Obama Campaign Manager Promises not to ‘Demonize’ Wall Street ‘Fat Cats’
- Posted on February 9, 2012 at 9:05am by
Becket Adams
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President Obama's top campaign advisers David Axelrod and Jim Messina
Jim Messina, President Barack Obama’s campaign manager, assured a group of Democratic donors from the financial services industry that President Obama won’t “demonize” Wall Street as he moves forward with his “fair share” campaign, Bloomberg reported Wednesday.
“At the members-only Core Club in Manhattan, Messina provided a campaign briefing last night for some of the president’s top donors, including Ralph Schlosstein, chief executive officer at Evercore Partners Inc., and his wife, Jane Hartley, co-founder of the economic and political advisory firm Observatory Group LLC; Eric Mindich, founder of Eton Park Capital Management LP; and Ron Blaylock, co-founder of GenNx360 Capital Partners,” Bloomberg’s Hans Nichols reports.
Although Messina has promised Wall Street donors that they won’t be “demonized” by the president’s campaign, critics believe that Mitt Romney, the current GOP frontrunner, and his record at Bain Capital surely will be.
President Obama has “signaled that his campaign will be based on a populist message of ‘fairness’ to middle-income Americans and seeking higher taxes on the wealthy,” Nichols writes.
Unsurprisingly, critics are skeptical that any attempt by the president to contrast his “fair share” message with the former Massachusetts governor’s record in private equity will exclude disparaging remarks about Wall Street.
In attacking the former, wouldn’t the president also be attacking the latter?
“In response to a question, Messina told the group of Wall Street donors that the president plans to run against Romney, not the industry that made the former governor of Massachusetts millions, according to one of the people, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the private meeting,” Bloomberg reports.
Again, how does the Obama re-election campaign plan to run against Mitt Romney’s record at Bain Capital without simultaneously attacking all those “fat cats” not paying their “fair share”?
“Mitt Romney has made the central premise of his candidacy his time as a so-called job creator,” said Ben LaBolt, press secretary for Obama for America. “But the fact is that he was a corporate buyout specialist who profited off of bankrupting companies and outsourcing jobs, and a governor whose state ranked 47th out of 50th in job creation during his tenure,” LaBolt said.
Perhaps Messina felt it was necessary to reassure donors that the Obama re-election campaign would lay off Wall Street because of the precipitous decline it has seen in support from the financial services industry. After all, it’s no secret that the president has lost a large portion of the financial support he enjoyed during his 2008 campaign.
In 2008, President Obama raised almost $16 million from employees in the securities and investment industry and their families. In 2012, JPMorgan Chase & Co., whose employees gave $23,494 to Obama in the last three months, is the only financial institution among Obama’s top 10 list of donors for the fourth quarter.
What does this mean?
It means that the president may have put himself in a very odd position: he wants to run on the populist message of making everyone pay their “fair share,” but at the same time, he could use Wall Street’s financial backing.
As mentioned in the above, preaching the former without alienating the latter may prove more than difficult — it may be impossible.
(H/T: Weasel Zippers)
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Comments (94)
cemerius
Posted on February 9, 2012 at 10:05amWe promise we won’t demonize “wall street fat cats”! (side whisper) until after you write those checks…..
Anything connected with Obama is a LIE!!! Rather than increase taxes on the wealthy how about lowering the taxes on us TRUE engines called the “middle class” or MAKE the lower classes PAY taxes????
Report Post »db321
Posted on February 9, 2012 at 10:39amHow about we just tune off the Ad and vote Obama out of the White Mosque.
Report Post »smithclar3nc3
Posted on February 9, 2012 at 1:21pmDoes anyone give credence to anything that come out of his mouth. The great divider psudeomarxist
Report Post »really just a lying corrupt chicago politician NOTHING MORE
soybomb315
Posted on February 9, 2012 at 1:37pmThis is just like the scorpion and the frog fable. i heard it on glenn’s radio show yesterday. google it
Report Post »AvengerK
Posted on February 9, 2012 at 6:08pmpromises not to demonize wall street fat cats..at least the ones that are donating generously…(wink).
Report Post »idarusskie
Posted on February 10, 2012 at 6:26amlike always he talks the words on both sides of the issue then goes does what he wants. Now he will have groups that will do that demonizing or him. If wall street gives to this guy without understanding he will demonize him they are nuts.
