DNC sends out fundraising appeal for Barrett in recall fight [View all]

[ProSense]

DNC sends out fundraising appeal for Barrett in recall fight

By Craig Gilbert

The Democratic National Committee is asking its national supporters in an email Wednesday to contribute to the recall fight against Gov. Scott Walker.

A party official said the solicitation is going out to “millions” of people who have supported the party and the Obama campaign in the past.

The national party has been criticized by some on the left for not doing more for Tom Barrett’s campaign against Gov. Scott Walker.

Party officials have pushed back against that criticism.

“The DNC is fully committed to helping Mayor Barrett win next month’s recall election in Wisconsin,” said Melanie Roussell, DNC Spokeswoman. “DNC Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz has spoken to Mayor Barrett and has pledged the DNC’s support for his successful election next month. She will host a fundraiser for Mayor Barrett, and the DNC will utilize both its substantial network of activists, volunteers and supporters and extensive online resources to assist in building the ground game that will win on Election Day.”

In the fundraising e-mail, Wasserman Schultz says:

“Of all the elections we are preparing for in 2012, one of the most important ones isn't happening in November.

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http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/news/153256285.html#!page=4&pageSize=10&sort=newestfirst

Good. Maybe this will wake up the millions.

John Nichols: Dave Obey says top national Democrats need to go to bat for Tom Barrett

Dave Obey knows Wisconsin politics. Over a half century, as a local Democratic activist in Wausau, state legislator and 21-term member of the U.S. House of Representatives who rose to chair the chamber's most powerful committee, he never lost an election and he never misread the trends and patterns of a state where he repeatedly made electoral history.

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"There is no question that this a winnable fight for Barrett. It's always been winnable, and when you see the level of energy and organization on the ground it is absolutely clear that this can be done," explained Obey. "But time’s a wasting. This goes for Wisconsin Democrats, it goes for the White House, it goes for the Democratic National Committee."

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“We are completely committed to electing Tom Barrett,” DNC communications director Brad Woodhouse told the Washington Post. “Any suggestion of a lack of commitment or engagement on the part of the DNC/OFA is off the mark and does nothing more than play into the hands of Scott Walker and his billionaire buddies who launched their frontal assault on working families in Wisconsin."

In fact, the DNC has provided around $800,000 since the recall fight got rolling last November. Traditionally, that would have been seen as a substantial commitment. But with Walker's own campaign raising $25 million during the same period, and with millions more flowing into the state via aggressive campaigns mounted by the Republican Governor's Association and so-called "independent" groups that are backing the governor, it is no secret that Wisconsin Democrats are looking for more support from the DNC.

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http://host.madison.com/ct/news/opinion/column/john_nichols/article_b1d9fce6-a08a-11e1-85c9-001a4bcf887a.html#ixzz1vn0H3Qhn