Obama, Biden Scold 'Apathetic,' 'Whining' Democrats
Tom Diemer
Correspondent
Posted:
09/28/10
Using words like "inexcusable" and "whining," President Obama and Vice President Biden are scolding Democratic voters, warning that the party must close the enthusiasm gap with Republicans as the midterm elections approach amid signs of an impending GOP tide.
"People need to shake off this lethargy," Obama said in an interview with Rolling Stone magazine set for publication on Friday. Surveys not only show that Republicans are poised to make big gains in both the House and Senate, but also that their constituent base is more excited as Nov. 2 draws near. Obama, campaigning in four states this week, is well aware of the problem and wants his party's liberal base to "buck up." Some liberals are disappointed that the Obama administration did not insist on a "public option" for insurance coverage in the health care bill, and did not push harder for their other priorities.
But Obama, in the interview, said, "It is inexcusable for any Democrat or progressive right now to stand on the sidelines in this midterm election.
"The idea that we've got a lack of enthusiasm in the Democratic base, that people are sitting on their hands complaining, is just irresponsible," the president told Rolling Stone. Obama appears on the cover of the upcoming edition, a spot reserved in the past for the likes of John Lennon, Bob Dylan and the Rolling Stones. (The latter two are said to be among the favorites on the president's iPod.)
In New Hampshire on Monday, Vice President Joe Biden said Democratic candidates need to "remind our base constituency to stop whining and get out there and look at the alternatives." Instead, he told those gathered at a fundraiser for three House hopefuls, Democratic stalwarts should emphasize that the policies of the Bush White House "decimated the middle class -- that's the real catastrophe," according to CNN.
The liberal "whining" notwithstanding, Biden continued to insist that Democrats will keep their majorities in the House and Senate in November.
Click play below to watch Biden's clarification of his remarks about whining:
"People need to shake off this lethargy," Obama said in an interview with Rolling Stone magazine set for publication on Friday. Surveys not only show that Republicans are poised to make big gains in both the House and Senate, but also that their constituent base is more excited as Nov. 2 draws near. Obama, campaigning in four states this week, is well aware of the problem and wants his party's liberal base to "buck up." Some liberals are disappointed that the Obama administration did not insist on a "public option" for insurance coverage in the health care bill, and did not push harder for their other priorities.
But Obama, in the interview, said, "It is inexcusable for any Democrat or progressive right now to stand on the sidelines in this midterm election.
"The idea that we've got a lack of enthusiasm in the Democratic base, that people are sitting on their hands complaining, is just irresponsible," the president told Rolling Stone. Obama appears on the cover of the upcoming edition, a spot reserved in the past for the likes of John Lennon, Bob Dylan and the Rolling Stones. (The latter two are said to be among the favorites on the president's iPod.)
In New Hampshire on Monday, Vice President Joe Biden said Democratic candidates need to "remind our base constituency to stop whining and get out there and look at the alternatives." Instead, he told those gathered at a fundraiser for three House hopefuls, Democratic stalwarts should emphasize that the policies of the Bush White House "decimated the middle class -- that's the real catastrophe," according to CNN.
The liberal "whining" notwithstanding, Biden continued to insist that Democrats will keep their majorities in the House and Senate in November.
Click play below to watch Biden's clarification of his remarks about whining: