Nevermind those facts on Obama. Nevermind that he doesn't have one solid accomplishment that he can truly boast. Nevermind that his supporters cry racism every time someone questions his blank slate of a resume.
Nevermind that every time the public turns against his policies, he turns, too. Nevermind that while working as a community organizer (his "charitable" claim to fame), he worked with corrupt products of the Chicago political scene, such as ACORN, to bully banks into making irresponsible loans to those who knowingly could not afford them. Nevermind that his dear ACORN is now being investigated for serious voter fraud.
Nevermind that Obama is so insecure, he couldn't even put himself to giving the VP slot to his former rival, and second most popular person in the Democratic Party. Nevermind that when Palin's star began to outshine his own, he not-so-stealthily made fun of her gender and called her a barnyard beast.
Nevermind that this is a man who launched his run for Chicago political office in the home of an only too well known domestic terrorist. Nevermind that he worked with the same terrorist on school-related "reform" projects, the agenda of which was vague, at best, and radical and cruel at worst. Nevermind that his self-described spiritual leader of 20 years is a conspiracy-prone egomaniac who turned on Obama just as soon as the cameras shifted. This man poured poisonous ideas of moral equivalence between September 11 terrorists and the U.S. military, while simultaneously "guiding" Obama through the metaphysical realm. Nevermind that when asked for honest reasons why he will succeed in all that he dares to, and yet has never accomplished, he answers with vague and soaring rhetoric, backed up by nothing but a mentally bullying line: that he is the only solution to all that ails this country, but don't you worry your little head about what it will take.
Nevermind any of this. Who needs facts? Who cares about history? It'll repeat itself soon enough, so why worry? Why not elect a "new" face? Only problem is, that same face is not new in a long line of corrupt Chicago politicians. But hey, who cares about facts? They can be changed anyway, right?
Well, that sure seems true of this crap. And sadly, research seems to suggest that people who advance stuff like this as truth are unlikely to respond rationally to facts. So why bother to offer any?
True. I posted a link to a VERY good summary of Obama's legislative accomplishments a while back. Obviously, Susie wasn't here to see it.
She could also go to the Washington Post website - yesterday's Post had a very good summary of his career to date as well, tho not as detailed about numbers of bills, it still shows what type of cross-the-isle legislative experience he has and acquired while a State legislator.
But of course, Susie won't look at it, that might shatter the pre-conceived, spoon-fed notions McCain's goons have hoodwinked her into believing.
rwahrens, "goons," really? Unlike you gentlemen, I actually have done my homework. Clearly neither of you have researched the facts, or you would be just as incensed that Senator Obama gets a free pass on everything that Senator McCain can't. I read that article in the Washington Post, and am looking at it again right now. There is no logical reason anyone could seriously use that article to back up an argument that Obama is experience. Puh-lease. This article lists about 2 major accomplishments of his. And all it does it sugar coat his work, cooing with loving adjectives and too much background so that the reader can truly "understand" why Obama has done what he has. And the big lobbying reform it claims?
Humorously, I'd like to point to Senator Clinton. While on the campaign stump, she used to note what a non-landmark this "ethics reform" bill was. But hey, that's her word, not mine, and last I heard, she's an Obama supporter, not a McCain "goon," as you so lovingly stated. Interestingly enough, the Obama-Feingold legislation basically told lawmakers they need to disclose who they're getting money from, and be very upfront about it. Last I heard, Obama's lobbying friends have been trickled out slowly, as rogue elements of the media happen to talk about them. Otherwise, the silence is deafening.
We want to trust someone who can't even keep his word on a campaign contribution challenge? Real nice.
The former governor of South Carolina, Jim Hodges, is both an Obama campaign co-chair and a ... lobbyist! Obama has advisers from Freddie Mac. What's the point of enacting ethics reform, when you can't even practice it in your campaigns? Interesting. Of course, none of this will be remembered, because everything unpalatable he does, is treated by the media as the exception to the rule, rather than a longstanding pattern.
CQPolitics has an interesting column discussing factuality of various political claims. They appear to me to be pretty non partisan. There is a very good discussion of the Ayers/ACORN, etc issue to be found at http://www.politi...ments/790/
Maybe you don't consider transparancy in political donations important, then I guess you can sneer at Obama's accomplishments in that regard.
