New questions arise about House Democratic caucus’s loyalty to Obama

Cheers rang out Thursday evening when President Obama made a surprise visit to the annual congressional baseball game at National Park. Thousands of Democratic staffers began to chant: “O-ba-ma! O-ba-ma!” More unexpectedly, Republican lawmakers and staffers, who have been locked in battle with the president for more than six years, began a cheer of their own: “TPA, TPA!” they chanted, voicing approval for Obama’s trade promotion agenda.

Obama flashed the GOP side a thumbs up.

Inside the Democratic dugout, according to several senior aides and lawmakers, the president’s usual allies were appalled by the scene: He was waving to Republicans in approval of trade legislation that most of them opposed.

A day later, the Democratic team threw the president a curveball by blocking his high-stakes bid to win fast-track authority to complete a sweeping, multinational Pacific Rim free-trade accord. For Obama, who has staked enormous personal credibility and political capital on the effort, the loss on Friday represented a major setback on a key presidential priority and renewed questions in Washington about his relationship with the House Democratic caucus.

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But Obama appeared to be blindsided by Pelosi, who said months ago, during a fact-finding mission to Asia with other lawmakers, that she was “trying to get to yes” on the president’s trade deal. In 2009 and 2010, Obama leaned heavily on her, when she was the House speaker, to help wrestle the Affordable Care Act through Congress with Democratic majorities on a party-line vote.

As the trade vote neared, Pelosi refused to tip her hand, although she appeared to be working with Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) to schedule a package of related trade bills in such a way as to help them pass the House, even if she didn’t support them. On Friday, taking the floor minutes before the vote, Pelosi broke her silence: “I will be voting to slow down fast-track,” she declared. “Today, we have an opportunity to slow down. Whatever the deal is with other countries, we want a better deal for American workers.”

It was a fatal blow for Obama, and supportive Democrats were stunned.

“She screwed this president,” one lawmaker fumed, speaking on the condition of anonymity out of fear of retaliation. “She pandered to the left. She does not ever want to be outflanked by the left, because that’s her base.”

http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/obama-takes-one-on-the-chin-from-his-own-party-on-trade-bill/2015/06/12/d1aa7da6-1126-11e5-9726-49d6fa26a8c6_story.html