Letters to the Editor
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You nailed it Rebecca
I have never been a Clinton supporter, she is just to center for me. That having been said, I don't see the great progressive/liberal in Obama. In fact, it seems that Obama is already fixing to take me for granted. Over the weekend he was all about, well, Hillary's supporters will automatically vote for me, but my voters won't vote for Hillary. He has been talking about all the Independents and Republicans he is attracting and about having to move forward and work together.
Excuse me but the running definition of bipartisanship is that Democrats roll over and give Republicans what they want (see ANY column by Glenn Greenwald.) So, it seems that Obama's plan is to do just that and assume that the Democrats will go along with him because they have nowhere else to go.
I say all of this after having decided to vote for Obama because he splits the Republicans under McCain and Clinton unites them. I am not very happy because I don't see all the great changes happening that Obama is talking about and after 4 disastrous years of the Obama presidency (sorry, its my prediction) we will probably be subjected to 12 years at least of Republican rule.
So I wish I could be joyous and vote for someone I really believe in. But it is a practical vote, designed to stop John McCain and his 100 years war in Iraq, not because I believe Obama (or Clinton for that matter) will make a difference for the poor,the middle class, and anyone who is not a giant corporation.
For me, supporting John Edwards wasn't a dodge, it was (it IS) a truly heartfelt belief in what the Democratic party SHOULD represent but has not for at least 28 years (yes Bill and Hillary, I'm talking to you! and Nancy and Harry and ...)
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Hillary...
voted for the war in Iraq.
Hillary voted for the war in Iraq.
Hillary voted for the war in Iraq.
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who can win vs. the republican smear machine?
the basic Q is which one- clinton or obama, will be able to fight back against the GOP attacks!
remember the swiftboaters? - this election will be much worse, because the bush adm. does not want to get investigated by a democratic regime that will find all the dirt from the past 7-8 yrs.
will obama be able to stand up against the slanderous attacks? i have already rec'd emails saying that he is a muslim agent, etc.
looks like tough times coming, whichever one of these two candidates runs against the rightwing religious nuts.
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To whatever anon...
Kerry's endorsement means nothing to me. His failure to win the 2004 election does. He was considered the "safe bet" and look where that got us.
Unless you have the Republican Party Slime plan, you don't know what they will come up with. They can throw anything out they want. It worked last time.....
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Vote for Barack Obama - An Easy Decision to Make
I am a moderate Democrat but I am enthusiastically supporting Barack Obama because I believe he will bring about the changes our nation so badly needs by reaching across the aisle and working with members of both parties. The bitter partisanship in Congress is making it impossible to get reforms in healthcare, the environment, immigration and our foreign policy. Hillary Clinton has ran a nasty, mean-spirted campaign against Obama, full of mud-slingling, character assassination and the politics of personal destruction. As President she and her husband will make the presidencies of Richard Nixon and George W. Bush pale in comparison when it comes their vindictiveness, secretiveness and wanting to get back at their enemies.
America has too many problems that need to be resolved and they never will be resolved if we demonize those who disagree with us. Obama has proven he can work with those whose views don't always equal his in a way to find common ground and get meaningful legislation passed that will benefit all Americans. He will hold true to his beliefs but will still be able to get majorities to pass legislation because of the type of leader he is.
We don't need more partisanship in Congress, we need less. We don't need more lies, more mud slinging, and more dirty campaigning. Nixon is long gone, and Bush will soon be gone. If revenge and getting back at the Republicans is your motive, then vote for Hillary Clinton. If progress and change and laws protecting our environment, extending healthcare to more of our citizens, a fair and decent immigration policy, and a foreign policy that will restore American values without making us a pariah in the world is what you want, then you have one clear choice: Barack Obama.
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I won't listen to this nonsense
Any more than I would take legal, medical, marital or psychological advice from the letter scribblers to Salon either.
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It's excrutiating
I tend to roll my eyes at online comments that tell a writer "oh my god are you reading my mind?" but for once I have to give in. I have been torn to shreds by precisely the same dilemma, and whenever I think about not voting for Hillary, I want to cry. And I also want to win in November and make sure those angry white men stay home, and have a Democratic president who will spread some hope and not be mercilessly attacked at every waking moment because she represents something more threatening than most will admit. If I don't vote for Hillary, I can honestly say it's for specific political reasons, because my heart and even a big chunk of my politics pull me in her direction. And then I think about all the people who will claim the political reasons but feel the distaste in their hearts, and that makes me even more crushed. Tuesday will just be one big Super Duper sigh.
