Obama’s “Move to the Center”

Written by: Ann on Jun 29, 2008 3:44 PM EDT

You say "He's backed Bush's war funding in another gutless Democratic Congress's rubberstamp of hundreds of billions to continue the damn war." -- the bill has got a time limit. Our troops are there until there is an order that they come home. They have to be fed.  After 15 years in Vietnam, Congress finally got fed up enough to cut off funds, and even that provided funds up to a certain date at which time helicopters with the last ones took off from rooftops. The goal is to have a President who orders the troops out now.  I learned at my political aunt's knee that the choice in the voting booth -- where it is our highest duty as citizens to be -- is between the lesser of two evils. If the right one gets in, you have the better chance of applying pressure to reach your goals. With organizations like Move-on. Org and Democracy for America, that pressure has reached new and effective mid-term levels. Obama may be the best liberal leader since Franklin Roosevelt (who certainly wasn't pure, and without Eleanor would have been even less sensitive to racial issues). Obama is certainly the best orator since MLK. That makes him our best chance in our lifetimes and perhaps the only chance to preserve the country as we want it for the future.

Here's the choice on the Iraq war, unless you choose to stand by and let the Republicans make it for you:  McCain -- 100 years of war or until we "win", whichever comes sooner. Obama -- "get out as soon as logistically practicable," -- maybe leaving strike forces on isolated bases if the military can prove it to him that it really is al-Quaidi building bases there. The generals still do what the president wants, believe it or not. If our choice is McCain, the order to the generals will be to formulate a plan to win. With Obama, the order will be to formulate a plan to withdraw. Which do you want? Nader is not an available option on this quiz. 

You say: "He turns hypocritically on public campaign funding."  Who knew he would have millions of $10 contributions from hundreds of thousands of people? If that is not the spirit of public funding, I don't know what is. Click here for a graphic demonstration of the problem. Public funding limits do not apply to the political parties or 527s (which aren't even included in the graph). So, Obama's total available funding will be overwhelmed by the RNC is he doesn't honestly declare the system broken and continue to accept contributions from these small contributors as well as up to the limit from those Clinton supporters who are now moving to his side.  

You say: "He supports the Supreme Court's carte blanche on guns."  It's not "carte blanche" -- read the opinion. There will be local regulation; perhaps better regulation that what we've had of gun shows and tighter registration as well as permissible limits on the number of guns that can be purchased at once. In any event, want more decisions like this? You'll get them and worse with McCain's Supreme Court appointees. 

You say: "He's with Speaker Pelosi that impeachment of the criminals Bush-Cheney "is off the table."  As well it should be. Remember how mad we were at the impeachers of Bill Clinton? We had the birth of Move-on.org as a result. We don't need impeachment on if we want to win. We've now got less than 7 months of these goons. Let's try them as war criminals after the election, but let's win the election first. 

I don't know you the disappointed Obama supporters who are saying these things, and probably have no right to speak to so harshly to them. My only excuse is that I am incredibly passionate about winning this election to change the course of the country. I sat mesmerized during the 2000 election while 70,000 Nader votes in Florida turned the election to Bush. If people sit this one out because they are offended by minor points in Obama's direction, the Republicans will do it to us again -- but really, we'll be doing it to ourselves. 

I would love to talk further with you and try to recruit your energy to work to elect a slate of progressive Democrats. That is the only realistic option to make changes. The choice is to do nothing and sit around complaining about the Republicans. Come in and work for change. The office in Flagstaff where the hard work of winning this election is taking place is at 4 S. San Francisco. We can use your energy.  We need volunteers. Please come.

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Location: Flagstaff, AZ 86001