What about the Keating stuff? If you want to talk about free passes, why not start there. Most of the Keating 5 retired from politics in disgrace. Not our Johnnie. He was transformed by this experience. And his maverick image was born. He rode the straight-talk express, and I'll admit I bought into his image in 2000 and thought that he was an honorable opponent, unlike Bush. Maybe he still was back then. But the McCain of 2008 is still riding on his former acts. For the most part his dirty laudry remains in the hamper. Things are spliced and edited so that he looks good or at least better. He gets kindly treatment. To some observers, his current behavior doesn't hold up to his old ideals yet he doesn't acknowledge the big slide into Rovian neocon approach. Although on this actual voting record he was never all that far from it. He has a long history of using positional perks to escape the consquences of his own actions. He may complain that his father was distant, but he received more help from him that most sons enjoy from their dads. And on top of it all, there is growing reason to believe that McCain is a sexist pig to boot. And maybe a racist personally. He is giving lipservice to Obama being an honorable opponent right this minute, but it's brand new and might not last long. And of course, independently funded groups will carry on the vital business of negitive ads completely on their own and quite out of his control.
But McCain's VP choice has just been found to be abusing her office in Alaska. Let's see how much coverage that gets. She's been pulling Cheney-like manuvers. Is that going to be discussed, do you think? McCain's vetting must have revealed that she was under multiple investigations. (Another is still under way.) Was this really the best choice for an America suffering from the loss of many of our civil rights? He's old and has had multiple occurances of a possibly fatal cancer, he's a victim of prolonged torture and that takes a terrible tole on the body, his life expectancy under the pressure of the top office is extremely poor. Much worse than the vast majority of historical examples. So his VP replacing him is a very real probablity. Who does he give us in these troubled times? Palin. Really? (Insert the SNL bit on that here.) Doesn't really sound like a "Country First" solution in a new patriotic sense, more like the old use by the natzi-sympathizers before WWII.
I find McCain standing there railing that he has the answers. He'll win the war. He'll get Bin Laden. He'll fix the economy. He'll end corruption in Washington. For heaven's sakes! He's been part of the corruption personally. And his campaign manager collected company profits--although he no longer actively lobbied for Fannie Mae, he says--clear up until the government came in. Yet he rails about the lesser amount Obama has received. Look at the choices of advisors that McCain has made. Phil Gramm on Finance. Really? This same old recycled crap is not going to get our country out of this horrible mess. The world community would not put up with four more years of nonsense from the US. We would be better served by a media that had a wider range of vision. Tell us what our allies think of our election. Tell us how others frame the questions and challenges which face us all. How do we fit with the rest of the world? What can we learn from them? McCain seems to be telling us to vote for him and he can restore our glory days of being on top of the world. That's a pretty delusional view these days. You hear them saying that our health care is the best in the world, as if that was still true by any reasonable measure. There seems to be a lot of denial going on.
And some of it is about race. When Hillary was still in the running, I was amazed by how frequently I was called a racist by uninformed white people. When I moved beyond my PUMA tendancies into the Obama camp, the name-calling continued, just the names changed. I've noticed that a great number of the scathing terms used to refer to Obama supporters have the same emotional thrust as the "N-lover" jibes, back in the day. Society has come too far for these sorts of sentiments to be openly expressed, so they are coming out in coded behavior. They don't resonate for me. And I think that the younger you are, the less likely you are to buy into this "Country First" crap. Of course, it could just be that they think McCain would end up drafting them for one of those wars he warns will be coming.
But it is good to hear from you SusieK. I disagree, almost always, but it is interesting to hear divigent points of view.
...I went to the Congressional Record (www.thomas.gov) and did a search for bills sponsored or co-sponsored by Senator Obama in his three short years in the US Senate. I searched the 109th and 110th Congresses which cover the years 2005-2007.
In a nut shell I found:
Senator Obama has sponsored or co-sponsored 570 bills in the 109th and 110th Congress.
Senator Obama has sponsored or co-sponsored 15 bills that have become LAW since he joined the Senate in 2005.
Senator Obama has also introduced amendments to 50 bills, of which 16 were adopted by the Senate.
His record is in fact quite impressive for a junior Senator from Illinois.
Details below the fold.
Helenann's diary :: ::
Below I summarize Senator Obama's legislative record in the US Senate.
First I list the bills he sponsored that have become law.
Next I summarize the bills that he has sponsored or cosponsored since he became a US Senator in 2005.
I have only included major pieces of legislation and have not summarized continuing resolutions or naming post offices, for example.
His record suggests several priorities and the bills he supports address many of our most pressing problems.
Most of his legislative effort has been in the area of Energy Efficiency and Climate Change (25 bills), health care (21 bills) and public health (20 bills), consumer protection/labor (14 bills), the needs of Veterans and the Armed Forces (13 bills), Congressional Ethics and Accountability (12 bills), Foreign Policy (10 bills) Voting and Elections (9 bills), Education (7 bills), Hurricane Katrina Relief (6), the Environment (5 bills), Homeland Security (4 bills), and discrimination (4 bills).
