Hey Connecticut folks!
Just wanted to let you know of a very exciting fundraiser coming up for Senator Obama next week in CT with historic Tony-Award winning actress Phylicia Rashad.
We hope to see you there!
In the Huffington Post, Off-The-Bus blogger Linda Hansen makes an elegant case for how the Clinton strategy of "throwing the kitchen sink" at Barack Obama in the run-up to the March 4th primaries, is a sure-fire miss. If the time has come to draw a line around the politics of personal destruction, this blog post will help you make the case and push back on those who think that another eight years of the Clintons will be good for our country, our Party, or our future.
I was kinda shocked to see that two other people signed up to become members of BFBO. Hello! I figured maybe we should put some more stuff up on this group ...
As someone with great respect for both the Green Mountain State (especially Mad River Glen) and Ben & Jerry's (especially Peanut Butter Cup) I was excited by Obama's big Vermont win. However, I too was hoping for a clear victory in Texas and a better outcome in Ohio. So I figured this means we simply have to work a little harder to get the word out, raise money and enlist other like-minded ordinary (bald and non-bald) Americans into the fight.
So I poise this question to all three of us - and if current trends continue - the four more who may sign up in the month of March:
Who would you include on the Top Bald 100 list of dynamic, powerful, or simply a favorite bald person to recruit as a Barack Obama supporter? Give us the name (could be famous or not, living or dead) and the reason and then we'll try and recruit them to the cause (assuming they are living). I'll start:
Top Bald 100 Nominees:
1. Telly Savalas (for Kojak and making bald cool) Since he is unfortunately no longer with us, a donation in his honor of $30 has been made to the campaign.
As a Wes alumni living in D.C. I wanted to share some good early news about turnout. After getting fired up at the UMD rally on Monday, I hooked up with some volunteers out in Ashburn, VA this morning to help out at a polling station. For those of us living in the D.C. area is very cool to "matter" in an election. A local Democratic organizer said that on in a normal primary - they are lucky to get 200 voters all day and this morning between 6 a.m. and 9 a.m. over 200 people voted with Democrats out numbering Republicans by better than 2-to-1.
A good start to a cold election day. If you are local remeber to bring a friend to vote today...
John Pearce and Cathy Cramer write for the Huffington Post: "There are moments in time when you see a slow-motion disaster unfolding before you, and you can only yell out and hope those around you notice in time. Now is such a moment for Democrats, and "in time" means before the Super Duper primaries this Tuesday across the nation. Hillary Clinton may be a good U.S. Senator, and has deep symbolic importance as our first viable female presidential candidate, but three factors represent crippling structural flaws for the Democratic ticket this November if she becomes our candidate." Read the rest here.
It is indeed ironic that with John McCain the likely Republican nominee, Hillary's ability to provide sufficient contrast to overcome her high "negatives" within Republican and Independent voter ranks is greatly diminished. This makes her electability highly questionable. Do Democrats really want to risk the opportunity we have to take back the White House and launch a whole new era of progressive reform and change?
A reader transcribed the following conversation on Hardball tonight:
Chris Matthews: Faye, you first, you know Hillary Clinton, you know Bill Clinton. What's Bill's role in this thing, is it a good role or a bad role? Faye Wattleton: Well, I think that Bill Clinton's role is that of the spouses of all the candidates, he's participating as a surrogate for his wife who is running. And I think that its entirely consistent with the ascension of other women to the top offices in their country; they come about it as the result of the president being their spouse or being members of prominent families. So I don't think that we should be so upset and agitated about Mr. Clinton's participation - we should continue to focus on the issues that the people want to hear about...these other matters are really side issues.
Chris Matthews: Faye, you first, you know Hillary Clinton, you know Bill Clinton. What's Bill's role in this thing, is it a good role or a bad role?
Faye Wattleton: Well, I think that Bill Clinton's role is that of the spouses of all the candidates, he's participating as a surrogate for his wife who is running. And I think that its entirely consistent with the ascension of other women to the top offices in their country; they come about it as the result of the president being their spouse or being members of prominent families. So I don't think that we should be so upset and agitated about Mr. Clinton's participation - we should continue to focus on the issues that the people want to hear about...these other matters are really side issues.
Wow. A proud defense of nepotism over feminism. Or rather, as is the Clintons' wont, a total conflation of feminism with nepotism. I remember similar Clintonian feminists in the 1990s trashing, smearing and sliming women who dared to complain about the sexual harassment and abuse of women that Bill Clinton - with his wife's full knowledge - engaged in for years. This couple really do corrupt everything they touch.
