Rove on Obama

[bluetrain]

Sorry, if this is a dupe. I know he's not our favorite person in the world and that, many question whether or not he is human at all, but it's never a bad idea to see where the enemy stands.


His inspiring rhetoric is a potent tool for energizing college students and previously uninvolved African-American voters. But his appeals are based on two aspirational pledges he is increasingly less credible in making.

Mr. Obama's call for postpartisanship looks unconvincing, when he is unable to point to a single important instance in his Senate career when he demonstrated bipartisanship. And his repeated calls to remember Dr. Martin Luther King's "fierce urgency of now" in tackling big issues falls flat as voters discover that he has not provided leadership on any major legislative battle.

Mr. Obama has not been a leader on big causes in Congress. He has been manifestly unwilling to expend his political capital on urgent issues. He has been only an observer, watching the action from a distance, thinking wry and sardonic and cynical thoughts to himself about his colleagues, mildly amused at their too-ing and fro-ing. He has held his energy and talent in reserve for the more important task of advancing his own political career, which means running for president.

MORE....

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120899654405739949.html?mod=opinion_main_commentaries

[Chipper Chat]

1. KKK-Karrrrlll

Just-a doin' his job.

[bluetrain]

2. This is important stuff, folks. These are exactly the things he's going to be slammed

with a thousand times over in the general. These are issues which will need serious rebuttals, if he's going to keep the Independent and Republican stragglers he's gained and needs to win against McCain.

[SunsetDreams]

4. They will both be slammed, it doesn't matter who, that's what Repukes do!

Those slams are baseless, and they will get their little puky hands slapped with facts on Obama's record.

No Democrat should be scared of what the "all mighty think they are important Repubs do" to either of our candidates. Remember the last 7 years, and say not this time.

I have no fear from Repubs, if you've been around long enough, you know they do this every damn election. They don't want to talk about the issues, because they fall extremely short.

It's wedge issues period...because they put up a sucky candidate, and are scared to death. The Dem party has energized it's base and then some, to put it mildly. They know they are in trouble.

Hence them already attacking Obama early. It's pathetic, they are scared to death of him.

[JoFerret]

18. While true - it is always useful to understand

the customization of the attacks.

[FrenchieCat]

5. Rove doesn't know what he is talking about........

Obama has been active on many important areas.

Are you all so fucking afraid of the republicans. That's why we can't win elections......always so scared of everything!

Judge Him by His Laws
By Charles Peters
Friday, January 4, 2008; A21

...Since most of Obama's legislation was enacted in Illinois, most of the evidence is found there -- and it has been largely ignored by the media in a kind of Washington snobbery that assumes state legislatures are not to be taken seriously. <>

Consider a bill into which Obama clearly put his heart and soul. The problem he wanted to address was that too many confessions, rather than being voluntary, were coerced -- by beating the daylights out of the accused.

Obama proposed requiring that interrogations and confessions be videotaped.
This seemed likely to stop the beatings, but the bill itself aroused immediate opposition. There were Republicans who were automatically tough on crime and Democrats who feared being thought soft on crime. There were death penalty abolitionists, some of whom worried that Obama's bill, by preventing the execution of innocents, would deprive them of their best argument. Vigorous opposition came from the police, too many of whom had become accustomed to using muscle to "solve" crimes. And the incoming governor, Rod Blagojevich, announced that he was against it.
Obama had his work cut out for him.
<>
The police tried to limit the videotaping to confessions, but Obama, knowing that the beatings were most likely to occur during questioning, fought -- successfully -- to keep interrogations included in the required videotaping.

Then he talked Blagojevich into signing the bill, making Illinois the first state to require such videotaping.
---------
Obama didn't stop there. He played a major role in passing many other bills, including the state's first earned-income tax credit to help the working poor

and the first ethics and campaign finance law in 25 years (a law a Post story said made Illinois "one of the best in the nation on campaign finance disclosure").