Of the 15 bills Senator Obama sponsored or co-sponsored in 2005-7 that became law:
Two addressed foreign policy:
Promote relief, security and democracy in the Congo (2125)
Develop democratic institutions in areas under Palestinian control (2370).
Three addressed public health:
Improve mine safety (2803)
Increased breast cancer funding (597)
Reduce preterm delivery and complications, reduce infant mortality (707).
Two addressed openness and accountability in government:
Strengthening the Freedom of Information Act (2488)
Full disclosure of all entities receiving federal funds (2590)
Two addressed national security
Extend Terrorist Risk Insurance (467)
Amend the Patriot Act (2167)
One addressed the needs of the Armed Forces
Wave passport fees to visit graves, attend memorials/funerals of veterans abroad (1184).
Of the 570 bills Senator Obama introduced into the Senate during the 109th and 110th Congress (Senate Bill numbers are in parentheses), they can be summarized as follows:
25 addressed Energy Efficiency and Climate Change
Suspend royalty relief for oil and gas (115)
Reduce dependence on oil; use of alternative energy sources (133)
Increase fuel economy standards for cars (767, 768)
Auto industry incentives for fuel efficient vehicles (1151)
Reduce green house gas emissions (1324)
Establish at NSF a climate change education program (1389)
Increase renewable content of gasoline (2202)
Energy emergency relief for small businesses and farms (269)
Strategic gasoline and fuel reserves (1794)
Alternative diesel standards (3554)
Coal to liquid fuel promotion (3623)
Renewable diesel standards (1920)
Reducing global warming pollution from vehicles (2555)
Fuel security and consumer choice (1994, 2025)
Alternative energy refueling system (2614)
Climate change education (1389)
Low income energy assistance (2405)
Oil savings targets (339)
Fuel economy reform (3694)
Plug-in electric drive vehicles (1617)
Nuclear release notice (2348)
Passenger rail investment (294)
Energy relief for low income families (2405)
21 addressed Health Care
Drug re-importation (334)
Health information technology (1262, 1418)
Discount drug prices (2347)
Health care associated infections (2278)
Hospital quality report cards (692, 1824)
Medical error disclosure and compensation (1784)
Emergency medical care and response (1873)
Stem cell research (5)
Medical Malpractice insurance (1525)
Health centers renewal (901, 3771)
Children’s health insurance (401)
Home health care (2061)
Medicare independent living (2103)
Microbicides for HIV/AIDS (823)
Ovarian cancer biomarker research (2569)
Gynological cancers (1172)
Access to personalized medicine through use of human genome (976)
Paralysis research and care (1183)
20 addressed Public Health:
Violence against women (1197)
Biodefense and pandemic preparedness and response (1821, 1880)
Viral influenza control (969)
End homelessness (1518)
Reduce STDs/unintended pregnancy (1790)
Smoking prevention and tobacco control (625)
Minority health improvement and disparity elimination (4024)
Nutrition and physical education in schools (2066)
Health impact assessments (1067, 2506)
Healthy communities (1068)
Combat methamphetamines (2071)
Paid sick leave (910)
Prohibit mercury sales (833, 1818)
Prohibit sale of lead products (1306, 2132)
Lead exposure in children (1811, 2132)
14 address Consumer Protection/Labor
Stop unfair labor practices (842)
Fair minimum wage (2, 1062, 2725, 3829)
Internet freedom (2917)
Credit card safety (2411)
Media ownership (2332)
Protecting taxpayer privacy (2484)
Working family child assistance (218)
Habeus Corpus Restoration (185)
Bankruptcy protection for employees and retirees (2092)
FAA fair labor management dispute resolution (2201)
Working families flexibility (2419).
13 addressed the Needs of Veterans and the Armed Forces:
Improve Benefits (117)
Suicide prevention (479)
Needs of homeless veterans (1180)
Homes for veterans (1084)
GI Bill enhancement (43)
Military job protection
Dignity in care for wounded vets (713)
Housing assistance for low income veterans (1084)
Military children in public schools (2151)
Military eye injury research and care (1999)
Research physical/mental health needs from Iraq War (1271)
Proper administration of discharge for personality disorder (1817, 1885)
Security of personal data of veterans (3592)
12 addressed Congressional Ethics and Accountability
Lobbying and ethics reform (230)
Stop fraud (2280)
Legislative transparency and accountability (525)
Open government (2180, 2488)
Restoring fiscal discipline (10)
Transparency and integrity in earmarks (2261)
Accountability of conference committee deliberations and reports (2179)
Federal funding accountability and transparency (2590)
Accountability and oversight for private security functions under Federal
contract (674)
Accountability for contractors and personnel under federal contracts
(2147) Resctrictions awarding government contracts (2519)
10 addressed Foreign Policy:
Iraq war de-escalation (313)
US policy for Iraq (433),
Divestiture from Iran (1430)
Sudan divestment authorization (831)
Millennium Development Goals (2433)
Multilateral debt relief (1320)
Development bank reform (1129)
Nuclear nonproliferation (3131,977,2224).
