"Many Democratic voters in Illinois are especially proud of their junior senator. They believe more than ever that Barack Obama was the right choice for the Senate in 2004. I couldn't agree more, and I promise to do everything in my power to help him finish his first term in the United States Senate." --John McCain
First, Howard Dean will stay as DNC Chair. We actually have a 50-state party after all. As opposed to the Hillary/DLC strategy of just courting only already blue states. since of course that has been a winning strategy up until '06 when we tried Dean's way.
"The DNC and the Obama Campaign are unified and working together to elect Barack Obama as the next president of the United States. Our presumptive nominee has pledged not to take donations from Washington lobbyists and from today going forward the DNC makes that pledge as well," said Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean. "Senator Obama has promised to change the way things are done in Washington and this step is a sure sign of his commitment. The American people's priorities will set the agenda in an Obama Administration, not the special interests."
uh oh. Now Obama won't be beholden to lobbyists and large donors in order to get elected . He'll have to continue to rely on the general public donating small $20.00 donations and actually answering to them. So as opposed to Hilary, he'll actually have something to challenge McCain with, since his campaign is nothing but lobbyists, to dictators, the energy companies, banks wanting to foreclose on average Americans etc. etc.
"The DNC and the Obama Campaign are unified and working together to elect Barack Obama as the next president of the United States. Our presumptive nominee has pledged not to take donations from Washington lobbyists and from today going forward the DNC makes that pledge as well," said Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean. "Senator Obama has promised to change the way things are done in Washington and this step is a sure sign of his commitment. The American people's priorities will set the agenda in an Obama Administration, not the special interests."
uh oh. Now Obama won't be beholden to lobbyists and large donors in order to get elected . He'll have to continue to rely on the general public donating small $20.00 donations and actually answering to them. So as opposed to Hilary, he'll actually have something to challenge McCain with, since his campaign is nothing but lobbyists, to dictators, the energy companies, banks wanting to foreclose on average Americans etc. etc.
Obama's not taking any more because he's already gotten a shitload from the oil companies to begin with.
whomod said: I generally don't like it when people decide to play by the rules against people who don't play by the rules. It tends to put you immediately at a disadvantage and IMO is a sign of true weakness. This is true both in politics and on the internet."
A new Gallup Poll summary of surveys taken in May shows Obama winning 62% of Latino registered voters nationwide, compared with just 29% for McCain. Others have found a wide gap as well. The pro-Democratic group Democracy Corps compiled surveys from March through May that showed Obama with a 19-point lead among Latinos. And a Times poll published last month showed Obama leading McCain among California Latinos by 14 points.
Republicans say McCain's numbers among Latinos at the moment are disappointing...
But.. but... I thought we needed to nominate Hillary because Latino's would only vote for her and no one else!!!!
Does this mean that some Democratic women might vote for Obama as well????!!!
First, Howard Dean will stay as DNC Chair. We actually have a 50-state party after all. As opposed to the Hillary/DLC strategy of just courting only already blue states. since of course that has been a winning strategy up until '06 when we tried Dean's way.
"The DNC and the Obama Campaign are unified and working together to elect Barack Obama as the next president of the United States. Our presumptive nominee has pledged not to take donations from Washington lobbyists and from today going forward the DNC makes that pledge as well," said Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean. "Senator Obama has promised to change the way things are done in Washington and this step is a sure sign of his commitment. The American people's priorities will set the agenda in an Obama Administration, not the special interests."
uh oh. Now Obama won't be beholden to lobbyists and large donors in order to get elected . He'll have to continue to rely on the general public donating small $20.00 donations and actually answering to them. So as opposed to Hilary, he'll actually have something to challenge McCain with, since his campaign is nothing but lobbyists, to dictators, the energy companies, banks wanting to foreclose on average Americans etc. etc.
"They will not fund our party, they will not run our White House and they will not drown out the voice of the American people" - Barak Obama
First, Howard Dean will stay as DNC Chair. We actually have a 50-state party after all. As opposed to the Hillary/DLC strategy of just courting only already blue states. since of course that has been a winning strategy up until '06 when we tried Dean's way.
"The DNC and the Obama Campaign are unified and working together to elect Barack Obama as the next president of the United States. Our presumptive nominee has pledged not to take donations from Washington lobbyists and from today going forward the DNC makes that pledge as well," said Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean. "Senator Obama has promised to change the way things are done in Washington and this step is a sure sign of his commitment. The American people's priorities will set the agenda in an Obama Administration, not the special interests."
uh oh. Now Obama won't be beholden to lobbyists and large donors in order to get elected . He'll have to continue to rely on the general public donating small $20.00 donations and actually answering to them. So as opposed to Hilary, he'll actually have something to challenge McCain with, since his campaign is nothing but lobbyists, to dictators, the energy companies, banks wanting to foreclose on average Americans etc. etc.
