Flak for endorsing Obama
A little preview of what rough states Kentucky and West Virginia -- the working-class white Appalachian heartland -- are going to be for Obama comes in reports of friction two of his major endorsers are getting.
Rep. Ben Chandler endorsed Obama yesterday , which got the phones ringing. Denis Fleming, Chandler's chief of staff, said that the congress man's offices in Lexington and Washington had received about 300 phone calls opposing his decision -- and only five in favor -- by about 2:30 p.m. yesterday.
Some of the calls, he said, were "racially insensitive," while other callers simply said that Chandler should have waited until after Kentucky's May 20 primary or should have endorsed Clinton. West Virginia Senator Jay Rockefeller's (extremely longshot) challenger is also taking shots at him over the endorsement, in an AP piece:
Fletcher says the clearest illustration of this disconnect is Rockefeller's decision to endorse Sen. Barack Obama in the Democratic presidential primary. ''It offended people,'' she said, and Rockefeller has drawn some criticism over the endorsement, although much of it from supporters of Obama's rival, Sen. Hillary Clinton.
These states were always going to be a low spot on the calendar for Obama; if Clinton's still alive next week, though, they'll constitute a particularly rough patch for him.
Please call Re. Chandler's office to thank him for his endorsement. Make sure to be upfront about not being one of his constituents if that's the case!
Contact info:
Chandler contact:
Washington, D.C. office
Phone: (202)-225-4706
Fax: (202)-225-2122
District Office for casework:
Phone: (859) 219-1366
Fax: (859) 219-3437
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