9 address Voting/Elections
Prohibit deceptive practices in Federal elections (453)
Voter access to polls and services in Federal elections (737)
Voter intimidation and deceptive practices (1975)
Senate campaign disclosure parity (185)
Require reporting for bundled campaign contributions (2030)
Election jamming prevention (4102)
Campaign disclosure parity (223)
Presidential funding (2412)
Integrity of electronic voting systems (1487)
11 addressed Education
Increase access of low income African Americans to higher education (1513)
Establish teaching residency programs (1574)
Increase early intervention services (2111)
Middle school curriculum improvements (2227)
Public database of scholarships, fellowships and financial aid (2428)
Summer learning programs (116)
TANF financial education promotion (924)
Higher education (1642)
Build capacity at community colleges (379)
Campus law enforcement in emergencies (1228)
Support for teachers (2060).
6 addressed Hurrican Katrina
Hurricane Katrina recovery (2319)
Emergency relief (1637)
Bankruptcy relief and community protection (1647)
Working family tax relief (2257)
Fair wages for recovery workers (1749)
Gulf coast infrastructure redevelopment (1836)
5 addressed the Environment
Drinking water security (218, 1426)
Water resources development (728)
Waste water treatment (1995)
Combat illegal logging (1930)
Spent nuclear fuel tracking and Acountability (1194)
Asian Carp Prevention and Control Act (Introduced in Senate)[S.726.IS ]
4 addressed Discrimination
Claims for civil class action based on discrimination (1989)
Domestic partnership benefits (2521)
Unresolved civil rights crimes (535)
Equality or two parent families (2286)
4 addressed Homeland Security
Judicial review of FISA orders (2369)
National emergency family locator (1630)
Amend US Patriot Act (2167)
Chemical security and safety (2486)
SusieK has it more right than you give her credit for... maybe you all just need a few more facts about Senator Barack Obama.
Senator Barack Obama doesn't follow protocol when the National Anthem is played.
According to the United States Code, Title 36, Chapter 10, Sec. 171,
During rendition of the national anthem when the flag is displayed, all present except those in uniform are expected to stand at attention facing the flag with the right hand over the heart.
So I guess if you do not like something about our nation, it is proper to disrespect it before you really 'change' it. Yes Obama is all about change.
http://www.govtrack.us/congress/person.xpd?tab=votes&id=400629
Barack Obama missed 314 of 1299 roll call votes (24%) since Jan 6, 2005, that makes him a member in the worst 10 percent of Congress. If you take the time to look at his record of missed votes in recent years [not just the elections year] he has a record that reflects more missed votes than 24%.
The fact that Obama signed a bill, along with twenty other Senators as a co-sponsor of one minor bill or another doesn't mean much compared to selling out on major issues.
Obama promised to filibuster the FISA bill which he said abrogates the Fourth Amendment, while he was campaigning in Wisconsin. Obama flip-flopped after he had the votes of all those Wisconsin Feingold supporters.
Obama who threw his grandmother under the bus when he was trying to explain 20 years in Jeremiah Wright's "God damn America!" church. And yes, I listened to the Wright sermon (10 minute version), there's no possible context where that is acceptable verbage in my humble opinion.
While Hillary Clinton was in the race Obama opposed NAFTA, and as soon as Hillary Clinton was gone, NAFTA doesn't look so bad.
And I'm sure that anyone who remembers anything Obama said is bound to be accused of being a racist, but that is just another tactic in his political tool-box. We all saw Obama play the race card over and over and over and over against Hillary Clinton.
Maybe you support Obama for his "anti-war" policy, you just forget his often-repeated threat to bomb Pakistan that would destabilize our only ally in the region. Or that Obama's "antiwar" policy consists of moving our soldiers into Afghanistan as fast as we move them out of Iraq. Surely he can bring peace to an area that dozens of would-be empires have failed to pacify in say the last 2000 years or so.
Maybe you like Obama's economic policies that include a no-mandate healthcare plan that draws your support... That plan, is one that even liberal Paul Krugman says just won't work: Obama is "doing the same thing in the health care debate he did when claiming that Social Security faces a “crisis” — attacking his rivals by echoing right-wing talking points."
