"The Road We've Traveled" Pres. Obama's 17-Minute Campaign Documentary

Sources: Barack Obama.com, Youtube

Obama's Liberal Supporters Need To Grow Up? Fareed Zakaria Defends (Decision 2012)

Fareed's Take: Defending Obama's pragmatism

Over the last week, liberal politicians and commentators took to the airwaves and op-ed pages to criticize the debt deal that Congress reached. But their ire was directed not at the Tea Party or even the Republicans but rather at Barack Obama, who they concluded had failed as a President because of his persistent tendency to compromise. This has been a running theme ever since Obama took office.

I think that liberals need to grow up.

As the New Republic's Jonathan Chait brilliantly points out, there is a recurring liberal fantasy that if only the President would give a stirring speech, he would sweep the country along with the sheer power of his poetry. In this view, writes Chait, "Every known impediment to the legislative process - special interest lobbying, the filibuster, macroeconomic conditions, not to mention certain settled beliefs of public opinion-are but tiny stick huts trembling in the face of the atomic bomb of the presidential speech."

This does happen - if your watching the American president - but not if your actually watching what goes in in Washington.

The disappointment over the debt deal is just the latest episode of liberal bewilderment about Obama. "I have no idea what Barack Obama ... believes on virtually any issue," Drew Westen writes in the New York Times, confused over Obama's tendency to take "balanced" positions. Westen hints that his professional experience - he is a psychologist - suggests deep, traumatic causes for Obama's disease.



Let me offer a simpler explanation: Obama is a centrist and a pragmatist who understands that in a country divided over core issues, you cannot make the best the enemy of the good.

Obama passed a large stimulus package within weeks of taking office. Perhaps it should have been bigger, but despite a Democratic House and Senate, it passed by just one vote. He signed into law an unprecedented expansion of regulations in the financial-services industry, though one that did not break up the large banks. He enacted universal health care, through a complex program modeled after Mitt Romney's plan in Massachusetts. And he has advocated a balanced approach to deficit reduction that combines tax increases with spending cuts.

Maybe he believes in all these things. Maybe he understands that with a budget deficit of 10% of GDP, the second highest in the industrialized world, and a debt that will rise to almost 100% of GDP in a few years, we cannot cavalierly spend another few trillion dollars hoping that will jump-start the economy.



Perhaps he believes that while banks need better regulations, America also needs a vibrant banking system, and that in a globalized economy, constraining American banks will only ensure that the world's largest global financial institutions will be British, German, Swiss and Chinese.

He might understand that Larry Summers and Tim Geithner are smart people who, in long careers in public service, got some things wrong but also got many things right. Perhaps he understands that getting entitlement costs under control is in fact a crucial part of stabilizing our fiscal situation, and that you do need both tax increases and spending cuts-cuts that are smaller than they appear because they all start with the 2010 budget, which was boosted by the stimulus.

Is all this dangerous weakness, incoherence and appeasement, or is it common sense?




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Sources: CNN, Democracy Now, GPS, Youtube, Google Maps

Obama Vs. Liberals & Dems: "He's Too Soft On GOP & Tea Party" (Decision 2012)

Obama's soft response to Tea Party draws liberal criticism

Liberals are growing frustrated with President Obama’s soft response to the Tea Party after fractious negotiations over the debt limit led to the loss of nation’s AAA credit rating on Friday.

Republicans and Democrats have unleashed fusillades of attack against each other in the wake of the announcement but Obama has stayed quiet, frustrating his party’s base.

“It’s hard to see how we avoid a Tea-Party recession if the president who has the biggest megaphone in the country is not willing to speak clearly on the issue,” Justin Ruben, executive director of MoveOn.org, told The Hill in a Saturday afternoon interview.

Ruben said Obama should never have allowed Tea-Party lawmakers in the House to treat a debt-limit extension as a concession to Democrats given the nation’s entire economy depended on it.

By accepting the threat of a national default as politically valid, Obama put himself at a major disadvantage in the talks, he said.

“It’s a terrible deal that will destroy jobs and big part of reason is because president accepted the premise that it was okay to hold economy hostage,” Ruben said. “Instead of saying, 'this is outrageous' and ‘You will not threaten the full faith and credit of the U.S.,’ and telling America what the Republicans are doing, he sat down and said, 'let’s bargain' and tried to show he was more reasonable.”

Reuben said a potential default should have never been within the parameters of the debate.

“That table should not have existed,” he said.

Liberal activists were instrumental to Obama beating Hillary Clinton in the caucus states — which require more opportunities for face-to-face persuasion than larger states — during the 2008 Democratic presidential primary.

MoveOn.org endorsed Obama on Feb. 1, 2008, shortly before Super Tuesday, a crucial round of balloting.

Obama won the nomination by racking up wins — often by large margins — in smaller states with caucus systems, such as Iowa, Colorado, Idaho, Minnesota, North Dakota and Nebraska. Clinton captured large states with primaries such as California, Ohio, New York, Pennsylvania and Texas.

The president has been careful not to blame the Tea Party for the nation’s credit downgrade even though many Democrats and some independent political experts think he could make a strong case.

“The President believes it is important that our elected leaders come together to strengthen our economy and put our nation on a stronger fiscal footing,” said White House press secretary Jay Carney in a statement that seemed anodyne compared to the remarks of GOP presidential candidates and lawmakers.

“The bipartisan compromise on deficit reduction was an important step in the right direction. Yet, the path to getting there took too long and was at times too divisive. We must do better to make clear our nation’s will, capacity and commitment to work together to tackle our major fiscal and economic challenges,” Carney said.

This type of response has led some of the president’s supporters to think that he is bringing a plate of muffins to a street brawl.

Republican presidential candidates Mitt Romney and Michele Bachmann led the attack against Obama on Friday night.

“America’s creditworthiness just became the latest casualty in President Obama’s failed record of leadership on the economy,” Romney said in statement. “His failed policies have led to high unemployment, skyrocketing deficits, and now, the unprecedented loss of our nation’s prized AAA credit rating.”

Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.), who is vying to win the Iowa Republican caucus next year, turned up the rhetoric even higher.

“This president has destroyed the credit rating of the United States through failed economic policies and his inability to control government spending by raising the debt ceiling,” she said. “President Obama is destroying the foundation’s of our economy one beam at a time.”

Bachmann voted against the final debt deal, as well as the Speaker John Boehner's (R-Ohio) proposal. She also accused the Obama administration of "scare tactics" for warning about a possible U.S. default if no action were taken.

Obama may be trying to neutralize the acid partisan environment in Washington, which Standard & Poor’s cited in its decision to downgrade the U.S.

“We have changed our view of the difficulties in bridging the gulf between the political parties over fiscal policy, which makes us pessimistic about the capacity of Congress and the Administration to be able to leverage their agreement this week into a broader fiscal consolidation plan that stabilizes the government's debt dynamics anytime soon,” Standard & Poor’s wrote in its overview.

Ross K. Baker, a political science professor at Rutgers University, who has studied Congress throughout his career and served fellowships in the Senate, said he thinks the Tea Party is more responsible for standoff that led to Friday’s downgrade.

“I think they shoulder a major responsibility for the blame. They set the agenda,” Baker said. "The advent of such a large number of house members endorsed by the Tea Party made sure that budget cutting was going to be on the advantage. They pressed their advantage beyond which a point compromise was possible."

Baker characterized the president’s pushback against the Tea Party as lacking muscle.

