White House attacks worry moderate Democrats

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1009/28638.html

A White House effort to undermine conservative critics is generating a
backlash on Capitol Hill — and not just from Republicans.

"It's a mistake," said Rep. Jason Altmire, a moderate Democrat from
western Pennsylvania. "I think it's beneath the White House to get
into a tit for tat with news organizations."

Altmire was talking about the Obama administration's efforts to
undercut Fox News. But he said his remarks applied just the same to
White House efforts to marginalize the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, a
powerful business lobby targeted for its opposition to climate change
legislation.

"There's no reason to gratuitously piss off all those companies,"
added another Democrat, Rep. Jim Moran of Virginia. "The Chamber isn't
an opponent."

POLITICO reported earlier this week on an all-fronts push by the White
House to cut the legs out from under its toughest critics, whether
it's the Chamber, radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh or Glenn Beck and
the rest of the Fox News operation.

White House Communications Director Anita Dunn has defended the push,
saying the administration made "a fundamental decision that we needed
to be more aggressive in both protecting our position and in
delineating our differences with those who were attacking us."

Congressional Republicans counterattacked Thursday. House Minority
Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) said the administration was "targeting
those who don't immediately fall in line" with "Chicago-style
politics" aimed at "shutting the American people out and demonizing
their opponents."

Boehner's No. 2, Minority Whip Eric Cantor (R-Va.) complained that the
nation's problems are growing while the White House "bickers with a
cable news network."

Liberal Democrats have little heartburn over the administration's
attacks on Fox and Limbaugh. But the attacks make moderates uneasy —
especially when they extend to the Chamber of Commerce.

While Limbaugh and Fox commentators like Beck make no secret of their
dislike for Democrats, the Chamber's Republican lean is partially
counteracted by nominal and financial support for pro-business
Democrats who need to win votes from pro-business Republicans. The
campaign websites of moderate Democrats from across the country are
filled with endorsements from the Chamber of Commerce.

Rep. Brad Ellsworth of Indiana, for example, has this testimonial from
a Chamber official on his site: "On issues ranging from lowering taxes
to increasing trade, Indiana's businesses and workers have no better
friend than Brad Ellsworth."

Ellsworth got a $5,000 campaign contribution from the Chamber in the
past election.

Rep. Sanford Bishop (D-Ga.), another recipient of a Chamber
contribution, said Thursday that he had no intention of stepping into
the middle of a fight between the White House and the Chamber, but he
did note that he had won an award for his voting record from the
national Chamber of Commerce.

A senior House Democrat, speaking on the condition of anonymity while
questioning the wisdom of the White House strategy, said: "I have no
problem with [going after] Rush at all. I don't have much of a problem
with Fox. I think the Chamber's another story."

The Democrat took issue with Chamber leaders in Washington, who he
said "do not do a good job of representing the interests of their
members." But he also acknowledged the benefits the Chamber's goodwill
can confer on certain segments of the caucus.

He said that the White House is trying to "take advantage of the
discontent within the Chamber. Several flagship companies, including
Apple and PG&E, have cut ties with the Chamber to protest its
opposition to the climate change legislation that passed the House
earlier this year.

Some Democratic critics of the White House attacks say it may
strengthen the relationship between the Chamber and moderate Democrats
in Congress, who will fast become the organization's best hope for
addressing its concerns if it is frozen out by the White House.

"I don't think the White House's relationship with the Chamber will
have any effect on individual members' relationships with the
Chamber," said Indiana Sen. Evan Bayh, a centrist Democrat. "I think
we'll be judged on how we conduct ourselves."