So just keep up the chants of - "He's better than McCain" when anyone points out his flip-flops and reversals on FISA, NAFTA, death penalty, gun-control, tax policy, public campaign financing, etc for he is the Messiah Barack Obama.
Of the bills that Obama sponsors or co-sponsors, around 97.3% have been rejected, and in a congress his own party controls, with the help of Joe Lieberman. What make us think he will be able to get anything done.He is certainly not bi-partisan, and has failed to gain support from across the isle.
For those of you have difficulty with the 97.3% failure rate. Obama sponsored or co-sponsored 570 bills. Of those 570 bills, 15 became law. Now do the math... (15/570)*100 = 2.7% success rate. Inversely, a 97.3% failure rate.
And I'm sure that anyone who remembers anything Obama said is bound to be accused of being a racist, but that is just another tactic in his political tool-box.
Just like Palin and her sex card?
Maybe you support Obama for his "anti-war" policy, you just forget his often-repeated threat to bomb Pakistan that would destabilize our only ally in the region.
Like Bush has already been doing for almost a year? Funny how you don't seem to have a problem with THAT...
Maybe you like Obama's economic policies...
Makes more sense than the country buying up all the bad mortgages from dorks that bought more house than they could afford!!
So just keep up the chants of - "He's better than McCain" when anyone points out his flip-flops and reversals...
Oh, and we're supposed to forget all of McCain's reversals including his stance on torture that he made just to please the far right wing of the party just to get the nomination? He sure as hell isn't the same guy that ran against Bush eight years ago!!
Obama sponsored or co-sponsored 570 bills. Of those 570 bills, 15 became law.
So? As a junior Senator, that's not bad. One can't expect him to get to the top 10% in his first term. The point is that he worked on all of those other bills, trying to get them passed, in concert with other Senators. It is the effort that counts, as that confers experience.
One learns more from one's failures and mistakes than one's successes, doesn't one? At least, that's what I've always heard...
Senator Barack Obama doesn't follow protocol when the National Anthem is played.
This is a total non-issue for me. True patriotism is not about standing around with your hand on your heart. It plays out in your actions. McCain was once a bright and shiny hero based on his foggy, distant service. Now we are learning that he wasn't such a hero. He has always leaning on priviledge to get by. Even in capitivity he used his father to get better treatment. (Although not early release, that would not have played well with daddy.) Obama, on the other hand, tried to make a difference rather than make a fortune.
Barack Obama missed 314 of 1299 roll call votes (24%) since Jan 6, 2005, that makes him a member in the worst 10 percent of Congress.
This is a valid objection, but rather than comparing him to the entire congress here, he should be compared to others who were campaigning also. Fact is, candidates miss a great many roll calls.
Obama who threw his grandmother under the bus
How so? Wright he did finally denounce, but not until Wright had left him no choice. Wright is a colorful character and Obama displayed great tolerance. And if you were involved enough to watch the vids, perhaps you noticed that the sermons that were problematic were not attended by Obama. At least all of the ones I watched were. The Hillary people were really concerned about this and did quite a bit of research. While you can see some sort of plot in Wright only spouting off in this fashion when Obama was off on official duties, but it probably just worked out that way. It seems totally unreasonable to blame Obama for things that were said in his absence. That makes no sense to me. And if crazy religious beliefs trouble you, you should check out the Palin collection on u-tube. Palin actually stars in those strange events. If it comes up at the last debate, we'll probably all be seeing them on MSM, like the old Wright tapes.
We all saw Obama play the race card over and over and over and over against Hillary Clinton.
Examples? As it happens, I didn't see Obama himself do this. Plenty of his followers were inclined to be utterly ignorant and verbally abusive in their calls of "Racist!" all the time. But that wasn't him. He doesn't encourage this.
healthcare plan
One of the things that is really great about Obama is that he doesn't believe that he possesses all the answers right this moment. He has the right idea (goal) on this and will be sensible in trying to get us there. Hillary will probably end up laying out the details of the actual plan that congress will get to vote upon. And it will be a workable plan. (Even Bill O'Reilly admitted that her plan as a candidate was workable.) And Obama will sign it.
"He's better than McCain" when anyone points out his flip-flops and reversals
Yeah, Obama's failings make me mad also. FISA and drilling especially, but he is several orders of magnitude better than McCain. McCain's flip-flops and reversals--on just about all of his truly maverick moves--are far more upsetting. Torture is okay? Really? He's reached the point where Nixon ended up: winning is all that matters.
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