So Who's Shillin For Who in Ohio?
As both the Clinton campaign and the Obama campaign start operations in Ohio today, staffers with an eye to the Ohio blogosphere have undoubtedly have asked themselves, "Ok, of all these rabble rousers, who's on my side."
Far be it from me to say definitively who's on what side of the fence. But sure, I've got some guesses.
BuckeyeStateBlog: Mixed (Strong Obama Tilt)
Jerid, admin.: Obama
2010Buckeye: Undeclared
DrTruth: Obama
Modernesquire: Undeclared (despite my contentions he's for Hill-dog)
Tim Russo: Obama
WritesLikeSheTalks: Clinton (guess)
While Jill will kill me for asserting she's on Team Hillary, but politics is about your gut, right? I think her passionate involvement with the White House Project and Gender Issues makes the Clinton ID a no-brainer. Since both Obama and Hillary are largely (but not entirely) similar substantively, Iequality issues might win out with Jill here. But who knows...
Plunderbund: Obama
Eric: Obama
Joe: ???
Brian: ???
PsychobillyDemocrat: Obama
Just take one look at the upper right hand corner. See the Obama logo? Have anymore questions on who the 'Billy supports? Keep rockin' it, brotha'!
Blue Ohioan: Clinton
Susan has taken over BlueOhioan while Anthony runs Rosemary Palmer's race in the 11th Congressional District. Susan's a solid Clinton supporter, articulated through direct statements "[Obama] isn't ready for the job yet."
Ohio Valley Politics: Obama
David caucused for Obama during Ohio's Pre-Primary caucuses. That makes him a solid Obama lock.
Ohio Daily Blog: ???? (former Edwards)
Jeff Coryell was elected a Edwards delegate during the 11th Congressional District Pre-Primary caucuses in Ohio. However, his leaning now is unknown.
Into My Own: ????
I can't find anything on Ohio Dave's page which shows which way he's leaning. Dave's down in southwest Ohio near Montgomery County and the Third Congressional District.
Dispassionate Liberal: Mixed (fickle, oh so fickle)
That's it for now. May review some more later.Mark Adams was one of the folks involved early with the Edwards campaign. On Friday he came out for Hillary. But then just as quickly hedged his bets and said why he liked Obama so much. Clue to Mark - it's time to jump on the Hope Train.
Here's the post - it's at the end:
"I was an Edwards supporter, but on March 4th I plan to vote for Barack Obama."
I want a new democrat party too, Obama at the top of the party would open the door to a whole bunch of new people, with new ideas, and new energy that this party needs.
For too long now the democrat leadership have seemed content to squeak by but without a mandate to change anything. That's the same thing as losing, as we have seen, and sometimes it's just plain old fashioned losing.
Hillary is saying that she represents "change" too because her election would be such a change from the Bush years, but geez, can we maybe set the standard a little bit higher than "different than Bush"?! We need a lot more change than that!
Hillary is better than Bush, but what kind of coattails will she have for the Congress? Can she even beat McCain, or are we in for yet another 50/50 debacle? (yes.)
Obama is such a breath of fresh air. He inspires, that is the basis of leadership. He will bring independents and the disgruntled, traditional republicans too. In other words, our friends and neighbors can get behind this movement~ without all the confrontational rhetoric, these people feel welcome in the Obama tent.
Hillary is very gifted in the intellect, and I believe her heart is in the right place, but she has to step out into her own. Her great bummer in life is that she's in love with a shithead. He'll bring all the same old drama right back into the WH.
basta ya.
Hillary is very gifted in the intellect, and I believe her heart is in the right place, but she has to step out into her own. Her great bummer in life is that she's in love with a shithead. He'll bring all the same old drama right back into the WH.
Although I agree with your overall line of reasoning I have to call you out on this part.
Are you aware that Hillary was a Republican back in her college days? She and Bill are BOTH representative of the conservative wing of the Democratic party.
