When Enough Is Finally Enough
By Pejman Yousefzadeh Posted in 2008 | Barack Obama | Hypocrisy | Public Financing Of Election Campaigns — Comments (6) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »
Barack Obama is certainly a media favorite as this election season continues and there is no doubt that he gets better coverage than does John McCain. Still, it is possible, evidently, for Obama to anger media figures and related to that, consider Ruth Marcus enraged:
When in the course of political events it becomes advantageous for a presidential candidate to dissolve a campaign promise, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that the candidate at least refrain from wrapping himself in the Declaration of Independence.
Not Barack Obama.
Click on Obama's campaign Web site and you'll find a virtual parchment scroll, complete with running tally of how many "citizens have declared their independence from a broken system by supporting the first presidential campaign truly funded by the people."
Written as " the PEOPLE," in that familiar, evocative style -- and with a July 4 deadline for signing up.
So Obama isn't just junking his campaign pledge to participate in the public financing system if his opponent agreed to do the same. He isn't just becoming the first presidential candidate since Watergate to run a campaign fueled entirely by private money.
No, he deserves praise for this selfless -- scratch that, patriotic-- move.
Marcus's contempt is as dripping as it is rightfully placed. The common answer of Obama acolytes and the campaign itself to accusations of Obamanian hypocrisy have been to argue that the decision to opt out of public financing allows the Obama campaign the ability to run a truly people-powered race for the White House.
But Marcus throws cold water on that argument as well, pointing out that Obama now has access to
. . . bundlers who can collect six- and even seven-figure sums for your campaign. Because even as he was rhapsodizing in public about "the grass-roots values that have already changed our politics and brought us this far," Obama was privately cozying up to Hillary Clinton's major fundraisers.
Earlier this month, he dispatched his campaign manager, David Plouffe, to woo Clinton bundlers in Washington and New York. This week, Clinton will introduce Obama to nearly 200 of her major bundlers, including some who have raised $1 million or more, in a meeting at the Mayflower Hotel.
"This group could represent 50 million, if not 100 million, bucks," said one top Clinton strategist.
I am still waiting for the Obama campaign to come out and admit the obvious: that the reason they opted out of the public financing system was because they would be able to raise more money privately and enhance Obama's chances of winning the election. Instead, we continue to have our collective intelligence insulted by the claim that Obama's decision to opt out of public financing somehow constitutes an act of political bravery and selflessness. It's nice to see that journalists like Ruth Marcus are finding their voices and calling shenanigans, but really, the outrage needs to be greater on this issue.
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When Enough Is Finally Enough 6 Comments (0 topical, 6 editorial, 0 hidden) Post a comment »
... and approximately how many actual American voters will ever read her article in RealClearPolitics.com? She can be as enraged as she wants --- very few people who will vote in November will ever know it.
John
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Why would God invent something like whiskey? To keep the Irish from ruling the world of course.
The glaring hypocrisy and selfishness of Obama and his ruthless, "all means are justified" race for the presidency was not lost on downticket Democrats, many of whom are angered that the presidential nominee will be soaking up many millions of dollars that they would otherwise have had access to from Democratic donors. These elected Democrats supported him in large measure because he was seen as a fundraising cash cow for the party, but it now turns out that he will be keeping the purse very much to himself. It serves them right, after the Clintons had been extraordinarily generous fundraisers for their entire party over the past 20 years. Sellouts and backstabbers get what they deserve - nada.
I'm thrilled to see their "party unity" felled by their own greed.
I'm waiting for one of them to get so angry at the Obama charade that they spill the beans on the "motor voter" election rigging schemes. I'd be delighted with a nice juicy indictment to bring yet a little more drama to this sleazy juggernaut of a campaign. I'm wondering whether any of them will ever have the courage, or if they are all so intertwined in the corruption they cannot clean it up without demolishing their candidate and themselves.
Any time Republicans get very discouraged about the failures of their own party, and find corruption therein, I still see quite a bit of integrity and principled behavior in your practices. I'm seeing less and less of that in the Democratic party, and anticipate there will be none left if the Chicago fraud ring takes over in November.
Talking with the legal department of the McCain campaign yesterday I was informed that they will begin a big recruitment drive to train Republicans to poll watch and otherwise get involved with their local board of elections. Should Obama win, it will be up to local talent to try to maintain election integrity, and it may be quite the battle. I like to think that some of the warnings delivered by we disaffected Democrats, repulsed by the corruption we are seeing in our own party, was a part of the impetus for their drive. Apparently Democrats all over the country have been telling the McCain campaign extraordinary stories of voter fraud during the primary season, saying, "Heads up, you will be next!" One campaign member said that after hearing the same stories all over the country, she had to believe they weren't all crackpots...
It's too bad that Ruth Marcus is right when she says the damage to Obama will be negligible. Until it appears on the evening network news broadcasts with some similar words of disapproval (from someone other than Republican partisans), it won't matter much at all.
Pluto, the Ninth Planet - Forever!
It isn't working too well for them Add to Hotlist
by Reaper0Bot0, Thu Jun 26, 2008 at 12:46:05 AM CST
Yep. The PUMA's have met the Republicans, and my god is it hilarious to watch.
I can barely contain my glee as I see posters at RedState try as hard as they can not to slam Senator Clinton and her husband. It's not easy for some of them, given that they've had a few decades to hold a grudge. Nothing wrong with that, it's their opinion.
But you've really got to read this.
http://www.redstate.com/blogs/susannah/2 008/jun/20/how_to_reach_out_to_clinton_v oters_using_specific_issues
It's long. It's messy. However, it's pure comedy gold.
Says one RedStater:
"With regard to the current level of whining about the "dirty" campaign BO ran, Hillary's folk were right out there with stuff that, if it were discussed by Republicans, would have likely led to urban rioting.
In the world of national politics, the Clintons are about the most dishonest and unethical group ever to breech the National scene. That they've gotten their heads handed to them, and with any luck self destructed in the process, is simply schadenfreud of the first order."
And that's one of the milder bits. I really have to laugh when I see stuff like this. Did these folks not understand that the Republicans actively disrespect Senator Clinton, whereas Obama supporters largely did nothing of the kind. Some of these RedStaters positively thrash the Clintons, in a thread where they're trying to come up with a plan to convince them to vote for McCain!.
Another quote: "Please stop now! It's too late to save the shoes, but if you stop now I might be able to save the pants. The incredulity of your assertion that Hillary is squeeky clean and pure as the driven snow is too much to swallow."
Please, I'm begging you guys, DO NOT post there, and DO NOT tell them where you came from. I'm not posting this to denigrate RedState or to harm their efforts to pursue conservative causes. I strongly disagree with them, but that's their site and we should no more troll their house than they should ours. I just want you guys to see how its going for the PUMA's, as they've reached out.
Tags: PUMA, Conservatives, Problems. (all tags)
here. It appeared in an email to supporters, saying how patriotic it was to break his promise on campaign finance.
The complete collection includes: the Obama eagle graphic (upper left corner) which supplants the American flag with the Obama 'O' Pepsi-like logo; the infamous Obama "Vero Possumus" Presidential Seal; and Obama's Declaration of Independence from his signed pledge to opt in for public financing.
Since I don't frequent the Obama website of faux presidential seal fame, I never saw the Declaration style "freedom" fundraising gimmick. It's disgusting and leaves me shaking my head. Completely unsurprising.
"Stand up, and let's acquit ourselves like men."