Kevin Drum touches on something that I heard from a Democratic operative this week: That the White House offensive against the Chamber of Commerce is as much about shaping the campaign-funding debate ahead of the 2012 presidential election as it is about the 2010 midterms. Part of that may be about drumming up support for some kind of new campaign-finance reforms which, at minimum, would require more disclosure by outside groups like the Chamber and American Crossroads. But since Congressional action on that front isn’t likely anytime soon the real impetus might be tarnishing the Chamber’s reputation: Democrats tell me that in states and districts around the country voters see a Chamber endorsement as a kind of ‘Good Housekeeping’ seal of approval. Thus the White House’s goal might simply be to recast those perceptions, a process that will take a while.
In the near term, however, Ezra Klein cites evidence that the Chamber attack isn’t really working.