.NYT article LINK
The New York Times reported today that the White House is quietly conceding that they are losing control of the Health Care Reform debate. So......in response......? A march? Rapid Fire TV ads? Formal debates moderated by NPR, PBS, ABC, NBC? Nope....a website.........That's it....a website..
The WH released a myth busters website.......What Obama should do is concede he needs a little help from his friends.....Bill Clinton, Al Gore, Howard Dean, Mike Bloomberg, Warren Buffet and other Business Leaders and even the Kennedys to get the word out and deal with the fires.
See http://www.reuters.com/article/politicsNews/idUSTRE51307220090204 / "Obama says U.S. can't send protectionist trade message"
HOWEVER -
"Buy America" is possible in a number of ways that - by the lights and policies of many governments around the world - would NOT be "protectionist" (that is, those governments employ such policies themselves and claim them to NOT be "protectionist"!). For example, the EU is considering (or has already implemented) rules involving products being EXPLICITLY PROVEN safe for human use, rather than a product having MERELY NOT been shown (by studies or experience) to be harmful. The US currently uses the latter "standard". So the EU standard would effectively exclude many American and other countries' products from the EU until and unless such proof (investments and processes to develop it) is supplied.SO given the administration's strong support for the environment and desire to address the problem of global warming, one strategy would be to assess carbon penalties associated with products and services to be used in stimulus programs. This could mean that the transportation carbon expended on certain imports or because of their "dirty" production (definitely a problem with Chinese steel) would make them (show them to be!) less "cheap", with American producers coming out better (and for that matter, "dirty" producing American companies would ALSO be excluded! ... so not "favoritism" there!). PLUS, companies / countries that would not supply carbon expenditures proof (and submit to inspections to verify that!) would be excluded from bidding on projects involving stimulus funds!
The Pickens Plan: For those who would like to become an active participant in a solution for our nations energy needs I urge you to join with T.Boone Pickens in his quest for a cleaner planet through alternative energy.
Also see Green Wave Energy: Green Wave was founded by Mark Holmes and was formulated for viable alternative energy solutions. Green Wave Energy is promoting state-of-the-art energy-saving products and services throughout the country.
Green Wave Energy understands alternative energy technology will become “main stream” when
Call 949.645.1701 for information on how Green Wave Energy can help you save the planet.
Alternative EnergySource: David Apperson
url: http://veterans.barackobama.com/page/community/tag/alternative-energy
Temo Figueroa, a former top Obama field organizer, said the volunteer base is "hungry" to be engaged on the most important issues.Role for Barack Obama's volunteer network still in flux, http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-obama-networkdec05,0,7403685.story"I don't think e-mails or YouTube videos from the president-elect are going to be enough," Figueroa said. "These people want to continue to be a part of whatever agenda comes out of the White House, and they want to be active participants in this government that they feel they have ownership of."
Around this time of year, there are lots of requests for our dollars. All good causes, like Kiva, of course. With the financial uncertainty of these times, I don't have a lot of spare cash to donate to Kiva at the moment. Participating in community Barack Obama events is another way for me to stay engaged. I signed up to participate in Voting Reform discussion and how Californians can help Barack Obama bring about the change for which we elected him. I look forward to both events. A lot of stuff is going on this month to choose from.
I encourage you to click on the Find Events link in your http://my.barackobama.com/ account to find a way to participate. If your schedule is too booked for this year, I'm sure there'll be other chances in 2009. "Be the change you want to see in the world"is more than just a slogan. Here's the opportunity to show and prove.
try the washington post's polls page and some of the conclusions they draw at
http://blog.washingtonpost.com/behind-the-numbers/
some of the conclusions might be very enlightening...
but nobody reads my posts, right?
plusaf in raleigh, nc. www.plusaf.com
In late July, Barack Obama had a steady lead over John McCain. In the midst of an unpopular war and with workers facing a decade of stagnant wages, this was shaping up to be a good year for the Democrats. In addition, John McCain was facing an exceptionally charismatic and talented politician who had surprised the punditry by defeating the once-inevitable Hillary Rodham Clinton in the primary. The only thing keeping him within striking distance in the polls was the reluctance of many former Hillary Clinton supporters to throw their support to Barack.