“The president has to put some muscle in his rhetoric and go after the Tea Party as home wreckers. I think the president in following his own precept in being a conciliator. It’s great and quite noble but he’s in a situation in which he really has to stand up for things in which he believes,” Baker said.

Democratic senators did not think Obama used his bully pulpit effectively to set up the negotiations.

Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.) told The Hill at the end of June “the leadership has to be more outspoken and make the case.”

“This is the biggest courtroom in the world, and you can’t get a verdict that is positive without making the argument,” he said.

They were more critical when speaking on condition of anonymity.

House Democratic leaders did not follow Obama’s example in reacting to Standard & Poor’s downgrading, placing blame squarely on Tea Party Republicans.

"The American people need the Republicans to stop their reckless and irresponsible political games that led to this unfortunate downgrade,” said House Assistant Democratic Leader James Clyburn (S.C.). “They have repeatedly walked away from the negotiating table whenever the two sides got close to a balanced blend of both spending cuts and revenue raisers.”

Rep. Steve Israel (N.Y.), chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, said: "The indisputable fact is that until this group of Roadblock Republicans forced Speaker Boehner to walk away from a deal, America never came to the brink of a default and we never experienced a downgrade. This downgrade is the direct result of Roadblock Republicans."

Sources: CNN, MSNBC, The Hill

Sarah Palin First Launched Racist Media Attacks Against Obama In 2008 (Bill Ayers)

AP: Palin's Ayers Attack "Racially Tinged"

By claiming that Democrat Barack Obama is "palling around with terrorists" and doesn't see the U.S. like other Americans, vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin targeted key goals for a faltering campaign.

And though she may have scored a political hit each time, her attack was unsubstantiated and carried a racially tinged subtext that John McCain himself may come to regret.

First, Palin's attack shows that her energetic debate with rival Joe Biden may be just the beginning, not the end, of a sharpened role in the battle to win the presidency.

"Our opponent ... is someone who sees America, it seems, as being so imperfect, imperfect enough, that he's palling around with terrorists who would target their own country," Palin told a group of donors in Englewood, Colo. A deliberate attempt to smear Obama, McCain's ticket-mate echoed the line at three separate events Saturday.

"This is not a man who sees America like you and I see America," she said. "We see America as a force of good in this world. We see an America of exceptionalism."

Obama isn't above attacking McCain's character with loaded words, releasing an ad on Sunday that calls the Arizona Republican "erratic" _ a hard-to miss suggestion that McCain's age, 72, might be an issue.

"Our financial system in turmoil," an announcer says in Obama's new ad. "And John McCain? Erratic in a crisis. Out of touch on the economy."

A harsh and plainly partisan judgment, certainly, but not on the level of suggesting that a fellow senator is un-American and even a friend of terrorists.

In her character attack, Palin questions Obama's association with William Ayers, a member of the Vietnam-era Weather Underground. Her reference was exaggerated at best if not outright false. No evidence shows they were "pals" or even close when they worked on community boards years ago and Ayers hosted a political event for Obama early in his career.

Obama, who was a child when the Weathermen were planting bombs, has denounced Ayers' radical views and actions.

With her criticism, Palin is taking on the running mate's traditional role of attacker, said Rich Galen, a Republican strategist.

"There appears to be a newfound sense of confidence in Sarah Palin as a candidate, given her performance the other night," Galen said. "I think that they are comfortable enough with her now that she's got the standing with the electorate to take off after Obama."

Second, Palin's incendiary charge draws media and voter attention away from the worsening economy. It also comes after McCain supported a pork-laden Wall Street bailout plan in spite of conservative anger and his own misgivings.

"It's a giant changing of the subject," said Jenny Backus, a Democratic strategist. "The problem is the messenger. If you want to start throwing fire bombs, you don't send out the fluffy bunny to do it. I think people don't take Sarah Palin seriously."

The larger purpose behind Palin's broadside is to reintroduce the question of Obama's associations. Millions of voters, many of them open to being swayed to one side or the other, are starting to pay attention to an election a month away.

For the McCain campaign, that makes Obama's ties to Ayers as well as convicted felon Antoin "Tony" Rezko and the controversial minister Jeremiah Wright ripe for renewed criticism. And Palin brings a fresh voice to the argument.

Effective character attacks have come earlier in campaigns. In June 1988, Republican George H.W. Bush criticized Democrat Michael Dukakis over the furlough granted to Willie Horton, a convicted murderer who then raped a woman and stabbed her companion. Related TV ads followed in September and October.

The Vietnam-era Swift Boat veterans who attacked Democrat John Kerry's war record started in the spring of 2004 and gained traction in late summer.

"The four weeks that are left are an eternity. There's plenty of time in the campaign," said Republican strategist Joe Gaylord. "I think it is a legitimate strategy to talk about Obama and to talk about his background and who he pals around with."

Palin's words avoid repulsing voters with overt racism. But is there another subtext for creating the false image of a black presidential nominee "palling around" with terrorists while assuring a predominantly white audience that he doesn't see their America?

In a post-Sept. 11 America, terrorists are envisioned as dark-skinned radical Muslims, not the homegrown anarchists of Ayers' day 40 years ago. With Obama a relative unknown when he began his campaign, the Internet hummed with false e-mails about ties to radical Islam of a foreign-born candidate.

Whether intended or not by the McCain campaign, portraying Obama as "not like us" is another potential appeal to racism. It suggests that the Hawaiian-born Christian is, at heart, un-American.

The fact is that when racism creeps into the discussion, it serves a purpose for McCain. As the fallout from Wright's sermons showed earlier this year, forcing Obama to abandon issues to talk about race leads to unresolved arguments about America's promise to treat all people equally.

John McCain occasionally says he looks back on decisions with regret. He has apologized for opposing a holiday to honor Martin Luther King Jr. He has apologized for refusing to call for the removal of a Confederate flag from South Carolina's Capitol.

When the 2008 campaign is over will McCain say he regrets appeals such as Palin's?


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Sources: AOL, AP, CNN, Fox News, Huffington Post, Youtube, Google Maps

Obama's Chicago Machine Vs. Capitol Hill: Recipe For Political Disaster

As The 2012 Elections Approach Us, Once Again Pres. Obama Looks To His "Chicago Political Machine" For Another Victorious Ride.

Here's Why This Strategy May Or May NOT Work This Time..

Upon Pres. Obama's Election In 2008 He Felt Obligated To Bring Along Most Of The Members From His "Chicago Political Machine" To Help Govern In The White House.

What Was Wrong With This Plan?

Chicago Style Politics Don't Work Well On Capitol Hill.

For Example: Valerie Jarrett Was NOT The Right Person To Work With Business Leaders From D.C. & Wall Street.

Why?

Did Pres. Obama Really Think A Black Woman From Chicago Would Be Totally Respected & Accepted By White, Extremely Wealthy CEO's From Wall Street & The American Business Community?

NO!!!!

Please Don't Get It Twisted.

As A Black Woman I'm All For Diversity But Come On Pres. Obama!

Although Valerie Jarrett Is Well-Educated, It Doesn't Mean She Was The Right Individual For That Particular Position.

You See Diversity On Such A High Level Takes Time.

Such A Bold Move Has To Be Made Gradually NOT Forced In The Faces Of Wall Street CEOs!

Especially NOT New Yorkers!

Dealing With New Yorkers Vs. Mid-Westerners Is Like Oil & Water!

In Addition I Don't Think Ms. Jarrett Cared Two Cents About Middle Class & Lower Income Blacks & Hispanics Constituents.

