I don't want to hope. An open letter to Barack Obama.

[Bjorn Against]

Dear Senator Obama,

You have talked a lot about hope during this campaign, apparently if we vote for you we can hope everything goes OK. I don't want to hope though, I want to know.

I don't want to hope that you won't pander to homophobic bigots, I want to know that you will stand up and denounce bigotry.

I don't want to hope you will end the massacre in Iraq, I want to know you will end the massacre in Iraq.

I don't want to hope you will keep your religious beliefs separate from your political beliefs, I want to know you will honor the separation of church and state and keep your religion far away from your politics.

I don't want to hope you will work towards single-payer Universal Health Care, I want to know you will work to ensure that every American has health care and remove the insurance industry's seat at the table.

I don't want to hope that everything will go OK if you get elected, I want to know that you will stand up and do what is right even if it pisses some people off.

We have spent too many years witnessing politicians bring us into illegal wars, we have watched for too long as corporations were allowed to exploit us for their own profit, and we have seen religion have far too much influence on our government. This is not a time to bring about unity with those who are destroying this nation, this is a time to fight.

It is a time to fight against the homophobes who want to "cure" gays, it sure as hell is not a time to provide those homophobes with a microphone. As much as you want to claim your religious rally with your homophobic MC was meant to bring people together, you know damn well it did nothing but divide people in a very harmful way. Homophobia does not unite, it divides and for you to claim you are bringing people together by putting a homophobe on the stage is really telling the gay community that you are bringing people together to attack them.

When you allow religion to enter into your politics it does not unite us, it divides us. We do not want religious gospel concerts to be used as campaign rallies, because we have seen too much religion enter into the political sphere already and we want to keep religion as far away from our government as possible. Religion will never unite this nation, it will only divide it. Not everyone in this nation shares a religion, we are a nation of great religious diversity. There are those whose lives are guided completely by faith, there are those who celebrate religious holidays but do not feel that religion plays a big role in their lives, and there are those who hold no religious beliefs at all. There are Christians, there are Jews, there are Muslims, there are Hindus, there are Buddhists, and there are people from numerous other religions. And let's not even get into all the different denominations. No religion is going to bring the people of this country together, religion will only tear us apart and if you want to unite us you will not bring religion into your campaign.

I believe you are a very gifted man Senator, and if you were to use your gifts in the proper way you could bring about great change. You have the potential to be a great President, but before you get my support you need to show me that you are willing to stand up for what is right even if it pisses some people off. We don't want a campaign about hope, we want a campaign about action. If you want my support show me that you are willing to stand up and condemn the religious right. Show me that you are willing to denounce homophobia in the strongest of terms. Show me that you are willing to take on the big corporations. You can still win me over, but I don't get hope from simply hearing nice sounding words I get hope from people who are willing to stand up and speak out loudly.

So stand up Mr. Senator, stand up and not only tell the world that you are going to bring about change but show them exactly how you are going to bring about change. If you want to get us to unite behind you then you better not try to get the Republicans who are opposed to everything we stand for to unite behind you.

You can't unite the whole country, so you need to show us who you are going to unite. Do you unite those who working for peace and social justice, or do you unite those who are going to stick with the status quo that is destroying our nation? Your choice will determine whether or not I can ever be united behind your campaign.

Sincerely,
A Citizen

[patrioticintellect]

1. May I submit this to OpEdNews.com?

[Bjorn Against]

3. Go right ahead. Thanks.

[patrioticintellect]

22. Here's the posting if you would like to see it

http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_mn_again_080105_i_don_t_want_to_hope.htm">I Don't Want to Hope: A Letter to Barack Obama

Congratulations.

[Critters2]

2. What if his religion informs his politics,

as is true for many of us here on DU?

Obama and I belong to the same church. Our progressive politics is a direct outgrowth of our faith. How do we stop doing that?

[Bjorn Against]

4. It is one thing to be informed by religion...

It is quite another to use religion as a tool in a political campaign for public office.

[krabigirl]

14. exactly..

I have no problems with his personal beliefs, but he uses it in his campaign.

