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And now, from the annals of political cluelessness:

In a potential sign of Democratic unease with the White House midterm political strategy, some of President Obama’s allies have begun to question his sustained attack on the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which has long claimed bipartisanship but is being increasingly identified as a GOP ally.

….Democrats expressing reservations have worked on behalf of moderate candidates with business backing. They recalled past attacks on former President Clinton and Vice President Al Gore for receiving foreign money and warned that White House charges now could lead to GOP reprisals, particularly if Republicans gain control of the House.

“The White House may reap the whirlwind,” said one top Democratic staffer. “What are we going to do next year if a Republican Congress is making baseless claims about President Obama? We’ll want the media to hold them accountable to the facts and the evidence.”

Maybe you think the president’s attacks on the Chamber of Commerce are over the top. Fine. Maybe you think it’s making life hard for some centrist Dems. Fine. But worrying about “reprisals”? Worrying that it will leave Dems helpless if Republicans start making “baseless claims about President Obama”? WTF? What planet do some of these guys come from? Are they still under the impression that Republicans might not make baseless claims about Obama if he plays nice? Or that the press is going to hold them accountable if they do?

Holy cats. Maybe they really do deserve to lose.

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It’s risky, but also unavoidable: A full one-third of the dollars that we need to pay for the journalism you rely on has to get raised in December. A good December means our newsroom is fully staffed, well-resourced, and on the beat. A bad one portends budget trouble and hard choices.

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We simply can’t afford to come up short. There is no cushion in our razor-thin budget—no backup, no alternative sources of revenue to balance our books. Corporations and powerful people with deep pockets will never sustain the fierce journalism we do. That’s why we need you to show up for us right now.

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