Obama Moves DNC Operations To Chicago

In a major shakeup at the Democratic National Committee -- and a departure from tradition -- large parts of the committee's operations are relocating to Chicago to be fully integrated with the Obama campaign.

The DNC's political department, housed in Washington, D.C., will be dramatically rebuilt, with staffers offered a choice of moving to Chicago, joining state operations, or staying in Washington, DNC spokeswoman Karen Finney said.

Read the whole story here.

Comments

[riverhouse]

He's the boss. He runs the Democratic Party now. He can do what he thinks best.

[ebanks84]

Huffington, I made a post some time ago and there are only 2 posts not submitted. Was there something wrong with my post or what?

[JCTaylor]

If he comes on stage at the convetion, and he is not dripping with flop sweat, and he does not portray himself as Rambo incarnate, he will not suffer Kerry's fate.

[StephenDedalus82]

I'm getting really tired of the liberals on this site parroting Ronald Reagan with their anti-Washington nonsense. There's nothing wrong with the city of Washington. It's a marvelous beacon of modern democracy. It's the people's city. The buildings and streets aren't corrupt--the politicians are (some of them--mostly Republicans). It's our government, it's not Barack Obama's. Continuing the rhetoric that causes people to lose pride in the government handed down by the framers just breeds more cynicism. We should be talking about fixing the government--our government--using our allies within it. It's not all corrupt, it's mostly the vestiges of the Gingrich revolution which enabled the reemergence of the sociopathic Nixon entourage that made it corrupt and useless. Democrats should be elevating and educating, not stealing Republican rhetoric for the sake of the personal ambition of one man.

[riverhouse]

When people refer to 'the government' or to 'DC', I don't think they are referring to monuments and buildings. You are truly a concrete thinker.

[Marlyn]

"stealing Republican rhetoric" ???

Huh?

[ebanks84]

I'm getting tired of people who like to blame everything on LIBERALS because they need to dump their anger somewhere. Obama is a man of STRUCTURE and it was his structure that won him the nomination in the first place. In order for him to keep on the same road, he will need to structure the DNC accordingly. That seems to be the right thing to do. And I would think that Washington WOULD NOT be the perfect place for that since the present government is still in office and still have their constituents nosing their way into Obama's business. He is a smart man and knows how to do his business on HIS terms and not "old school" Washington terms.

[StephenDedalus82]

Unfortunately his terms are "new school Chicago," which is no less deceitful and corrupt, but it might actually give Dems a chance this year.

[JJeff88]

The importance of this move is more symbolic than substantive - i.e. Sen.Obama is moving his operation far away from the Washington DC Beltway, into the American heartland & closer to the domestic action.

In reality, however, Command Central will no doubt be aboard the Obama campaign jetliner which will be in constant action 24/7 as it crisscrosses the country to enable Sen. Obama to visit as many important places as possible as needed.

[naschkatze]

I side with Kerry over McAuliffe. It is obvious now from McAuliffe's role in the Clinton campaign that he was a part of the so-called 20 Year Plan the Clintons had to get her into the White House. McAuliffe was not going to do anything that might get John Kerry elected in 2004 and then possibly in 2008 when Mrs. Clinton was preparing to run in 2008. I would guess McAuliffe did all he could to sabotage Kerry's chances. Ditto for Carville and Begala who came on to "help" Kerry late in the game. It's all come out in the wash this primary season.

[EinChicago]

The biggest thing done to sabotage kerry in 2004 was letting him win teh primaries. Th eguy could have handed out thousand dollar bills to evry voter personally and still lost; he was just a terrible candidate.

[gn482]

And come to think of it, did anyone notice that Kerry did everything to sabotage Kerry's chances? Could anyone have saved Kerry?

What about the Republicans. Do we think they might have sabotaged Kerry's chances?

[naschkatze]

Yes, I do, and I'm not referring just to the swift-boating. I think the state of Ohio was stolen from Kerry, and that's just not me speaking from my tinfoil hat. Robert Kennedy Jr., who as you know was a Hillary Clinton supporter to the end, wrote an excellent expose of the stolen election in RollingStone, and Barbara Boxer was the only senator to protest it in the ratification of the electoral vote. Let's give Senator Kerry some credit for putting all that behind him and for advising Senator Obama how to avoid the same thing happening to him.

[NeoStar9]

I don't recall any of the MSM covering this. Did anyone else?

[pupbayer]

I read something on CNN but it made it sound like it was just a small part of the DNC. So, who knows. There's nowhere to get accurate, unbiased news anymore.

[SonofLiberty1]

Just another "idiot" diversion from ....

Doing something about the GAS PRICES!

Sheesh, are you young folks that dum?

I guess so...

