The meeting opened with a discussion of the debt ceiling fiasco's possible effects on presidential politics-particularly nomination politics. The fact that Romney broke two months of silence on the issue just as the bill was being passed was discussed. Some members thought Romney's statement was a blatant effort (and perhaps too little too late) to court Tea Party supporters by condemning the bill, stating “while I appreciate the extraordinarily difficult situation President Obama’s lack of leadership has placed Republican members of Congress in, I personally cannot support this deal.” In the last 2 weeks of the showdown-Romney started to take a lot of heat, particularly from the Tea Party for not issuing a statement on his position. This was exasperated by the fact that Michele Bachmann made several statements, including one on Meet the Press several weeks ago, that she would unequivocally be voting against any increase in the debt limit, no matter what. Whether Romney’s rejection of the deal is enough to convince base voters that he is embracing the Tea Party’s fiscal position rather than Establishment Republican’s position which, like that of President Obama and the Democratic members of congress, maintains that failure to raise the debt ceiling would be catastrophic and must be avoided at all costs.
The rest of meeting was focused on recapping topics discussed over the summer CDG session, of which this meeting was the last. As usual in presidential campaigns, each week focused on new candidates, strategies, issues, and campaign events, which reflects the complex dynamics of our presidential nomination system. Paul will be sending out emails to all group members on the CDG listserv regarding availabilities for the fall semester session (if you are not receiving CDG emails, please email Paul and he will add you). Because orientation week and the first week of classes are so hectic, the meetings will not resume until after the first week of the semester. Hope to see you there when they do!
