‘Enough is enough’: Barack Obama rallies California Democrats
The former president urged campaigners in key California districts to engage with independents and disaffected Republicans
Barack Obama told a rapturous crowd of Democratic Party faithful in southern California on Saturday it was time to “kick off the bedroom slippers” and get to work, to ensure the party retakes the House of Representatives after November’s midterm elections.
Having seized the limelight with an electric speech in Illinois on Friday in which he denounced the divisiveness and resentment of Trump-era politics, the former president urged campaigners in key California districts to engage with independents and disaffected Republicans to promote a concept of government less cynical and more responsive and accountable to voters.
“I cannot help but feel optimistic,” Obama said, “because if you are doing what you need to do, if you are active, involved, hopeful, optimistic, energised, fearless … I am absolutely confident these candidates are going to win. I am absolutely confident that Washington will start working better.”
His appearance was an invitation-only affair at the Anaheim Convention Centre, a stone’s throw from Disneyland and barely half an hour’s drive from four of the Republican-held suburban districts the Democrats are most anxious to win in November.
Obama spoke to supporters and campaign staff for seven candidates in all – each running in a district with a Republican incumbent but which voted for Hillary Clinton over Donald Trump in 2016.