Just As Most Chicago Politicians Don't Give A Darn About Middle Class & Lower Income Blacks & Hispanics Voters There Either.

Another Example Is Bill Daley.

Daley Was NOT The Right Person To Become Obama's NEW Chief Of Staff.

Why?

The Daley Family's Relationship With Blacks & Hispanics In Chicago Has NOT Been A Successful One. NOT EVER!

Including How Poorly Old Man Daley Treated Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Years Ago.

Thus After Hiring Bill Daley Obama Lost Respect From Many Black Voters.

Black Voters Are NOT Stupid!

We Still Support Pres. Obama But We Do NOT Respect Bill Daley Because We Remember How The Daley Family Has Treated Blacks In Chicago For Decades.

Newly Elected Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel Appeared To Be Effective In His Former Role As White House Chief Of Staff.

But Rahm's Harsh Language (Profanity) & Bull Dozer Personality Wasn't Well Received By Many Congressional Members Who Were STILL Experiencing Culture Shock By The Election Of A BLACK President!

There's Nothing Wrong With Being Tough, Especially When Dealing With Some Of Those Hard-Nosed, Racist GOP Leaders On Capitol Hill.

However There Is A Time To Be Tough & A Time To Just Out Think Your Opponents Via Practicing Reverse Psychology.

To Avoid Appearing Like A Weak Coward Among One's Peers, Actually A Combination Of Both People Skill Sets Are Preferable.

I Now Firmly Believe That Had Pres. Obama NOT Placed So Much Trust In His Chicago Buddies & NOT Hired So Many Of His Chicago Buddies To Become Senior Advisers, His Presidency Would Have Been Much More Successful.

So Going Forward It May Be Alright For Pres. Obama To Seek Advice From His "Chicago Political Machine" For Re-Election, However AFTER Being Re-elected He Should NOT Hire Those Same People To Help Him Govern.

Except.....

Perhaps David Axelrod!

Axelrod Would Make An EXCELLENT Chief Of Staff!

Just My Opinion. You Don't Have To Agree.

VOTE OBAMA IN 2012!!!







Obama-Chicago Relationship: Long-Distance Love Affair About To Get Closer


President Barack Obama's relationship with his hometown may be best described as a long-distance love affair. He lavishes attention on it from afar and proud Chicago pines for its hometown hero, though the two rarely see each other.

That looks like it's about to change.

Obama is returning to his roots as he embarks on his re-election race for 2012. He's setting up his campaign headquarters in a downtown high-rise near Grant Park, the site of his victory celebration on election night in November 2008.

He's coming back Thursday to raise money, a week after launching his second White House bid with an understated email and online video.

The president is putting Chicago in the spotlight again as he tries to recreate the grass-roots, start-up flavor of his first campaign and do what no incumbent president has done in decades: try to win re-election from a location outside Washington.

A Chicago base also could reinforce a connection to a city that aides say keeps Obama grounded while he lives in the nation's capital.

"Nobody is more eager to be out and nobody is more eager to be here than him," said David Axelrod, Obama's chief political strategist who left the White House this year to return to Chicago to work on the re-election and be closer to his Chicago-based family. "The conversation in Washington is completely different than the conversation you hear out here."

Obama's advisers hope a Chicago location could insulate his campaign from some of the Washington chatter and news leaks that often plague campaigns. A beyond-the-Beltway headquarters could allow them to offset the notion that Obama, who campaigned as an outsider above the partisan fray and promised a new approach to politics, has become the ultimate political insider.

"Basing it in Chicago says, 'I'm not of Washington,' but if he doesn't spend time in Chicago, he is of Washington," said Paul Light, a public service professor at New York University.

Obama's relationship with his town has evolved over the years.

He was a community organizer, worked on a major voter drive and practiced law in his early days in the city. When he entered politics, he focused on the state capital of Springfield, and cast himself as above the brass-knuckled nature of Chicago politics, whose history is pockmarked with corruption and scandal.

During the 2008 campaign, Obama was a fixture in Chicago when he wasn't crisscrossing the country for votes. He took his wife, Michelle, around town to dinner at some of the city's best restaurants. He hung out with his daughters. He worked out at the gym. He played basketball with his buddies. He attended meetings at his campaign office, all under the watchful eye of reporters and Secret Service agents. His family, friends and neighbors talked openly about the candidate and his lifestyle.

As president, Obama has made only about a half a dozen visits to Chicago, often to raise money for candidates. He's made only a few overnight trips to his South Side house.

His neighbors don't seem to hold it against him.

"He's got a whole world to deal with," says Hosea McKay, a 73-year-old retired substance abuse counselor, who lives several blocks away. "Chicago . we can't be so egotistical that we think he's supposed to pop in every three or four months and hang out with us."

The area around Obama's house looks much like it did during the last campaign when extra security measures were added. Even when Obama isn't there, guards and barriers – both metal and concrete – restrict access to his street. His house can be seen through some trees from a nearby busy thoroughfare.

But the neighborhood has changed somewhat since the Obamas left. They're getting new neighbors because the home next door to theirs was sold last year.

While sharing a neighborhood with the president has its share of hassles, Prince Ella Murphy, who lives about a block away, doesn't mind, especially when it comes to the security that increases when Obama is in town.

"I love it. I feel protected because, I mean, they have police everywhere," said Murphy, a 61-year-old retired hotel worker.

Over the past two years, the Obamas have devised ways not to be homesick. They've brought Chicago to them in Washington.

They tapped into their network of hometown connections when they moved into the White House. Among those who relocated to Washington with the Obamas were friend Valerie Jarrett, now a White House adviser, and the family's personal chef. Obama's Chicago buddies, Eric Whitaker and Marty Nesbitt, are constant vacation companions. Countless Chicagoans have visited the White House over the past two years.

The president hosted the 2010 Stanley Cup winners, the Chicago Blackhawks at the White House, last month and put the city's other professional teams on notice. He said: "Let me just say to all the Bears fans, Bulls fans, White Sox fans, and Cubs fans, I want to see all of you sometime soon, as well."

In another nod to their hometown, the Obamas dyed the water in the White House fountains green to celebrate their first St. Patrick's Day in the White House. The city colors the Chicago River that cuts through downtown to celebrate the holiday.

He also swapped one chief of staff from Chicago for another. Rahm Emanuel is Chicago's mayor-elect, while Bill Daley, the current mayor's brother, joined the White House as part of a staff reshuffling aimed at getting ready for the campaign.

While Axelrod said more presidential visits are likely, given that the campaign headquarters is in Chicago, just how much time Obama and his family will spend in Chicago this time is unclear. The duties of the presidency don't lend themselves to much down time.

His team is setting up shop in a downtown high-rise not far from offices the Obama operation used in 2008. Campaign manager Jim Messina, a former White House deputy chief of staff, is directing the effort, and Axelrod is certain to be a constant presence.

"It's nascent group and it's going to grow," said Axelrod, who stopped by the offices recently. "You could sense, you could feel some of that old excitement coming back and you know people are really eager to get going."

Some are hoping to see Obama, himself, more.

Says Freddie Fitch, 53, who lives just a few blocks from the Obamas, "We love him here."



Obama and the Illinois Political Machine

Democrat Barack Obama piled on the praise last month as he stood beside Chicago Mayor Richard Daley and embraced the mayor's bid for a sixth term.

"I don't think there's a city in America that has blossomed as much over the last couple of decades than Chicago, and a lot of that has to do with our mayor," Obama said, supporting Daley ahead of Tuesday's city election.