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Obama? No
I am sick and tired to her about the Obama mythology. I have therefore compiled a short list with the reasons why I do not like Barack Obama. I have posted it repeatedly, because I am still waiting for an Obama supporter to address these things:
1. I do not believe in a politician who doesn't have the courage to express an opinion. Voting "present" is the act of a coward. Voting "present" on the issue whether 15 year old black kids should be tried as adults is COWARDICE.
2. The fact that he was conveniently not available to vote on Kyl Liebermann. However, what some people forget, he co sponsored "The Counter-Proliferation Act of 2007." which states:
Quote:
(14) the United States should designate the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, which purveys terrorism throughout the Middle East and plays an important role in the Iranian economy, as a foreign terrorist organization under section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act, place the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps on the list of specially designated global terrorists, and place the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps on the list of weapons of mass destruction proliferators and their supporters;
3. The pandering to the homophobes- see SC tour and Mc Clurkin issue.
4. The fact that he complains about lobbyists while having one in his NH campaign as co-chair, namely Jim Demers, a lobbyist for drug company interests in NH.
5. The fact that while bleating away about "change" he fails to explain what exactly he plans to change.
6. Voted for Dick Cheney's energy plan.
7. Voted for all the spending bills for the Iraq war despite claiming to be against said war. Exactly the same votes as Hillary.
8. Barack Obama did not "oppose the Iraq war from the beginning". he just has the convenience of not having been there when the matter was on the table, and can afford therefore to spin the issue as if he'd voted "No". However, his history says otherwise:
Quote:
"In July of `04, Barack Obama, “I’m not privy to Senate intelligence reports. What would I have done? I don’t know,” in terms of how you would have voted on the war. And then this: “There’s not much of a difference between my position on Iraq and George Bush’s position at this stage.” That was July of `04. (”Meet the Press,” 2004, via MyDD, Nov. 11, 2007) "
http://www.mydd.com/story/2007/11/12/214957/09
Or we can remember his speeches on Iraq? ya know, the one in which he opposed Kerry's plan for troop withdrawal?
http://obama.senate.gov/speech/06062...r_statement_6/
Quote:
"For all these reasons, I would like nothing more than to support the Kerry Amendment; to bring our brave troops home on a date certain, and spare the American people more pain, suffering and sorrow.
But having visited Iraq, I'm also acutely aware that a precipitous withdrawal of our troops, driven by Congressional edict rather than the realities on the ground, will not undo the mistakes made by this Administration. It could compound them.
It could compound them by plunging Iraq into an even deeper and, perhaps, irreparable crisis.
We must exit Iraq, but not in a way that leaves behind a security vacuum filled with terrorism, chaos, ethnic cleansing and genocide that could engulf large swaths of the Middle East and endanger America. We have both moral and national security reasons to manage our exit in a responsible way.
I share many of the goals set forth in the Kerry Amendment. We should send a clear message to the Iraqis that we won't be there forever, and that by next year our primary role should be to conduct counter-insurgency actions, train Iraqi security forces, and provide needed logistical support. "
9. Skipped the MoveOn.org vote. very convenient.
10. The only "present" vote on a law that would require teaching respect for others in schools.
Lookie
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/20/us...ewanted=2&_r=2
Quote:
"Mr. Obama was also the sole present vote on a bill that easily passed the Senate that would require teaching respect for others in schools. He also voted present on a measure to prohibit sex-related shops from opening near schools or places of worship. It passed the Senate."
11. Quote:
"A do-nothing? You can’t even find it listed at his Senate Web site, but Sen. Obama is the chairman of the Subcommittee on European Affairs for the Senate Foreign Relations committee. That subcommittee oversees “U.S. involvement with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), relations with the European Union (EU), and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. Matters relating to Greenland and the northern polar region are also the responsibility of this subcommittee.
Shockingly — although his campaign has tried to beef up his thin international experience by citing his chairmanship of the subcommittee on European affairs — according to Congressional Quarterly, Sen. Obama has not held a single hearing since he assumed the chairmanship nearly a year ago. It’s little wonder, then, that Sen. Obama’s Senate site doesn’t list his chairmanship."
12. Pandering. After he has been accused regarding his stance on Palestine, his campaign has hurried to kiss up to the pro Israeli lobby in a manner I ( jewish and pro Israel) find disgusting. Apparent;y the fact that Obama is a Christian is supposed to show he has a commitment for the good of Israel. IOt must have taken some very dumb people to come out with that phrase, if one remembers the long and strained relationship between Christians and Jews. I cannot see this as anything other than pandering to what is perceived to be a strong electorate.
is this a person you can trust with your country?
That is a short list off the top of my head. It appears to me that a vote for Obama is throwing the 2008 elections to the republicans who won't even have to work out new insults, just a quick dust off of the "Flip flopper" accusations successfully used against Kerry in 2004 will do.