Small Town People Are Speaking

[Vinca]

Dear Fellow Pennsylvanian,

We live in small towns and rural areas throughout Pennsylvania and we support Barack Obama for President.

A few days ago, Sen. Obama made some comments that his opponents are now using to make him appear as if he is something he is not. Instead of speaking to us honestly about how they intend to solve the problems we are facing, they are playing the same old Washington games that accomplish nothing.

What Sen. Obama said is that over the last 25-30 years, working class people in places like Pennsylvania have been falling behind, and that politicians in Washington haven’t been looking out for them. He also said that, as a result, many people have become frustrated, angry and even bitter about all the broken promises.

He was right.

The politicians who are now saying that we shouldn’t be frustrated are the ones who are out of touch.

People in the towns and communities we live in have seen their jobs shipped overseas. We’ve seen our pensions disappear. We’ve seen our health care costs skyrocket. We’ve seen everything from the cost of gasoline to a gallon of milk go through the roof.

As our families have struggled to make ends meet and our communities fought to stay intact, how has Washington responded? By giving tax breaks to the wealthy, rewarding corporations who ship jobs overseas, and turning the levers of power over to the lobbyists and special interests.

It’s easy to feel a little frustrated when you see these Washington politicians continue to ignore you. But it’s not the only emotion we feel. When someone comes along who is untainted by the system in Washington, who doesn’t take money from federal lobbyists or special interests and who promises that things can be different, we feel something else—hope.

That’s why we’re supporting Barack Obama. Others have come along and promised change, but failed to deliver. Sen. Obama is different than the rest. He doesn’t take money from the special interests, and he speaks honestly about the issues we are facing.

In addition to supporting his plans for jobs, health care and education, we believe that he can deliver on his promises to ensure economic opportunity for family farmers, to provide support for rural economic development, to promote renewable energy in rural America, to protect the rights of hunters and other law-abiding Americans to purchase, own, transport, and use guns for the purposes of hunting and target shooting, and to preserve open land for hunting and fishing.

Unlike his opponents who have been part of the Washington establishment for decades, Barack Obama understands the struggles we are going through. We welcomed him with open arms as he made his way through small towns and rural areas on his recent bus tour across the state. And we will work day and night from now until the primary on his behalf not only because he has heard our frustrations, but because he speaks to our hope that Washington can actually work for people like us.

Sincerely,

Ted Alter, State College

Westmoreland County Commissioner Tom Bayla, Greensburg

Mayor John Brenner, York

Lloyd Casey, West Chester – President, Pennsylvania Forestry Association

Mayor John Fetterman, Braddock

Mayor Rick Gray, Lancaster

Scott Harrison, Warriors Mark

State Representative Bryan Lentz, Swarthmore

State Senator Sean Logan, Monroeville

Carl Majji, Claysville – Corporal, U.S. Army

Mayor Thomas McMahon, Reading

State Senator Bob Mellow – Pennsylvania Senate Democratic Leader

U.S. Representative Patrick Murphy, Doylestown – U.S. Congressman (PA-08)

Perry County Commissioner Steve Naylor, New Bloomfield

Lackawanna County Commissioner Corey O'Brien, Dunmore

Fran Rodriquez, Lancaster

State Representative Josh Shapiro, Abington – Deputy Speaker, Pennsylvania House of Representatives

Major General Walter Stewart, Berks County – Former Commander, 28th Infantry Division, Pennsylvania Army National Guard

State Representative Dan Surra, St. Marys

State Representative Thomas Tangretti, Greensburg

Lackawanna County Commissioner Michael Washo, Scranton

http://my.barackobama.com/page/community/post/caitlinharvey/gGBpNz

[undeterred]

1. Wow

:cry:

[Eurobabe]

2. K&R from a bitter PA'er

[Yael]

23. Another bitter PA right behind ya!

:hi:

K&R

[pauldg0]

44. I will not do it....

..I just don't trust him.

[dchill]

61. But you DO trust...

Hillary NAFTATUZLA Clinton?

[tblue]

72. Who do you trust?

[Eurobabe]

45. Hi Yael, I love your bitter Liberals sticker.

:rofl:

[Lugnut]

56. I'll chime in too.

If you're not bitter and outraged you're not paying attention.