[peacetheonlyway]

55. I meditate to a taoist meditation

but how freaked would people be if I invited Master Chen to stand on stage with me as I campaigned?

It's only relevant if Obama thinks church folk need to know he's religious which they can find out by simple perusal of his website or listen to his speeches...

pandering beyond that or taking FAITH into the political arena is not only against the 1st amendment, it's what Rove and company pretend was the reason for their success in 2000 and 2004, but we all know election fraud, and removing the black man from the voting equation was how they won.

when you do the math and all is said and done, more americans consider their religious beliefs a private part of their life, which is why so many parties you don't hear folks discussing politics or religion.

the folks that push religion on you can usually see the rest of the room go quickly to the other side of the room.

i appreciate your faith in faith, but happen to agree with other posters.. it has no place in today's progressive democratic dialogue.

[tavalon]

58. No one leaves behind their personal beliefs when they enter the WH,

I just don't think his or anyone's specific deity should have exclusive rights in the oval office.

[eridani]

60. Faith is divisive by its very nature, period

Some Protestant sects think that the Pope is the antiChrist. Catholics think he is the representative of God on earth. Explain how anyone could possibly believe both of these propositions at the same time. They can't, obviously.

Yet those same Protestants and Catholics share a lot of ethical principles, and those principles are in turn shared by many other faiths, and by people who have no faith at all. Can you explain why the origin of your own ethical standardss matters in the slightest, given that you share them with so many others who don't share the particulars of your faith?

MLk, Jr's activism may have been rooted in his faith, but I have never, ever heard him say anything implying that he gave a rat's posterior about whether people he preached to believed the same articles of faith that he did. All he asked was that wherever his listeners got their ethics that they walk their talk.

[Bluenorthwest]

67. Trinity UCC

is an inclusive congregation. When I first heard about Obama and read he attended a large chruch, I went to their website at once, and read up on the church in differnt places. I was delighted at his choice of worship homes, if he's going to have one, Trinity is a nice choice. Over and over I have said that if Obama stood with his chruch family, instead of pandering to other groups, he'd be standing right with me.
Many of us have experienced first hand that holding any minority group up for derision, especially in the name of God, can and does lead to true and actual harm to real and loving humans. Many of us would not want a speck of innocent blood on our hands, or tied to our words or deeds, many of us actually follow a faith where the goal is to always help the least among us, and to treat all as if they were in fact the Christ. That is all beautiful.
Donnie McClurkin is the opposite of all of that, he spreads pain and division in his own community and in mine and in the large shared population of the two. A bigot with a cross around his neck is still a bigot.
Why a Trinity man would be hanging with that is highly confusing to me. The chain of hate speech should not include a US Senator, much less a President.

[The_Casual_Observer]

5. Is hope worth any more or less that a chicken in every pot?

[Windy]

6. http://www.barackobama.com - I encourage you to read his platform

You obviously haven't taken the time.

[Bjorn Against]

7. I have heard plenty from Barack Obama...

Some of it is very good. But there are things that disturb me about him as well. If you want me to get behind him you have to do more than show me his words, you need to show me that he is willing to stand up to those who are destroying this nation. I will get behind him if my concerns are addressed, but simply showing me his platform will not address my concerns.

[msongs]

8. he'd so himself a favor by reading howard dean's concrete and detailed idears which were presented

in print and online, detailed observable and measurable actions he was gonna take if he got himself elected. well we all know how that turned out, but those plans are still available if ANY candidate wants to reference them.

not likely though, since ALL 3 main dems and both main repubs are the true candidate of hope and change. just ask them.

Msongs

[jannyk]

9. Excellent post...

..."Change and Hope" is a great campaign slogan but like McCain's "Straight Talk Express", that's all it is. I want substance not catchy one liners.

[AmBlue]

10. You don't have to "hope" with John Edwards

You will know. I assume you already do.

This is brilliantly written.

Love this: "This is not a time to bring about unity with those who are destroying this nation, this is a time to fight."

