Barack Obama: Govern by principle. Stand up for equality.

[babylonsister]

Govern by principle. Stand up for equality.

Barack Obama • November 28, 2007


This is a defining moment for our generation. Our nation is at war. Our planet is in peril. Our American Dream is slipping away. We've never paid more for health care or college. It's harder to save and retire. And after seven years of broken promises and failed policies, we've lost faith in our leaders to do much about it.

But it is because of these failures that America is listening to what we say in this election - not just Democrats, but Independents and Republicans who want to believe again.

This is our chance to finally come together and forge a new majority to tackle problems that have been made worse by George Bush, but ones that have festered long before he took office.

And that's why we can't afford the same old politics this year. We can't avoid tough questions and tell everyone what we think they want to hear - we have to tell people what they need to hear. We can't afford to triangulate and poll-test every position because we're afraid of what Mitt Romney or Rudy Giuliani might say.

The Democratic Party has made the most difference in people's lives when we've led not by polls, but by principle; not by calculation, but by conviction; when we've had leaders who could summon the entire nation to a common purpose.

That's why I'm running for president.

I'm running to tell the corporate lobbyists that their days of setting the agenda in Washington are over. I've done more to take on lobbyists than any candidate in this race; they haven't funded my campaign, and they won't get a job in my White House. I'm running to end the tax breaks for companies that ship our jobs overseas and put them in the pockets of middle-class Americans who deserve it.

more...

http://www.desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071128/OPINION01/711280356/1036/Opinion

[Alamom]

1. "They won't get a job in my White House." They work on his campaign or so

it seems.

&
BTW, It's OUR White House.


http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2007/09/28/385600.aspx

Obama Hires Lobbyist

September 28, 2007 2:11 PM
by Domenico Montanaro

When veteran field organizer Moses Mercado joined Obama’s campaign, but his hire is “making waves,” the Washington Post reports, because of his “other line of work -- as a lobbyist with Ogilvy Government Relations who is registered to represent several dozen big-name clients, including the National Rifle Association, the Carlyle Group, the Blackstone Group, Monsanto, Pfizer Inc., United Health Group, Sempra Energy and Constellation Energy.”




http://news.rgj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070809/NEWS10/708090335/1016/NEWS


Obama adds state lobbyist
ANJEANETTE DAMON
RENO GAZETTE-JOURNAL
Posted: 8/9/2007



Despite intensifying his rhetoric against Washington lobbyists controlling the political system, U.S. Sen. Barack Obama announced Wednesday the addition of a state lobbyist to his campaign's Nevada steering committee.

Las Vegas lobbyist Helen Foley joins two other veteran state lobbyists, Rose McKinney-James and Billy Vassiliadis, who play senior advising roles with the campaign in Nevada, an important early caucus state.

Vassiliadis, the most prominent of the group, is a longtime Democratic operative who has been a fixture in many statewide campaigns. He's also a registered lobbyist at the Nevada Legislature, representing some of the state's largest companies.

Although Vassiliadis is not a registered federal lobbyist, his firm, R&R Partners, has a Washington, D.C., branch that lobbies Congress.




Obama won't accept money from lobbyists . . . or will he?
By Lissa August
Published on Tuesday, August 21st, 2007


http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/article/2007/aug/21/Obama-lobby/

[Rock_Garden]

2. Good research, alamom.

After the dust settles from the 2008 election, I hope campaign reform issues will get addressed. We need a permanent solution for this problem before 2012.

[1corona4u]

3. Joe Biden has promised to do just that...

public financing.

[Tellurian]

4. See, Obama is turning out to be just like the current resident.."His" WH..

The 'seat of power' is a mighty distraction to some, rather than concerning themselves with solving the problems facing the ordinary working man.

[babylonsister]

10. Ironic coming from someone who supports Clinton. Just like the

current resident? :rofl: pot/kettle there...

[Tellurian]

14. You haven't addressed Obama's lying to his audience..

He pontificates he hasn't hired lobbyests...yet there is a link showing he has hired them and he's lying..

[babylonsister]

23. You're awfully quick to criticize exactly the same thing your candidate

is doing. Per this snip, Obama stopped taking contributions; at least he realizes the danger of it, unlike your candidate. Stop being so holier-than-thou.


http://blog.washingtonpost.com/thefix/2007/02/clean_contributions.html

Sen. Barack Obama (Ill.) is following Edwards's lead. On his presidential exploratory committee Web site, the prohibition on PAC and lobbying contributions is explicitly stated. While Obama will take contributions from the spouses of lobbyists, he will not allow registered lobbyists to participate in his bundling program -- whereby well-connected individuals raise thousands of dollars from their friends for a candidate.

Some of Obama's critics contend he is a recent convert to "clean" fundraising, pointing out that he has accepted PAC money and lobbyist contributions. According to the Center for Responsive Politics, Obama has taken $1.3 million in PAC donations over his political career and roughly $126,000 from lobbyists.

"Taking these steps is going to make fundraising more difficult and our campaign more dependent on the grassroots," said Obama spokesman Dan Pfeiffer. "But Senator Obama felt it was important to demonstrate that he is serious about changing the way Washington does business."

Interestingly, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (N.Y.) is expected to take a different course than her two main rivals -- accepting PAC and lobbyist contributions. During her 2006 Senate campaign, Clinton took in nearly $2 million from PACs although that was a small share of the $50 million she raised in total for the contest.