"They will not fund our party, they will not run our White House and they will not drown out the voice of the American people" - Barak Obama
Yes, by not taking money from PACs, they're not limited as much for the amount of money that big oil and speacial interest groups can get them through 'fund raisers'.
whomod said: I generally don't like it when people decide to play by the rules against people who don't play by the rules. It tends to put you immediately at a disadvantage and IMO is a sign of true weakness. This is true both in politics and on the internet."
Obama continues to talk about being a "new kind of politician," but his posturing on lobbyists seems a bit hypocritical. Here are a few examples:
... Obama continues to accept money from employees of lobbying firms who aren't technically registered lobbyists. How hard would it be for a lobbyist to have his "employee" make a donation to Obama (in exchange for a favor, of course?).
... Obama will accept money from past lobbyists -- as well as statehouse lobbyists.
... MoveOn -- a large pac -- is encouraging folks to give money to Obama through them. They admit the goal is to gain "influence." Will Obama reject this money? No way.
... Two arms of the Democratic Party (DCCC and DSCC) will continue taking money from lobbyists. Obama is the head of the Democratic Party. If he really wanted to impose a rule to ban lobbyist money, don't you think he could? More importantly, though, money spent by these Democratic Committees will help Obama by increasing turnout for Democratic Congressional candidates.
Aside from the fact that Obama is obviously tight with lobbyists, the fact that he is playing the game of pretending not to be -- makes him even more of a "politician."
I noticed yesterday int he news story that he said he won't accept money from Lobbyists but this does not exclude their spouses. He's such a hypocrite.
An organization dedicated to the mission of protecting and defending individual freedoms and rights under the U.S. Constitution is criticizing presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama for promising to cut, and possibly gut, U.S. military defense spending.
The Center for Individual Freedom, a non-partisan, non-profit, has posted one version of a YouTube video of Obama "inexplicably" pledging" to "unilaterally jeopardize American military superiority."
"When you find yourself in a hole, just keep digging," the organization said in its accompanying commentary. "That appears to be the logic of Sen. Barack Obama, who already finds himself in the proverbial hole on defense and national security issues. At this pace, he'll reach China by November."
The organization said the Obama video, which originally was posted online by BarackObamadotcom in late 2007 but has been reproduced in other versions too, he tells an audience at a group called Caucus4Priorities he would cut "tens of billions of dollars" in spending.
This would come at a time "when our armed forces are already stretched and in need of new weapon technologies and armor," said CFIF.
The original video is here:
He also guarantees he will "cut investments in unproven missile defense systems," and he "will not weaponize space," and that "unnecessary" spending will be eliminated.
"Most alarmingly, however, Sen. Obama literally promises to 'slow development of future combat systems,'" CFIF said.
"Think about the frightening implications of this pledge for a moment.
"Future combat systems are the cornerstone of American military modernization and superiority. As America fights the war on terror and deters potential military aggression by rogue nations cross the world, advanced combat systems provide us with better equipment, unmatched situational awareness and communication systems that result in American battlefield domination. Other ascendant nations such as China and Russia seek to match our prowess, but we continue to outpace them," CFIF said.
It cited new satellite technology that "allows us to pinpoint and eliminate the enemy, unmanned drones that promise amazing advances in battlefield safety and effectiveness, bunker-buster weapons that penetrate deep into the caves in which remote terrorists hide and communications systems that allow lightning-quick troop deployment and rescue missions."
"They ultimately protect the lives and health of our troops, just as they protect us," CFIF said. "Despite this, Sen. Obama bizarrely pledges to jeopardize our battlefield superiority."
The group cited the nation's stealth aircraft, which penetrated Saddam Hussein's air defenses, precision-guided weaponry that has reduced harm to non-combatants and the Strategic Defense Initiative, "which forced Mikhail Gorbachev's negotiating hand and helped end the Cold War."
Obama uses the speech to emphasize that he is "the only major candidate who opposed this war from the beginning."
He says:
Thanks so much for the Caucus4Priorities, for the great work you've been doing. As president, I will end misguided defense policies and stand with Caucus4Priorities in fighting special interests in Washington.
First, I'll stop spending $9 billion a month in Iraq. I'm the only major candidate who opposed this war from the beginning. And as president I will end it.
Second, I will cut tens of billions of dollars in wasteful spending.
I will cut investments in unproven missile defense systems.
I will not weaponize space.