[LibraLiz1973]

21. Damn straight. You wont have to hope with Edwards. You can KNOW.

[GrimReefa]

59. You can know...

that while liberals all across the country (e.g., Barack Obama) kicked and screamed and begged their Democratic representatives in Congress to stand up to the President - even if the move was essentially symbolic - and NOT give him bi-partisan authorization to start a war with a country thaat had made no offenses against us, that he caved right along with Clinton.

There's a fighter for ya.

But hey, he "regrets" it now.

[mopinko]

11. i think that he will actually bring change.

it took me a long time to warm up to him, cause i would like someone who would chain themselves to the capitol doors. like i think that i would, were i in their shoes. that is what i would like to have. but al gore is apparently not running, so...
but ya know, i know a lot of folks who know him, who have known him for a long time. good progressives who worked with him in springfield. he just doesn't work that way. but he does have a way with people, like he has a way with words. he gets things done. he finds common ground. really. and he understands issues. he is a smart guy. it would be nice to have a smart president again.
i know that there have been plenty of candidates that promised these things and delivered anything but. but folks here in obama country who have seen him up close trust and support him. they helped make iowa happen.
go ahead and hope. what have you got to loose?

[Critters2]

37. How do you work with people with whom you don't have common ground?

Who ends up giving in...them or us?

I'd rather have a fighter, thank you.

[mopinko]

45. how? he just does.

i am a fighter myself. i like fighters.
but how do you work with people? some people are peacemakers. you don't need to make peace with friends. you need to make peace with enemies. that is not the same thing as getting rolled. he is a smart guy. he doesn't roll easily.

[GrimReefa]

52. "Who ends up giving in"? That would be both sides.

It's called compromise, and it's been the driving force behind progress in this country for about 230 years.

[jgraz]

12. K&R -- Good stuff

:thumbsup:

[Kazak]

13. I think you've touch on what it is that makes me uncomfortable about Obama,...

but haven't been able to put my finger on until now. Rec'd!

[we can do it]

15. I Hope He Listens

[femrap]

16. k and r

I've tired of hoping as well. That's all I've done for the past seven years. I want to BELIEVE. I want to TRUST a person's word.

[mitchtv]

17. I HOPE he gets over

his enchantment with nuclear power, and Jeebus salemen.

[puebloknot]

18. A masterpiece. It needs to go beyond DU

I am greatly concerned about Obama's too-close affiliation with Evangelicals. The Dems we elected in 2006 are turning themselves inside out to try to achieve bipartisan harmony, and our democracy is going begging as a result. We need change, and of a different kind than Obama seems to be offering. All fluff and no flight plan makes Obama a suspicious boy!

For the record, I am just as concerned about Hillary Clinton and *her* affiliation with the National Prayer Breakfast, and the Fellowship. (Mother Jones had an article about her and her religious activities several months ago which was really alarming.)

Edwards also acknowledges his Christian faith, but I can believe that he will keep it private, and not attempt to co-mingle it with matters of state, much more readily than I can believe that of Obama, or Hillary (whose "faith" comes out of the closet at all-too-convenient times for my personal taste).

[Yael]

19. Recommended and kicking

Well stated. :applause:

[helderheid]

20. BRAVO!

[RBInMaine]

23. "Hope" means "Vision"

Listen to what he says as he addresses this question about his conception of "hope" directly. He isn't talking merely about sitting around and wanting something to happen. He is talking about envisioning something, then acting on it to turn the "hope" into reality. This guy has been my second choice for awhile with Edwards as my first choice, but his momentum is going to be difficult to stop. If he sweeps up these early primary states, then I think the others are done. NO candidated can be all things to all people. My "hope" and financial ACTION has been with Edwards thus far. But if Edwards doesn't win or at least place second in NH, he's finished right there. If Obama sweeps Hillary in NH, SC, and NV, I think you can stick a fork in her too. Then we better unite like hell around Obama because the RePUKElicans aren't going down without a fight. This Obama guy may well be shaping up to be a bonafide political phenomenon, even moreso than Clinton #1, equally as much as JFK and RFK. If he becomes the nominee, we'll have someone we can unite well around just as all those D's, I's, and even some R's did in Iowa, and someone we can make incredible history with. (And just imagine an Obama/Edwards ticket?? You never know.) Gonna be fun as hell to watch no matter what happens.