While Hillary Clinton continues the old-style attack ads, it is more important than ever for you, Senator Barrack Obama, to rise above the attacks and not to engage her eye for an eye. If you are truly the candidate for change you must prove you can rise above the standard tactics of D.C. politicians and stick to the issues America actually cares about. The exchange between Hillary Clinton and yourself was truly the worst debate performance of your campaign, and must not be repeated. John Edwards, on the other hand, came out shining as a breath of fresh air and a reinjection of the important issues into the conversation. That performance made me reconsider Edwards in a serious way, and you cannot afford to stoop to the level of the Clinton political machine. Former President Clinton may say what he will, but you cannot engage him in a negative manner. He is a former president. Instead of arguing that you're being forced to run against two candidates (Clinton sold his presidency on the 2-for-1 deal), approve of his straight talk and disagree with his claims. He would be an asset to your cabinet and administration, don't forget that.
PLEASE Mr. Obama, for the sake of this country, make good on your promise to deliver the change we desperately need in this country and throw out the old political attack handbook. Defend if you must, but stick to the war, the economy, the middle class, the Middle East, China, and all of the infinitely more pressing problems we have to deal with.
The Washington Post did some fact checking on the assertion by Hillary that Barack Obama had done substantial work for Rezko in Chicago, using incendiary code by calling Rezko a "slum lord." Well, some due diligence and a passion for truth might have made Hillary less shrill on the topic. See for yourself here.
George Packer writes an article in the New Yorker that lays out the critical differences in an approach to the presidency as represented between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. It's worth reading. The substance of Packer's article is that Hillary acknowledges that the next President will absolutely need to unite the country to take on the tough issues that we'll need to confront. Her approach, however, will be to negotiate a difficult set of compromises with an intractable foe - a Republican core that has always held her and her husband in high contempt. Hillary claims that she's demonstrated this capacity in her tenure as a Senator.
Packer points out, and makes a solid case, that the kind of compromising possible in the US Senate may not be possible as a President. The political calculus changes at this level. Packer describes Obama's inspirational character as much more likely to move the country out of political deadlock and offers stirring examples for how this has occurred throughout history. In the final analysis, the country's choice comes down to Hillary's approach aimed at "achieving goals" or Obama's approach at "transforming society."
Barack spoke today at the Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, Georgia.
You can read his full remarks here, but I want to bring to light a particular passages, reproduced below.
For most of this country’s history, we in the African-American community have been at the receiving end of man’s inhumanity to man. And all of us understand intimately the insidious role that race still sometimes plays – on the job, in the schools, in our health care system, and in our criminal justice system.
And yet, if we are honest with ourselves, we must admit that none of our hands are entirely clean. If we’re honest with ourselves, we’ll acknowledge that our own community has not always been true to King’s vision of a beloved community.
We have scorned our gay brothers and sisters instead of embracing them. The scourge of anti-Semitism has, at times, revealed itself in our community. For too long, some of us have seen immigrants as competitors for jobs instead of companions in the fight for opportunity.
Senator Obama has been out front about these issues throughout his campaign and his career. He has spoken before all audiences and delivered the same messages of expanding rights and taking our own to task when need be. I strongly encourage everyone to read the entire speech.
This past Saturday I attended a sub committee meeting for the Democratic Town Committee. A number of issues had been discussed and progress was made. It was a good meeting. After which I was confronted by one of the attendees and thanked for the volunteer work I have done over the years for the committee and the community. Later that day I received a voice message from another of the attendees in which thanked me for the volunteer work I have done. It felt good so I decided it was time to thank you for getting involved. Those who are working on Obama’s campaign. The country needs those that care and are willing to step up and make a difference. I have personally seen the decline in the past two decades of the number of people who actually get involved. Weather they use their job and/ or family as excuses, I think its just laziness. I have a demanding job and a very active family. I serve and I volunteer for along list of causes. So I am saying again thank for getting involved. And lets get the job done.
Ken
A message to all members of Connecticut for Obama!
Join Senate President Pro Tempore Don Williams to watch the New Hampshire results for Senator Barack Obama, Tuesday, January 8th at 7:00 PM, Coach's Bar & Grille, 187 Allyn Street, Hartford, CT 06106
For more information, or if you have any questions, please call Courtney Cullinan at 203-910-2505, or Leslie O’Brien at 860-334-5865 I will be there and hope to see as many of our CT grassroots supporters as possible! This is a great opportunity to meet friends (Bring along as many friends and local supporters as you can!) and show support for Sen. Williams, whose leadership in the attempt to bring real reform to CT's health care system must never be forgotten.
