Is Rahm Emanuel worried?

While the Cook Report, Stuart Rothenberg and Larry Sabato have all recently raised their forecast of the seats the Democrats might pick up in the November House races, Democratic Congressional Campaign Chair Rahm Emanuel is acting increasingly agitated, like a man who knows better where the Party stands.

Never one to mince words, Rahm has incautiously made some recent statements suggesting he is encouraging closer coordination between supposedly independent 527 groups, and Democratic campaign activity. The New York Daily News reports:

Chicago Congressman Rahm Emanuel, who leads the Democrats' efforts to retake the House and Senate, is criticizing two of his party's leading allies — George Soros and MoveOn.org — for spending too little on the midterm elections.

"In the 2004 election there were some very active players who, as far as I can tell, have now decided they're neither going to be involved in the field, advertising or anything," Emanuel told the Daily News. "Do you know where they are?" [....]

 "MoveOn goes into four districts, advertises, does a great job in each of those districts, and they literally moved on. The election is in November, and they moved on in June," he said. "I'm like, 'What is going on here?' I don't get it. I'm bewildered. Do you think for a moment the Chamber of Commerce will not run another ad in one of these campaigns?"

What Rahm wants of course is for George Soros, and moveon. org to step up the spending in the 30 or 40 races that will determine control of the House. 

Of course, Rahm was a supporter of campaign finance reform and would hate to see the law violated, so long as his candidates get the money they need or the "independent" support they need.

Richard Baehr   8 28 06

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