Obama's commitment to ethics continued in the U.S. Senate, where he co-authored the new lobbying reform law that, among its hard-to-sell provisions, requires lawmakers to disclose the names of lobbyists who "bundle" contributions for them.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/03/AR2008010303303_pf.html

Ethics and Lobbying Reform

Throughout his political career, Barack Obama has been a leader in fighting for open and honest government. During his first year as an Illinois State Senator, he helped lead the fight to pass Illinois' first ethics reform bill in 25 years. As a U.S. Senator, he has spearheaded the effort to clean up Washington in the wake of the Jack Abramoff scandal.

Senator Obama is one of the authors of the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act (S. 2180). The bill would lengthen the cooling off period to two years for lawmakers and staff who seek to become lobbyists, and it would require immediate disclosure as soon as any job negotiations begin.

The bill would open conference committee meetings to the public and require that all bills be posted on the Internet for 24 hours before they can be voted on by the Senate. Finally, the bill would end all lobbyist-funded gifts, meals, and travel and strengthen the Senate office that monitors lobbyist disclosure forms.

In addition, Senator Obama has sponsored three other ethics-related bills:

The Congressional Ethics Enforcement Commission Act (S. 2259) The bill would create an outside ethics commission to receive complaints from the public on alleged ethics violations by members of Congress, staff, and lobbyists. The commission would have the authority to investigate complaints and present public findings of fact about possible violations to the House and Senate Ethics Committee and Justice Department. By taking the initial fact finding out of the hands of members of Congress, who are often reluctant to investigate their colleagues, the bill ensures prompt and fair disposition of public complaints.

To avoid manipulation of the commission for political purposes, any person filing a complaint that they knew to be false would be subject to a fine and/or imprisonment. No complaints could be filed against a member of Congress for 30 days before a primary election and 60 days before a general election.

The bill has been widely endorsed by reform groups. According to Common Cause, "this legislation would do more to reform ethics and lobbying than any other piece of legislation introduced thus far because it goes to the heart of the problem: enforcement."

Public Citizen praised Senator Obama "for having the courage to challenge the business-as-usual environment on Capitol Hill and introduce far-reaching legislation." Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington stated: "This is the first bill that deals seriously with the lack of oversight and enforcement in the existing congressional ethics process. . . . This bill will help restore Americans' confidence in the integrity of Congress.

The Transparency and Integrity in Earmarks Act (S. 2261)
The bill would shed light on the almost 16,000 earmarks that were included in spending bills in 2005. Under the bill, all earmarks, including the name of the requestor and a justification for the earmark, would have to be disclosed 72 hours before they could be considered by the full Senate. Senators would be prohibited from advocating for an earmark if they have a financial interest in the project or earmark recipient. And, earmark recipients would have to disclose to an Office of Public Integrity the amount that they have spent on registered lobbyists and the names of those lobbyists.

The Curtailing Lobbyist Effectiveness through Advance Notification, Updates, and Posting Act (The CLEAN UP Act) (S. 2179)
The bill aims to improve public access to information about all legislation, including conference reports and appropriations legislation, in particular after hurried, end-of-session negotiations. Conference committee meetings and deliberations would have to be open to the public or televised, and conference reports would have to identify changes made to the bill from the House and Senate versions. Finally, no bill could be considered by the full Senate unless the measure has been made available to all Senators and the general public on the Internet for at least 72 hours.



Destroying Surplus and Unguarded Conventional Weapons

After visiting weapons stockpiles in Russia, Ukraine and Azerbaijan, Senators Lugar and Obama introduced S. 2566, which would expand the cooperative threat reduction concept to conventional weapons.


Sex Offenders


Senator Obama cosponsored Dru's Law (S. 792) which creates a nationwide sex offender database and requires greater monitoring of sex offenders upon their release from prison. The bill passed the Senate on July 28, 2005.

He also cosponsored the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act. This bill increases the penalties for sex crimes against children under the age of 12, and creates a national Internet site known as the National Sex Offender Public Registry. The bill will also provide grants to local law enforcement to assist in preventing and investigating sex crimes against minors.