[calimary]

75. GOD that's a great line!

And it has the added luster of being true.

YAY, Lugnut! "If you're not bitter and outraged, you're not paying attention."

[democrattotheend]

50. Where in PA, and what's your sense?

How much is this hurting him there?

[Betsy Ross]

3. Wow! n/t

[Coexist]

4. knr

[merh]

5. We the People

K&R

[gateley]

6. What an outstanding letter from my fellow Americans. nt

[butterfly77]

7. What I want to know is...

are people suppose to not vote for Obama because he said that people like to hunt and go to church to sooth their minds?

[crankychatter]

8. Amen - tonight will be juicy good - any PAers know a local station that might Stream it?

I don't have cable.

[quantass]

25. CNN Livestream online will have it...here is the link:

Click one of the appropriate streams on the right when you see him (i believe it starts @8 or 9pm est today)
http://www.cnn.com/video/live/live.html?stream=stream1

[crankychatter]

26. oh i have that but all i ever get is looped material

tried it before... I'll try again... that's eight eastern, yah?

thanks

[SwampG8r]

9. wow

we the people
got me all misty eyed
thanks

[npincus]

10. K & R from a Bitter Jew

and unofficial member of the 'Bitter Jews for Obama" club.

[Vinca]

13. LOL - that's funny. Got to change my signature line. nt

[BumRushDaShow]

17. Vinca

go get one of these: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x5479055#5480956

:hi:

[Vinca]

19. I'd love a "Bitter Old White Woman for Obama," but

I'm afraid I'm technically challenged. Haven't a clue how to do it.

[watrwefitinfor]

27. Vinca,

Go to the link. Pick out one you like and right click it, then click on Properties in the box that pops up. Copy the entire address (URL), starting with http... and ending with .gif or .jpg or whatever extension. Make sure you get every letter.

Open your Profile window and paste what you just copied into your profile (signature box). Now you have your very own. Go back and look at one of your posts to make sure you did it correctly.

There are several at the link for us 'bitter old women' and you can hopefully find one you like. :hi:

Wat

Edit to clarify instructions.

[UncleTomsEvilBrother]

43. Thanks for....

....showing me how to do it.

[Vinca]

49. Thanks! I'll see if my bitter, old brain can figure it out. nt

[Eurobabe]

46. oh you need a sticker.

let's see if we can get you one. :hi:

[DeschutesRiver]

11. McCain and Clinton

seem to think that if you are bitter, you are a bad person, or that it is a bad bad thing that people should NEVER admit to feeling. Bitterness, frustration, anger are pretty normal responses when your life and that of your family is going up in smoke, and the reasons are beyond your control. You'd be a fool if after 10, 15 years of this, you didn't have a bit of bitterness or sadness - course every village has an idiot and an optimist or two.

What a couple of clowns - and tell me, how can Clinton claim she "listens" to the american voters, yet she missed that people are frustrated? Bitter about what has happened to their towns and jobs? Pissed off that nobody is listening, esp. those who pretend to do so just to further their ambitions? True, talk about being out of touch - well, worse than that - she pretends to listen and hear the concerns, the desperation, the grief, the fears. But has no intention of changing a damned thing.

It is absolutely true that any PA voter ought to look at Clinton, and realize that she is simply shining them on, saying what she needs to get their votes, so she can move on and forget about them. Obama may not have the right answers initially, or be the guy I agree with on every point; but as between him and the lying mouth that roared, well, that pick is easy.

[Nedsdag]

12. Let's hope the Hillbots read this.

Unfortunately, they won't.

[phrigndumass]

14. And the conversation begins. Excellent!

More conversation and coverage is exactly what this issue needs, sans the spin. The working Americans need to be reminded how they have been duped for decades, distracted to keep them from voting for their pocketbook and for their own best interests. Some of the ways they are continually duped: "Jesus wouldn't want you to vote for abortionists, now would He?" ... or "Liberals want to pry your guns right out of your hands and take away all your security."

Furthermore, this has turned out to be "elitist-baiting" and the true elitists fell for it.