Report Post »barber2
Posted on February 9, 2012 at 10:01amMaybe instead of demonizing the ” fat cats,“ the Obama people will demonize ”church goers“ or ”straights,” or the Catholic Church ! We know the Democrats love to throw Hate Bones to their angry base !
Report Post »GeorgieJo
Posted on February 9, 2012 at 10:14amThe FAT CATS on Wall Street help get Obummer elected. Then he started demonizing them and turned to helping the poor…..Hmmmm Sounds like the ghost of Teddy O’Kennedy.
Messina et al are hypocrites.
The Middle class is disappearing and Obummer knows where the democrap dollars are……
SEIU gave ONE MILLION to his re-election campaign.
If you don’t believe it—-Google it.
BTW How much money did Google Eric Schmit give?
America is dying and we stand by.Sigh.
Report Post »smithclar3nc3
Posted on February 9, 2012 at 2:34pmA write once wrote liberty died not with a roar of gun firer but instead thunderous applause. Those applauding will be the democrats
Report Post »copatriots
Posted on February 9, 2012 at 9:54amWell….this ought to interesting. How do they intend to not demonize Fat Cats while simultaneously support the Occupy loons?
Progs will sell their own mother to advance the cause.
Report Post »IronSights
Posted on February 9, 2012 at 10:01amIt’s easy, they want middle class to give their fair share to help support their programs. The wealthy Dems will contribute to the campaign and as long as they play nice, Borak won’t go after their earnings.
Report Post »marhee9
Posted on February 9, 2012 at 10:04amThis is way too funny. This clown has done nothing but demonize the fat cats since he’s been in office. Class warfare is all he knows. You can always tell when a liberal is lying when his or her lips are moving. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9GEYAbSoYxs
Report Post »midwesthippie
Posted on February 9, 2012 at 10:58am…not class warfare but selective class warfare…even worse.
Report Post »seeker9
Posted on February 9, 2012 at 11:09amHe has demonized them so much, he no longer needs to say it. Rich folks not paying their “fair” share = Wall Street fat cats (plus any other successful individuals).
Report Post »Detroit paperboy
Posted on February 9, 2012 at 9:54amFine upstanding Chicago Thugs…….. Marxist thugs that is !
Report Post »EqualJustice
Posted on February 9, 2012 at 9:53amTOO late.. they already said they were and now they want their MONEY and support? Don’t think so…
Report Post »sndrman
Posted on February 9, 2012 at 9:52amO‘kenyan won’t but his co-horts will……the owies kids,liberal leftists will, another promise not kept so how many promise kept?
Report Post »SamIamTwo
Posted on February 9, 2012 at 9:51amAnd when did he last keep a promise? ROTFLMAO @ Obozo…the one term, most radical, el presidente.
Report Post »sWampy
Posted on February 9, 2012 at 9:54amThey will have others demonize the wall street fat cats for them, while they take hundreds of millions in campaign donations from them, and kick back billions in tax payer money to the very wall street fat cats they pretend to hate. Typical liberal tactic.
Report Post »Detroit paperboy
Posted on February 9, 2012 at 10:05am@samiam2
Report Post »He promised energy prices would sky rocket…. Kept that one !
13th Imam
Posted on February 9, 2012 at 9:49amThese Fat Cats with the cash will be temporarily spared the demonization for the Political campaign. After squeezing the cash out of them, they will turn on them. It is the way of the DEMOCRAT Party.
Report Post »right
Posted on February 9, 2012 at 9:41amSounds like blackmail to me.
obama, YOU LIE !!
Report Post »barber2
Posted on February 9, 2012 at 9:47amIdea for a campaign poster : Joe Wilson was right…
Report Post »barber2
Posted on February 9, 2012 at 11:45amRevision: Joe Wilson did not lie….
Report Post »cja23
Posted on February 9, 2012 at 9:40amExcuse please, but hasn’t Soros/Obama organizing already demonized Wall Street and continues to do so.
Report Post »cja23
Posted on February 9, 2012 at 9:39amMarxist Obama’s fairness message, “code for redistribution of your wealth”. Don’t worry the liberals will come after the middle income citizens next. The liberals want more of “your” to waste.
Report Post »Detroit paperboy
Posted on February 9, 2012 at 10:02am@cia23
Report Post »He never talks about spreading the Labor…… Only the wealth, from that labor….
cja23
Posted on February 9, 2012 at 9:36amRadical Obama is such a phony. Gimme your millions Wall Street, and I won’t demonize you. What the heck do you think Soros/Obama Occupy is, besides destruction of public property costing taxpayers millions.