I will slow our development of future combat systems.
And I will institute an independent "Defense Priorities Board" to ensure that the Quadrennial Defense Review is not used to justify unnecessary spending.
Third, I will set a goal of a world without nuclear weapons. To seek that goal, I will not develop new nuclear weapons; I will seek a global ban on the production of fissile material; and I will negotiate with Russia to take our ICBMs off hair-trigger alert, and to achieve deep cuts in our nuclear arsenals.
"In what realm does Sen. Obama’s ideology dwell, that he would expect his promises to somehow endear him to American swing voters?" CFIF asked.
"What makes Sen. Obama's statement most perplexing is the fact that he already faces an uphill battle to convince American voters that he won't be the second coming of Jimmy Carter in undermining our military forces."
Originally Posted By: Friendly Neighborhood Ray-man
another "if you want to end wars you must hate the soldiers dying in them" argument.
Wow.
That's such a blatantly false and off-point argument that I don't even need to post a rebuttal. You really ought to try and improve your reading comprehension.
Or is it just feigned ignorance on your part, to partisanly deny how dangerous Obama truly is to our national defense? This article is quite a revelation.
Obama, Political Viagra Now is when you get worried. By Mark Steyn The short version of the Democratic-party primary campaign is that the media fell in love with Barack Obama but the Democratic electorate declined to. “I felt this thrill going up my leg,” said MSNBC’s Chris Matthews after one of the senator’s speeches. “I mean, I don’t have that too often.” Au contraire, Chris and the rest of the gang seem to be getting the old tingle up the thigh hairs on a nightly basis. If Obama is political Viagra, the media are at that stage in the ad where the announcer warns that, if leg tingles persist for over six months, see your doctor. Out there in the voting booths, however, Democrat legs stayed admirably unthrilled. The more the media told Hillary she was toast and she should get the hell out of it and let Obama romp to victory, the more Democrats insisted on voting for her. The more the media insisted Barack was inevitable, the less inclined the voters were to get with the program. On the strength of Chris Matthews’s vibrating calves, Sen. Obama raised a ton of money — over $300 million — and massively outspent Senator Clinton, but he didn’t really get any bang for his buck. In the end, he crawled over the finish line. The Obama Express came a-hurtlin’ down the track at two miles an hour. ...
We could be headed into one of those pre-Clinton general elections where the GOP candidate wins most of the states IMHO. When Karl Rove presented his electoral map the media in general ignored what he was saying & the real story for them was that Rove was seen as aiding Hillary. Yet once you cut through the rhetoric & bs, it still comes down to the voters & the signs don't look good for Obama. The South Dakota loss in particular was a state he was set to win. He lost it by double digits from Hillary who's campaign had been pronounced dead for quite some time.
Last edited by Matter-eater Man; 2008-06-071:16 PM.
Marc Ambinder is right. Obama’s rhetoric is in a different “emotional register” from John McCain’s. It’s in a different “emotional register” from every U.S. president — not just the Coolidges but the Kennedys, too. Nothing in Obama’s resume suggests he’s the man to remake America and heal the planet. Only this week, another of his pals bit the dust, convicted by a Chicago jury of 16 counts of this and that. “This isn’t the Tony Rezko I knew,” said the senator, in what’s becoming a standard formulation. Likewise, this wasn’t the Jeremiah Wright he knew. And these are guys he’s known for 20 years. Yet at the same time as he’s being stunned by the corruption and anti-Americanism of those closest to him, Obama’s convinced that just by jetting into Tehran and Pyongyang he can get to know America’s enemies and persuade them to hew to the straight and narrow. No doubt if it all goes belly up and Iran winds up nuking Tel Aviv, President Obama will put on his more-in-sorrow-than-in-anger face and announce solemnly that “this isn’t the Mahmoud Ahmadinejad I knew.”
In addition to the information about kickbacks and perks of the allegedly oh-so-above-it-all Obama, it's a clever wordplay on the title of his Wright-sermon inspired title of his book.
In addition to the information about kickbacks and perks of the allegedly oh-so-above-it-all Obama, it's a clever wordplay on the title of his Wright-sermon inspired title of his book.
I would have preferred "The Audacity of a Dope". Much more punny.
Obama’s “New Politics” Inspired by Rush Limbaugh and Ken Starr
By Edward Olshaker
Mr. Olshaker is a longtime journalist whose research on conservative talk radio is cited in The Republican Noise Machine, by David Brock.
