Here's some news that could help Senator Mary Landrieu's (D. LA) re-election efforts:
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/...
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is reportedly throwing support behind Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA), according to the group's national political director, Rob Engstrom.
Engstrom told the audience at a Committee of 100 meeting that the group would support Landrieu in her fight to win re-election, according to The New York Times' Joe Nocera.
Chamber of Commerce spokeswoman Blair Latoff Holmes told TPM in an email on Monday "no decisions have been made in the LA Senate race." - TPM, 7/28/14
It looks like Chamber of Commerce president, Thomas J. Donohue, is starting to realize that backing the Republicans may not be the best approach:
http://mobile.nytimes.com/...
It is possible that the chamber didn’t quite realize what it was getting when it helped elect those Tea Party freshmen in 2010 — few people did until they began to flex their muscles. But it is equally possible that it didn’t care. (“The chamber is not an arm of either party and is not ‘aligned’ with either party,” a spokesman told me in an email.)
In the 16 years he has run the Chamber of Commerce, Donohue has turned it into a potent force, in no small part by making it more partisan. But by being so blindly pro-Republican, the chamber “unleashed a Frankenstein that has spun out of control,” said Robert Weissman, the president of Public Citizen, which monitors the Chamber of Commerce. That became most clear during the debt ceiling and deficit fights of the last few years — when the Tea Party Republicans seemed so determined to shrink government that they were even willing to default on the government’s debt. The chamber reacted in horror.
I’m told that after the 2012 election, at yet another Committee of 100 gathering, a former Democratic congressman, Dave McCurdy, who now runs the American Gas Association, stood up and criticized Donohue for his “all-in” Republican strategy. He told Donohue that everybody in the room was pro-business, but they weren’t all Republicans, and that if the chamber really wanted to be effective again, it needed to take on the Tea Party and the right wing of the Republican Party in favor of more moderate candidates of both parties.
As the 2014 midterms near, that seems to be the approach the Chamber of Commerce is taking. It has gotten involved in Republican primaries, siding with the more moderate Republican in a race — though perhaps it is more accurate to say the less radical Republican. At the most recent Committee of 100 meeting, Rob Engstrom, the chamber’s national political director, told the group that the chamber planned to support Mary Landrieu, the Louisiana Democrat who is running for re-election to the Senate. - New York Times, 7/25/14
It's not that surprising that the Chamber would support Landrieu:
http://thehill.com/...
Though the Chamber bills itself as bipartisan, it has increasingly backed Republicans over the years, but the Landrieu endorsement isn’t quite a surprise — the group backed her for reelection in 2008.
But it could put the Chamber at odds with the GOP’s goal of taking back the Senate. Landrieu is considered perhaps Democrats’ most vulnerable incumbent at this point in the cycle, and the GOP’s path to picking up the six seats it needs to flip the upper chamber winds through Louisiana.
She’s facing a top-tier GOP recruit in Rep. Bill Cassidy, as well as a challenge from retired Air Force colonel Rob Maness. - The Hill, 7/28/14
And it looks like the Chamber is looking for some redemption:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/...
According to a Chamber tally, the group has endorsed fewer and fewer Democrats in recent years. In 2008, it backed 38 for Congress. That number shrunk to 21 in 2010, five in 2012 and and just two so far this year -- Reps. Henry Cueller (D-Tex.) and Jim Costa (D-Calif.).
Even if the Chamber backs Landrieu, there is a question of what, if any money it would spend on her behalf. Republicans need to gain six seats to win back the majority and Louisiana is viewed as one of the GOP's best pickup opportunities. Most Chamber donors would probably prefer a Republican Senate.
After a lousy 2012 cycle in which the Chamber went 2-for-15 in Senate races and 4-for-22 in the House, the group is trying to right the ship. So far, it has enjoyed some success defending favored incumbents in primaries where national tea party groups backed the challenger. Sens. Thad Cochran (R-Miss.) and Rep. Mike Simpson (R-Idaho) are two examples.
But the group suffered a painful loss in the Georgia, where Rep. Jack Kingston lost to businessman David Perdue in the Republican primary for U.S. Senate. The Chamber spent more than $2.3 million for Kingston.
In Michigan next week, the group faces a new kind of test. It is backing a pair of moderate GOP challengers against more conservative Reps. Justin Amash (R) and Kerry Bentivolio (R). It's the first time this election cycle the group has actively sought to dislodge sitting members in primaries. - Washington Post, 7/28/14
Of course Landrieu will need more than just the Chamber's backing to defeat Tea Party Rep. Bill Cassidy (R. LA). That's why she's reaching out to a key demographic in order to win:
http://uptownmessenger.com/...
It is true that Southern states still trying to elect Democrats statewide are heavily relying on minority voters. Louisiana’s minority voters exceed 30 percent with many potential voters still unregistered. More than 50 percent of Texas voters are Hispanic, Asian or African-American. How many Hispanics will want to vote again for Gov. Rick Perry or his chosen successor Republican Attorney General Gregg Abbott?
Veteran Obama operatives have created Battleground Texas, a political action committee charged with building a foundation for future Democratic success in Texas. In addition to voter registration, one of their biggest tasks is to close the gap between those minorities eligible to vote and those who actually vote. Landrieu might not want any veterans of Obama’s campaigns visible in Louisiana, but they could sure send some money her way.
The Landrieu campaign is also reaching out to key African-Americans asking them to speak as surrogates for Landrieu. While Landrieu can’t be everywhere at once, this might also be a tactic to warm up those African-American voters who have become disenchanted with Mayor Mitch Landrieu and his policies. Mary Landrieu first ran for office (the Louisiana Legislature) when she was 23 years old. After all these decades, she will do everything possible to win once again. - UpTown Messenger, 7/24/14
If you want to donate and get involved with Landrieu's campaign, you can do so here:
http://www.marylandrieu.com/