It was a switch from a year earlier, when the Illinois senator brushed off questions about endorsing Daley and said reported corruption at Chicago's City Hall gave him "huge pause."

What happened in the meantime? Obama decided to run for president.

The endorsement is one example of the sometimes complicated relationship between Obama _ who offers himself as an untainted, non-traditional alternative _ and Illinois' sometimes tarnished political establishment.

While Obama prides himself as an independent-minded Democrat, he's maintained relations with important parts of the establishment, from remnants of the legendary Chicago Democratic machine to the city's leading black politicians.

Yet as an outsider who came to the city as an adult, he doesn't owe his political fortunes to ward bosses and can claim distance from the political corruption for which the city is famous. He's ruffled feathers in the past by taking on incumbents or bucking his party's anointed candidate in a statewide race, but he has also mended fences and now has Illinois' most important politicians lined up to support his run for president.

"He understands ... about politics and how you make friends in politics," said Rep. Bobby Rush, who Obama unsuccessfully challenged in 2000 for his seat in Congress.

Rush said Daley, for one, can be helpful to Obama because of his national reputation. Daley's brother, William, who headed Al Gore's presidential campaign in 2000, has already signed on as an Obama adviser.

Rush is also backing Obama's bid for the White House.

Growing up in Hawaii and Indonesia, Obama didn't come up through the ranks of traditional Chicago Democratic politics.

Obama writes in his book "The Audacity of Hope" that he got into his successful first race for the Illinois Senate at the encouragement of friends who thought his work as a civil rights lawyer and experience as a community organizer made him a good candidate.

That 1996 election put him in conflict with the incumbent, Alice Palmer. She planned to run for Congress and endorsed Obama as her successor. But when Palmer lost the congressional primary, Obama would not step aside so she could keep her state Senate seat.

Once he got to the state Senate, Obama was no radical. He became a political protege of current Senate President Emil Jones, a 35-year veteran of the legislature and one of the state's most influential black lawmakers.

Obama was in the Illinois Senate just a few years when he went after the congressional seat held by Rush.

In his book, Obama calls it an "ill-considered race," and he and another state senator who challenged Rush were trounced in the primary. Rush had the support of the powerful Cook County Board president and widespread support in his district.

Obama also was viewed as a long shot in his 2004 bid for the U.S. Senate. He decided to run even though most party leaders were backing the state comptroller, who was the son of a powerful Democratic leader. Other candidates included Mayor Daley's former chief of staff and a millionaire who had helped elect the Democratic governor. Obama's candidacy gained momentum when the millionaire businessman, who had once led in the polls, acknowledged striking his ex-wife and calling her names.

Once Obama's fortunes started rising with his starmaking address at the 2004 Democratic National Convention and his Senate win, he found almost uniform support from Illinois Democrats.

Yet Obama still didn't always stick to the party line, most notably last year when he rejected the party-backed candidate for state treasurer to support a political newcomer, putting him at odds with the state Democratic chairman, Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan of Chicago.

Over the summer, Madigan derisively referred to Obama as "the messiah" in a published report. But by early this year, Madigan was proposing moving up the state's 2008 primary from March 18 to Feb. 5 to give Obama more momentum early in the presidential race.

For his part, Obama has lined up with party leaders in some recent local races. He supported the party's choice to become the new Cook County board president, despite allegations of political nepotism surrounding the man, who was the son of the previous board president.

Obama also endorsed Daley, saying he was still concerned about City Hall corruption but thought Daley had taken steps to clean it up. And he supported the November re-election of Democratic Gov. Rod Blagojevich, whose administration is under federal investigation for hiring fraud.

Attorney Gery Chico, the Daley former chief of staff who lost to Obama in the 2004 Senate primary, said Obama has been under increasing pressure to play a role in local races and it's smart for him to get in the mix.

"You don't want to go the route of Al Gore," Chico said. Gore famously didn't win his home state of Tennessee in his failed bid for president in 2000.

But the Daley endorsement in particular _ featured in one of the mayor's campaign mailers _ isn't sitting right with some people in this city known for its legendary political machine.

Daley's father, the late Mayor Richard J. Daley, built the once-mighty machine that doled out jobs and favors in exchange for support for Democrats on Election Day. The courts have mostly dismantled the machine by outlawing political patronage, but the city's powerful Democrats _ like Daley _ can still turn out the vote.

Obama's decision to support Daley turned off voter Alan Dobry, who's part of a Chicago independent-voters group.

"He's trying to play with the machine," Dobry said. "I'm very unhappy about it."


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Sources: Huffington Post, NY Times, Wikipedia, Youtube, Google Maps

Obama's 2008 Campaign Promises: Taxes, Social Security & Medicare (Videos)

I Was Just Checking Out Pres. Obama's 2008 Candidate Platform & Campaign Promises.

His Agenda Wasn't Radical.

Instead It Was Quite Reasonable.

So What Happened?

Was It Really About Race, Him Trying Too Hard To Please GOP Leaders, Blue Dog Democrats Dissing Him Or All Three?


























Senator Barack Obama: Candidate Platform

High priorities: health care for all, ending the war in Iraq, social security

Abortion: Pro-choice

Capital Punishment: Supports capital punishment in certain cases

Education: Obama spports a new school construction program to improve crumbling schools. Supports recruitment of a “new generation” of teachers, improving teacher pay, and improvement in early childhood education. Opposes school vouchers. Has called for a “STEP UP” summer learning program for disadvantaged children through partnerships between community groups and schools. Supports increased funding for Head Start. Opposes reauthorization of the No Child Left Behind law until it undergoes reform. Supports merit pay for “master teachers” but opposes merit pay for teachers based on test outcomes.

“Our schools must prepare students not only to meet the demands of the global economy, but also help students take their place as committed and engaged citizens. It must ensure that all students have a quality education regardless of race, class, or background.” (www.barackobama.com)

Energy/Environmental Issues: Obama pledges to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, with a goal of 80 percent by 2050, and make the U.S. a leader in the effort to combat climate change by leading a new international global warming partnership. Supports implementing a cap-and-trade program to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Pledges to invest $150 billion over the next 10 years to develop and implement “climate-friendly energy supplies, protect our existing manufacturing base and create millions of new jobs.” Pledges to double federal clean energy research spending. Supports efforts to reduce dependence on foreign oil, and to reduce oil consumption by 35 percent by 2030. Would require that 25 percent of electricitycome from renewable sources by 2025. (www.barackobama.com)

Experience: Senator and Attorney

Gay Marriage: Supports civil unions. Opposes gay marriage.

Health Care: Obama’s health care platform focuses on a new national health plan that covers the nation’s uninsured. The plan would guarantee eligibility, provide coverage similar to the federal employee health insurance program, offer “affordable” premiums, co-pays and deductibles; and allow enrollees to keep their coverage when they change jobs. He would introduce a requirement for all children to have health insurance and pledges to expand eligibility for Medicaid and the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP).

Businesses that do not provide insurance to their employees would be assessed a fee based on a percentage of their payroll. His plan would allow states to continue developing their own reform plans. He would also make employer health plans eligible for reimbursement of catastrophic costs provided the savings would be used to offset employee premiums. Obama also pledges to support disease prevention programs, promote quality and cost transparency and reform medical malpractice insurance.

Immigration: Obama upports comprehensive immigration reform legislation that combines increased border enforcement with a path to legal citizenship for illegal immigrants already living in the U.S.