Cheers, Steve Wilmarth
Westbrook, Connecticut
stephen.wilmarth@gmail.com
860-227-1225
Visit Connecticut for Obama at: http://www.ctobama.org
The Boston Globe
December 15, 2007
THE FIRST American president of the 21st century has not appreciated the intricate realities of our age. The next president must. The most sobering challenges that face this country - terrorism, climate change, disease pandemics - are global. America needs a president with an intuitive sense of the wider world, with all its perils and opportunities. Senator Barack Obama of Illinois has this understanding at his core. The Globe endorses his candidacy in New Hampshire's Democratic presidential primary Jan. 8. (Read more....)
Remember Joe Lieberman's lame promises in 2006 to support Democratic candidates in 2008? In his desparate bid for re-election to the US Senate, after being resoundingly rejected by the majority of Democrats in the primary, Lieberman promised those Democrats, including our own Barack Obama, Sen. Chis Dodd, Sen. Hillary Clinton and many others, whose endorsements Lieberman had so strongly sought in an effort to overcome the overwhelming number of Connecticut Democrats who wanted to hold Joe accountable for his pro-war cheerleading, that he would not abandon those who stood by him on principle. Whatever goodwill Joe had as a barganing chip, he has now completely squandered any remaining beliefs that he was always a good Democrat who was simply caught in a storm not of his own making, of simply being in the wrong place at the wrong time in 2006. Endorsing John McCain for the Republican nomination for President demonstrates that 30 years of appealing to voters as a progressive Democrat was merely one of history's greatest closeting of a hard core Republican at heart.
For more on this betrayal of voters' faith, see Ari Melber's post on the Huffington Post.
Goodnight, Joe.
Chicago, IL | November 30, 2007
Chicago, IL -- This World AIDS Day is a time to reflect on what this global crisis is costing us. It's a cost that's measured in generations lost, in cultures traumatized, and in societies that have grown more unstable as a result of this pandemic. And it's a cost that 33 million people worldwide bear each day as they struggle to live with this disease. And what makes all of this so heartbreaking is that it was - in each and every case - entirely preventable.
And yet, this is also a time to draw inspiration from the stories of heroism that are being lived each day. It's a time to draw hope from the extraordinary perseverance of those helping combat this disease around the world. And above all, it's a time to stay focused on the task ahead - stopping the spread of this disease once and for all.
That is what I will fight to do as President. As part of my comprehensive national HIV/AIDS strategy, we'll provide $50 billion by 2013 to fight the pandemic, and contribute our fair share to the Global Fund. I'll work to dispel the stigma surrounding this disease, which is what Michelle and I tried to do by taking a public HIV test in Kenya a while back. I'll expand the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief by $1 billion a year in new money over the next five years so we can reach more people in places like Southeast Asia, India, and Eastern Europe, where the pandemic is growing. We'll make sure medications developed with taxpayer dollars are available as generics in developing countries - because a person shouldn't be denied life-saving drugs just because we can't find a way to reform our patent laws. And we'll work to eliminate the extreme poverty that permits HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria to flourish by doubling our foreign assistance from $25 billion per year to $50 billion per year by 2012.
But leadership on HIV/AIDS has to start at home. We recently learned that our nation's capital has the highest AIDS infection rate of any city in this country. That is an outrage. It's time to launch a national effort to stop this disease, starting with African Americans, who are being affected disproportionately.
We cannot give the boy back the parents he lost or the woman back the future she had dreamed of. But what we can do is prevent any more suffering. What's stopping us is not a lack of knowledge or resources, but a lack of will. And until we - as Americans and as human beings - summon the will to end this moral crisis, the conscience of our nation cannot rest.
Senator Obama sat down recently with Kerry Eleveld of the Advocate, one of the most respected and widely-circulated LGBT publications in the country. The full text of the interview can be found here.
Let us know what you think about the Senator's answers in the comments section.
Senator Obama penned an op-ed circulated around the country this week, expressing his views on full equality for members of the LGBT Community.
A Call for Full Equality
by Barack Obama
Over the last several weeks, the question of LGBT equality was placed on center stage by the appearance of Donnie McClurkin at one of my campaign events. McClurkin is a talented performer and a beloved figure among many African Americans and Christians around the country. At the same time, he espouses beliefs about homosexuality that I completely reject.
(Continue reading below the jump)
African American Religious and LGBT Leaders
Call for Communities to Find Common Ground
CHICAGO, IL- Obama supporters and leaders in the LGBT and African American faith communities released the following letter today calling on members of their communities to come together to find common ground.
