Unethical Obama Behavior in Indiana!!!

[anigbrowl]

Get this shit!
CROWN POINT | Gary officials said they were busing in hundreds of high schools students to vote in advance of the May 6 primary as a learning experience.

Hammond Mayor Thomas McDermott Jr., a supporter of Democratic presidential candidate U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton denounced it Wednesday as a shameless political power play.

"To me it seems like an orchestrated effort on behalf of the Obama campaign to take kids who should be in school learning to read and write, instead giving them a day off and telling them to vote for Obama.
<...>

McDermott, whose city hosted Hillary Clinton's March 28 visit to the region, disagrees. "These kids come from the worse performing schools in the state of Indiana and we are giving them a day off to go vote for Obama. The can vote on election day like everybody else."
<...>

Washington said Lew Wallace students have been bused to Crown Point to vote for three years now. "The entire board thought this was a great idea. We told (Dr. Mary Steele-Agee) to make sure all the high school seniors are able to go out and vote.

http://www.thetimesonline.com/articles/2008/04/24/news/top_news/docfd54d825008dfa8586257435000a6c51.txt
(North West Indiana times, not the UK newspaper). Please read the full article before commenting, or I will laugh at your factual inaccuracies: ha ha ha!

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

1. screw you. democracy is the most impt thing these kids could learn.

[LSparkle]

3. Really! I know they've tried to eliminate "Civics" from lessons but ...

This is a good move back in the right direction.

I had "Civics" class when I was in high school, learning about
voting, the Constitution, even how to fill in a tax form. About
time kids got this kind of education!

[anigbrowl]

25. Kindly redirect your 'screw you' to the mayor, not me!

I like the animated Obama commercial BTW, but you have (or it has) the wrong apostrophe in front of the 08.

[dionysus]

58. plz note the OP's sig line

[DemVet]

70. Yeah...

..to hell with them...let them work at Walmart.

[SoCalDem]

2. So Hillary's name is not on the ballot?

Kewl!!!

[blogslut]

4. High School kids need to learn to read and write?

Now, that's funny. :rofl:

[Orangepeel]

5. 18 year old kids don't know how to read and write already?

Jeeze. They really need President Obama to fix the mess caused by NCLB (and maybe give some of them hope for a better future)

By the way:

"Washington said Lew Wallace students have been bused to Crown Point to vote for three years now. "The entire board thought this was a great idea. We told (Dr. Mary Steele-Agee) to make sure all the high school seniors are able to go out and vote."

Thanks for posting that clip.

[Tesha]

17. Yeah, but *THIS YEAR*, they're likely to vote for Obama.

Ergo, it *MUST* be a scandal.

I'm starting to believe there is *NO STRAW* at which the
Hillary folks won't grab and try to form into a scandal.
Sad, really sad. They are very damaged people.

Tesha

[MaineDem]

6. If they've been doing this for 3 years how is it an Obama ploy?

Good grief!

I love teaching kids about the process. This is a great thing.

[Boz]

65. SPOT ON, THIS NEEDS TO BE LOUDER TO GET THROUGH TO REALITY, THEY HAVE BEEN DOING THIS FOR 3 YEARS

This has nothing to do with Obama, and they can vote for Hillary.

[k8conant]

7. "learning to read and write"? McDermott, they're high school students,

and you're obviously a Clinton supporter if you're trying to play Hammond off against Gary.

[MH1]

21. Funny how she assumes they'll all vote for Obama

isn't it?

There are so many things wrong with that article it's hard to know where to begin.

[BearSquirrel2]

46. Not all ...

Not all. But ...

a) This community is primarily black.
b) It's secondarily hispanic.
c) All of these are young people.

This is probably one of the most favorable demographics the Obama camp could hope to find. Having said that, they've been doing this field trip for years. So there is no scandal here. If McDermott continues to make a big deal out of this, he will have trouble in his own re-election bid.

In general most of the local mayors have come out for Hillary. They'd better hope she wins. Because they will be facing some heat from a heavily Obama supporting area fairly soon.

[Name removed]

8. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[monmouth]

9. I think it's a wonderful and educational benefit for these kids. Gobama..n/t

[Indenturedebtor]

10. OMG NOES

The kids are going to be allowed to vote! And innercity kids getting a fieldtrip to learn something and participate in Democracy! WHAT A DISASTER!

Maybe they'll even learn something and develop a sense of civic pride. Who knows.. they may even vote in the GE. That would be awful.

[SemiCharmedQuark]

11. They've been doing this for three years now. Obviously he thinks they'll all vote for Obama.

Otherwise he'd probably be driving the bus himself.

[SemiCharmedQuark]

12. Speaking of learning to read and write, Mayor...

"To me it seems like an orchestrated effort on behalf of the Obama campaign to take kids who should be in school learning to read and write, instead giving them a day off and telling them to vote for Obama."

This sentence structure sucks.

[gcomeau]

13. Unbelievable stupidity....

...and I'm referring to your topic title, in case that's unclear.

"Washington said Lew Wallace students have been bused to Crown Point to vote for three years now."