[Gloria]

24. It's not a question platform..it's a question of the way he does business..

which for a very long time I have seen as being in the same sphere as Hillary Clinton. He is a creation of DC insiders who may not like Hillary and Billo but have moved on to a younger version.

Thank you for this piece. I'm afraid we are on the verge of blowing this. I have a vision of Huckabee taking it all...because of his "populist" message even as he caters to the evangelicals yet again. I fear the Democrats will stick themselves back in that centrist corner with a phony message of change...wouldn't it be ironic if the populism of Huckabee then triumphs, when we could have had our own real Democratic populist??????

[mopinko]

42. creation of dc insiders- now that there is bullshit.

he is the creation of chicago, and springfield. and colleagues HERE who helped him get to the senate, always knowing that he could go beyond that. we know him here, from before he ever set foot in dc.

[otherlander]

25. Maybe he's just trying not to get shot.

People have a way of getting assassinated when they hold the interests of the people higher than the interests of the elite. He's already looking like he might be able to break the status quo by becoming the first African American president of the USA. So I'm not going to get angry at him if he tries not to look like a troublemaker in the eyes of the oligarchs.
But we need a troublemaker. I hope Edwards gets the nomination instead of Obama.

[Critters2]

38. Then he should find another line of work.

What we need now is courage.

[otherlander]

72. I don't know

if you're risking your life this election season, but I'm not, and I don't really expect anyone else to, either. Barack Obama isn't my first or even second choice of candidate, but it does seem kind of unfair to say he should drop out of the race just because he doesn't want to do something that might get him killed.

[kurth]

26. Such insolence! "Barack is one of the smartest people you will ever encounter who will deign to

enter this messy thing called politics." - Michelle Obama

[Faygo Kid]

27. I am an Edwards supporter who likes Obama, and this nails it.

I "hope" that Obama takes this advice. I think FDR and Bobby Kennedy would have found Obama's homilies a little flaccid for their taste. I think Barack Obama is a shining phenomenon in this era of the worst president ever, but I do hope he stands up like RFK and FDR did when running.

[bpeale]

71. i, too, like obama but these are all the reasons i cannot support him

and won't vote for him if he's the nominee. he'd better get some substance real quick or he will lose a lot of people.

[treestar]

28. Here's the thing

It is a tricky thing, with the short attention spans of our day, to distinguish between the far religious right and just regular religious people without the religion right being able to confuse people to think they are being insulted to. Obama has to high profile his Christianity, thanks to the idiots of the right getting that meme out there that he is Muslim and went to a madrassa. I think he is smart for publicly going to church and the like. Once in office, Democrats can at least be dealt with, whereas with a Repuke Prez you have no hope at all.

[Critters2]

39. He and I belong to the same denomination, and I still find him

unconvincing. It's not about religion for me.

[Bluenorthwest]

68. I know all the various religious camps

very well thank you. Obama could easily have had Gospel concerts for weeks without using the people he did use. I know, because I've attended gospel concerts to benefit AIDs in the black community as long ago as 20 years.
The people Obama chose to use were not 'regular religious people' they were extreme activists, three of them known widley for really nasty anti-gay positions, one of whom sang to GW Bush at the '04 Convention. This guy has said 'gays are trying to kill our children', on Pat Robertson's 700Club Television show. Is that what you call regular religion?
His use of these highly charged figures was uncalled for and out of the blue. His own chruch is not like that at all.
He needs to explain it. He needs to make clear that he does not intend to pander to the dogma of what is in fact the religious right. Sorry, but that is what these people are. 700 Club for cying out loud!

[Phred42]

29. Nailed it!

Great Post - you nailed it.

I am far more comfortable with Edwards track record of kicking the crap out of Corporations than I am with Obama's hope.

[deminks]

30. Sen. Obama:“I won’t tell you what you want to hear, I will tell you what you need to hear.”

Here is the context of his stump speech:

http://blastmagazine.com/2008/01/obama-rallies-in-the-granite-state/

He talked about the different people that came to the caucus where he stood shaking hands — the high school seniors, unsure of how a caucus works; the Democrats; the Independents that believe in him; and even the Republicans, who broke party lines to caucus for the Democrat. He said that he was trying to make “a new working majority, go out and remake America, and then change the World.”