The war in Iraq: Obama spoke out against the war in Iraq when he was a state senator in Illinois but was not in Congress when the vote to authorize the use of force was taken. Supports a plan to immediately begin troop withdrawal from Iraq at a pace of one or two brigades a month, to be completed by the end of 2008. Has called for a new constitutional convention in Iraq, to be convened with the United Nations. (www.barackobama.com)

Social Security: Obama opposes privatization of Social Security. Has pledged to take steps to keep Social Security and Medicare solvent. Promises to amend federal bankruptcy laws to keep companies from choosing bankruptcy to avoid private pension obligations. Promises to eliminate the income tax for seniors who earn less than $50,000 a year. (www.barackobama.com)

Stem Cell Research: Obama supports expansion of federally-funded stem cell research, including embryonic stem cell research.

Taxes and Budget issues: Obama supports repeal of tax cuts for upper income earners to pay for health care. Opposes repeal of the estate tax.


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Sources: Boston Herald, C-Span, Youtube, Google Maps

Michelle Bachmann Vs. Hillary Clinton: Hillary! (Better Communicator)

Michele Bachmann, evangelical feminist?

If Hillary Clinton, the woman who came closest to becoming a major party presidential nominee, is a feminist icon, could something similar be said of Michele Bachmann, who officially launched her presidential campaign on Monday?

Bachmann is seldom described in those terms; the conservative Minnesota congresswoman and Tea Party darling might cringe at the feminist label.

But some religion and politics experts say that she exemplifies an evangelical feminism that is producing more female leaders in Christian nonprofits, businesses, and education and politics, even as more traditional gender roles prevail in evangelical homes and churches.

“It’s not that evangelical feminism is entirely new,” says R. Marie Griffith, director of the John C. Danforth Center on Religion & Politics at Washington University in St. Louis. “But this lack of fear going into top positions of power is new and astonishing and exciting for this segment of the population.”

Though evangelical women have long been involved in political activism, including helping to lead the temperance movement and campaigning for and against women's right to vote, seeking the White House is a more recent and dramatic step.

“It’s a trend that was started by Sarah Palin,” Griffith said, referring to the former Alaska governor, who was the Republican vice presidential nominee in 2008.

D. Michael Lindsay, a scholar who has studied evangelical leaders, says that evangelical feminism largely followed the trend in secular feminism, even if it was delayed by a decade or so.

“Evangelicals are not traditionally the innovators in gender roles, so they’re not going to be at the vanguard,” says Lindsay, who was recently appointed president at Gordon College and who wrote the book Faith in the Halls of Power. “But they also don’t trail too far behind.”

Lindsay says that evangelical feminism took off in the 1980s, pointing to Ronald Reagan tapping Elizabeth Dole, a Christian with strong connections in the evangelical world, to be his secretary of transportation as one example.

George W. Bush, meanwhile, appointed evangelical women to top roles in his presidential administration, including Karen Hughes as a top adviser and Condoleezza Rice as secretary of state.

At the same time, there are distinctions between evangelical and secular feminism. Many female evangelical leaders, for instance, talk of being called by God to pursue professional careers.

“This idea of women being out in the world when they’re doing God’s work – that’s the key,” says Griffith, who is author of God's Daughters: Evangelical Women and the Power of Submission. “You have to be called.”

Bachmann, an evangelical Lutheran, has talked of being called to run for president.

“When I pray, I pray believing that God will speak to me and give me an answer to that prayer, and so that’s what a calling is,” she told CBS News on Sunday, explaining that she had prayed about her decision to seek the presidency. “If I pray, a calling means that I have a sense from God which direction I’m supposed to go.”

Another difference between some evangelical and secular feminists is a public emphasis on motherhood. Bachmann’s political identity is constructed largely around her role as a mother of five kids and her experience of taking in 23 foster children.

Palin, who was raised in the Pentecostal tradition, has also emphasized her role as mother, frequently discussing her children and famously using the term “mama grizzlies” to describe female political candidates for whom she campaigns.

Lindsay says that the motherhood angle could be refreshing to evangelical voters, who constitute a majority of the Republican electorate in early states like Iowa and South Carolina.

“A lot of male evangelical politicians have trumpeted family values, but we’ve seen time after time how many break their marriage vows and have tense relationships with their kids,” he says.

“When you’re the mother of four or five kids up there talking about how their commitment to politics stems from your commitment to kids, which is true for both Palin and Bachmann, that resonates with people who are skeptical of American politics.”

The emphasis that some women evangelical leaders place on motherhood appears to be connected to women taking on more prominent roles in the antiabortion movement, which is closely tied to the evangelical subculture.

“There were a lot of women who were representing the old guard abortion center feminism and there were very few pro-life women who were credentialed in state legislatures and running at the federal level,” says Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of the antiabortion group Susan B. Anthony List, describing the organization’s founding 20 years ago.

Dannenfelser’s group works to elect women candidates who oppose abortion rights, raising roughly $11 million in the 2010 election cycle.

“The constant line from Jane Fonda and Barbara Boxer on abortion was ‘You can’t possibly know how a woman feels - how dare you speak on an issue you have no knowledge of,'” says Dannenfelser, referring to the pro-abortion rights actress and U.S. senator.

“Now we have women communicating the truth of the matter, which is that abortion is really destroying a lot of women,” she says.

Though Bachmann is widely considered to be a long shot for the GOP nomination, a weekend poll from The Des Moines Register had her running second only to former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney among likely Republican caucus-goers, with 22% support.

Even as more evangelical women pursue top jobs in politics, there is little sign that they will be invited into similar roles in evangelical churches, which continue to be led by men, with some exceptions. Some evangelical denominations, including Southern Baptists, have recently moved to put more restrictions on women serving as pastors.

“It seems to me that most evangelical congregations make a sharp divide between the sacred and secular realms,” says Lindsay, “so that church is the last context where you’ll see women in ordained roles.”


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Romney Releases Anti-Obama Web Ad: Jobs! Obama's Fire??

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Today 2012 GOP Presidential Candidate Mitt Romney Released A Web Attack Ad That Hits At Pres. Obama's Citizenship & The Current Unemployment Crisis. (i.e., "Bump In The Road")

You Know Folks I say Its About Time Pres. Obama Start Displaying Some "Fire In His Belly" By Defending His Record & Agenda With A Little More Gusto.

Of Course I'm Voting For Pres. Obama In 2012 But I Still Need Him To Strike Back Against Some Of The GOP's False Negative Rhetoric! Like Right Now!!

Especially As It Relates To TRUTH About The Unemployment Rate.

For Example Pres. Obama Needs To Let The American People Know That Since Regaining The U.S. House In November 2010, GOP Leaders Have INTENTIONALLY Refused To Pass Any Jobs Creation Bills Because They Don't Care About Helping Unemployed People.

They Just Care About Taking Down Pres. Obama By Any Means Necessary!

Even If It Means Sinking The U.S. Economy Via EXTREME, RADICAL Unfair, Unequal Budget Cuts Disguised As "Deficit Reduction".

And By The Way Where Is The Progressive Barack Obama Of 2008?

I Miss Him!

ALL Democrats & Independents Miss Him!!

We All Know That Pres. Obama Is Only Human (What A Revelation!).

If He's Tired, Then He Should Do What All Of The WHITE Former Presidents Always Did When They Were Tired, Even During An Economic Crisis!

Not Excluding Former Pres. George W. Bush!

Go To Camp David Or On Vacation To Get Some Rest & Relaxation Each Weekend.

After All Its A Scientific Fact Human Beings Function & Think Best After Resting.

