President Barack Obama’s Washington-bashing could boomerang on his own party in Congress if he’s not careful, House leaders warned White House senior adviser David Axelrod in a closed-door meeting Thursday.
The fear, raised by Speaker Nancy Pelosi, campaign chief Chris Van Hollen and Majority Whip Jim Clyburn, is that Democrats have more to lose if anti-Washington sentiment is not directed at one party or the other.
“If the president is going to go out and talk about how Washington’s broken, he’s got to include a strong contrast with congressional Republicans or else we’re going to get blamed for it,” one meeting participant said later.
But Axelrod gave no indication that he plans to alter the president’s course, sources told POLITICO. White House aides did not reply to requests for comment.
Full story: Pelosi to W.H.: Back off the Washington bashing – John Bresnahan and Jonathan Allen – POLITICO.com