Oh yes, that nasty unethical Obama who has nothing to do with this happening since they've been doing it since long before this campaign! How dare he... ummm.. have young people choose to vote for him! THIS IS OUTRAGEOUS!

Go. Away.

[anigbrowl]

43. Why do you think I was careful to quote that part about 3 years?

I picked an outrageous headline to get people to look at the story - deal with it.

[Adelante]

14. Yes, let's discourage the student vote

Again. :(

[thunder rising]

15. Just like Billary to spin this into an Obama effort ... when it's been going on for 3 years

Washington said Lew Wallace students have been bused to Crown Point to vote for three years now. "The entire board thought this was a great idea. We told (Dr. Mary Steele-Agee) to make sure all the high school seniors are able to go out and vote.

[ChimpersMcSmirkers]

16. It's unethical to encourage kids to vote now? wow, just when you think you've seen it all. n/t

[azmouse]

18. ...

[BalancedGoat]

19. Great idea.

Gary School Board Trustee Darren Washington said, "This is a very adequate and educational field trip to go see the voting process and have time to actually vote. It is a learning process for government economics, which is a mandatory requirement to graduate."

Couldn't agree more.

The only problem I could see with this is if the teachers were telling them who to vote for. I highly doubt that that is happening.

[bhikkhu]

20. Saw the heading - I thought he might have asked for Orange Juice again!

[benddem]

22. since this appears to havebeen approved by the school board

and has been done for the past 3 years...how is this unethical behavior by Obama? Was he running in IN 3 years ago...is he on the school board? You really need to get your facts straight!

[anigbrowl]

32. I am satirising the mayor with my subject line. I don't believe in those sarcasm tags.

[Orangepeel]

39. well, given a lot of the shit posted, you might want to rethink that anti sarcasm tag policy

unless you don't mind the flames! :D

[anigbrowl]

41. You know, when I post unambiguous sober analsyes, they sink fast

They get a few 'uhuhs' and recs from those who like sober, unsensational arguments, but controversy gets attention. I figure it's a way to use media tactics for Obama without actually misinforming people on the substantive issues.

[RaleighNCDUer]

55. That's the whole secret plan -

They've been bussing the kids in to vote for Obama for three years, now - no WAY Hillary can overcome that kind of lead time!

[SemiCharmedQuark]

23. That's "shit" alright.

[thunder rising]

24. Hammond Mayor Thomas McDermott Jr. welcome to the elite rank of MORON!

[anigbrowl]

33. I hope all the HS seniors in his town remember his remarks when he's next up for election.

Somehow I suspect he'll have a problem picking up the youth vote on his next run for office.

[Bensthename]

26. 18 year ols should be learning to read and write.. Not learning poitics and the importance of voting

[karynnj]

27. Maybe he should take the Hammond seniors to Crown Point as well

... except I suspect they will vote for Obama as well.

This is not an Obama effort - it is a Gary school system program that is not even new.

[ZombieHorde]

28. What does Obama have to do with this?

Or was this just a hit and run topic?

[rateyes]

29. I agree with LaSota:

"LaSota said they wouldn't turn away potential voters of any age. Fajman said, 'Students don't have time before school opens on election day to vote and they have extracurricular activities at the school. I think it's a good idea.'"

[DAGDA56]

30. What? No laughing at all these factual inaccuracies?

I am so dissappointed...:eyes:

[rateyes]

31. YOU will laugh at factual inaccuracies??????

How about the factual inaccuracy in your damned subject line?

:rofl:

[anigbrowl]

38. See The Daily Show for an extended explanation.

[rateyes]

72. The sarcasm smilie is there for you to use for a reason. nt

[bowens43]

34. OMG does the stupidity of clinton supports have no limit?

[dionysus]

59. arghhhh, read the OP sig line, and the article.....

[JBoy]

35. Nowhere do I see the Obama campaign involved in this

other than in the minds of the Clinton campaign. I'm sure they wouldn't mind if the city were busing seniors on life support to the polls, even though it might fucking kill them.

Seriously, the Clinton campaign needs to go take a collective flying fuck on this.

[PA Democrat]

36. How is Obama's behavior unethical? Was he driving the bus?

How was anyone in that school district behaving unethically? Unless Mr. McDermitt has PROOF that the kids were instructed to vote for Obama, there's nothing unethical here. Also, I think a lot of high school kids would ignore any adult who told them how to vote.

[anigbrowl]

40. I bet he was controlling it with mind rays

Mayor Hammond, of course, is immune to Obama's sneaky wiles.

[goletian]

37. HILLARYS FANATICS ARE SO FUCKIN SHAMELESS

its ridiculous. you not only dont want our youth to learn about voting, youre slamming obama for somethin thats been goin on for 3 years! wow.

what the hell are you doin in the dem underground?

[emilyg]

48. You need to retake spelling.

[dionysus]

56. and you need to take a course on ethics...

[goletian]

57. you mean punctuation and capitalization... nice try, pea brain.

there were no misspellings in my post. lol, i love it when the mentally deficient try to point and laugh. it makes my day.

[DemVet]

73. You really do...

...need help with spelling if you think there were no misspellings in your original post.

