 He says he did try to lobby some of these colleagues, told them they should come forward publicly also. And a few did. Generally, most did not. And why not? Fear, best as he can tell. They were scared of ticking off the president and his team, of going against the Democratic establishment, of sticking their necks out. Now, fear was not entirely unreasonable. Michigan Congresswoman Hillary Skuldin was kicked out of a Democratic Party planning meeting to coordinate get-out-the-vote efforts.