He believes in “Hope over Fear,” “Unity over division,” — that he will be the president that “Will be willing to disagree with you, without being disagreeable.”

“I won’t tell you what you want to hear, I will tell you what you need to hear.” He said he will be the president that doesn’t owe his election to big businesses and special interests.

Hope was an ever-present theme. He acknowledged that the other politicians are criticizing his experience, calling him a “Hope Monger.” They want him to be “Seasoned and Stewed.” They want to “boil all the hope out of me,” he said. “Hopes that I saw in the eyes of the people walking into the caucus.”

(end snip)

Sen. Obama, don't tell me what I want or need to hear, tell me the truth.

[bonzotex]

31. Loved it ...thanks! k/R

Your post summed up my queasiness with Obama perfectly. I hope he reads it. He is in a world changing position to really lead. Let's see if he does.

[autorank]

32. Citizens are so far ahead of the "rulers" its amazing. Wonderful! K*R

:kick: Who but a citizen could say it this well??

[NMMNG]

33. I hope you sent this to several newspapers

It deserves to be seen beyond DU.

[grmamo]

34. I could Never vote for Obama. He voted "present" in Illinois...

to avoid taking a stand and he skiped important votes in the Senate (then attacks those that do vote - looks like a pattern). He speaks without specifics unless he has altered some of Clintons or Edwards plans, he is no leader. The more I learn about him, I am not even sure he is up to the job. I truly wish I could vote for him in case he is the final winner in primaries. I have to be prepared in case this actually happens. I am tired of voting for just any democrat! NEVER again.

[ProSense]

35. Forget hope! Here is a

question

[pleah]

36. Exactly! I don't want to hear the word change anymore. I want to know what you are going to do!

[grantcart]

40. Remember the Gordian Knot

How exactly is he going to reach across and work with Rush Limbaugh and Peabody Award Winning Commentator Bill O'Really? ? As a former CEO I can tell you that CEOs are doing their job by explointing every advantage for their shareholders. They will only change their business strategy when a new reality either in the market or by regulation forces them down that path. Think about it can you really expect corporate America to give up power voluntarily. The fault of giving a blank check to corporate America lies in the government that sells itself for pennies on the dollars.

We get the weak wishy washy government we want. If we choose Obama over Edwards we are saying to corporate America change if you want to, we aren't going to force you.

We are the only developed country that withholds essential medical care from its citizens based on their ability to pay. We are the only developed country that allows its corporate entities to basically bribe in a legal fashion its legislators. Hope is not going to undo this Gordian Knot, which was finally undone not by the many who tried to unravel it but by Alexander who took his sword and cut thru it.

If your supporting Obama you want a feel good solution to a problem that requires brass knuckles. We don't need a comforter or a hope monger we need Bobby Kennedy.

Remember Eisenhower's final warning as president that our greatest danger was the military industrial complex. That was because he closely viewed how corporate greed outmanouvered the military. He simply didn't have a chance to see this complex grow to insurance, pharmaceuticals and big agriculture.

Just remember how they carved up Jimmy Carter and you will know why we need a smart quick-witted, no-holds-barred trial lawyer.

[Mythsaje]

74. Welcome to DU...

Sounds like you have the background to know exactly what we need.

Thanks for joining in.

[NMMNG]

41. You're on the Lavender Newswire now

Congratulations!


We sent out pings to more than a dozen search engines so the word is out--you'll be noticed. :thumbsup:

[MzNov]

43. You said it so well. This needs to be published. Everywhere.

:applause: :yourock:

[trotsky]

44. Summarizes my feelings better than I ever could.

Great job. :thumbsup:

[TheDebbieDee]

46. If I want to hear about hope, I'll go to church........

I know that hope is not the same as faith but I don't want to hear any Presidential nominee talking about faith either.

[nankerphelge]

47. Let the circular firing squad begin...

We need our own version of Regan's "don't speak ill of other republicans."

