http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/223480-report-jarrett-kept-least-constructive-list-of-activistsNovember 10, 2014, 08:09 am
Report: Jarrett kept 'least constructive' list of progressive activists
By Justin Sink
Senior White House adviser Valerie Jarrett reportedly kept a list of progressive activists that had run afoul of the White House, according to a story published Sunday night in The New Republic.
The catalog — titled a “least constructive” list — was displayed by Jarrett during a meeting with liberal activists, and reportedly included the names of some of the individuals in the room.
“It was kind of an honor,” said one activist whose name was on the list.
A White House official told the magazine that the list was prepared by a staffer acting without orders, and that the administration does not regularly catalog perceived slights in such a way.
The anecdote was one of many in the story intended to describe Jarrett’s protectiveness of and fondness for the president. Other activists described being scrubbed from White House email distribution lists, or not being invited to meetings or top events after leveling criticism of the president or administration.
At the same time, Jarrett is depicted as the one within the West Wing who pushed the president to mend fences with top Democratic strategist Donna Brazile after the former campaign manager for Al Gore blasted the administration’s handling of the BP oil spill.
Jarrett is not the only high-profile Obama administration official whose staffers have maintained an enemies list.
Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s 2008 presidential campaign team created a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet tracking which members of Congress had endorsed the President Obama over the first lady during the bruising Democratic primary process.
The list, reported in "HRC: State Secrets and the Rebirth of Hillary Clinton," a book by The Hill’s Amie Parnes and Bloomberg’s Jonathan Allen, was intended to help Clinton and her husband evaluate requests for political favors down the line.