Violence Against Women Act

Senator Obama cosponsored extension of Violence Against Women Act (S. 1197), which passed the Senate on October 4, 2005, and was signed into law. The Act provides increased funds to law enforcement to combat violence against women. It also establishes a sexual assault services program and provides grants for education programs to prevent domestic violence and encourage reporting of abuses.



The Senate Immigration Bill

Senator Obama played a key role in the crafting of the immigration reform bill that the Senate passed in May 2006. The bill, which President Bush supports, would provide more funds and technology for border security and prevent employers from skirting our laws by hiring illegal immigrants. The bill also would provide immigrants who are now contributing and responsible members of society an opportunity to remain in the country and earn citizenship. But not all illegal immigrants would be guaranteed the right to remain in the U.S. under this proposal; they would first have to pay a substantial fine and back taxes, learn English, satisfy a work requirement, and pass a criminal background check.

Senator Obama offered three amendments that were included in the Senate bill. The first amendment strengthens the requirement that a job be offered at a prevailing wage to American workers before it is offered to a guestworker. The second amendment makes it simple, but mandatory, for employers to verify that their employees are legally eligible to work in the United States. And the third amendment authorizes $3 million a year for the FBI to improve the speed and accuracy of the background checks required for immigrants seeking to become citizens.




Drinking Water Security

Senator Obama drafted an amendment, which was included in the Safe Drinking Water Act, which passed the EPW Committee on July 20, 2005. The Obama amendment would provide $37.5 million over the next five years to protect the country's drinking water from a terrorist attack. It also instructs Environmental Protection Agency and the Centers for Disease Control to develop the tools needed by drinking water systems to detect and respond to the introduction of biological, chemical, and radiological contaminants by terrorists.



Greater Funding for Veterans Health Care

As early as February 2005, Senator Obama warned of a shortfall in the VA budget. Four months later, the VA reported that in fact it had more than a $1 billion shortfall. Senator Obama cosponsored a bill that led to a $1.5 billion increase in veterans' medical care. During the debate on the Fiscal Year 2007 budget, Senator Obama cosponsored measures that would have provided additional funding increases for veterans.

In September 2006, Senator Obama introduced the Lane Evans Veterans Health and Benefits Improvement Act (S. 3988) to improve the VA’s planning process to avoid budget shortfalls in the future. The bill requires the VA and the Department of Defense to work together and share data so that we know precisely how many troops will be returning home and entering the VA system.

Homeless Veterans
Every year, 400,000 veterans across the country, including an estimated 38,000 in Chicago, spend some time living on the streets. Senator Obama has been a leader in fighting homelessness among veterans. He authored the Sheltering All Veterans Everywhere Act (SAVE Act) (S. 1180) to strengthen and expand federal homeless veteran programs that serve over 100,000 homeless veterans annually. During the debate on the Fiscal Year 2007 budget, Senator Obama passed an amendment to increase funding for homeless veterans programs by $40 million. These funds would benefit programs that provide food, clothing, mental health and substance abuse counseling, and employment and housing assistance to homeless veterans.

In June 2006, Senator Obama introduced the Homes for Heroes Act (S. 3475), which would expand access to long-term affordable housing for homeless veterans by setting aside $225 million to purchase, build or rehabilitate homes and apartments for veterans. The legislation would also greatly expand existing veterans rental assistance programs and create a new office within the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to coordinate services to homeless veterans.

Food for Recovering Soldiers

Senator Obama introduced an amendment that became law providing food services to wounded veterans receiving physical therapy or rehabilitation services at military hospitals. Previously, service members receiving physical therapy or rehabilitation services in a medical hospital for more than 90 days were required to pay for their meals.

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and TBI
Senator Obama fought a VA proposal that would have required a reexamination of all PTSD cases in which full benefits were granted. He and Senator Durbin passed an amendment that has become law preventing the VA from conducting a review of cases, without first providing Congress with a complete report regarding the implementation of such review. In November 2005, the VA announced that it was abandoning its planned review.