[Bluenorthwest]

69. Take that one up with Obama and McClurkin

McClurkin spoke ill of me, at Obama's official events.
So if anyone is speaking ill of other Democrats, with full lighting, sound system and choir, it is Obama.
The Party and its voters should have called him on this when it happened. I have been very much alienated from the Party by the fact that there was silence as Obama used this GOP wedge tactic, and dragged the evangelists in to knock gays. There should have been outrage. These same evangelists are against choice, sex ed., and many of them feel that married couples with no kids should be compelled by law to concieve or adopt. So when we are laying out our universal health plan, and McClurkin's church does not want to pay for hiv prevention or birth control, remember that the queer folk tried to warn ya!
Nothing like hearing about unity after being called a murderer by the candidate's favorite singer, nothing like it on Earth.

[Up2Late]

48. I want to say Amen, but that probably wouldn't be appropriate for a Buddhist to say...

...or HooAhhh! But I'm not a Marine, so I'll just say WooHoo! :woohoo:

[Misha2]

49. Good thoughts and I agree

with you. I have said I would support and vote for the Democratic candidate in November. BUT, I really don't want to vote for Senator Obama. As my sister says, once his speech was over she couldn't really remember what he said. I don't think he has the experience and if he has been taking money from lobbyists then I really don't want him. There is a huge differance between those who lobby for the public good and those who lobby for drug companies and the like.
I don't want any public official's religion to enter into their actions when they are representing us as we don't have the same beliefs. I believe religion should be private. I don't impose mine on anyone and I simply don't want someone else's pushed on me.

[avaistheone1]

50. Brilliant!

I think your letter is respectful, yet at the same time powerful. Let's hope Obama responses and thoughfully and completely answers your letter.

[tavalon]

51. You know how we can insure this?

An Edwards/Obama ticket. Edwards has the fire in the belly that Obama isn't able to achieve and Obama has the ability to reach across the aisle, which Edwards doesn't care to do right now (nor do I wish him to). Obama also possesses the Oprah factor but Edwards would keep him from giving away the barn. As well, Edwards has seen the attack dogs up close and personal - he watched his running mate get swift-boated and he watched that same running mate make a horrible, irrevocable mistake by not slapping the other side down immediately. I have my doubts about the overly diplomatic Obama being able to keep from being run over by the crazy, foaming at the mouth, knuckledraggers that are the Republic party these days, but as a VP candidate, he'll get that experience without having to man the actual helm.

I think it's a perfect combination, and a Juggernaut.

[avaistheone1]

54. It may be hard to beat.

[tavalon]

56. Well, truth be told,

we could run a turnip right now, and with how badly the Republics have screwed up, we would likely win. It's just that I would like to have a great combo in the WH and I think that's the best one. If HRC get the nomination, there is no way she will pick Obama as her running mate because her polls tell her that it's going to be hard enough to elect a woman much less a woman and a black so she will go with a pragmatic choice, whoever that might be.

[GrimReefa]

57. LOL @ the nerve!

Ok, so Obama has a massive organization, a juggernaut of a fundraising machine, and he just beat Edwards in Iowa by 9 points in a race Edwards clearly had to win, and he has Edwards completely outdistanced in all of the polls - and he is supposed to be Edwards' VP?

You guys are out of your freakin' minds.

[tavalon]

62. He's supposed to because I don't think he has the necessary fight in him

but if I don't get my way, I'm not real stressed about it. Refer to my initial comment and be aware that I know that Obama is imminently better than a turnip. I've read his first book. He is an amazing guy. I hope he's a quick learner because he needs to know that bipartisanship only works if the other side wants to play as well. They don't and he needs to get that and fast. Otherwise, that amazing guy is going to get broken. We don't need another broken President (understand, I mean broken in a totally different way from GWMoron).

Whether it's practical or not, Edwards has been through the wringer and I think he knows how to slap the other guys around as it is necessary and it is oh, so necessary right now. But honestly, if Iowa was the only state that mattered, what are the rest of us doing here? Of the three frontrunners, the only person affected by the Iowa race was Hillary. Had she won, the game was over. It's most definitely not over and it's anybodies race. Well, if anybody only includes the three front runners.