Contrary To Popular GOP Belief, Pres. Obama Is NOT A SLAVE!!

He Is The Legally ELECTED Leader Of The United States Of America!

Who Cares If GOP Leaders On Capitol Hill Or 2012 GOP Candidates Talk About Pres. Obama If He Does Take A Short Break From The White House Each Weekend.

Its Better To Rest On The Weekend In Order To Be Fully Alert & On Point Monday Thru Friday, So He Can Best Serve His Constituents, Then Allow GOP Lawmakers To Break Him Down Mentally & Physically.

Which Is What They Have Been Trying To Do For 2 Years Straight!

Yes! Obama Supporters Really Need Pres. Obama To Be On Task & To Begin Striking Back At Attack Ads Like Mitt Romney's Recent "Bump In The Road" Web Ad.

I Repeat.

By The Way Where Is The Barack Obama Of 2008?

I Miss Him & I Believe Its Time He Resurfaces.

VOTE OBAMA IN 2012!!


Romney Hits ‘Bump In The Road’: Attack Ad Blasts Obama For Phrase Romney Used


Today, Mitt Romney released a new web ad excoriating Obama for saying that there will be “bumps in the road” to economic recovery. The ad features a bunch of people laying down in the road who slowly rise up and say, “I’m an American, not a bump in the road.”

Before Romney’s consultants decided the phrase would be a potent political weapon, he used it himself in the same way as Obama. From the AP, May 1, 2006:

Romney Warns of Potential ‘Bumps in the Road’ for Health Care Law

Massachusetts faces potential “bumps in the road” as it tries to turn the promises of its new health care law into a reality, Gov. Mitt Romney said Monday even as he announced another crucial step in the state’s experiment with near universal coverage. [...]

One of the most daunting tasks is the creation of an entirely new state bureaucracy, known “Commonwealth Health Insurance Connector” the bureaucratic infrastructure on which much of the new law’s innovative reforms rest.

The connector is supposed to work as a clearing house matching the uninsured with new health care plans.

Romney said for the connector to work, “the computer systems are going to need to be able to deal with a half a million people buying insurance through an entity that doesn’t exist today.”

“So many parties have to come together that achieving this timetable even if there are no bumps in the road will be very difficult,” he said.

So in this instance, Romney is telling people who need health insurance to expect “bumps in the road” before they get health care coverage. This is the same message that Obama is communicating about the recovery to people who need jobs in America.

As Romney knew then (and likely knows now), using the phrase does not communicate that those impacted are merely “bumps.” The latest ad demonstrates his willingess to exploit anything Obama says for even the smallest political advantage.


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Sources: MSNBC, Think Progress, Vanity Fair, Youtube, Google Maps

GOP's 2012 Campaign Agenda Hurts American Voters!!

Attention American Voters!

Decision 2012 Is Just Around The Corner!

If You Haven't Yet Decided Which Political Party To Support Or Which Presidential Candidate To Cast Your Ballot For Next Year, Please Allow Me To Reveal The Republican Party/ GOP's 2012 Campaign Agenda.

After Reading This Blog Post, I'm Sure You Will Agree That Barack Obama May NOT Be Perfect (NO Human Being Is!) But That You'd Rather Support Him Than A GOP Presidential Candidate Who Cares More About Lining Their Own Pockets, Than About Your Best Interest.

Besides In Case You Failed To Watch The 2012 GOP Primary Debate Which Aired On Fox News May 5, As You Can Tell The Pickings Are VERY Slim This Time Around!

Who Am I Endorsing You Ask?

Well After Much Reflection & Observation I Have Decided To Support Pres. Barack Obama.

NO Its NOT Because He's Black!!

NO Its NOT Because He's A Democrat!!

I Have NEVER Voted Straight Ticket Or Straight Democrat & I Don't Plan To Do So Now.

And Yes I Have Voted For Republican Candidates In The Past & Will Probably Do So In The Future.

Ex: In The 2012 Race For North Carolina Governor I Plan To Cast My Ballot For GOP Candidate Pat McCrory Vs. Sitting Democrat Governor Bev Perdue.

She Knows Why.

I'm Black & Her Policies Have NOT Been Favorable To North Carolina's Black Citizens. Even Though Were It Not For Black Voters Gov. Perdue Would NOT Be Sitting In The N.C. Governor's Seat.

With That Said, Why Should I Continue Wasting My Vote On A Gubernatorial Candidate Who Is Just Going To Do The Same Exact Thing Once She's Re-elected?

Since There's Absolutely NO Way I'd Miss An Opportunity To Express My Political Freedom (Voting), I'd Rather Throw My Support Behind Gov. Perdue's Opposition, Pat McCrory.

As To The Reason Why I'm Supporting Sitting President Barack H. Obama, Its Because Hands Down Whether Anyone Else Agrees Or Not I Truly Believe That Because Pres. Obama Did NOT Come From A Wealthy Family He Sincerely Understands & Really Does Care About People From All Walks Of Life Regardless of Their Ethnicity, Educational Achievements Or Lack Of, Socio-Economic Status, etc.,

Pres. Obama Didn't Achieve Anything Via Special Entitlements Or Special Interests.

Instead He Worked Extremely HARD For His Accomplishments!

Thus He's The BEST Possible Person For The Job!

So What If Some Of His Policies & Decisions Ticked Me Off!

No Human Being Always Agrees With Another Human Being 100% Of The Time. If So Than Something Is Wrong.

But That's Life!

You Disagree Than Move On.

At The End Of The Day Its What Matters Most That Counts.

Now Hold On To Your Seat While Perusing Over What GOP Lawmakers/ Candidates Have Planned For America's Voters In 2012 & Beyond!

Including Their Own Loyal Republican Constituency!


THE 2012 GOP CAMPAIGN AGENDA:


1) Fewer Jobs For Middle Class & Lower Income Workers!

Where Are ALL Those Manufacturing Jobs GOP Lawmakers/ Candidates Promised To Bring Back To America From Overseas After Winning Last November's Elections??

What About Infrastructure Jobs Right Here In America?

Why Are GOP Lawmakers Refusing To Accept Funds To Build High Speed Rail Lines, Bridges, Tunnels, etc., When Such Huge Infrastructure Projects Help To Create Long Term Employment?

Even If Those Types Of Jobs Only Last Five Years, Isn't It Better To Have People Working For Five Years Than NOT Have Them Working For Five Years??


2) Killing Medicare & Medicaid, Opposing Community Health Center Funding & Denying Disability Checks To TRULY Disabled Middle Class And Lower Income Citizens!!

Why Does The GOP Want To Kill Medicare, Thus Killing Off Elderly Americans & Hurting Many Senior Citizens?

In Fact This Idea Sounds Quite Similar To Sarah Palin's "Death Panel" LIE From 2009 When She Claimed That Pres.Obama's Health Care Bill Would Kill Off Senior Citizens.

Why Not Save Medicare & Medicaid By Stopping The Fraud Which Occurs In Each State Because Governors Frequently Use Medicare & Medicaid Funding To Balance Their State Budgets??

Why Are GOP Lawmakers Plotting To Eliminate Medicaid Thus Leaving Millions Of Middle Class & Lower Income Children & Youth Without Access To Proper Medical & Dental Care?

Why Are GOP Lawmakers In Opposition To Funding For Community Health Centers Which Helps Provide Access To Quality Medical Care In Urban/ Poor Communities And Which Employ Medical Students Who Earned Their Medical Degrees Via Government-Backed Physician Training Programs??