[ginnyinWI]

16. And another smear bites the dust.

Haha--I think this "bitter" meme is actually catching on. The word says so much. I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of bumperstickers and buttons will be generated from this using the word. :)

[BumRushDaShow]

15. Another K&R

Someone else had posted this earlier and it really DOES need to be seen!

:kick:

[Vinca]

18. Oops - I didn't see that post. Didn't intend to make a dupe. nt

[EVDebs]

37. Books for the Obama campaign. If Barack shows these off on Oprah etc

he'll sew up the campaign,

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x5491095

[Nitrogenica]

20. Kicked, thank you.

[ProSense]

21. What about the five mayors?

:sarcasm:

[caseycoon]

22. K&R From a bitter American

My question is how could we NOT be bitter?
:shrug:

[quantass]

24. interesting

[grantcart]

28. PA could send the loudest shot in this whole campaign

[PADemD]

47. Hopefully, PA will be the tipping point.

[morningglory]

29. Thanks so much for posting. I have been off line for 2 days and wondering

how "uppitygate" is working out for them.

[Juan_de_la_Dem]

30. This certainly gets my vote

[mhoran]

31. My

That's quite impressive.

[SunsetDreams]

32. This is going to blowback on her!

She should have never brought this up! To suggest people are not bitter, frustrated or angry, that somehow they are happy....is wrong!

[Amonester]

41. It's like the 80% who think the country is on the Wrong track ...

are supposed to be feeling fine about it being on the Wrong track!

out of touch indeed!

[H2O Man]

33. Powerful.

Nominated.

[OwnedByFerrets]

34. K and R

[Cha]

35. These People are just Great...they're

trying to help PA and help our Nation at this crucial juncture when the old power structure is "clinging" with all the venom they got.

[smiley_glad_hands]

36. According to Hill supporters this will be Obama's undoing.

Just like all the other BS they've thrown at him, this is not going to hurt him one bit. What he said is true.

[EVDebs]

39. Two books put Obama over the top vs. HRC

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x5491095

The Great Awakening by Jim Wallis

and

Perfectly Legal by David Cay Johnston

HRC has no answer for any of this stuff. The "bitterness" is in seeing that a false religion has led us to this point in time. And faith in guns isn't the same as faith in God. The average Joe in PA knows this deep down. Obama can get that across but he has to do it soon.

[AZBlue]

38. K/R from a bitter Arizonan.

It's not just the small town citizens who are angry and bitter.

[bdamomma]

58. damn straight, there are alot of people who are angry.

but sometimes actions speak louder than words.

[HCE SuiGeneris]

40. Kick and recommend... for the truth.

[Brigid]

42. I live in Terre Haute.

The feature editorial in the "Perspectives" section was about recent visits by both Barack Obama and both Clintons, and it basically said, "Where have these politicians been for the past 40 years?"

We're tired of being by turns written off, mocked, or ignored. It's about time someone took notice. Thank you, Mr. Future President Barack Obama. :patriot:

[Red Zelda]

48. Bravo!

Right with ya in Pa.

[davidpdx]

51. I am not from PA, but I grew up in a small rural town in Oregon

So I understand exactly what he is talking about.

[Apollo11]

52. Notice how the letter does not quote Obama's exact words

Here is what Obama actually said:

"You go into some of these small towns in Pennsylvania, and like a lot of small towns in the Midwest, the jobs have been gone now for 25 years and nothing's replaced them. And they fell through the Clinton administration, and the Bush administration, and each successive administration has said that somehow these communities are gonna regenerate and they have not. So it's not surprising then that they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations."

www.huffingtonpost.com/mayhill-fowler/obama-no-surprise-that-ha_b_96188.html

[crispini]

53. Vinca, I've always meant to ask you.

Are you named after the plant? :hi:

[not_too_L8]

54. K&R

snip/

Clinton's strongest core of support — white women — is beginning to erode in Pennsylvania, the site of the critical April 22 Democratic presidential primary, and a loss here could effectively end her White House run.


http://www.mcclatchydc.com/227/story/33411.html

[Tyler Durden]

55. I count 4 out of 21, 2 of them Army, and the other 2...?

The other 17 all fit into MY definition of "Elite."