And don't even get me started on the drama aspect. I never bought her appearances of upset and outrage over Bill's infidelities. I don't think she gives a hoot. My guess is that they're both a little kink-ay.
I don't have a problem with that concept, but please don't try to make Bill out to be the only "shithead" in that partnership.
What party Hillary was in college makes no difference to me, lots of us used to think a dfferent way when we were younger, ask Sen Byrd! and being a republican doesn't make a person a shithead. I use that word deliberately, Bill isn't a shithead because of any "conservative" leanings~ he is wrong because of those leanings in my opinion; he may be corrupt, he may be a liar, but he is specifically a "shithead" for so many other reasons.
And plenty of very good people, honest, patriotic, kind people, who are our neighbors, coworkers, family members, and friends, are Republicans~ I feel we will all do better if we open our minds to the possibility that we can talk to each other with respect and convince our neighbors with compassion :-)
Obama '08 It's just the way it is, Hillary, I'm sorry :-)
Ok Jean, I tried to cover all the bases because I wasn't certain from where your "shithead" comment was coming; and quite frankly, I'm still not sure.
I'll be voting for Obama if for no other reason than I'm tired of the names Bush and Clinton. When did this doofus country become a two-family dynasty? hehe
Regarding compassionate persuasion of my neighbors, I no longer have the patience. I still display political markers, including at my home, on my vehicle and in my place of business, but those signs are not meant to persuade anybody of anything. They are intended as motivators for folks who are already sitting on my side of the fence.
Just a couple weeks ago I was sitting at the counter of a donut shop in the western burbs with a bunch of middle-aged coffee-snorters typical of such a setting. Everybody was talking politics, if you want to call it that, when the guy sitting next to me proclaimed, "Obama is a Muslim!"
By the time I was done with this idiot he stormed out of the shop in a huff, much to the amusement of myself and the others sitting there, although nobody else had the brains or fortitude to set him straight except myself. I wasn't trying to convince him of anything except his innate wrongness.
My compassion is reserved to non-human animals these days. People simply aren't worth it.
Your anecdote about the donut shop illustrates the difference between the way things are and the way they can be~ so that guy is ignorant? What makes you or anyone else worthy to judge? He said something stupid, I'm confident that he is not alone... The bottom line is that we've tried it the other way, the way of confrontation, ridicule and disrespect. It hasn't worked well for us, and poisons the whole pond, in a matter of speaking.
And Bill is a "shithead" because he says annoyingly, insultingly stupid things.
"If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion."--The Dalai Lama
The Dalai Lama also considers himself a hereditary king appointed by heaven to a land that subjected the bulk of its citizenry to feudal domination and brutal punishments before intervention by China. This is a simple fact regardless of one's opinion about the Chinese occupation of Tibet.
Although I can respect a person's sincere expressions of belief and longing, I am forced through experience and observation to conclude that there are people with superior judgment and intellect, and those who are so obviously lacking need to defer to that superiority, or at least not express their stupidities in donut shops or the voting booth.
I have superior knowledge to you regarding China, Tibet, Buddhism, the Dalai Lama, feudalism, oppression, history and philosophy. but you don't see me throwing that in your face in a donut shop!
Of course I share this information with you compassionately, with hope that you will see that there is always someone smarter than you, and hopefully those people will treat you with respect anyhow.
Seriously, if you didn't even know who the Dalai Lama was and read that quote, it still makes sense. Practicing compassion is a selfish act, the twist is in recognizing yourself in others.
Have a lovely day, try to see the bright side of life.
there is always someone smarter than you
No doubt about it. In some cases the ratio is one-in-20 and in others it's.. well... everybody. The key is having enough energy flowing to the bulb to recognize when you're in over your head. When it comes to politics, policy, diplomacy and common decency, Americans are a dim group indeed.
Have a lovely day, try to see the bright side of life.Ugh. Whatever you say, lady. Why don't I go back to de Sade instead?
