.25.09
Call it a Summit of the Disgruntled.
On Sunday, Fox News hosted leaders from America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) and the US Chamber of Commerce.
For those of you not keeping score at home, the Obama administration has:
1. Declared repeatedly that Fox News is not a news organization.
2. Made AHIP its long-sought-for enemy in the healthcare-reform battle.
3. Tried its best to undermine the authority of the US Chamber of Commerce.
Not surprisingly, the tone of the panel was a bit bitter, decrying the Obama administration’s “name-calling.”
A vast left-wing conspiracy?
Yet it appears there is more than just the ordinary partisan frustration at work. Since August, the Obama administration has undertaken a clear strategy of seeking to discredit and marginalize some of the most influential conservative voices in Washington, according to a report in Politico.
The result is a Washington turned even more antagonistic. It took President Bush – the self-styled compassionate conservative – hardly more than a year to lose that moniker, and President Obama – elected as a great uniter – is now reportedly embarking on a strategy to emasculate the political right.
But that’s how the city works, says political scientist Sidney Milkis. “Partisanship is at least part of the solution to the political challenges he and the country face,” he said at a recent roundtable about partisanship at Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Va.
His argument is that the current partisanship is neither unprecedented nor unusual but rather “unvarnished,” and that all the most consequential presidents in history were also “extraordinary party leaders.”
Obama as provocateur
Indeed, Obama’s actions of recent weeks have the appearance of “rallying the troops.”
Fox News – whose war with the Obama administration has been very open – is only the most obvious target. As the White House has been casting aspersions on Fox News, it has also been meeting directly with executives at some of America’s most powerful firms.
To the Chamber of Commerce, the effort amounts to an end run – bypassing one of Washington’s most powerful lobbying groups in an attempt to undermine its authority.
The White House feels this is necessary because of the Chamber of Commerce’s opposition to some of Obama’s flagship reforms, most importantly cap-and-trade and financial regulation.
Evidence suggests that the White House can have some success in peeling away certain businesses from the Chamber of Commerce. Nike and Apple quit, for example, in protest over the organization’s opposition to energy reform.
But this campaign has come at the expense of cordial relations between the White House and the Chamber.
At the beginning of Obama’s term, the Chamber of Commerce backed the president on the stimulus and the bank bailouts. Now, speaking of the apparent war the White House has started, Chamber of Commerce President Tom Donohue said: “Tell ’em to put their damn helmets on.”
AHIP check
The same situation applies to AHIP. In May, administration officials were praising AHIP and other insurers for wanting “to be a part of the solution” after they agreed to voluntary cost-cutting reforms that would result in $2 billion in savings over 10 years.
Earlier this month, however, AHIP released a report that angered the White House and many Democrats. It suggested that healthcare costs for a typical American family would go up – by $20,700 between 2010 and 2019 – if the Senate Finance Committee’s version of healthcare reform passed.
The president responded in his weekly radio address, saying insurers were “ breaking out their massive war chest … for one last fight to save the status quo. They’re … funding studies designed to mislead the American people.”
Professor Milkis suggested that Obama has used the presidential bully pulpit to its fullest extent, trying to maximize the influence of the presidency, which he argued is more powerful than at any point since Richard Nixon.
Others have drawn different comparisons with Nixon, saying Obama has an “enemies list,” as Nixon did.
It appears, however, that the White House has not yet completely cast off its “enemies.” Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel will speak to the Chamber of Commerce on Nov. 4.
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2. JimC | 10.25.09
Hey ! A differing point of view from a previous Monitor article !
My Hearty congrats on an attempt at a more balanced coverage by the Monitor !
3. Freedem | 10.26.09
Rodger Ailes and Pat Buchanan have bragged for years about how calling all the establishment press Liberal for reporting facts rather than their made up stuff has caused the rest of the media to report more of their made up stuff as fact.
Rodger Ailes of course went on to lead a propaganda group to produce only made up stuff and further subvert the Country to the narrow extreme NeoCon agenda as laid out by Leo Strauss. Aside from various front groups like the Heritage Foundation, there have been many subverted and captured, the National Chamber of Commerce among them, many establishment Conservative before but now extreme radicals.
This subversion is based on real and imagined techniques of Russian agents in the 1940’s and 50’s but is more dangerous and effective for being home grown. What the Whitehouse has done is (as with many things)a very moderate response to a more “hair on fire” problem.
Unlike the response Ailes and Buchanan got of embarrassed compliance, expect the Neocon response to be more open virulent attacks and claims of press freedom when destroying freedom for others is near the top of their agenda.
4. freddie | 10.26.09
It appears to me that a great country such as yours in the throws of challenges from all sides has been fortunate to have a president such as Obama to lead it. The lack of appreciation or thoughtful/constructive critism from certain quarters demonstrates not only an absence of wisdom but irresponsible argumentation - without consideration for the less previlidged of its citizens. It also shows how those whose personal life of comfort have little awareness for those less fortunate. Time to grow up! Foxes steal & pester and mostly live off of others’ endeavours.