Report Post »Abraham Young
Posted on February 9, 2012 at 9:35amToo late Obama. We know you hate liberty and prosperity for those who labor for it and you also hate the family structure through which people obtain inherited wealth , providing for their own.
You hate traditional families. You hate traditional economics. You hate tradition.
You are a communist in sheep’s clothing, and we are your intended prey.
Report Post »momrules
Posted on February 9, 2012 at 9:31amHasn’t Obama already demonized the Wall Street fatcats? How is he going to get that horse back in the barn.
Report Post »If these folks think that they are anything but a check book to him at this point I wonder about their sanity.
barber2
Posted on February 9, 2012 at 9:31amSo who will Obama throw under the bus next ? The Democrats know how to use people..then abuse people. ( It’s all part of the Marxist way of doing things. ) Has Wall Street learned its lesson ? Have liberal Catholics who bought into that “social justice” / Big Daddy rhetoric ? When you bargain with the Devil, you can get burned…
Report Post »JUSTANOTHEROPINION
Posted on February 9, 2012 at 9:26amIt‘s a little late don’t you think? What a bunch of losers!!!!
Report Post »NOBALONEY
Posted on February 9, 2012 at 9:24amNot with all the big bucks you’ve been getting from Wall Street!
Report Post »cessna152
Posted on February 9, 2012 at 9:23amHe won’t demonize… but he’ll slander, lie and throw them in jail along with Christians and conservatives.
Report Post »barber2
Posted on February 9, 2012 at 9:19amTypical Obama Democrats: tell Big Lies. Spew divisive hate speech. And then play Mr. Uniter/ Nice Guy. How dumb do they think the American people are ? Other than their Far Left. brainwashed. Marxist base that is ….. Attention Democrats: you have declared War on capitalism and Catholics. Get ready for the blow back which you so richly deserve . Pray people.
Report Post »doomytram
Posted on February 9, 2012 at 9:27amHe just came back from Disney World trying to get more Chinese, South Americans, and Arabs to come to America for tourism. Knowing full well that he has destroyed the tourism industry worse than if a giant tornado ripped across the magic kingdom. Remember when his fat cats rhetoric destroyed tourism in Nevada in 2009? His polices are destroying American Tourism, so he is flying around to commie ABC disney world to get more foreigners to come to the USA. thanks disaster of disasters?
Report Post »Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}
Posted on February 9, 2012 at 9:17amI’ll put it this way – we know exactly how worthless their promises for anything are.
Report Post »CROCK-HANDLER
Posted on February 9, 2012 at 9:16amIt’s gonna be hard because the ”fair share” idea is only about demonizing the rich.
Report Post »barber2
Posted on February 9, 2012 at 9:36amso interesting to hear them spin this anti-rich, fat cat, anti- banker rhetoric ! The hate speech which created the taxpayer nightmares, The Occupations of our cities. Just another Big Lie . Morality of the Moment . What can we say to feed our Dominant Media propaganda machine ? The Obama Transformation/ War on capitalism….
Report Post »Gonzo
Posted on February 9, 2012 at 9:15amHe promised Obamacare wouldn’t infringe on religious liberties too, Fat Cats. A lot of Dem. congressmen when down in flames for him and he did it anyway. Think about it before you write those checks Fat Cats.
Report Post »lynnissmart
Posted on February 9, 2012 at 9:14amAnything the pos does, is for one benefit only…….H I S !!!!
Report Post »barber2
Posted on February 9, 2012 at 9:20amYes. Big Daddy Government knows that Marxism is GOOD for everyone. ( just do as you are told and eat your peas )
Report Post »brntout
Posted on February 9, 2012 at 11:05am@BARBER2 Why do you so hate peas?
Report Post »doomytram
Posted on February 9, 2012 at 9:12amNo crap? They, Oblamer/Axelrod, and their band of Harvard and Princeton unemployment and labor Non economist Commies created the Occupy Scam…. Now they are backing away from it, because of how much of a disaster it has become.
Obama’s failings Start at Apple, Cars, and end at Zebra. Actually everything he has touched has failed. He seems to think the Chrysler and GM Debacle are his greatest accomplishments.
Report Post »keaton
Posted on February 9, 2012 at 9:08amBut you know how he lies!
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