I have come across many obama supporters and they act hateful. We need to remember that WE ARE ALL AMERICANS AND WE ARE ON THE SAME SIDE. If any obama supporters were ever in trouble and I could help them, I would without hesitation. We may disagree on who is best to run our country, but we are all Americans.
While obama has been campaigning, just let me say that Arnold Schwarzenegger asked the Clinton's for their help to get the flagging economy in California out of debt. Hillary and Bill met with him and gave him some good ideas. The clintons are going from state to state to try and figure out how best to help out those states as well. She is already acting like a Commander in Chief. while Obama calls Kenya, worried about their problems, Hillary is fighting for the economy of our nation in every state!! Plus, Obama has said out his own mouth, that he has gone to Hillary asking for her advice many times. And she has always given it to him. He talks about Hillary being some of the old establishment, well, Ted Kennedy is the oldest and uses pork tax dollars.
MAntoin "Tony" Rezko, an entrepreneur who made a fortune in pizza parlors, Chinese restaurants and real estate, goes on trial next month on federal charges of extortion, influence peddling and conspiracy. There is no suggestion that Obama is involved in any of the alleged criminal activity. But the upcoming trial -- and details of Obama's relationship with its central figure -- could cast a shadow over his carefully cultivated image at a critical time.
In recent weeks, including during the debate, Obama sought to minimize the nature of that relationship. Lost and is backing obama. You want to know who someone is, look at their backers. During his speech Tuesday night, Obama pushed this negative attack on Hillary: "It's a choice between a candidate who's taken more money from Washington lobbyists than either Republican in this race and a campaign that has not taken a dime of their money."But.....Sen. Obama's comments came on the same week Public Citizen released a report detailing ten bundlers for Sen. Obama who have registered as federal lobbyists.It also came at the same time that his former fundraising chairman and the man Obama called his "political Godfather", Antoin "Tony" Rezko, is about to be tried on federal charges of fraud involving bribery and political corruption.In this campaign Sen. Obama has also taken money from former lobbyists, partners of lobbyists, people who hire lobbyists, lobbyists' spouses, children of lobbyists and of course...any state lobbyists that wants to bundle up a million or so is very welcome to.These are the facts, according to the Campaign Finance Institute: http://www.cfinst.org/pr/prRelease"Obama, whose campaign claims to have almost 500,000 donors in 2007, raised 54% of his $97.2 million from $1,000 and over donations (mostly in $2300 checks)." (Less than a third, only 32%, of his money in 2007 came from $200 or less contributions.)
Like the Roman figure of Janus, Obama seems quite comfortable talking out of both sides of his two faces.
But anyone who has been paying attention to the facts and not just the fluff of the Obama campaign already knows this.
An Asterisk To Obama's Policy On DonationsA presidential hopefuls refusal of lobbyist money has its limitsBy Dan Morgan, LA Times Staff Writerhttp://www.caclean.org/problem/latimes_2 007-04-22Until he started running for president, Sen. Obama took money from federal lobbyists and, as a state senator, directly from corporations. (Which is LEGAL in Illinois politics!)Obama attained the lofty mark (of leading in Presidential fundraising) even as he decried the fundraising system. In his Internet appeals for small donations, Obama played up populist themes of reform."It may sound strange for a presidential candidate to launch a fundraising drive that isn't about dollars. But our democracy shouldn't be about money, and it's time our campaigns weren't either," he said in one such pitch."We're not going to play that game," the e-mail said."Obama said in his first-quarter financial report that he received money from 104,000 donors, twice as many as Clinton, suggesting a disproportionate number of small contributions. But the Campaign Finance Institute said Obama still received 68% of his money from donations of $1,000 or more...Rules for lobbyistsLobbyists generally are paid by corporations, unions and other interest groups to shape public policy by making regular contact with government officials. They must register with both houses of Congress, and make public disclosures identifying their clients and the amounts they are paid.Some of the most influential