Senator Obama passed an amendment to ensure that all service members returning from Iraq are properly screened for Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI). TBI is being called the signature injury of the Iraq war. The blast from improvised explosive devices can jar the brain, causing bruising or permanent damage. Concussions can have huge health effects including slowed thinking, headaches, memory loss, sleep disturbance, attention and concentration deficits, and irritability.

Easing the Transition to the VA Senator Obama passed an amendment that became law requiring the Department of Defense (DOD) to report to Congress on the delayed development of an electronic medical records system compatible with the VA's electronic medical records system. DOD's delay in developing such a system has created obstacles for service members transitioning into the VA health care system.

In September 2006, Senator Obama introduced the Lane Evans Veterans Health and Benefits Improvement Act (S. 3988) which would help veterans transition from the DOD health system to the VA system by extending the window in which new veterans can get mental health care from two years to five years. The Lane Evans bill also would improve transition services for members of the National Guard and Reserves.
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/2/20/201332/807/36/458633


Global Poverty Act of 2007 (just passed out of committee)

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senators Barack Obama (D-IL), Chuck Hagel (R-NE), and Maria Cantwell (D-WA) and Congressman Adam Smith (D-WA) today hailed the Senate Foreign Relations Committee's passage of the Global Poverty Act (S.2433), which requires the President to develop and implement a comprehensive policy to cut extreme global poverty in half by 2015 through aid, trade, debt relief, and coordination with the international community, businesses and NGOs. This legislation was introduced in December. Smith and Congressman Spencer Bachus (R-AL) sponsored the House version of the bill (H.R. 1302), which passed the House last September.
http://obama.senate.gov /




Legislation would aim to cut extreme global poverty in half by 2015

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senators Barack Obama (D-IL), Chuck Hagel (R-NE), and Maria Cantwell (D-WA) and Congressman Adam Smith (D-WA) today hailed the Senate Foreign Relations Committee's passage of the Global Poverty Act (S.2433), which requires the President to develop and implement a comprehensive policy to cut extreme global poverty in half by 2015 through aid, trade, debt relief, and coordination with the international community, businesses and NGOs. This legislation was introduced in December. Smith and Congressman Spencer Bachus (R-AL) sponsored the House version of the bill (H.R. 1302), which passed the House last September.

"With billions of people living on just dollars a day around the world, global poverty remains one of the greatest challenges and tragedies the international community faces," said Senator Obama. "It must be a priority of American foreign policy to commit to eliminating extreme poverty and ensuring every child has food, shelter, and clean drinking water. As we strive to rebuild America's standing in the world, this important bill will demonstrate our promise and commitment to those in the developing world. Our commitment to the global economy must extend beyond trade agreements that are more about increasing corporate profits than about helping workers and small farmers everywhere. I commend Chairman Biden and Ranking Member Lugar for supporting this bill and moving it forward quickly."

"Poverty, hunger, and disease will be among the most serious challenges confronting the world in the 21st century," Senator Hagel said. "This legislation provides the President of the United States the framework and resources to help implement a comprehensive policy to reduce global poverty. It is the human condition that has always driven the great events of history. This is a responsibility of all citizens of the world."
http://obama.senate.gov/press/080213-obama_hagel_can_1 / ---------------------

This compliments this:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x4678548

[SunsetDreams]

7. Thanks Frenchie :)

:hi:

[bluetrain]

9. Great. They're laying out (maybe half of) their attack plan. We will need these kinds of facts at

hand 24/7 in the coming months.

[PA Democrat]

21. Thank you! Bookmarking for future reference.

[Tellurian]

26. Why don't you mark the Bills that have PASSED..

Proposals are nice, but do little good, if they've been sitting somewhere in Limbo for 2 yrs.

And what is the Status of Obama's "Ethics Reform" Bill after it Passed? How effective has it been?

[UALRBSofL]

35. Tellurian I was thinking the same thing as well

I looked over the list and marked off over half of them. However, the republicans will look at his present votes in the Ill Legislature where he voted present on 8 choice bills. Off the top of my head, a bill, can't remember the name of it, in the Ill Legislature detering violent crimes, Obama voted against. Thats just two things I can come up with I would guess the republican party will throw out in the media.