And Why Are Super Wealthy American Citizens Being Allowed To STILL Receive Social Security Checks Regardless Of Their Assets, While Millions Of Truly Disabled Middle Class And Lower Income Citizens Are Denied Disability Checks Everyday In This Country?


3) Supporting More Tax Breaks & Corporate Loopholes For Billionaires & Millionaires! Yet Opposed To Revising U.S. Tax Code!

Why Is The GOP Opposed To Raising Taxes On Millionaires & Billionaires When Those SAME Millionaires & Billionaires Are Sending American Jobs Overseas While Benefiting From Huge Tax Breaks??

Why Is The GOP Working So Diligently To Keep The Current Corrupt U.S. Tax Code As Is, Thus Allowing Billionaires & Millionaires To Pay ZERO To Very Little In Federal & State Taxes?

As The Middle Class & Lower Income Citizens Wages Decline We Pay HIGHER Taxes.

As The Rich Get Richer (By Sending Jobs Overseas To Pay Lower Wages), They Pay FEWER Taxes.

Sometimes NOTHING At All!


4) In Favor Of Making It Harder For Small Business Owners, Especially Black & Hispanic-Owned Small Business Owners To Get Credit Or Be Approved For Loans, Thus Adversely Affecting Job Growth!

So Can Anyone Tell Me Why GOP Lawmakers Are In Favor Of Allowing Big Banks (Too Big Too Fail) NOT To Approve Creditworthy, Low Interest Loans For Small Business Owners, Especially Minority-Owned Small Businesses?

If Small Business Owners Can't Get Decent Loans, Than How Can They Continue To Help Create Jobs For Their Communities? Especially Urban Communities.

And While We're On That Subject, Can Someone Please Tell Me Why GOP Lawmakers Are Allowing The 3 Largest Credit Reporting Agencies:
Equifax, Experian & Trans Union, To Continue Practicing Discrimination Against Black & Hispanic Citizens As It Relates To Credit & FICO Scores?

Why Are There Always More Errors On The Credit Reporting Files Of Black & Hispanic Consumers Vs. White Consumers?

Such Racist Practices In The Workplace & Business World Adversely Affects Employment Opportunities For Black & Hispanic Job Seekers.

Do You Mean To Tell Me That ONLY White People Have Perfect Or Near Perfect Credit Scores??

BULL!!!!

Perhaps This Explains Why Some GOP Lawmakers Are Opposing Elizabeth Warren's Confirmation As Director Of Pres. Obama's Consumer Protection Agency!


5) Giving Tax Subsidies To BIG Oil Companies! Especially Foreign Oil Companies!!

Why Does The GOP Wish To Continue Giving Huge Tax Subsidies To BIG Oil Companies? Especially Foreign Oil Companies?



6) Gas Price Gouging!

Why Is The GOP Engaging In Gas Price Gouging For Political Gain??


7) RACISM & DISCRIMINATION!

Why Is The GOP Engaging In Such Ugly Racist, Divisive Behavior Prior To The 2012 Elections?

Why Does The GOP Wish To Continue Job Discrimination, Gender Discrimination, Age Discrimination, Etc., All For Political Gain??


8) Killing Pell Grants, Pushing High Interest Student Loans To Black & Hispanic College Students, Verifying Black & Hispanic Students NOT White College Students & Supporting Segregated Public Schools With Federal Money!!

Why Is The GOP Working To Kill Pell Grants Thus Hindering The Education Of Millions Of Black & Hispanic College Students??

Thus Those Same Black & Hispanic Students Are Being Forced To Apply For & Accept High Interest Student Loans, While White Students Are Still Being Allowed To Receive Pell Grants & Receive Low Interest Student Loans.

In Addition More Than 75% Of All Black & Hispanic College Students Financial Aid Profiles Are Being Consistently Verified Annually By The U.S. Dept Of Education & FASFA, While Only About 20% Of White College Students Are Being Consistently Annually Verified.

Such Discriminatory Student Financial Aid Practices Are Frequently Used At Private Or Technical Schools In The South.
Ex. North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia.

Even Though There Have Been Numerous Civil Rights Complaints Filed To The U.S. Dept Of Education For Further Investigation Into Such Discriminatory Practices, STILL It Continues!

How Can This Be?

Do You Meant To Tell Me That The Parents Of White Students ALL Have Perfect Credit & The Parents Of Black Students ALL Have Bad Credit??

BULL!!

And Why Are GOP Lawmakers In Support Of Using Federal Money To Segregate Public Schools Nationwide??


9) No Challenging GOP Presidential Frontrunner!

Who Is The GOP's 2012 Presidential Race Frontrunner??

So Far The Current 2012 GOP Candidates Are BORING & Present NO Real Challenge To Barack Obama Which Is GREAT For Him!

Ex: Herman Cain, Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich, Tim Pawlenty, etc.,

If The GOP REALLY Thinks Herman Cain Can Beat Barack Obama, I Have Some Swamp Land In Florida I'd Love To Sell You!! Ha Ha Ha!


10) Michael Steele's Firing & More Racism!!

Let's Be Real For A Moment Shall We?

Did The GOP Fire Michael Steele Because He Was Black?

Or Because He Was A Black Man With His OWN Mind, Who Spoke Up?

Why Does The GOP Appear To Hate Black People & Other People Of Color?? What Have We Done Wrong To Your Party??


11) Debt Ceiling Bribery!!

Why Are GOP Lawmakers Intentionally Choosing NOT To Raise The Debt Ceiling When They Did It So Nicely (Without Drama) When Pres. George W. Bush Was Still In Office??

In Fact The Debt Ceiling Was Raised Twice While Pres. G. W. Bush Was Still In Office!

Can You Explain Why GOP Lawmakers Voted "YES" To Raise The Debt Ceiling Without Spending Caps For G. W. Bush & "NO" Or "Maybe" With Spending Caps For Pres. Obama??

If It Isn't Racism Than What Is It??



12) Opposing Labor Unions & Opposing Workers' Rights!

Why Does The GOP Hate Labor Unions, Workers' Rights & Collective Bargaining Rights??

Is It Because The GOP Supports Paying American Workers Lower Wages And Providing Them With Little To No Benefits??

Including School Teachers, Police Officers & Firefighters??


13) Osama Bin Laden's Death, G.W.Bush's "War On Terror", Government Contractors & Bringing American Troops Home!

Why Did It Take Pres. Obama's Administration 2 Years To Locate & Kill Key Al-Qaeda Leader Osama Bin Laden, Yet G.W. Bush's Administration Wasted 8 Years, Spent Trillion$ & NEVER Located Him??

I Appreciate Pres. G.W. Bush's Efforts But Why Did It Take Him 8 Years To NOT Find Osama??

Why Does The GOP Want To Continue The Unnecessary "War On Terror"?

Not To Protect Our National Security But ONLY For The Purpose Of Continuing To Award Fat Government Contracts As Political Favors!

Why Did The GOP Attempt To Diminish Pres. Obama Administration's Credit For Locating & Killing Osama Bin Laden In 2 Years, While It Took G.W. Bush's Administration 8 Years To NEVER Locate Or Kill Him??

When Will GOP Lawmakers Begin Working With Pres. Obama To Help Safely Transition Our Troops Out Of Afghanistan??

I'm Not Saying The U.S. Should Totally Abandon Afghanistan Or Pakistan, However Different Strategies For Catching Terrorists Are Necessary In The 21st Century.


14) Opposing Alternative & Renewable Energy!!