Don't know about YOURS, and after all, I do consider myself a "Democratic Socialist."

[bdamomma]

57. we need to fight back, enough is enough.

[happygoluckytoyou]

59. BITTER ISNT EVEN THE START OF HOW WE FEEL

WE ALREADY KNOW THE DANGER OF BOMB BOMB BOMB JOHN "THE REPUBLICAN" MCCAIN....

for the past several months i have advocated allowing Clinton and Obama to duke it out---
what does not kill us makes us stronger


BUT HILLARY HAS GONE INTO A "ME OR DIE" REPUBLICAN-LITE ATTACK FORMAT WHICH WILL NOW HAVE ME VOTING MCCAIN IF SHE IS OUR CANDIDATE.....
..................NEW YORK CAN KEEP THEIR SENATOR

BARACK IS "NOT IN TOUCH"??????

BARACK DIDN'T MAKE $110 MILLION DOLLARS LAST YEAR
BARACK JUST FINISHED PAYING OFF HIS STUDENT LOANS
BARACK GREW UP IN A LOWER MIDDLE CLASS ENVIRONMENT WITH THE CONSTANT STIGMA ASSIGNED TO PEOPLE OF HIS COLOR IN AMERICA

........ HILLARY... PLEASE READ THIS... GO HOME!!!!!

[dchill]

60. Bitter describes me...

on a GOOD day.
:hi:

[leaningprog]

62. Rush Limbaugh beats the gums of war

Listened to Rush tirade on AM radio during a drive today.
He was livid, he was unglued and outraged and impassioned
about how Obama was showing his true liberal contempt for
middle America and it's people. But what really set him
off was the fact Clinton and Obama spoke at an Evangelical
College in PA. I believe it was the real source of his
angst and outrage and venom, because it shows that the
Democratic candidates are "getting it" and that the
middle class is seriously considering what would be
a death blow to his power and pulpit of stoking the
ideological and polarized warfare he prizes and thrives
in as his stock and trade.

I recall his America Held Hostage during the Clinton era,
and his blowhard trumpeting of the rosy days of Republican
rule under George Bush, until it didn't turn out that way
for even his beloved, mythical, 100% pure, lockstep, conservatives.

But what he is really crowing the loudest about, in my opinion,
is that if conservative and liberal and centrist Americans
take the Obama lead, and begin the dialogue and collaboration
for the sake of their country, his money machine is out of
limelight. When you are a polarizer and cultural scab picker
for a living, a real honest collaboration that threatens the
deadlock you need to scare up a scoop of ass kissing ditto
heads moves you from being a pompous and self righteous
infotainer back to where you come from. You end up sliding
back down the bank and into the muck of being just another
dime a dozen AM radio shock jock with a hateful set of
snapping jaws. The blowhard swamp turkey oracle from the
Missouri boot heel better get his waders out and see if his
corpulent body still fits inside them.

Old Blowhards never die, they just lose their audience.

[Faygo Kid]

68. It is, of course, Rush who is contemptuous of the American people.

This was an excellent post on your part, and thank you for it.

[here_is_to_hope]

63. Nailed it...K n R 100...n/t

[knixphan]

64. Big ups! K&R

[suston96]

65. Yes. Small town people ARE speaking......

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x5497603

[Faygo Kid]

66. You wish. This is backfiring on Hillary like nothing else.

This is the end for her. Wave goodbye, Hillary.

[suston96]

67. I didn't wish for anything. Some lady in Florida made the call into cspan.....

Florida? How is Obama doing in Florida? Oh, Florida doesn't count.

www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/election_20082/2008_presidential_election/florida/election_2008_florida_presidential_election

[anonymous171]

71. "Some lady in Florida" could've also been a repug.

[suston96]

76. A Repug? You wish. She was a typical woman who spoke her well reasoned thoughts. nt

[Window]

69. Well alrighty then. K/R

:kick:




Peace:thumbsup:

[me b zola]

70. K&R

:kick:

[dogindia]

73. k&r

[Window]

74. K/R and bookmarked.

:kick:

[DemReadingDU]

77. I'm bitter and angry

and I'm in Ohio