5. Brian | 10.26.09
Many, if not most, of history’s most notorious despots were well meaning, if only in their own minds, individuals from the left. While I did not vote for Obama, I was more than willing to give him a chance to prove himself as president. His behavior, as time passes, is growing more and more scary.
6. besser | 10.26.09
Hey, maybe you should think about the fact that your president and his administration may have been planning this for quite some time. Just who were “some critics” and Hey, whose agenda were they representing? it is up to the companies that fund the Chamber to determine the effectiveness of their lobbying efforts and to deal with that issue. It is not you or that of “some critics” who do not agree with the majority view. Personally, I will no longer buy Nike or Apple products due to their blatant political moves. Hey, that is the risk they take - to be disenfranchised. And I find your view that since one journalist within CSM published an article a few months back they should never report on other aspects of an issue to be laughable. CSM should not, like many other MSM be a one-sided political voice - it should report news and provide free and open checks and balances on our system of government when needed - or not. Hey?
7. Brian | 10.26.09
Thanks Bess for undermining your point with an insult to the writer. I agree, Obama can’t go complaining about what he inherited… it’s almost been 1/4 a term! If a co-worker is doing something badly, and your boss tells you to take it over, it doesn’t matter what you inherited, he expects you to do it well. That’s why he put you in charge. It’s the same thing with the president and the American people. Obama, if you want to be taken off the “reform America” project because it’s too hard. I’m sure all you need to do is say “I resign” sign a letter, and let Biden have a go. If he doesn’t want to Nancy Pelosi can try (order of succession) - The bottom line, learn your job and do it.
8. Joseph | 10.26.09
Good for the president and good for the country it is about time FOX is and the Glenn Fake show are exposed as what they are.
9. Jos Deknopper | 10.26.09
The way the Chamber spends money lobbying here - now fully in line with Murdoch’s Fox industry and connected publications - does not seem me in line with a Chamber’s Mission.
It’s more in line with the greed driven people in Wall Street who nearly made crash the US stock market and the world financial systems - posessed as the are with their bonuses, ignoring loftily that these billions come from other’s pockets.
Thank you, Bess, to remember people to keep in mind the C.S.M.’s cover story of a few months back!
10. Will Smith | 10.26.09
Here in Virginia the Chamber is constantly running attack ads smearing the Democratic candidate for governor and Obama’s health plans. These ads have all the hallmark of the “Swiftboat” attacks and I wouldn’t be surprised if they were produced by the same people. What has this got to do with an impartial and disinterested support of “Commerce.” I was shocked to see a name I once respected pop up on the screen as the sponsor of this debasement of our political life.
11. byron alexander | 10.26.09
Glad to see the Obama team throwing some punches. Why should they be patsies for the Republican party’s propaganda mouthpiece? In regards to the Chamber has been hijacked by wing-nuts and often takes positions that DO NOT promote a better business climate; they would stifle the net by fighting net-neutrality laws, for example. The insurance companies put out a lot of cooked up data, that was a first cousin to an outright lie, to try to once again defeat progress on health care reform but taking away monopoly protection was not a tit for tat, it makes a heck of a lot of sense; something that all free-market people should have supported.
13. Geo W | 10.26.09
Thank you Comrade Obama for eliminating the hated free speech that has for so long limited the expansion of our cause and the power of our unions. Having the blind the obedience of NBC, CBS, ABC, CNN, MSNBC and most major papers is great but we much destroy Fox and talk radio of we are to completely cut the throats of those ignorant Americans still clinging to that antiquated Constitution. Now we must destroy the perverted idea of capitalism so that we may eliminate our excess and live the free lives of our most cherished comrades in China and in the new Russia. Finally the promise of our most loved brother Nikita is being kept!
14. DB | 10.26.09
What a bunch of whiny victims! Obama’s been called everything including The Antichrist, his administration has been accused of every possible political stripe, from Marxism to socialism (without irony, I would add), and when his boys call BS on it, the whining begins.
AHIP’s report, you failed to note, was horribly slanted. It left in only the bits needed to produce a laughably false result. Most analysts said the report actually swung the health care debate away from AHIP’s view. Nice work.
And calling Fox a card-carrying member of the Republican Party is just telling the truth. AND THERE’S NOTHING WRONG WITH FOX BEING THE WAY IT IS. I avoid Fox, but I’d hate to have a world without it. It is a political organization that exists to push extreme-right into the mainstream.
The Comrade Obama/socialism nonsense is just silly. You really think the entire free market system (the deregulation of which brought on the current big-fun recession) is under threat? See your doctor. Paranoia will destroy ya. It’s clear that the government can do at least as good a job (better, if you ask many veterans about the VA or ask most doctors about Medicare) as private industry at providing health insurance, and can do it a **** of a lot cheaper. The fight against Obama is a fight to preserve obscene profits and lousy service, all from the quality of my health care.