Well aware that McCain was losing, the McCain Campaign went for broke. The introduction of the Celebrity Ads has gotten the most attention, and those ads did inject a sense of unseriousness into the McCain Campaign. However, I think the turning point in the McCain Campaign is best marked with two other events. First, John McCain accused Barack Obama of hoping to lose the war in Iraq in order to win the presidential campaign. This started a slew of attacks on Barack’s patriotism. Second, the McCain Campaign falsely charged Barack with canceling his planned visit to the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center because he was unable to have the press record his interactions with wounded soldiers.
This began the process of McCain alienating the Beltway press that had beloved him for many years. In addition, his foray into dishonorable campaigning broke a pledge he had made months earlier. He sacrificed the maverick myth he had spent the last nine years cultivating. And, he started losing his appeal to moderates and independents. His ill-considered selection of Sarah Palin as his running mate made these matters worse.
I believe that Barack would have won the upcoming election regardless of McCain’s campaign tactics. But, McCain’s attempts to shake of the race and hope for a miracle have paved the way for what could be a disastrous defeat for him and his fellow Republicans in Congress. By sinking his own ship so spectacularly, McCain is taking others with him. Perhaps it is best that he not be alone; he is now bereft of his dignity.
Last Friday, I discussed a potential Colin Powell endorsement of Barack Obama with a friend. I suspected that many people would see such an endorsement as an act of racial solidarity. Rush Limbaugh and Pat Buchanan proved me correct.
Aside from John McCain's bogus suspension of his campaign last month--which caught me by surprise--is there anything hard-line conservatives say these days that isn't predictable?
Many commenters on Fox News's web site wrote that Barack's upcoming visit of his grandmother, Madelyn Dunham, was a brazen political ploy. Rick Davis said that the McCain Campaign may make hay over Barack's relationship with Rev. Jeremiah Wright. John McCain at the last debate claimed that Barack has been engaging in class warfare by supporting a more progressive income-tax structure. The McCain Campaign and several Republican Party organizations are making false allegations about ACORD perpetrating voter fraud.
These are just a few examples of how Republicans have turned into Pavlov's dogs this election cycle. The days of being awed by Republicans' ability to win elections are over.
According to Mary Jane Stevenson, the California Field Director, she’d like our players to focus their calls when possible on East Coast states- Virginia, North Carolina, Florida, and Pennsylvania. Sorry, I don’t have any background info on the reason for this strategy, but it would be great if you could relay this info to your players. Of course, if they really want to call someplace else, that's fine too- just no California calls please.
After a week of right-wing hysterics over ACORN's voter-registration drive, including John McCain's claim at the final debate that voter fraud by ACORN might undermine that fabric of democracy, I was happy to see the Obama Campaign push back on this matter. The voter-fraud allegations are false; nevertheless, they are the subject of an inappropriate FBI investigation.
I am not concerned that the ACORN investigation will lead to voter suppression in this election. I am skeptical of the notion that a voter who submitted his registration form to an ACORN employee would be deterred from voting because the FBI is investigating ACORN.
Nevertheless, I am deeply troubled by the GOP's efforts to use the voter-fraud myth to undermine the legitimacy of Barack's mandate. That's why it was important for Obama Campaign elections lawyer Bob Bauer to assert in a conference call that the McCain Campaign was seeking to sow doubt in the electoral process.
Furthermore, by linking these voter-fraud accusations to the false allegations that culminated in the U.S. Attorney firing scandal, the Obama Campaign has taken the offensive on this issue while demonstrating that the emperorhas no clothes. The request to have the matter referred to Special Prosecutor Nora Dannehy has created a deterrent to furthering the investigation prior to the election. It also reminds the American people that this nation needs a clear break from the current administration.
In a welcome change from character assassination, the McCain Campaign has been taking Barack Obama to task for supporting a more progressive income tax than what we currently have.
Republicans' time-honored tactic is to accuse Democrats who seek a more progressive tax structure of engaging in class warfare. Today, the McCain Campaign, with the assistance of two right-wing newspapers, took that one step further. In its new ad featuring the now famous Joe Wurzelbacher, the McCain Campaign equates Barack's income tax plan with welfare.
When facing an opponent that plans to reduce taxes for 95% of working families and a recent poll finding that a plurality of voters believe that McCain is more likely to raise their taxes, it is not surprising that McCain is searching for a new boogeyman. But, as with many other things over the last few months, the McCain Campaign failed to think this tactic through. The great majority of Americans will fare better under Barack's tax plan than John McCain's tax policy. Providing additional attention to Barack's proposed tax structure won't help John McCain. In addition, middle-class Americans will not react positively to being called the welfare queens of the 21st century.
The McCain is 90% Bush commercial run after the 3rd debate is a disaster for the campaign. You absolutely have to refer to Bush as President Bush or risk everything. If the polls swing negatively as of 10/16/08, this commerical is the cause. No matter how much people dislike Bush, you cannot refer to him as "Bush!"
Based on independent research, http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/story/2008/06/09/ST2008060900950.html and others, it looks as if, under Obama's tax plan, if you make between $251,000 and $603,000 that your taxes will not go up. The won't go down, but they won't go up - which is really, really important.
If this is true, then why isn't he highlighting it? Why does he say in EVERY debate that taxes won't be increased if you make under 250,000...why doesn't he say under 603,000...a number I have NEVER heard him use.
At the moment, the perception is that if you make over $250k that you will be taxed and it is scaring off undecided and independe voters. It is also making voters question the fairness of his tax plan. I think this would be far more effective in relieving the fears of the upper middle class if he used the $603k figure rather than the $250k benchmark.
Any insight on this strategy or is the data wrong?
MakeFloridaCount.com archives articles, videos and other organizing resources to use with undecided voters.
I am developing section on Conservative and Republican endorsements of Obama. Please send me your suggestions (by e-mail or by commenting on the blog).
See extended blog for more detail of what is available on the site.
New organizing resources are added daily. In unity. Barbara Myers
barbmyrs@gmail.com
So a lot of firsts here tonight ladies and gentlemen, today is my first blog post ever. And it is the first time I have ever put my thought out for criticism for anyone other than those I am engaged in a direct conversation with. No mean feat to be sure. So pardon my typographical and grammatical errors; I’m afraid as the first generation to grow up with a computer I have developed the bad habit of over-relying on spell and grammar check. But I hope that for now, an average man is slightly more adept at his own language than the limited space for rules and spelling suggestions allotted by Microsoft Word.
The issue before us today is what to do about the John McCain campaign. Their campaign, if it can be called such, has completely isolated themselves from the independent thought and objectivity that is needed not only to sway independent voters, but also to govern effectively. This, I believe more than anything else, is the first and greatest flaw of the Bush administration, and one that is being followed by the McCain campaign. It is fundamentally toxic to our system of government for the following reason: By indebting yourself to the extreme of your party to get elected, you lose your ability to lead the very people who you govern over. This is already making itself apparent in McCain’s campaign when he tried to calm the incendiary rhetoric that he himself started. McCain was booed for not lying about Obama. McCain was booed when he tried to calm the FBI’s fears about his supporters. It looked to most objective observers that he was losing control over the people at his own rally.One might think that is a sign of an imploding campaign. One can only hope, but hoping will not put Obama in the White House, nor will it get enough people to the polls to make victory impossible to deny. To paraphrase Chris Rock, and I believe he was speaking to all democrats and not just Barack Obama “Sometimes I think Barack forgets he’s the black candidate” I say this not out of any desire to play the race card, but to deny that Barak’s race/name/non American father could be used to stoke unfounded and unfair but still dangerous sentiment is being naïve. The McCain campaign is not as naïve as we are.
