In the Wall Street Journal today, the editors give close examination to what is likely to be the medium-term strategy for the Obama Administration: deliberately create governmental chaos in the hopes of manipulating the Democratic base.
This is an astonishing new development and one against presidential tradition but it all makes sense once you consider the ultimate goal: electing a Democratic House in 2014 so that Obama, Nancy Pelosi, and Harry Reid can go on another leftist spending and regulatory binge:
The Journal editorial is based on a Washington Post piece which revealed the strategy, something the White House did not appreciate:
The article says that shortly after finishing his speech on Election Night last year, Mr. Obama called Mrs. Pelosi and Steve Israel, who runs the Democratic House re-election campaign, to discuss 2014. The strategy fits Mr. Obama's unprecedented new effort to raise $50 million in $500,000 chunks to fund Organizing for Action (OFA), which will spend millions in GOP-held districts. Mr. Israel says he met in January with Jim Messina, Mr. Obama's 2012 campaign manager who now runs OFA, to discuss the 2014 races.
White House press secretary Jay Carney pushed back against the article on Monday, saying 2014 is "not a focus" for Mr. Obama. But that looks like an attempt at damage control after the Post blew the White House's cover. Mr. Obama has to appear to want bipartisan deals even as he prepares the ground for blaming Republicans in 2014 when those efforts fail.
This is already clear on the budget, as Mr. Obama insists on a second tax increase that Republicans can't accept. We're also increasingly worried about White House sabotage on immigration reform, as it pushes the bill left on a guest-worker program and enforcement. Mr. Obama is doing exactly what you'd expect if he doesn't want a deal and plans to use the issue to drive minority turnout in 2014.
Do you think this is indeed the strategy and if so, what is the smart response to it?