15. Kathleen | 10.26.09
From a liberal viewpoint, I am sick of listening to the brainwashing by the right wing that claims it is freedom of speech when it is actually nothing but hate speech or focused on greed at the expense of the middle class and working folks. The lies that the right wing has pushed about the health care issue is appalling. The junk about Obama’s birth is crazy and yet seems to be very popular with certain people so the right-wing media keeps pushing it–I am sorry, but I want a real disussion about real issues. We need to deal with issues like immigration without pushing racism among the populace. We need to deal with financial and wall street reform, not focus on Obama’s birth certificate.
16. Sam | 10.26.09
Although Obama and his people attack anyone who differs with them, they do not attack the facts or claim that they are false. I am an independent and checked out each candidate during their campaigns, and liked none. Obama had absolutely no major credentials to earn him the White House and the most powerful office in the world; he had only a kind of charisma that charmed many. Now that I look at what his plans are and the people he has placed around him in his Administration, I see why he chose to keep his alliances and plans in the shadows before election. I don’t like name calling or radical ranting or conservative ranting either…but honest, above-board debate and transparency are essential and it looks to me as if much is still being done in secret, behind closed doors. This is not good for the country.
17. Ron | 10.26.09
The Chamber of Commerce has begun a campaign to create 20 million new jobs. I applaud their efforts. They are focused on what matters - helping this nation’s economy. And what is the Obama White House’s reaction? To demonize business and free enterprise. Now, are there some corporations who are piggish with way-too-highly-paid CEOs? Yes, of course. Go ahead and keep the heat on them. But keep in mind the overwhelming majority of businesses the Chamber represents are small “Main Street” businesses - the barber shop, the grocery store, etc. The White House is way-too-close to the SEIU (”card check”), and it’s not the right time for cap-and-trade. What a shame - we need a President who focuses on job creation! Most of the job creation to date is due to TARP - no one should get credit for putting this nation deeper in debt.
18. bess | 10.26.09
Umm.. I just want to say that I love the CSMonitor, and I was simply challenging this blogger to refer to more facts, such as were used in the cover story a few months ago. Clearly, a blogger (essentially op/ed) is entitled to his or her opinion. I appreciate the unbiased reporting that gives us the background behind every story that the weekly Monitor reports! So, besser (is that a take on my name?), don’t think I was slamming the Monitor, just looking for better support behind this blogger’s opinion. The “critics” I mentioned were, as I recall, other lobbying groups- sorry I can’t tell you the edition so you can go look- we share our Monitor after we are finished, so I can’t tell you which one to look in for the article. Maybe someone else can share the date or edition? Or a link?
19. Dennis Kerr | 10.26.09
I am really concerned about the new direction of the Chamber of Commerce. At some fuzzy point in the Bush administration, they ceased being a chamber of commerce and became a chamber of importers. Which is fine, the retail product importers also deserve representation, but instead of simply being an influential caucus in the chamber, they have succeeded in hijacking the whole thing.
20. suki | 10.26.09
No matter how you feel about Fox News, no one is forcing you to watch it.
As Dana Perino, former Bush press officer who is now working on international projects encouraging press freedoms in different countries, pointed out on a Fox News Sunday, other countries watch the U.S. as a role model. I wonder whether in the undignified (my word not hers) behavior of the President and his minions in attacking and trying to diminish Fox News they realize that they are modeling for other countries that while we may say we believe in a free press, it’s only when we agree with that press coverage.
We need jobs creation! We need attention given to Afghanistan! Please Mr. President and friends remember why you were elected and stop the schoolyard brawling!
22. debug | 10.26.09
The Chamber of Commerce is bought for foreign corporations. This groups is very Anti American and Anti American Middle Class. They don’t care about Americans being employed just as long as the people (specially foreign like NASSCOM, India’s lobbying Arm) is happy.
They are super pro outsourcing. Wake up America, time to get rid of the Chamber of Commerce.
23. Marylyn | 10.26.09
Fox, the Chamber of Commerce and AHIP have a right to their opinions and that is good for America!
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Jimmy Orr has worked in politics for the majority of his professional career working for two U.S. Senators, two Governors and one President. Most recently, Orr served as White House Spokesman and Internet Director for President George W. Bush and Special Advisor to Governor Schwarzenegger for Internet Communications.
David Cook is Washington bureau chief of The Christian Science Monitor and host of the Monitor's newsmaker breakfasts. He was the Monitor's editor from 1994 to 2001. Cook is a graduate of Principia College, served in the U.S. Army, was a Bagehot Fellow at Columbia University, and is a member of the Gridiron Club, Washington's oldest journalistic organization.
1. bess | 10.25.09
Hey, you should read The Christian Science Monitor…there was an interesting cover story a few months back, in which some critics pointed out that the way the Chamber spends money lobbying is not necessarily effective, and is disconnected from grass roots efforts. Maybe it’s okay that our president is challenging what is essentially a PAC that throws it’s money around. Read your own publication.