[Tellurian]

42. Obama's Legislation is as useless as this button..

The Really Big Button. Press it, it doesn't do anything!

[GoldieAZ49]

3. he hasn't "only been an observer" in the US Senate

he tried to take credit for other senators work like he did in the IL state senate, it just didn't work in Washington

[bluetrain]

6. Look, this is what the Rove camp is setting up to attack with and we'd better be ready

with SPECIFICS to disprove them on their claims.

[SunsetDreams]

8. If you pay attention there are specifics, look above your post if you haven't already learned them

[bluetrain]

10. Stop being so fucking nasty to me. I'm on the same team. I want a Democrat in

the White House next term.

At least, I think that's what we both want.

You are not bringing unity to the party. And people like you will be the reason McCain wins. Democrats need to get ready for the GOP attack machine. Obama will not get Clinton's base and will have to rely on the stray Independent and Republican voters. Rove has laid out his plan for getting them to go McCain. HOPING won't change that. We need facts to put out their fires.

[SunsetDreams]

11. I'm not being nasty, you misread my tone

I'm sorry if you misunderstood me.

[bluetrain]

12. ok

[redstate_democrat]

25. No

Senator Obama has a Direct Impact while in the IL state senate and while in Washington. You're wrong.

[Why Syzygy]

13. How big is Mr. Projection Rove's Mirror?

"wry and sardonic and cynical thoughts"

Rove?


Obama


Thanks to him for a clue into the spaghetti machine they'll be throwing at Obama in the GE.
Smugness.

[bluetrain]

14. I had the same thought as far as that section and his own projection go, but

--- well, actually, especially, given that kind of hint, I thought that maybe he's revealing more in the article than he meant to. This can only give us a leg up. I guess, unless, he's doing double think.

[Why Syzygy]

15. He has a talent for bullshit, no doubt about it.

I'm expecting the American voter to revolt against any more Rovian tactics. His track record is still fresh in our faces.
He needs to be countered, and when the time is right, I trust he will be.

[bluetrain]

16. The Rove Machine has already framed this entire primary.

The exclusion of Edwards from the conversation wasn't an accident.

[Jawja]

17. And Karl Rove's opinion on Democrats is useful

to Democrats because.......... :shrug:

[bluetrain]

30. Obtuse or just pretending?

[Tellurian]

44. Karl Rove is the architect of attack ads. Obama is a sheep ready for slaughter..

All the money in the world can't change what is! Obama has always been a do-nothing, pompous, bull-shitter!

[johnnydrama]

19. rove is a fraud

With the help of Tom Delay, he screwed the Republican party for decades.

[geiger]

20. Of course he would say these things exactly--it feeds right into the "elitism" invention

someone tripped on.

And Rove has just about as much credibility as Newt holier-than-thou Gingrich talking down about people not appreciating comments about people clinging to their bibles.

I think I know what Obama meant, and that the ordinary discerning voter does, too.

Funny how people like Rove and Gingrich and Clinton want to tell other people what they are thinking.... They just don't get it.

[bluetrain]

22. Rove has no credibility I'd wager on either side of the aisle as a human being. But this is the

beginning of his campaign against Obama as the presumptive nominee and, given how we've been dogged in the past by him, I think it'd foolish to not analyze his remarks.


Many new Obama supporters here seem to have not been on DU during his previous campaigns. He has sunken ships. We've witnessed it here -- though, I say WE and don't see too many of my former allies on this board from previous elections. This is not someone to be underestimated and his remarks should be scrutinized if Democrats want to have a full arsenal in pocket when the real attacks begin.

[geiger]

23. I don't think it was foolish to call him out on his remarks at all. He needs to be called on it

EVERY TIME. None of it should be taken lightly. He'll be holding court even in his prison cell when he gets there.

[bluetrain]

24. You seem to be missing my point, but I appreciate our shared disdain of the man.

[geiger]

32. what, the part about Hillary? She needs to be called on it, too. eom.

