WASHINGTON (AP) – House Democrats clawed their way into power and delivered a burst of historic legislation for President Barack Obama after he took office seven years ago. Now, in his final year, Obama is leaving them greatly diminished and confronting questions about whether their next generation of leaders can lead them back into the majority.
So as Obama addresses House Democrats gathered in Baltimore this week for an “issues retreat” emphasizing party unity and team spirit, it’s likely to be a bittersweet experience for many.
Obama’s House allies are in far worse shape politically than they ever imagined they would be at the dawn of his first term, when successive electoral romps in 2006 and 2008 gave them a whopping 257-178 seat edge in the House. Obama and then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., used that majority to push through an economic stimulus package, the most far-reaching overhaul of health care since Medicare and Medicaid and a revamp of regulation of the financial services industry.
Democrats controlled majorities of the Mississippi, Arkansas and North Carolina delegations. Seats in Upstate New York that had been in GOP hands for decades were under their control. Even Alabama was evenly split.
Then came 2010, and the wave of tea party anger over Obama’s policies on health care, the economy and energy wiped out many moderate and conservative Democrats representing rural swing districts. Democrats lost 63 seats, Republicans claimed the majority and Obama bemoaned the “shellacking.”