He’s baaaaack. And not a moment too soon. Former President Barack Obama is coming around after about six months of detoxing from his eight years of wypipo hell in office and will host a fundraiser in Washington, D.C., this week.
The Washington Post reports that Obama will appear at a closed-door event for the National Democratic Redistricting Committee, a new organization chaired by former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder. According to its website, the group is committed to “building a targeted, state-by-state strategy that ensures Democrats can fight back and produce fairer maps in the 2021 redistricting process.”
Democratic National Committee Chairman Tom Perez told the Post that Obama wants to help “build the bench” for the Democrats and is most comfortable doing just that instead of speaking directly to specific issues such as health care or immigration.
The Post reported last year that Democrats suffered a greater loss of power during Obama’s tenure than under any other two-term president since World War II, and many critcized Obama for not doing more for Democrats on the local and state levels while he was in office.
“Because tomorrow’s president is today’s state senator. And he knows that very personally,” Perez said. “When you lose 900 state legislative seats, those are people who could have been the next governors and senators and Cabinet positions, and that is something that he’s very committed to.”
Obama’s spokesman Kevin Lewis said that the former president wants to support the committee’s “efforts to address unfair gerrymandering practices that leave too many American voters feeling voiceless in the electoral process. Restoring fairness to our democracy by advocating for fairer, more inclusive district maps around the country is a priority for President Obama.”
Holder and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) will also appear with the former president at the event, which will take place Thursday.
Read more at the Washington Post.