To Whom It May Concern:
As representatives of Barack Obama supporters from the African American religious community and the gay community, we are issuing a statement together for the first time. Our letter addresses the recent issue of Pastor Donnie McClurkin singing at Senator Obama’s “Embrace the Change” concert series. In the midst of division, we hope and believe that this is a moment to bring together communities that have been divided for far too long.
A few things are clear.
First, Pastor McClurkin believes and has stated things about sexual orientation that are deeply hurtful and offensive to many Americans, most especially to gay Americans. This cannot and should not be denied.
At the same time, a great many African Americans share Pastor McClurkin’s beliefs. This also cannot be ignored.
Finally, we believe that the only way for these two sides to find common ground is to do so together.
Not at arms length. Not in a war of words with press and pundits. Only together.
It is clear that Barack Obama is the only candidate who has made bringing these two often disparate groups together a goal. In gatherings of LGBT Americans and African Americans of faith, Obama has stated that all individuals should be afforded full civil rights regardless of their sexual orientation, and that homophobia must be eradicated in every corner of our nation. If we are to end homophobia and secure full civil rights for gay Americans, then we need an advocate within the Black community like Barack Obama.
At the same time, while Obama has said that he "strongly disagrees" with Pastor McClurkin's comments, he will not exclude from his campaign the many Americans including many in the African American community who believe the same as Pastor McClurkin.
We believe that Barack Obama is constructing a tent big enough for LGBT Americans who know that their sexual orientation is an innate and treasured part of their being, and for African American ministers and citizens who believe that their religion prevents them from fully embracing their gay brothers and sisters. And if we are to confront our shared challenges we have to join together, build on common ground, and engage in a civil dialogue even when we disagree.
We also ask Senator Obama’s critics to consider the alternatives. Would we prefer a candidate who ignores the realities in the African American community and cuts off millions of Blacks who believe things offensive to many Americans? Or a panderer who tells African Americans what they want to hear, at the expense of our gay brothers and sisters? Or would we rather stand with Barack Obama, who speaks truth in love to both sides, pulling no punches but foreclosing no opportunities to engage?
We stand with Senator Obama. We stand with him because of the solutions he is proposing for our nation. We stand with him because of his character and his judgment. But the most important reason we stand with him is because today, as he has done all along, Barack Obama is causing us to stand together.
That's the kind of President we need, and we are proud to support him.
Sincerely,
Rev. Dr. Otis Moss, Jr.
Olivet Institutional Baptist Church
Chair, Obama National African American Religious Leaders Working Group
Cleveland, Ohio
Stampp Corbin
Chair, Obama National LGBT Leadership Council
Former Member of Human Rights Campaign Board of Directors
Columbus, Ohio
Tobias Barrington Wolff
Chair, Obama LGBT Policy Committee
Professor of Law, University of Pennsylvania Law School
Philadelphia, PA
The Reverend Stephen John Thurston
President
National Baptist Convention of America
Chicago, IL
The Reverend Alvin Love
Baptist General State Convention of Illinois, Inc.
Bishop E. Earl McCloud, Jr.
Office of Ecumenical & Urban Affairs
African Methodist Episcopal Church
Atlanta, GA
Steven Latasa-Nicks
President, The Phelon Group, Inc.
Former Human Rights Campaign Board of Governors
New York, NY
Maxim Thorne
Former COO, Human Rights Campaign
Paterson, NJ
Phil Burgess
Former Human Rights Campaign Board of Directors
Rev. Dr. Barbara Williams-Skinner
Skinner Leadership Institute
Tracy’s Landing, MD
Rev. Michael Pfleger
St. Sabina, Chicago
Rev. Edward Taylor
San Jose, CA
The Reverend Robert H. Thompson
Exeter, NH
Sharon Malheiro
LGBT Activist
Des Moines, IA
Hon. Jon Cooper
Majority Leader, Suffolk County (NY) Legislature
Rev. Paul Hobson Sadler, Sr., Pastor
Mt. Zion Congregational UCC
Statement on Rev. McClurkin
"I have clearly stated my belief that gays and lesbians are our brothers and sisters and should be provided the respect, dignity, and rights of all other citizens. I have consistently spoken directly to African-American religious leaders about the need to overcome the homophobia that persists in some parts of our community so that we can confront issues like HIV/AIDS and broaden the reach of equal rights in this country. I strongly believe that African Americans and the LGBT community must stand together in the fight for equal rights. And so I strongly disagree with Reverend McClurkin's views and will continue to fight for these rights as President of the United States to ensure that America is a country that spreads tolerance instead of division."
~ Barack Obama10/22/07