[BearSquirrel2]

51. Here's hoping ...

Here's hoping that Hillary is as stupid as McDermott and she makes a big issue out of this!!!

[anigbrowl]

53. I think you need to read my post more closely

especially the signature.

[dionysus]

61. THE OP IS AN OBAMA SUPPRTER, read the article....

[BearSquirrel2]

42. Did you read the article???

You're going to laugh at our inaccuracies. Did you read how long Gary schools have been doing this???

This is not some "selective" system of busing black students to vote. This is the third year for this program and it's approved by the school board, not by the Obama campaign. I'm sure the Hammond School Board is free to take the same field trip. But if they did, most of the kids would be voting for O'Bama.

[anigbrowl]

45. Of course I read the article

Why do you think I encouraged everyone else to read it closely, and quoted the part about it happening for 3 years?

[silverweb]

Unethical?

Let's see:
(1) The early voting by registered, eligible voters is legal.
(2) Campaign workers often and routinely provide transportation, babysitting, etc.
(3) Young, first-time voters should be encouraged and given practical lessons in civics.

(4) The creativity of the Obama campaign burns the hell out of the Clinton crowd. They're mad they didn't think of this first, so they have to find a way to scream "foul" before they try pulling off a poor imitation.

(5) If the Clinton campaign had engaged in a similar partnering with a school district first, supporters would call it a stroke of genius -- but they couldn't do it anyway because they're too broke to afford leasing the buses.


Check and mate.
My overall reaction to the Clinton campaign... :nopity:

[anigbrowl]

49. Read it again - it's the school district who takes the kids to the polls, not even the campaign!

I can't think of a better civics lesson than taking a group of HS seniors to vote for the first time...that field trip is worth 100 classroom lectures on the subject. I'm sure most of them will remember that day for their whole lives.

[silverweb]

62. So what?

The "Gary officials" from the school district are doing it and have been doing it for three years.

Obviously, nobody minded before.

Now, suddenly, because the mayor is a Clinton supporter and the schools involved are "the worst performing" (aka "minority"), suddenly it's unethical?

You say you believe in civics lessons and that makes your screams of "unethical" about Obama even more ridiculous! So just what is your point?

[question everything]

44. Well, if it worked in Iowa

that is, busing students from Illinois who were supposedly students in Iowa. Not that anyone chekced whether these students voted twice, in Iowa and in Illinois.

[SemiCharmedQuark]

47. Did you even read the article? This is not the Obama campaign. The school board has been

doing this for three years already.

[anigbrowl]

50. I laugh in your general direction: ha ha ha!

[Bigleaf]

52. Good article. Thanks anigbrowl. It seems a lot of people read the article but not your disclaimer.

[Dbdmjs1022]

54. How is this a problem again?

It's encouraging young kids to go out and vote. And they can damn well vote for Hillary if they want too. God Clintonistas are really stretching for "scandals."

[OzarkDem]

60. He did this in Iowa, too

Poor Obama feels he has to cheat to make an impression.

I DON'T TRUST HIM. PERIOD.

He's one of those people who do or say anything and step on anyone to promote himself.

[BalancedGoat]

64. Did you read the article?

First of all, there is nothing to link this to the Obama campaign. Second of all, the school has been doing this for a few years now.

[Missouri Girl]

69. Is it cheating for the Clinton Campaign

To bus senior citizens from nursing homes to the polls or provide absentee ballots?

No. That is democracy at it's very very best.

We have one of the most apathetic populations when it comes to voting. My generation and the one behind mine have been horrible about exercising our rights when it comes to voting. I am all for it. Let's get these kids excited and let's get them in the practice of voting.

[quakerboy]

63. Clinton supporters wish to supress voting

How dare they try to assure that a Student(just those who have already registered, mind you, as per article paragraph 8) be allowed to vote. Next they will be insisting that just any citizen who can legally vote should be able to. Why, next thing you know we will be forcing Wallmart to let its greeters have a few hours off on election days too. And what would that lead to? The Horror is too great to comprehend.

Anyway, their schools have crappy grades, so these Registered Voters don't deserve to be allowed to vote. Only good kids get civil rights, dont'cha know.


A much better title for your OP would be "Voter suppression from Clinton in Indiana"

[Coexist]

66. Go vote, kids! Civics in action!

History is being made - your kids will read about this!

[LTR]

67. Geez, where do I start with this shit?

First off, why is this 'unethical Obama behavior?' Nowhere in the article does it say his campaign has anything to do with this, aside from McDermott's wild eyed theories.

Second, where is the harm in encouraging some civic pride in such a 'poorly performing school district?' Is McDermott just trying to keep them down? And what's wrong with an educational field trip? Especially since it's obvious the kids aren't doing anything in school anyway. sounds to me like this could actually garner some much-needed enthusiasm.

Third, what the hell is McDermott doing to help these schools, besides playing political games?

Finally, will the city of Hammond be pissed off enough to vote this assclown out of office? Seems he's way out of touch with reality.

[GetTheRightVote]

68. Wow, for 3 years now they have been learning all about our system of govt

that is some progressive thinking in that state, great job citizens.

[CreekDog]

71. There's no Obama behavior described in this article

what gives with your title? :shrug: