Obama calls MoveOn vote "a stunt designed only to score cheap political points", skips it in protest

[maximusveritas]

http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/moveon-vote-splits-dems-2007-09-21.html
“This amendment was a stunt designed only to score cheap political points while what we should be doing is focusing on the deadly serious challenge we face in Iraq. It’s precisely this kind of political game-playing that makes most Americans cynical about Washington’s ability to solve America’s problems. By not casting a vote, I registered my protest against this empty politics. I registered my views on the ad itself the day it appeared.”

This is exactly the right response in my opinion. Bush and the Republicans are trying to use the MoveOn ad to distract from their failure to come up with a sensible plan in Iraq.
Even casting a "No" vote on that ridiculous Cornyn ammendment plays into their game by accepting that this is even an issue worth discussing on the Senate floor.
If only the rest of the Democrats were on the same page.

[calteacherguy]

1. He's absolutely right! All Dems should have abstained.

I posted such a view in a thread I started. I believe Biden abstained as well. Kudos to them both!

[iconocrastic]

62. He was afraid to take a stand

Sorry folks. When you're the President you have to stand up. Not an act of courage.

[Olney Blue]

2. Exactly, Mr. Obama.

[More Than A Feeling]

3. Then why'd he bother voting for the Boxer amendment just an hour before? n/t

[UrbScotty]

6. In protest (nt)

[maximusveritas]

7. That amendment was very different from the Cornyn amendment

It didn't mention this recent moveon.org ad specifically.
The Cornyn amendment, on the other hand, said it was "to specifically repudiate the unwarranted personal attack on General Petraeus by the liberal activist group Moveon.org."
It's obvious which one was the political stunt.

[More Than A Feeling]

9. They both were meaningless nonsense.

[Adelante]

12. Boxer called the Repukes out on Swiftboating

That's why.

[sufrommich]

39. And why make the announcement

after the vote,instead of before? Wouldn't it have made a bigger impression to come out before the vote and announce his reason for not playing along with the sham? I'm sorry,I have nothing against Obama,but this sounds like backtracking.

[Botany]

4. He knows he made a mistake by not voting

he should have voted.

[calteacherguy]

11. No way! The proper response to such a lowering of the standards of the senate is a refusal

to participate! Obama was statesmanlike in his expression of disgust for such petty politics.

[Jade Fox]

5. Well put. n/t

[Colobo]

8. Obama shows political courage once again.

[SaveElmer]

22. Only at DU would bugging out be considered courageous...

He didn't want his vote to be used against him so he just didn't cast one...had he been serious he would have not voted on the Boxer amendment and made a floor speech decrying the process...he did neither...instead issued a CYA statement later on...

Had the reverse happened and Hillary not voted and issued a statement later while Obama cast a no vote everyone here would be howling about Hillary the coward and how Obama stood up and took a stand...

Really amusing actually...and something I predicted as soon as I heard Obama had not voted...

[Colobo]

23. I'm not criticizing Hillary for voting no, because it was a good vote as well.

Both protested against the bill in different ways. Why attack any of them, Elmer?

[mark414]

53. i'm an Obama supporter and I would commend ANYONE who refused to vote

for this pile of absolute garbage.

any vote on this, yes or no, gave that GOP filth legitimacy

[Beaverhausen]

10. What did he say about the ad the day it ran? I missed it

thanks! :hi:

[FrenchieCat]

13. I don't know, but I know what Ms. Edwards said about it......

Elizabeth Edwards Criticizes MoveOn Over Petraeus Ad
September 14, 2007 03:03 PM

...Elizabeth Edwards makes hers the first campaign to directly criticize MoveOn.org's "General Betray Us" ad, breaking with the Democrats' strategy of, basically, ignoring it.

"Someone who's spent their life in the military doesn't deserve 'General Betray Us,'" said Edwards, wife of Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2007/09/14/elizabeth-edwards-critici_n_64472.html

Does that mean that they would have voted FOR the amendment if they had a vote? :shrug:

[Beaverhausen]

17. Thanks for not answering my question.

I politely asked what Obama said.

By the way, nice editing of that article. I know exactly what EE's full statement was.

[Lucinda]

56. I dont think he would have voted for it - Kerry said the tone of the

ad was disrespectful....but he still didnt vote to condem Moveon

i THINK JE would have done the same...but ya never know :)

[zulchzulu]

50. Obama's initial comment on MoveOn Betray Us ad

"I am less interested in the motives or what General Petraeus or Ambassador Crocker are responsible for than I am for what the president is responsible for, and that is the mission that has been assigned to those people. I think the mission is a failure."
- Barack Obama

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tag/obama-moveon-ad

[lateo]

14. Then he won't get my vote in 2008

Sorry Charlie, I only vote for people that stick up for progressives.

[Ethelk2044]

19. He is correct. They should not have been voting for moveon.org. They should have been voting

for getting the Soldiers out of Iraq. If the Dems were smart enough they would have tied it to get the soldiers out of Iraq. Just like the Repugs always tie their issues to marriage. The dems need to get smarter instead of letting the Repugs set the rules.

[calteacherguy]

21. BINGO!

:applause:

[calteacherguy]

24. I'm a progressive, and I believe what he did WAS sticking up for progressives.

If we refuse to acknowledge such shit, that's progress!

[lateo]

57. I disagree

I see this as looking the other way when one of our best progressive organizations is getting attacked.

[Dawgs]

27. So, the most important thing to you someone who sticks up for progressives.

Is this a game to you?

[lateo]

32. A game?

No. As a former Desert Storm 1 soldier I can tell you I don't play games. And I don't plan on voting for people who do not stick up for progressive values. Even if the vote is one that is a BULLSHIT vote in the Senate.

[Ethelk2044]

34. You welcome to vote for whom you choose. I choose not to vote for someone who voted for the war.

[lateo]

38. So who are you planning on voting for?

[mark414]

54. because he called out a GOP political stunt for what it was?

he also refused to condemn the ad and instead turned around to talk about the real problem, and the real issues...ones that matter like, oh i don't know, a war???

[AZ Criminal JD]

15. He knew he would offend someone if he voted

So he skipped. Profile in courage.

[Catchawave]

16. Phht...how's that fundraiser going? Top Five Dems are on

PBS right now...check your local listings...:hi:

[Colobo]

20. It's probably going excellently well, and Obama will be with Iowans tomorrow

[Beaverhausen]

18. Can someone please post what Obama said about the ad?

thanks! :hi:

[BeyondGeography]

25. Here's what he said tonight in Atlanta

<"This is the kind of game-playing that the American people are tired of," Obama said to thunderous applause from a crowd of about 2,000 in Atlanta.

Obama said it was wrong that a time when young men and women are dying and veterans were not receiving needed services "we are wasting time debating about a newspaper ad."

"I am not going to vote on this," Obama said he decided.

"Now I happen to believe that General Petraeus has served this country honorably," he said, calling the ad "a distraction."

Instead of attacking Petraeus, Obama said critics should be "attacking George Bush's policies.">

http://www.accessnorthga.com/news/ap_newfullstory.asp?ID=97911

[Beaverhausen]

26. OK, but I want to know what he said the day the ad appeared

he referenced that in his statement today about not voting on the senate resolution

[FrenchieCat]

30. None of them said anything........then and some aren't saying anything now.....

so why keep asking? :shrug:

[Beaverhausen]

31. read Obama's statement again from today

"...By not casting a vote, I registered my protest against this empty politics. I registered my views on the ad itself the day it appeared.”

So, again, what did he say the day the ad appeared? I'm sure some of his supporters know.

[FrenchieCat]

40. I'm not sure why you think this is the $64,000 question.......

cause it ain't.

Obama is not a wind up toy that panders to the base. He doesn't have to release a PR announcement everytime something happens that you deem needs a response on that day. :shrug:

Most Dems pols had initially decided to "ignore" the whole thing to begin with, since they knew that it was a losing battle (insult a organization that has done plenty for the Dems vs. insult a general and then be pounced on by GOP and the media). COnsidering that Guiliani attempted to smear Sen. Clinton with his own ad would have also made any statement by Hillary's Dem opponents appear opportunistic and low. A few pols felt compelled to make statement about the ad, Elizabeth Edwards being one of them .

The GOP forced resolution vote changed that.

There is no rule written except for in your mind that the ones running for Prez should have all have had something to say on the date that you have designated. It's really a ridiculous notion that you are promoting. Really. :eyes:

[jefferson_dem]

29. I just got back from his speech in ATL and he called it a "cheap political stunt."

While we're spending so much blood and treasure in Iraq, it's a travesty that we are occupying time in the Senate with such balderdash (my word, not Obama's).

[abq e streeter]

28. I agree with his statement

Not a big Obama fan, but to you at DU that are: I absolutely will vote for him if he's the nominee. Wouldn't think for a second of not supporting him...

[DURHAM D]

33. Obama skipped the vote to campaign.

His statement was a CYA.

If he wanted to protest he should have been on the floor, made a speech and then "ABSTAINED". That would have been a protest. What he did was not.

[Ethelk2044]

36. His statement was right. The dems who voted was fooled by the repugs again just like voting for the

war. They do not know how to control the repugs. The dems should have tied it to a vote to get the soldiers out of Iraq or they should have all walked out. But no, they do not have the smarts enough to do so.

[illinoisprogressive]

35. He is right. it's time the dems stop playing along with the repukes games.

They always dance to their tune and never take a stand. obama took a stand and said enough!

[Warren Stupidity]

37. Sorry but a no vote would have been a stronger message.

That way I would know exactly where Senator Obama stands.

[emilyg]

41. You got it right. I'm disappointed in Obama.

[mark414]

55. the OP tells you where he stands

are people really this dense?

[Warren Stupidity]

58. No we are quite undense when it comes to political hypocrisy.

Voting No would have put Obama on the record, and he chose to not do that.

[mark414]

65. voting No would have said "this is a legitimate thing for me to vote on

and is deserving of the time of the United States Senate."

which, of course, is not true

if Hillary or pretty much anybody else would've done it people would've been crowing about her 'leadership' and 'foresight' and praising her for telling the GOP where to stick it...

can we please, just once on this site, dump all the stupid primary politics and realize that this was the best course of action for anybody to take, whether or not they're running for president?

it's like the Fox News Debates...you refuse to provide legitimacy to an obvious sham by participating

instead, most chose to play right into the GOP's hands

[Cha]

42. Fine..he's out.

[Cha]

48. I missread this..Obama's

not out! Jeeze..I thought he saying moveon was a "cheap political trick"..Mea Culpa!

[The Gunslinger]

43. His response was correct

The best response would have been to never have put it on the table in the first place.

[AtomicKitten]

44. Obama has it exactly right.

This kind of nonsense doesn't deserve the time of day by any of the Democrats. The other candidate supporters piling on this as if he voted "yes" or something is opportunistic. Hillary and Edwards' supporters emulating them by practicing opportunism proves the theory that the acorn doesn't fall far from the tree.

[ProudDad]

45. Absolutely the best response to this cowardly "resolution" (n/t)

[pingzing58]

46. It was a meaningless vote and plays into Bush's "you can't speak bad about me" policy -

so why don't they take a meaningless vote to impeach the *hole? Why, why, why? Our Dem leaders are two faced jerks. However, I'm looking forward to continue to see true Dem leadership in the near future.

[Forkboy]

47. And he was 100% right.

[zulchzulu]

49. A perfect smackdown...otherwise you play right into Repug hands

Why play a game of pool on a slanted table with all 8 balls...

[fujiyama]

51. Obama was smart and didn't play into Bush's hands

but to Hillary and Dodd's credit, they did vote against this garbage.

As for those that voted for it, they are fucking cowardly and don't have a clue how to play politics with the GOP.

[Adelante]

64. I'm glad they voted against it

But I really, really wish, after voting in favor of the Boxer amendment, the Dems could have walked straight out the door on Cornyn. It would have been a very proud moment and spoken far louder than the actual vote.

[Capn Sunshine]

52. Showing good judgement again

everyone should have skipped that vote, but props to Hillary for staying and fighting.

[democratsin08]

59. what a crock

obama was too cowardly to vote so he made up this garbage.

[robcon]

60. Not voting is cowardice. Obama's rationaization is not believable.

He avoided the vote for fear of taking a stand. Terrible precedent. Terrible behavior for a presidential candidate. Biden was a coward, too.

[iconocrastic]

61. He was afraid to take a stand

Sorry folks. When you're the President you have to stand up. Not an act of courage.

[doc03]

63. Being President requires being a leader

I don't think skipping the vote shows leadership. It only tells me he was afraid to take a stand on it just like the "I voted for it before I voted against it" statement by Kerry.