More "Blue smoke and mirrors":(

[PatrickforO]

Maybe we could just act and make oil a utility. Put the whole thing under a PUC. Hmm. That would keep the speculators from driving the prices up in the near term. In the long term, Son, our Liberty will be preserved by the development in this nation of a coherent energy policy that puts resources into the development of alternative energy sources. This will both create jobs and do far more for national security than any misbegotten adventure in Iraq. If you've been listening to our candidate (not yours, I fear, from most of your postings), you will see this is exactly what Obama wants to do. For myself, I'd rather have a candidate like this, who thinks about the long term welfare of every American, than someone who simply panders the issue away with a gas tax rebate while at the same time advocating more drilling. In the end, Son, if you've done any research on oil at all, we are nearing peak oil, which is the point where demand will permanently exceed supply. We must now do something on this issue, and not simply stick our heads in the sand.

[RFBorjal]

Speculators are the ones driving up the price of oil in the world market. There's very little the government can do short of placing the oil industry under government regulation.

[EinChicago]

Actually not true. The price of gas can be brought down overnight with one simple move; the FSa and the CFTC act in unison to increase margin requirements on oil contracts traded at NYMEX and ICE from 9% to 50%. Gas would fall below 65$ per barrle within a week.

[NeoStar9]

For something that could be considered a life source for the country it is to risky for something like this to be put in the private sector. It's not as if there is an option for anything else. This country for the most part lives or dies by oil in the end. If anyone is to have a control over this in the US it should be the US Government.

At the moment the US Government looks pathetic since it can not do anything about the problem right now. Sure there are some in the government that don't want to do anything but if the industry was regulated by the government and even owned then they really wouldn't have had an option to do this and if their would be a clear direction to direct the outcry and people could be voted out of office.

[lizr]

maybe it's time for that.

[Viper]

Excuse me the repugs passed the dereugulation which led to this speculation. ( unless you believe in 18 months , demand increased oil prices 270 percent... and without a single line anywhrre in the world waiting for gas).

Regards

[NeoStar9]

If I Randi Rhodes (progressive radio host) is correct then this is also the reason why the Farm Bill has not be signed or even vetoed by President Bush. It passed with a veto proof margin. What was also in the bit were regulation laws and closure of loopholes that speculators are using. It seems laws that were placed on them in 2000 were taken away when Bush and Cheney took office and Congress was putting them back. That seems to be the real reason Bush and some Republicans (including McCain) in Congress were against the Farm Bill and why nothing has been done with it now that it has reach Bush but also could be why so many were in favor of it.

If he vetos it will still pass and could help fix this oil mess and he and his group lose money. If he signs it he and his group lose money willingly. So he's letting it sit if this is really the case. I wouldn't be surprised if it was very true. If it wasn't he'd have done something with it already.

[ThePhilosopher]

Additionally, you're notion that there is something that can really be done about gas prices in the immediate future is rather naive (though not dumb, which is spelled with a b, by the way). If something really could be done to drastically reduce prices, it would have been. Plenty of politicians have a vested interest in doing so as such a course of action would dramatically improve their chances in the coming elections. Unfortunately for all of us, the problem of gas prices is systemic and highly complex. There are no short-term fixes that will have a real impact, thus we must focus on medium and long-term policy choices which will eventually bring about the changes sought.

[ThePhilosopher]

Reporting the news is not a zero-sum game; it is possible to report on structural changes within the DNC and Obama campaign without reducing the possibility of ALSO reporting on the price of gas. Indeed, if you do a quick examination of any major media outlet I'm sure you'll find articles about both. And you should; they are both important issues. It is the media's job to report about changes in the campaign, it's something an informed public needs to know about and, as such, isn't 'smoke and mirrors.' I also highly, highly doubt (and, in fact, not only doubt but am sure of the fact) that Obama is moving the DNC to Chicago simply as a means of distracting us from other issues! He's doing it as a means of consolidating his control over the party to avoid problems that have plagued past nominees. Those of us who are deeply interested in politics find this sort of thing fascinating and academically important.

[memphispaul]

Barack Obama is now in charge.

[Lion24]

I'm an Obama supporter, but not on this deal. He "borrows" Howard Dean's 50-state strategic plan, puts Dean out to pasture, and moves the DNC to Chicago? Why not just move the DNC to Sheridan, Wyoming? Or maybe Rapid City, SD?

Obama has no authority or right to move the DNC anywhere. The DNC should be in Washington, our nation's capital. Period.

[lizr]

as tired as everyone in this country pretty much is of DC, I think it's a great move.

Maybe next time around move it to California!

[JoyceBains]

Apparently he does, because they're sho' nuff moved.

[heal57]

Barack Obama is here and in charge. We like it! Go, Senator Obama. We're with you all the way to Chicago and everywhere else!


Independent for Obama '08

[SgtLucifer]

Great move Barry. The DNC could use some old style ChiTown graft & corruption. Bolt everything down, the Chicago boys are running the show.

[thecanadian]

Fantastic move - make sure you are watching your back - from both Campaigns

[abakwaman]

Great move and great way to spend my money. This is the kind of simple, common-sense move I expect from my president.

Go Obama!

[ObserverinVancouver]

Sen. Obama knows how to take charge. Discourages donations to 527s, stops the DNC from accepting money from PACs and lobbyists, and now this.

And in the meantime, John McCain is taking charge of the Republican party by ..., by .... Just give me a day or two and I'll get back to you.