players, lawyers and consultants among them, skirt disclosure requirements by merely advising clients and associates who do actual lobbying, and avoiding regular contact with policymakers. Obama's ban does not cover such individuals.For example, partners from the Atlanta-based law firm Alston & Bird donated $33,000 to Obama in the first 90 days of 2007.Alston & Bird has a large lobbying division in Washington. It billed its clients nearly $3.9 million in 2006, ranking 35th among Washington lobbyists. Alston boasts on its website that it offers clients "unique experience with how policy is made" and knows "the people who make it: government and agency officials; members of Congress and their staff."Obama kept $2,300 donated by Alston's Tom Daschle, the former Senate Democratic leader (and general chairman of the Obama for President campaign). Daschle, located in Washington, is neither a lawyer nor a lobbyist. He is a consultant.According to Alston's website, Daschle advises "clients on issues related to all aspects of public policy with a particular emphasis on issues related to financial services, health care, energy, telecommunications and taxes."Daschle did not return phone calls. (Note: Daschle's wife is the head lobbyist for the Airline Industry, she was behind the Congressional airline bailout after 9/11, and has been reported to be amongst the highest paid lobbyists in town)
The Obama campaign makes a very big issue of not taking money directly from "federal lobbyists"....but he's happy to take money directly from their clients! In the first quarter of 2007 alone, Obama took in a combined $170,000 from executives from Goldman Sachs and Citigroup, two financial giants that have numerous issues pending in Washington and spent a total of $4.6 million on lobbying in 2006.But wait...There's More!Nuke Em! Power provider's largessObama's biggest single source of corporate money, over $160,000, came from executives at Exelon Corp., the nation's largest nuclear power provider, and its subsidiary, Commonwealth Edison, an Illinois utility. This includes checks from lobbyists John P. Novak and James Monk. In Springfield, Novak represents Exelon., and Monk is president of the Illinois Energy Assn., a trade group that represents Commonwealth Electric.http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articl es/2007/08/09/pacs_and_lobbyists_aided_obama's_rise/
From the Boston Globe:
But behind Obama's campaign rhetoric about taking on special interests lies a more complicated truth. A Globe review of Obama's campaign finance records shows that he collected hundreds of thousands of dollars from lobbyists and PACs as a state legislator in Illinois, a US senator, and a presidential aspirant.In Obama's eight years in the Illinois Senate, from 1996 to 2004, almost two-thirds of the money he raised for his campaigns -- $296,000 of $461,000 -- came from PACs, corporate contributions, or unions, according to Illinois Board of Elections records. He tapped financial services firms, real estate developers, healthcare providers, oil companies, and many other corporate interests, the records show.Obama's US Senate campaign committee, starting with his successful run in 2004, had collected over $1.5 million from PACs and lobbyists, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, a nonprofit organization that tracks money in politics.
In Roman mythology, Janus was the god of gates, doors and doorways. What's always on the inside of the doorways in both the State Capital in Springfield and the US Capital in Washington? Plenty of lobbies and lobbyists. Lets look at some of Obama's...
Bundlers for Barack Obama Who Have Registered as Federal LobbyistsFrom Public Citizen - 1/29/08http://www.citizen.org/documents/Lobbyis tsFinal.pdfFrank Clark
IL
Commonwealth Edisonwww.exeloncorp.com/ExelonInternet/Templates/Standard PageCommonwealth Edison is a subsidiary of Exelon, the nuclear energy company to whom Barack Obama is beholden. Clark is Commonwealth Edison's chief legislative strategist. Clark is also a Board member of Aetna, a health insurance company.Scott Harris
DC
Harris Wiltshire and Granniswww.harriswiltshire.com/whowea
obama will loose to McCain
People who don't know the difference between lose and loose are morons.
I think everyone at Plunderbund is rooting for Obama. Maybe not as strongly as Eric - but still solidly standing on the side of Barack.
As a good friend of mine who works for the IMF says, "Anybody who votes Republican in this day and age is either stupid, insane or evil." I think that theory could easily be extended to the GOP legislators themselves. Just look at how they vote in lockstep with W.