[Phred42]

64. Obama is all Theory

Obama is painting pretty pictures in the sand and Hoping.
Edwards has a solid 20 year track record of standing up for people against the Corporate Machine.

Obama is DLC, takes corporate money, and the Corporate Machine loves him. This is why he has a "juggernaut".
Edwards is a Populist, has taken no money from the Corporate Machine and they are deathly afraid of him.

We KNOW that Edwards will fight for We the People over the Corporate Machine because of the above (and more).
We can only HOPE that Obama will fight for We the People over the Corporate Machine because of the above (and more).

Finally, it bothers me that Obama has not voted (NV) half of the time in 2007 http://www.vote-smart.org/voting_category.php?can_id=9490 >

He has abandoned his post for Illinois in favor of his ambition. Sorry if the Business of Illinois gets in the way.

[peacetheonlyway]

53. Eloquently Written, Bravo MN Citizen

I've been on several threads trying to say the same thing about Obama and his aggregious slap in the face to the gay community.

You said is so eloquently, and for this I'm grateful.

When people realize that fundamentalist christians are 5% of the population, gay people 20% and the gay people can swing any election we won't have to beg.

for now the election fraud of the bush era has set everyone thinking the scary religious right wing authoritarian christians (Folks like Fuckabee) are not only the kind we gay folk get very nervous about, but when he seems ok stating that a quarantine on AIDS patients is OK, i can only imagine where that quarantine might be (few cells down in guantanamo no doubt).

Having had a 7 year old black boy that was a preacher's kid preach to me that lesbianism is comparable to crack cocaine, I am not on the mood to UNITE intolerant church goers.

As a future senate campaign person, I can run as an openly gay person, court the church goers and not once have to cowtow or bow down to folks who hate or disapprove of gays and I still know I can win.

someone needs to tell obama he can still win without the 5% evangelicals that are out voting for huckabee anyway!

[emmadoggy]

61. Bravo!

K & R. :thumbsup:

[donkeyotay]

63. That's a kick. That's a recommend. Nailed it.

"If you want to get us to unite behind you then you better not try to get the Republicans who are opposed to everything we stand for to unite behind you."

He's pandering to the very people in this country who need to rethink their politics. The blame the Left meme, so that the Right (and the corporate interests it covers for) don't have to change.

Very good about the religious stuff, too. The Right brought religion into politics's living room, and Obama does nothing to remove it.



:toast: Good job, MN Against Bush.

[LibDemAlways]

65. Obama's meme seems to be a rehash of

chimp's "I'm a uniter" theme.

If Obama is sincere about it, he's hopelessly naive. The repukes are about as interested in bipartisanship as they are in universal health care. Not going to happen.

Seems to me they are letting their surrogates in the corporate media build him up and propel him toward the nomination while they wait in the wings to begin the inevitable tear-down in the fall when the theme will be that he's inexperienced, a past drug user, all style and no substance, and oh, by the way, his middle name's Hussein.

What happened to Kerry will look like child's play compared to what we can expect this year with any of our candidates. That's why we need someone who is not shy about seriously and forcefully kicking repuke ass. Obama is not that guy.

[realFedUp]

66. and I really hope that Arnold isn't part of your Cabinet....

Frankly any candidate who states that he or she
is going to put Republicans in his or her Cabinet
isn't getting my vote. Sorry, there's too much
shit that hasn't been cleaned up for the hopeful
move-on carpet to be rolled out.
And frankly California voters who know who Arnold
really is and what he's really doing behind the
scenes don't want Arnold stepping into any other
political role dealing with public monies and
policies.

[Bluenorthwest]

70. This speaks for me.

Thank you so much for putting into words what is on my mind regarding Obama. You have managed to communicate without hysteria, something I have not really gotten to with this issue. It has put me through a thousand paces, and continues to do so. I hope this is read by millions, and especially by the Obama campaign and the DNC.
You are my Democratic Hero of the Week. The fact that this post is out there brings me some peace of mind, as silly as that may sound.

[Imagevision]

73. I suggest contacting Hillary or perhaps Mitt Romney, pass on Obama