[Tellurian]

28. My candidate has said openly she will accept lobbyist contributions

I guess Senator Obama is spoofing the electorate thinking nobody will notice he's doing exactly what he said he wouldn't do...because he is sloganeering himself as "The Change" candidate..when Alamom has provided proof in Post #1, his words just aren't True.

Edwards and Obama have made the *non-acceptance* of Lobbyist Money, the centerpiece of their campaigns

I guess, it's an effort of somehow portraying themselves as pure and 'holier than thou'...

[Colobo]

7. No violations of the law there.

[Tellurian]

11. No morality there either.. You approve of your candidate lying to the public..

well then, we know where you're coming from..eh!

Close your eyes and do anything to win!

[geek tragedy]

13. Hsurely the Hillary fanclub isn't lecturing others

on campaign finance issues, are they?

[Tellurian]

16. Either one. it doen't matter. For now, it's Obama's hiring of Lobbyests..

can you explain?

I'll wait.

[durrrty libby]

27. NObama

[Tellurian]

8. I don't understand how Obama can LIE to his audience

and he doesn't get called on it?

[sandnsea]

31. Moses Mercado worked for Howard Dean & the DNC

Arms must be aching from all the reaching you're doing.

[Touchdown]

5. Equality for who?

This guy?

[joeybee12]

6. Yeah, equality except for gay people...

...who actually STAY gay!

[Tellurian]

9. And Baby Boomers..

who, Obama said, "he has no use for"..

The double wammy = Gay Boomer!

[joeybee12]

24. That describes me!

Sadly. Not about the gay part, but the boomer, because I just turned 50. Yikes!

[geek tragedy]

12. Wow, this thread is a troll-magnet.

Hillary people have had a rough few days, between her cuddling up to Colin Powell and Bill lying his ass off.

But, yes, we need someone who is proud of, not ashamed of, liberalism and progressive stands on the issues.

[Tellurian]

15. Well, if you can explain and dispute Alamon's research...please do..

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=3765806&mesg_id=3765871

[oasis]

19. Obama is exposed. Will his followers continue to keep their heads buried in the sand?

[Tellurian]

22. I expect so..

"Pride goeth before the fall."

[Touchdown]

20. Bzzz. Try again. I'm a gay guy.

And yes, we exist, and we can be offended.

I don't support Hillary because I don't like the GOP to pick my candidates for me. They've been harping about her since 2005, especially Dick-the toe sucker-Morris.

[BenDavid]

17. The problem I see with Obama is he expects to be the nominee

simply because he is african american.Whereas HRC does not expect to be the nominee nor elected president simply because she is a woman.The more speeches Obama gives it rings through this is what he expects to happen. Take for example Mrs Obama's comments a week or so ago concerning the black vote “First of all, I think that that’s not going to hold. I’m completely confident: black America will wake up, and get it. But what were dealing with in the black community is just the natural fear of possibility".
Mrs Obama thinks that if her hubby doesnt win, its because black folk don’t have enough self-esteem.She has already started laying the foundation of blame.In addition to blaming black people's low self esteem for her husbands failed popularity, Mrs Obama also tells the black community that they should be voting for her hubby for no other reason than they share the same color skin.

Now imagine that the white wife of a white senator blamed their campaign woes on the low self esteem of the black community. uh huh

Ben David

[geek tragedy]

18. What a bunch of crap--and racist crap at that.

Obama never plays 'the race card' when appealing for votes.

Methinks some people just don't like the idea of a black man running for President.

[Lucinda]

21. Ok then...what do you think Mrs Obama was saying in the quote?

In context at the links below.

http://www.taylormarsh.com/archives_view.php?id=26545
http://rawstory.com/news/2007/Michelle_Obama_Black_America_will_wake_1112.html

[geek tragedy]

25. That black people are sometimes overly pessimistic

and won't support the black candidate because of that pessimism.

[Tellurian]

29. Michelle plays the Race Card!

from wlucinda's link:

Sen. Hillary Clinton's lead among African Americans voters, who consistently favor the former first lady to Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) in presidential primary polling, is just a temporary phenomenon, according to Obama's wife, Michelle.
...

"Black Americans will wake up and get it," Obama said. "But what we're dealing with in the black community is just the natural fear of possibility. When I look at my life, the stuff that we're seeing in these polls is played out my whole life: always been told by somebody that I'm not ready, you know, I can't do something, my scores weren't high enough."

...

"There's always that doubt in the back of the minds of people of color. People who've been oppressed and haven't been given real opportunities that you never really -- that you believe that somehow someone is better than you," she continued. " Deep down inside you doubt whether you can do it, because that's all you've been told is 'no, wait.' That's all you hear."

When Brzezinski related a personal anecdote about an African American flight attendant who had said Sen. Obama couldn't win "because he's black," the candidate's wife sympathized.

"That's right. That's the psychology that's going on in our heads, in our souls, and I understand it," she said. "I know where it comes from.

"You know, and I think that is one of the horrible legacies of racism and discrimination and oppression."

http://rawstory.com/news/2007/Michelle_Obama_Black_America_will_wake_1112.html

[ellisonz]

30. Barack Obama is to Yassar Arafat as African-Americans are to Palestinians?

Is it not...

:evilfrown:

[geek tragedy]

32. Did someone compare Obama to Yasser Arafat?

I can't read the comment, as the poster is on my Ignore list.

[ellisonz]

34. No. Just played the race card against the Obamas...

In a very backhanded way.

[BigDDem]

26. Equality for all straights!

[Maven]

33. Stand up for equality (!)

HAHAHAHAHAHA

It's almost too much. Thanks for another slogan, Pastor Obama.