I understand the calm, cool strategy the campaign is pursing and I'm quite impressed by the steadiness by which the S.S. Obama is being steered, especially when it came to dealing with the wildcard of the race: Sarah Palin. Overall, I think the strategy in dealing with Palin and the media so far has been a net positive for Obama. In the weeks following McCain's hastily made choice of a running mate, the Obama campaign wisely ignored her and resisted fueling the media fire around her. That may have worked in some regard, but enough time has passed that the sparkle that surrounds Palin has faded, but so have the memories of her ridiculous answers to basic reporter questions and the controversy about her selection and her past. Now her positive ratings are too high to ignore, and much of that is due to the way the media glorifies her Joe-Six-Pack appeal and adorable way of side-stepping questions. She energized her base, but fortunately for us, she is not well liked by independant and swing voters. From what I am hearing, the big question for many of those voters who have not committed their vote for one party or another is whether or not Palin is acceptable enough to let them still vote for McCain.
Sarah Palin is easily the most controversial and divisive figure to enter Presidential politics in years. However, it appears that the television media has applied a policy of self-containment when discussing that issue, and only discusses topics which the political campaigns brings up through releases, speeches or in interviews with surrogates. Today's main stream media, particularly the cable news networks other than Fox, are paranoid of those who strive to label all those who do not support a strict right-wing ideology as "Liberal Media" so it seems they overcompensate by avoiding policy analysis or any real journalism....they just discuss what the campaigns want them to discuss. In the absence of new topics to discuss from either campaign, the talking heads resort to fluff and tabloid-like topics because they feel people are more interested in being entertained than being informed. What Palin wears is discussed more often than her shaky record on ethics. The reporters look bored and want something juicy to chew on....and it would be a welcome releif if that chew-toy wasn't a listing of everyone Obama ever knew and seemed objectionable.
Because the Obama campaign has ignored Palin she has hereto received a free pass on her involvement with the AIP, the anti-semitic slant taken by her mayoral race, troopergate, etc...and McCain has largely gotten a pass by the media for his risky, Hail Mary choice of someone who could be the next president based on a meeting and a phone call. You can avoid bringing up her church issues and still cut down her claims of being a "reformer" (who was found to have abused her power for personal gain) or being patriotic (supporting a secessionist organization that hates the government is not exactly "patriotic"). At some point the Obama campaign surrogates should suck out the wind from the McCain/Palin sails by going after Palin (and McCain's lack of judgement for picking her) in some capacity. Even Fox News sometimes feels the need to cover official campaign announcements for fear that their viewers may look behind the "fair-and-balanced" curtain and find out that the network has a very specific political agenda, so I think we need to give the news anchors, radio show hosts, and all forms of talking heads something more interesting to talk about than the BS about Ayers and Wright.
Just firing a shot across the bow through surrogates or a press release could spur conversation and would at least make sure that the Troopergate findings that came out Friday are not already old news by Tuesday. Deflating the Republican base who is energized and inspired by Palin may not win us more votes, but it could cool the enthusiasm enough to make a needed difference in their Get Out The Vote efforts, and it could ramp up Palin's negatives enough to make her less acceptable to the moderate voters who are still on the fence. I believe it is time to unleash the wolves and get the media to change the subject.
Need an article or video to convince an undecided voter to vote for Obama/Biden?MakeFloridaCount.com archives articles, videos and other organizing resources so that people making calls and going door to door can have easy access to the latest material. Organizers should look carefully at the left hand column of the site for useful resources. Here's a breakdown of some of what's there.Character Counts - What to expect from Barack Obama * The New Yorker endorsement * Press Conference on State of the Economy * Chicago Jews on their experience with Obama * Obama's speech on race and reaction to Rev. Wright Uproar * SFGate - Obama profile * NYTimes Obama archive
Character Counts - What to expect from John McCain * John McCain's Rage * NYTimes - Politics of Attack * Keating Economics * The Straight Talk Express (exposed) * NYTimes - McCain lifelong gambler * George Will - Can a dismaying temperment be fixed? * Nicholas Kristof - Impulsive, Impetuous, ImpatientNew organizing resources are added daily - MakeFloridaCount.com.
In unity.
Barbara Myers
please see extended post for more resources.