In the closing days of the primary season, unity was finally achieved—between the Obama campaign and the most extreme elements of the GOP attack machine, who spoke with a single voice as they eagerly ascribed the darkest imaginable thoughts and motives to Sen. Hillary Clinton simply because she mentioned the murder of Sen. Robert Kennedy. Just as remarkable, the Obama team was gearing up to resurrect the thoroughly yet fruitlessly investigated Whitewater controversy if the race had been closer.
While Clinton’s own less-than-graceful exit will be long remembered, the Obama campaign’s brutal tactics have left little impression and are likely to be lost to history, perhaps for no more complex reason than the media’s preference for a predetermined storyline of “hardball Clinton” versus “transcendent new politics” Obama.
As Zachary A. Goldfarb reported in the Washington Post, “Obama senior strategist David Axelrod dodged questions about why the campaign was still circulating commentaries criticizing Clinton [for allegedly invoking the possibility of another assassination] even after suggesting it wants to move beyond the controversy.” Axelrod’s interview by George Stephanopoulos on ABC’s “This Week” is revealing:
Mr. Stephanopoulos: “You say you’re not trying to stir the issue up. But a member of your press staff yesterday was sending around to an entire press list — I have the e-mail here — Keith Olbermann’s searing commentary against Hillary Clinton. So that is stirring this up, isn’t it?”
Mr. Axelrod: “Well, Mr. Olbermann did his commentary and he had his opinion. But as far as we’re concerned.”
Mr. Stephanopoulos: “But your campaign was sending it around.” ...
History News Network I give team Obama an A+ for being able to play so dirty with getting so little mud on themselves. How will they fair against McCain though? Will he be accused of playing racial politics or inadvertently send out a call to have Obama assasinated if he mentions Robert Kennedy? Right now it seems to go no further than depicting McCain as a 3rd Bush term. This would be the same McCain that had folks like Rush Limbaugh practically openly weeping when it became clear that he was going to be the GOP candidate. Yet Obama hammers his talking point with a straight face.
Matter-eater Man argumentative User Fair Play! 5000+ posts Sun Jun 08 2008 10:45 PM Reading a post Forum: Politics and Current Events Thread: Barack Hussein Obama in '08?
While walking down the street one day a US senator is tragically hit by a truck and dies.
His soul arrives in heaven and is met by St. Peter at the Golden Gate
"Welcome to heaven," says St. Peter. "Before you settle in, it seems there is a problem. We seldom see a high official around these parts, you see, so we're not sure what to do with you."
"No problem, just let me in," says the man.
"Well, I'd like to, but I have orders from higher up. Wha t we'll do is have you spend one day in hell and one in heaven. Then you can choose where to spend eternity."
"Really, I've made up my mind. I want to be in heaven," says the senator.
"I'm sorry, but we have our rules."
And with that, St. Peter escorts him to the elevator and he goes down, down, down to hell. The doors open and he finds himself in the middle of a green golf course. In the distance is a clubhouse and standing in front of it are all his friends and other politicians who had worked with him.
Everyone is very happy and in evening dress. They run to greet him, shake his hand, and reminisce about the good times they had while getting rich at the expense of the people.
They play a friendly game of golf and then dine on lobster, caviar and champagne.
Also present is the devil, who really is a very friendly guy who has a good time dancing and telling jokes. They are having such a good time that before he realizes it, it is time to go.
Everyone gives him a hearty farewell and waves while the elevator rises...
The elevator goes up, up, up and the door reopens on heaven where St. Peter is waiting for him.
"Now it's time to visit heaven."
So, 24 hours pass with the senator joining a group of contented souls moving from cloud to cloud, playing the harp and singing. They have a good time and, before he realizes it, the 24 hours ha ve gone by and St. Peter returns.
"Well then, you've spent a day in hell and another in heaven. Now choose your eternity."
The senator reflects for a minute, then he answers: "Well, I would never have said it before, I mean heaven has been delightful, but I think I would be better off in hell."
So St. Peter escorts him to the elevator and he goes down, down, down to hell.
Now the doors of the elevator open and he's in the midd le of a barren land covered with waste and garbage.
He sees all his friends, dressed in rags, picking up the trash and putting it in black bags as more trash falls from above.
The devil comes over to him and puts his arm around his shoulder. "I don't understand," stammers the senator. "Yesterday I was here and there was a golf course and clubhouse, and we ate lobster and caviar, drank champagne, and danced and had a great time. Now there's just a wasteland full of garbage and my friends look miserable. What happened?"
The devil looks at him, smiles and says, "Yesterday we were campaigning...... Today you voted."
Matter-eater Man argumentative User Fair Play! 5000+ posts Sun Jun 08 2008 11:33 PM Reading a post Forum: Politics and Current Events Thread: Barack Hussein Obama in '08?
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