[bluetrain]

34. That's not specifically what I was reacting to but, now that you bring it up, I think this

divisiveness is suicidal to the party's prospects in the GE. She's a Democrat. And she has about 50% of the Democratic vote. Half of her supporters have declared they won't vote for OHB in the GE. Many people here have expressed that they are so turned off by the vitriol spewed at her by Obama supporters that they won't vote for him under any conditions. Rove lays it out here quite plainly that they plan to erode Obama's support from straggling Republicans and Independents and will likely steal if not just dissuade from the polls most of her base, too. Tossing invectives at Clinton, at this point, does not win a Democratic White House next term; it insures a John McCain win. Now is the time to try to repair those burned bridges, not further fuel the fires of destruction.

[geiger]

41. then she needs to quit tossing them at Obama; he's been forced into responding

due to the poisonous vitriolics you point out.

[Doctor_J]

27. Bring it on, you spotty, nelly traitor

The attacks the GOP wages on Barack during the GE campaign will be alot more crass than this high-brow shit. There will be a lot more utterance of "madrassa" and "Hussein" and "barack the magic negro" than of dilletente.

BTW, you fat coward. Enjoy prison after you're convicted of about 10 counts of treason and other high crimes.

[bluetrain]

33. Personally, misogynistic/homophobic insults like "nelly" sound much more GOP to me

than anything anyone resembling a real Democrat would utter. Leave the gay bashing and the woman hating to them; they're much better at it and have built their base around it. Democrats, on the other hand, take pride in respecting gays, women and all minority groups. There are plenty of things to find fault with Karl Rove about without resorting to social hate-mongering.

[ErinBerin84]

28. Rove is such a dork

Did anyone see Verdict with Dan Abrams last Monday, where Abrams when talking about how Rove was passing out his five page angry letter about Dan Abrams covering the Alabama governor story to various media outlets? I always forget that Rove is a commenter on Fox news. What a joke!

[TexasLady]

29. When the entire opposition starts complaining, attacking, etc.

this early on..you know you backed the right horse.
Rove, you and * are going to go down in history as one sourpuss weinernosed potato head, in fourth grade classes everywhere. :rofl:

[Armstead]

31. All the more reason to end the primary and Hillary's attacks on Obama

[UALRBSofL]

36. This is where your wrong

The whole point to the article was to show Obama is not as electable as Hillary.

[Doctor_J]

37. That seems to be the only argument the Hillarians use

Those who wish for Obama to be the nominee point out that Ms. Clinton has engaged in lying, mud-slinging, and hate mongering, has endorsed Bush clone McSame for president over Obama, has voted for war, wants to obliterate Iran, is getting endorsements from traitors like Rush Limbaugh, Rupert Murdoch and Richard Mellon Scaife (who tortured and harrassed her and her husband for 8 years), and has the highest negatives of any candidate in recent memory.

Those who think Hillary should be the nominee seem to have one card to play - "He's unelectable".

Let's see how electable Hil is when the aforementioned media turns on her and the 10 million young people who are excited by Obama stay home because of her sleazy, negative, pessimistic primary campaign.

[Armstead]

38. not electable accoding to Rove....If Hillary were in the lead, he would say she is unelectable

The GOP is playing a game of Chicken.

"Don't nominate this guy because we'll kill him."

If Hillary takes the lead it'll be

"Don't nominate her because we'll kill her.."

if some other candidate were to appear, it'd be

"Don't nominate him/her, because...."


In otehr words, if you listen to Rive and the rest of the GOP machine, what they're really saying is:

DON'T NOMINATE ANYBODY BECAUSE WE WILL KILL ANYONE YOU PUT UP.

[olkaz]

39. Bring it on, loser. We have Axelrod.

The scales have been balanced.

[Buzz Clik]

40. Another unbiased opinion from the latest criminal to work at Faux News.

Bite me, Karl.

[anonymous171]

43. I didn't know Karl was telepathic.

[Seabiscuit]

45. Rove is already throwing out his level of attack for Obama ...I hope his campaign is ready for it. n