It seems that some of Senator Obama's more lefty supporters are starting to realize that he is not the liberal/progressive they thought he was. Personally, I am mystified as to how any remotely reasonable person could have thought he was a liberal. One anti-war speech in 2002 - which no one can find video or audio of - does not a liberal make. And his record in the Illinois Senate was hardly one of accomplishment, despite his recent claims.
Obama's rhetoric, as I've pointed out time and again, has always been rightward bound. From his pandering to anti-gay evangelicals with Donnie McClurkin, to his praising of all Presidents Republican (which Democratic President has he ever praised on a consistent basis?), to his kumbaya Unity schtick, to his statements that he would consider specific Republics for his Cabinet post (and possibly for VP - I think that's the next shoe to drop), to his unforgivable lying about Bill Clinton's presidency (no, rural people did not suffer equally under Reagan and Clinton, thanks for playing) and embrace of right-wing frames regarding Bill and Hillary's judgment and character...well, I could go on and on. Oh! I just did!
But those are all in the past, right? We all know that once Obama got the nomination, he would do a shout-out to his bestest buddies, the lefties who love and worship him as the next coming of John F. Kennedy, right?
Not so much. Obama's been steadily and happily giving the finger to all things liberal for the last few weeks. Iraq withdrawal? Just a best-case scenario, as I pointed out. FISA filibuster? Not so much. Women and abortion? Turns out a late-term abortion should not be the woman's decision - it should be done only if some physical problem occurs. And let's not forget that Obama wants to expand on Bush's faith-based initiatives, and is consistently reaching out to the rightiest of right-wingers, evangelical Christians, with projects such as the Joshua Generation.
Finally, this morning I read about this [h/t to "ribbon" on TalkLeft]:
Add this to Obama's abortion flip-flop, and is it any wonder that women don't want Obama as Commander-in-Chief? The penilely-challenged do not seem to be as equal as other animals in Obama's World.
Now, some people are calling this rash of pandering a move to the center. Okay, almost EVERYONE is calling this a move to the center. Newsflash, people. The center is not there. What "center" thinks telecommunications companies should have immunity for spying on Americans? What "center" thinks that the troops don't need to come home from Iraq? What "center" thinks Roe v. Wade was a mistake and that abortion should be regulated even further? What "center" thinks that Bush's faith-based initiatives were an awesome success and should be expanded?
No, Obama is moving to the far right. He's signaled this move all along, and now he's following up on his rhetoric.
In how large a font should I type "I told you so?"
Now, the Convention is not a coronation, and Hillary has not released her delegates. There is still time to nominate the only real Democrat in this race. My purpose with all these posts is not to bash Obama, although I don't mind that part either, but to highlight the fact that his candidacy would be an utter disaster for three reasons:
1) He is the presumptive nominee only through corruption by, and collusion with, the National Party.
2) He refuses to stand up for Democratic principles, caving to the rightwingers constantly.
3) He will lose to McCain.
There is still time to save the Party from itself. There is still time to put a real fighter, a strong leader and a die-hard liberal Democrat up against John McCain. There is still time to elect a Democratic President who actually has the know-how and the will to fix the massive problems we are facing.
And that is the true goal of PUMA.
Obama's rhetoric, as I've pointed out time and again, has always been rightward bound. From his pandering to anti-gay evangelicals with Donnie McClurkin, to his praising of all Presidents Republican (which Democratic President has he ever praised on a consistent basis?), to his kumbaya Unity schtick, to his statements that he would consider specific Republics for his Cabinet post (and possibly for VP - I think that's the next shoe to drop), to his unforgivable lying about Bill Clinton's presidency (no, rural people did not suffer equally under Reagan and Clinton, thanks for playing) and embrace of right-wing frames regarding Bill and Hillary's judgment and character...well, I could go on and on. Oh! I just did!
But those are all in the past, right? We all know that once Obama got the nomination, he would do a shout-out to his bestest buddies, the lefties who love and worship him as the next coming of John F. Kennedy, right?
Not so much. Obama's been steadily and happily giving the finger to all things liberal for the last few weeks. Iraq withdrawal? Just a best-case scenario, as I pointed out. FISA filibuster? Not so much. Women and abortion? Turns out a late-term abortion should not be the woman's decision - it should be done only if some physical problem occurs. And let's not forget that Obama wants to expand on Bush's faith-based initiatives, and is consistently reaching out to the rightiest of right-wingers, evangelical Christians, with projects such as the Joshua Generation.
Finally, this morning I read about this [h/t to "ribbon" on TalkLeft]:
On average, women working in Obama's Senate office were paid at least $6,000 below the average man working for the Illinois senator. That's according to data calculated from the Report of the Secretary of the Senate, which covered the six-month period ending Sept. 30, 2007. Of the five people in Obama's Senate office who were paid $100,000 or more on an annual basis, only one -- Obama's administrative manager -- was a woman.
The average pay for the 33 men on Obama's staff (who earned more than $23,000, the lowest annual salary paid for non-intern employees) was $59,207. The average pay for the 31 women on Obama's staff who earned more than $23,000 per year was $48,729.91. (The average pay for all 36 male employees on Obama's staff was $55,962; and the average pay for all 31 female employees was $48,729. The report indicated that Obama had only one paid intern during the period, who was a male.)
McCain, an Arizona senator, employed a total of 69 people during the reporting period ending in the fall of 2007, but 23 of them were interns. Of his non-intern employees, 30 were women and 16 were men. After excluding interns, the average pay for the 30 women on McCain's staff was $59,104.51. The 16 non-intern males in McCain's office, by comparison, were paid an average of $56,628.83.
Add this to Obama's abortion flip-flop, and is it any wonder that women don't want Obama as Commander-in-Chief? The penilely-challenged do not seem to be as equal as other animals in Obama's World.
Now, some people are calling this rash of pandering a move to the center. Okay, almost EVERYONE is calling this a move to the center. Newsflash, people. The center is not there. What "center" thinks telecommunications companies should have immunity for spying on Americans? What "center" thinks that the troops don't need to come home from Iraq? What "center" thinks Roe v. Wade was a mistake and that abortion should be regulated even further? What "center" thinks that Bush's faith-based initiatives were an awesome success and should be expanded?
No, Obama is moving to the far right. He's signaled this move all along, and now he's following up on his rhetoric.
In how large a font should I type "I told you so?"
Now, the Convention is not a coronation, and Hillary has not released her delegates. There is still time to nominate the only real Democrat in this race. My purpose with all these posts is not to bash Obama, although I don't mind that part either, but to highlight the fact that his candidacy would be an utter disaster for three reasons:
1) He is the presumptive nominee only through corruption by, and collusion with, the National Party.
2) He refuses to stand up for Democratic principles, caving to the rightwingers constantly.
3) He will lose to McCain.
There is still time to save the Party from itself. There is still time to put a real fighter, a strong leader and a die-hard liberal Democrat up against John McCain. There is still time to elect a Democratic President who actually has the know-how and the will to fix the massive problems we are facing.
And that is the true goal of PUMA.
1 comment:
Ted - if you don't comment on this post, but merely use my blog to promote your own or someone else's blog, I won't be publishing your comments any more.
Fair warning, okay?
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