Posted on 09/03/2017 4:20:23 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
Democrats are expressing concern that advisers and aides to former President Obama have already begun signaling which candidate they might support for the White House in 2020.
Valerie Jarrett, one of Obama’s closest confidantes, and David Simas, the CEO of Obama’s foundation, have sent smoke signals urging former Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick (D) to enter the race.
Simas, who once served as a top aide to Patrick, is an ardent supporter of the former governor, sources tell The Hill, while Jarrett has privately told friends that she would do what it takes to support him.
And Politico reported last month that Jarrett believes a President Patrick is “what my heart desires.”
At the same time, friends of Jarrett’s say that while she would love for Patrick to run, she is also open to other candidates.
Others in Obamaworld have quietly been buzzing about the excitement behind a potential Patrick run.
Axios's Mike Allen mentioned Patrick as a favorite in Obamaworld in his popular newsletter on Friday.
Other former aides close to Obama say they would support a run by former Vice President Joe Biden, if he decides to launch a bid in 2020.
Obama has not weighed in publicly on the next presidential race, and those around him have said he isn’t looking to tip the scales and believes it is too early to back any one candidate.
But the reports of Jarrett’s and Simas’s interest in Patrick have left people wondering what the former president is thinking.
One top Obama fundraiser, however, said it’s clear the inner circle has a clear favorite in Patrick and that it’s no coincidence they’ve put that storyline out there.
“It’s blatantly overt,” the fundraiser said told The Hill.
The fundraiser speculated that one reason Obama’s circle is putting out smoke about Patrick is to take away oxygen from Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.).
“A lot of people in our world see Deval as the one who will carry the Obama legacy. Kamala has labeled herself as the female Obama, but Deval was Obama before Obama was Obama,” the fundraiser said.
Obama’s office did not comment for this story. Jarrett declined to comment. Simas did not respond to a request for comment.
Democratic insiders are expressing worry about some of the talk, and they say it’s much too early to be pushing one particular candidate.
“There is little appetite in the party to settle on a candidate early,” said Democratic strategist Jamal Simmons.
Many Democrats and Republicans believe the 2020 race will be wide open and that a couple dozen Democrats could even run for the party’s presidential nomination.
It’s difficult to see either Patrick or Harris becoming a frontrunner in the race, particularly with Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) signaling his continued interest. Sanders will attend two events on Monday in New Hampshire.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) is another potential favorite and frontrunner should she choose to enter the race.
“I want to see a wide-open a process where there are no front-runners,” Democratic strategist Jim Manley said. “The idea that anyone is out there pushing for one person or another is a mistake.”
While the 2020 election is still more than three years away, potential candidates must already prepare for the possibility of a race.
The fight for key staff members and donors will not be delayed.
One former aide to Clinton said there’s danger in Obama heavyweights being seen as aligning with a candidate, because it could deepen factions within the party.
The fight between the Sanders and Clinton wings from the 2016 primary has left scars, with supporters of both candidates blaming the other, at least to a degree, over President Trump’s victory.
Still, some strategists say even if the Obama allies have their favorites, it won’t matter much in the end.
“Party insiders don't have a great track record of picking successful Democratic nominees,” said Simmons. “They didn't pick Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton or Barack Obama.”
“The best idea is to wait and see who Dem voters feel some affection for and rally around that person to help them win,” Simmons said.
Manley agreed.
“I’m not so sure it’ll matter at the end of the day,” he said. “We’re looking at a long slog. 2020 is a long ways away.”
It’s almost unbelievable.
The price tag for the Wall Street bailout is popularly put at $787 billion—---the actual size of TARP--the Troubled Assets Relief Program. But TARP is just the best known program in an array of more than 30 overseen by Treasury Department and Federal Reserve that have paid out or put aside untraceable money to bail out financial firms and inject money into the markets.
To get a sense of the size of the real $14 trillion bailout, see MJ chart at web site. A guide to the pieces of the puzzle includes massive untraceable Treasury Department bailout programs.
Money Market Mutual Fund: In September 2008, the Treasury controlled by Obama/Emanuel announced that it would insure the holdings of publicly offered money market mutual funds. According to the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (SIGTARP), these guarantees could have potentially cost the federal government more than $3 trillion [PDF].
Public-Private Investment Fund: This joint Treasury-Federal Reserve program bought toxic assets from banks and brokerages—as much as $5 billion of assets per firm. According to SIGTARP, the government's potential exposure from the PPIF is between $500 million and $1 trillion [PDF].
TARP: As part of the Troubled Asset Relief Program, the Treasury controlled by Obama/Emanuel made loans to or investments more than 750 banks and financial institutions. $650 billion has been paid out (not including HAMP; see below). As of December 21, 2009, $117.5 billion of that has been repaid.
Government-sponsored enterprise (GSE) stock purchase: The Treasury controlled by Obama/Emanuel bought $200 million in preferred stock from Fannie Mae and another $200 million from Freddie Mac [PDF] to show that they "will remain viable entities critical to the functioning of the housing and mortgage markets."
GSE mortgage-backed securities purchase: Under the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008, the Treasury controlled by Obama/Emanuel may buy mortgage-backed securities from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. According to SIGTARP, these purchases could cost as much as $314 billion ---SNIP---.
LONG READ---go to web site to read more and checkout the shocking financial charts.
SOURCE http://motherjones.com/politics/2009/12/behind-real-size-bailout
CONT
STROLL DOWN MEMORY LANE Soon as they occupied the WH, Obama and the Chi/cons (a) took control of the US Census; Obama placed his COS Rahm Emanuel in control of the US Dept of the Treasury (including the conservative-suppressing IRS). Read on.
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THE SMOKING GUN---WSJ REPORT--On Jan 20, 2009 Timothy Geithner was appointed Obama's Secy of the Treasury. But within three weeks, the Obama White House tightened its grip on Treasury. Obama put his COS, Rahm Emanuel, in charge of Treasury---Rahm Emanuel's dual role was an unusual move.
When he got to Treasury, WH COS Rahm Emanuel was so involved in the inner workings that the phrase "Rahm wants it" had become an unofficial mantra among subservient govt staffers, prostrate in obeisance, scurrying to accede to Rahm's wishes, according to Treasury government officials. Reported by WSJ / 05/31/09
More here: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124113406528875137.html
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Pres Trump needs to to ask US Treasury officials what exactly Rahm Emanuel and Obama were doing there.
PAUSE TO REFLECT--- As taxpayers were being gulled by the TARP fraud, Obama had tight control of Treasury and spent trillions of tax dollars. Obama calculatedly placed his then-COS Rahm Emanuel in a dual role.......in the WH and at Treasury. Obama had a stranglehold on the US Treasury via COS Rahm Emanuel's dual role.
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