Why Does The GOP Continue To Oppose Pres. Obama's Alternative, Renewable, Green Energy Policies?

Isn't It Time For America To STOP Depending On Foreign Oil & Fossil Fuel??



15) Opposition To Common Sense Yet FAIR Illegal Immigration Policies!

Why Have GOP Lawmakers Been So Resistant To Pres. Obama's Policies & Plans To Help Illegal Immigrants Find A Fair Path To U.S. Citizenship?

Why Are GOP Lawmakers Still Allowing Illegal Immigrants To Be Racially Profiled & Deported For Simple, Non-Violent, Non-Drug Related Offenses?

Ex: Traffic Tickets.



16) Opposing The Consumer Protection Agency & Supporting Corrupt Foreclosure Practices!

Why Are GOP Lawmakers Fighting Against Pres. Obama's Consumer Protection Agency & Continuing To Support Corrupt Foreclosure Practices Which Have Caused Millions Of Homeowners To Lose Their Homes?

Ex: Country Wide & Indy Mac.


17) Supporting Privatization Of Prisons While Helping To Imprison More Black & Hispanic Men!

Why Are GOP Lawmakers & Candidates In Support Of Privatization Of Prisons & Jails Which Encourages The Imprisoning Of Black & Hispanic Citizens?

Even Those Who Commit Non-Violent, Non-Drug Related Offenses Or Are First Time Offenders?

Why Are GOP Lawmakers In Favor Of More Black & Hispanic Men Being Thrown Into Prison For Minor Offenses Than Investing Money Into Sending More Black & Hispanic Men To College?

While WHITE Men Are Committing Far More Serious Offenses (Felonies) & Are Instead Just Walking Away With Probation Or A Slap On The Wrist??

Inquiring Minds Would REALLY Like To Know!!

Now As You Can See The GOP's 2012 Campaign Agenda Platform Is Seriously Lopsided To ONLY Help Super Wealthy, White Citizens, NOT The Average American Voter!

As President Obama Said Today "We've Got Better Stuff To Do" For ALL Americans NOT Just Wealthy White Citizens.

GOP Candidates You're Screwed Dudes!!

VOTE OBAMA IN 2012!!!!!!

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Foes Revise Plan to Curb New Agency

After losing a contentious battle last year over creating an agency to protect consumers against deceptive financial products, Republicans are fighting the battle again, determined to rein in the independence and financing of the agency.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has been one of Washington’s drawn-out passion plays, featuring bankers and finance companies that want to undermine the agency and have villainized Elizabeth Warren, the hard-edged Harvard law professor President Obama picked to start it.

Ms. Warren has characterized the fight as one in which opponents are trying to stick “a knife in the ribs of the agency.” In a recent interview, she said, “the fight has now shifted. It didn’t stop, it just moved from being a fight out in the headlines, out in the middle of the street, to a fight in the back alleys.”

But on Thursday, the fight returned to the open as 44 Senate Republicans sent a letter to Mr. Obama saying they “will not support the consideration of any nominee, regardless of party affiliation, “to direct the bureau until the agency is restructured.

With 44 of 47 Republican senators digging in against the bureau, Democrats would be unable to gather the 60 votes necessary to end a filibuster and bring a vote on a nominee for director of the agency. That leaves the president with the option of a recess appointment, a move that would anger legislators whose support the president is likely to need to tackle other issues, like cutting the deficit and raising the debt ceiling.

Already, three bills are pending in the House of Representatives to alter the agency’s charter, making it easier for other regulators to overturn the bureau’s rules and replacing its director with a five-person commission.

“This is about accountability,” said Senator Richard Shelby of Alabama, the ranking Republican member of the Senate Banking Committee. “The bureau, as currently structured, lacks any semblance of the checks and balances inherent in the Constitution. Everyone supports consumer protection, but we should never entrust a single person with this much power and public money.”

The White House defended the agency’s structure, saying it provided “the strongest consumer protections in history.”

“The consumer agency’s sole mission is to protect American families and provide the tools they need to make smart financial decisions,” said Amy Brundage, a White House spokeswoman. “For far too long, American consumers have fallen victim to fraud, misleading claims and powerful special interests, and the president believes that American families who were the hardest hit by this financial crisis deserve an independent watchdog to protect consumers and prevent predatory lending and other abuses in the future. “

While the rhetoric surrounding the fight over the consumer bureau has recently focused on its structure, behind the scenes it has been as much about Ms. Warren, who was widely believed to be unable to pass confirmation in the Senate last year. As an alternative, Mr. Obama appointed Ms. Warren last September as a special adviser to oversee the “standing up” of the agency, and she has hired officials who will carry out the regulation of mortgage loans, credit cards, payday lenders and other sellers of financial products.

But until the bureau has a formal director, it cannot write rules governing consumer finance or begin overseeing previously unregulated agencies like payday lenders.

In some ways, Ms. Warren’s own celebrity might be getting in the way of that effort. She is a dynamic public speaker who has for years championed the right of the middle class to receive plain-English explanations of often-complex financial products. But that effort has drawn criticism from some bankers, who feel she has unfairly accused them of exploiting consumers.

Several candidates for director of the bureau have reportedly turned down the opportunity, with at least one saying that she thought Ms. Warren should get the job. As the delay in selecting a nominee has lengthened, supporters of Ms. Warren have characterized her nomination as inevitable.

“There’s no doubt that the fact she’s there has made it more complicated to recruit a director,” said an Obama administration official who spoke on the condition of anonymity and who was not authorized to discuss the search process. “She’s done a terrific job attracting talent to the agency,” the official said. But recent efforts by supporters to portray her as the putative nominee are proving “mildly counterproductive,” the official said.

Ms. Warren herself has deflected speculation about her taking the job, saying it is for the president to decide.

For much of the last few weeks, Ms. Warren has been speaking publicly about what she calls attacks on the consumer agency. “Every day, somebody’s got a plan to undercut this agency, to knock it down,” she said. “The conversation is effectively: ‘Oh, we’d really like to kill this thing but it might be too popular for that — that might cause too much blowback. So can we find a way to maim it?’ ”

Republicans have complained that the bureau, which is to be housed in the Federal Reserve and whose budget is independent of Congressional oversight, has broad powers but does not have to answer to anyone. Republican opponents say they are simply trying to ensure that the agency does not interfere with other regulators that look after the safety and soundness of banks and financial institutions.

The Senate group urged the establishment of a board of directors to oversee the bureau, and a House bill similarly calls for the establishment of a five-member commission. A board structure would be similar to the Federal Reserve, the Federal Trade Commission and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation — agencies whose consumer oversight will be shifted to the new consumer bureau on July 21, a year after President Obama signed the Dodd-Frank bank regulation act into law.

Legislators also have called for the consumer bureau to be subject to the Congressional appropriations process. As established, its budget is set as a percentage of the Federal Reserve’s budget and is not subject to approval by Congress.

Consumer groups responded angrily Thursday to the Republican letter. “It’s sort of breathtaking,” said Lisa Donner, executive director of Americans for Financial Reform, which lobbied for the creation of the consumer bureau. “They’re saying, ‘We’re not O.K. with an effective consumer bureau.’ ”

In spite of the continued resistance, Ms. Warren is moving ahead with efforts to begin the consumer agency’s work. Later this month, it is to begin circulating drafts of new consumer mortgage forms that combine two complicated documents that consumers are required to receive as part of a home purchase into a single form that the agency hopes will be easier for homebuyers to understand.










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