I'll be voting for Obama primarily because I sense that he will be able to accomplish more than that other one.
lasurfgrl wrote:
“Obama made a comment about Congress. He said on t.v. That if Congress said no to something and he disagreed that he would do it anyway. Who does that sound like? Bush.”
Oh come on! Puh-leez! You are actually comparing Obama to Bush?! Not even close. Not a chance. But – on this same note – you’re all over the map here. Do you think Obama’s heart is in the right place? Is he a democrat with liberal values? If so, then do we need someone tenacious as President (like Hillary would probably also be, BTW) that would take on this lame Congress (that they are both part of, BTW) that either stands with Bush on many issues, or is too weak willed and/or politically vulnerable/nervous to do anything about it? Yes, I think we do.
lasurfgrl wrote:
“I have come across many obama supporters and they act hateful. (sic)”
Are you serious? I have also run into many Obama supporters and they are like the nicest people I’ve ever met. I could hardly believe it. Where do you live? Maybe you’ve been going to Obama rallies in the wrong side of town where EVERYONE is an a**hole, because that just doesn’t sound right. Wait… I actually saw an Obama supporter help an old lady across the street… and when she got to the other side, a Clinton supporter smacked her in the face with a Clinton sign. I think she was worried that the old lady was going to vote for a Black man.
Lasurfgrl seems really nervous at the thought of Barack Obama becoming president. This is the kind of paranoia that, deep down, has other motivations I think. There are a few possibilities there: (1) really, really, really wants Clinton to win – not a bad thing – I wouldn’t mind having either Clinton or Obama as President; (2) really, really, really wants to have a woman become President – not a bad idea – I like the idea of breaking gender and racial barriers – I wouldn’t mind having either Clinton or Obama as President; (3) really, really, really doesn’t want an African American to become President – doesn’t trust their possible ties to their heritage.
Okay… Obama has ties to Kenya. His grandmother lives there. It has been in the news recently, and anyone can investigate this, that there were riots there due to a dispute over election results. Obama was concerned for that country and his family, so he contacted Condoleezza Rice, and they worked together so he could broadcast a message to the Kenyan people, urging them to not riot; a plea for peace. What’s the big deal? Sounds Presidential to me. I’m surprised this didn’t get more press for him on how he IS aware of world events and has diplomatic skills, and works on the international scene. But then, I guess, it could get taken to the extreme, in the anti-Obama direction, a la: “he was registered as a Muslim at as a kid (sic)”…“tells me he is planning on getting into a war with Africa”… “makes me wonder where his loyalties are”... that kind of stuff.
BTW: does lasurfgrl, and other Americans like her, think Obama is the only Black person in our country with ties to Africa? Have these people ever heard the term “African American”? Have you ever known a family with the last name Mayer or Koch that was proud of their German heritage… or O’Reilly or Brennan who were proud to associate with Ireland and things Irish? His grandmother is Kenyan and still lives in Africa, and he loves her. That sounds kind of nice, to me. Do you hate your grandmother? Would you let her die in a riot, just because she’s a “foreigner”?
Dear LA Surf Girl,
Happy Valentines Day!
I really hope that whoever gets the Democratic Nomination can beat John McCain. You will vote for Clinton, and I will vote for Obama. If either of our candidates becomes President, we will be better off than we are today. That is what I believe, any way.
I think, with the power and influence of the Clinton name, and her many connections, she will likely win. I believe that, even at this moment, as Obama pulls ahead with pledged delegates. Her supporters, like you, are eager for her to win. She is hungry and wants it, and has a well oiled machine behind her. She also has the strength of her convictions, is generally a good person, and she knows how to present herself and her ideas to the people.
I am sick and tired of dangerous Republicans, with bad ideas, that sound patriotic at the podium, hawkish on paper, who send our soldiers and marines to fight and die in wars that actually make us less safe and more hated around the world - while stealing our freedoms at home. The Founding Fathers must have been turning in their graves for seven long years.
I believe it is time for change.
Best of luck to both of us.
With Kindest Regards,
Jack
"GoBama '08!"