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UPPER MARLBORO Md. (Reuters) - President Barack Obama made a rare appearance on the campaign trail on Sunday with a rally to support the Democratic candidate for governor in Maryland, but early departures of crowd members while he spoke underscored his continuing unpopularity.
With approval levels hovering around record lows, Obama has spent most of his campaign-related efforts this year raising money for struggling Democrats, who risk losing control of the U.S. Senate in the Nov. 4 midterm election.
Most candidates from his party have been wary of appearing with him during their election races because of his sagging popularity.
Not so Lieutenant Governor Anthony Brown of Maryland, who is running for governor, and Governor Pat Quinn of Illinois, who is running for re-election. Obama plans to appear at an event for Quinn later in the evening.
"You've got to vote," Obama repeated over and over at a rally for Brown in Upper Marlboro, Maryland, near Washington. View gallery U.S. President Obama waves as he arrives for a campaign … U.S. President Barack Obama waves as he arrives for a campaign rally for Maryland Lt. Gov. Anthony B …
Democrats have a history of not turning up to vote in midterm elections.
"There are no excuses. The future is up to us," Obama said.
A steady stream of people walked out of the auditorium while he spoke, however, and a heckler interrupted his remarks.
Obama's help, or lack thereof, may not matter much to Brown, who is 11 points ahead of Republican opponent Larry Hogan, according to an average of polls by RealClearPolitics.
Quinn's race is tighter. He is ahead of Republican opponent Bruce Rauner by 1.8 points, according to the RealClearPolitics average.
Obama is scheduled to spend the night at his Chicago home after the campaign event for Quinn.
(Reporting by Jeff Mason; Editing by Mohammad Zargham)
Poster Comment:
dembones 28th Amendment: "Each and EVERY legislator shall read EACH Bill in its entirety, and score 95% or higher on a Quiz about EACH Bill before being allowed to Vote on the Bill. Any Legislator missing three or more votes in one Legislative Session shall be summarily removed from office and replaced with a new member chosen by their home State Executive Authority within one calendar week." The intended consequences of this Amendment include: Shorter, easier to understand legislation, less opportunity for pork, far greater accountability for legislators, LESS legislation..... You’ll notice that this is NOT a partisan Amendment, and the list of benefits for democracy just goes on and on.21.1k-34.....
Hot-Buttered Elves In Germany, lawmakers do not earn all that much money. Most have 2nd jobs. On the one hand, its good that politicians over there are not bought by the highest bidder. Plus they experience the actual concept of 'work'. On the other hand, the time they spend at their 2nd job takes away time from office. Here, in America, the salary of any politician should equal the 'average income' of worker31
Nick Michael got that one right. This amendment needs to require that they actually author the bills they sponsor. It is, in fact, their friggin' job to start with, but it's been delegated because it takes so much time to drum up money for the next election.20
Greyrooster Or we could just shoot them and set up a system using a majority vote on the internet. Everyone could read the bills. No riders allowed and then vote in a certain time frame. Will save billions and allow the people to see what they are voting for. 2-1
FreeThinker Dembones, I would add that: 1) All bills must be written by members Congress and their staff. No private organization, such as ALEC is allowed to propose and/or write legislation. 2) All elections will be funded by the public. Said funds not to exceed ____$. Political Campaigning shall be restricted the first six months of each election year--no more campaign between elections, no speeches , no ads, and no rallies.9-3
John In the Internet age, the need for a representative government is over. We should elect powerless "advisors" who propose legislation, and outline its pros and cons. However, when it comes to passage of bills....they should be in the hands of the American voter. The average American voter is vastly better informed (and less subject to corrupt influence) than the average Congressman. 6-1
R 29th Amendment: "Each and EVERY citizen shall vote in EACH national election, and score 95% or higher on a Quiz about EACH candidate before being allowed to Vote. Any Citizen missing three or more consecutive elections shall be fined an amount of 2-50% of their annual income, variable based on their income level."2-9
Paul As long as agents of the Israeli lobby organize, fund and publicize election campaigns all a Congress member has to know is whether a bill is good for Israel.
Bender Fan People are SICK of Politics as usual! Sick of a Do Nothing government. Sick of being lied to. Sick of Career politicians, Democrats,republicans. Politicians are moving forward... there are but a few more days and weeks. Elections are going to Clean house because the american people are fed up with ALL of it. The media may play games, as though there are but two choices. I see more choices: Independent candidates/ and write in candidates. Too bad there is no such thing as NONE of the above on the ballots! Already, several candidates have been given the old scoobie-dump. One notable politician instantly got a new job... as a lobbyist. There is more to come. The people will get rid of a LOT of political #$%$ that is gumming up the Truth, Justice, and the American way.1.1k-37
Ed Harley China lets people vote, but the candidates are limited to members of one (communist) party. In America, we're much more advanced- we have candidates from two parties to choose from