Obama Most Liberal Senator 2007

[Mr.Wizard]

The Link

National Journal rates Obama the single "most liberal" member of the Senate last year, spotlighting some policy differences, as well writing GOP attack ad if he's the nominee, but perhaps also a helpful note in consolidating support on the left now

 

[bozo_casanova]

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[Super]

Good. I for one have had some concerns about his liberal pedigree...

 

[softlynow]

This is another plus for getting the nomination. A liberal who doesn't scare the living **** outta the other side.

The Dems who might fear this attack thinking back to it used to bludgeon Kerry might remember 2 things: president's don't lose reelection in times of war (and Kerry still was pretty darn close to knocking W off), and your nominee was freakin' John Kerry.

The "too liberal/conservative" schtick is about the base. Unless Obama's personal magnetism and oratorical dynamism suddenly vanish, he'll be much more than OK with the group that matters: independents.

Maybe this will help the Pub GOTV a bit, but if this is supposed to be an argument for HRC over BO . . . ROTFLMAO.

 

[Ag with kids]

Rush said it was McCain....

 

[Mr.Wizard]

Rush got skull stomped because McCain has the juice.

He seriously thought his listeners would sway the Florida voting.

He has no relevance.

 

[pevodog]

I really don't know much about Obama.But, I can say that there is alot of resistence to politicians that want to give free stuff to people that are too lazy or irresponsible to take care of themselves.

 

[bozo_casanova]

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[Horn6721]

BC
You posted: "Free stuff? You mean like a baseball stadium in Arlington?
How completely and utterly silly. I guess you forgot the voters of Arlington voted an TAX Increase to help pay for that ballpark.

Do people who receive entitlements( housing, meals, food stamps, clothing and med care) vote for themselves to pay a tax for the entitlements they receive?

ah but maybe you meant the voters in Arlington voted FREELY to tax themselves
. yes that must be it

 

[washparkhorn]

From the FAQ at the National Journal on the ranking:

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[bozo_casanova]

Horn6721,

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[washparkhorn]

So, according to that ranking, Obama is more liberal than Bernie Sanders, who is a self-described socialist?

Democrats better start pulling for Romney to win the Republican nomination.

Back to the politics of division.

 

[triplehorn]

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[pevodog]

Don't worry if them dem's don't call him out on ideology and positions in the primaries , the RNC will hold him accountable in October and early November.

There is a reason that northern liberals have gotten smoked in prez elections for the last few decades.

 

[Michtex]

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[washparkhorn]

Triple - you know damn well if the McCain was just ranked as the MOST conservative U.S. Senate you would self-implode.


Good thing McCain wasn't part of the rankings (he missed too many votes). He would have probably fallen somewhere in between Hillary and Obama.

 

[triplehorn]

As Michtex just pointed out, John "there will be more wars" McCain's undoing will be the absurd degree of his pro-war stance. In his world, he's still fighting Viet Nam.

Yes, John "make it a hundred years" McCain's appeal to militaristic nutjobs has essentially sealed his fate in the general - even against Hillary, imo, because of his extremely out of touch war hawk mentality on Iraq and islamofascism that lacks any credible hope for diplomacy.


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[PigBellmont]

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[washparkhorn]

So you would self-implode even if McCain isn't the most conservative Senator?

Back to the subject everyone - how does Obama handle this bit of news? We knew coming into today that the news made today would be the most important news going into Super Tuesday. We had the piece on Clinton (President) in the NYT (front page). We have this news from the National Journal. Both pieces will be fodder tonight for what should be an interesting debate.

But if you are Obama's campaign manager and you are thinking about the nomination and the general election, what do you say about this ranking? The Kerry rebuttal (the ranking is ridiculous) didn't work, but Kerry is a far different candidate that Obama. Do you say "if voting for kids makes me liberal, the dammit I am liberal and you should be too on this issue?"

And how does Hillary use this ranking? Does she use it as a shield against his charges that she is divisive ("Obama says I am divisive, but his positions are more extreme than the only socialist in the Senate")? Or does she use it as a sword ("Obama, like John Kerry was when given this ranking, is unelectable, which means we will have 4 more years of the same policies")?

I am interested in what you would say if you were a campaign adviser to either?

 

[TexasGolf]

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[Super]

wash - it won't get much play at all, Hillary can't wield it credibly, his message makes this kind of stuff seem trivial and petty (as opposed to someone like Kerry).

He can wear it with honor and I still don't think it'll hurt him in November. Dude's whole gig is making it cool to be a liberal again.

One of the things about the GOP debates that is so tragicomic is their continual dick-measuring on who is a "true conservative". Like anyone who matters gives a **** about such things anymore.

 

[4realhorn]

Its amazing to me how effectively conservatives have stigmatized the word liberal over the past 30 years or so. The Democrats apparently didn't put up much of a defense. Power makes you week. It's analogous to how CNN just stood by while Fox continued to attack everything relating to their network until every attack became true and CNN fell by the wayside.

 

[Michtex]

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[stabone]

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[SDhorn]

On the bills in which they differed, it will be very helpful for Obama in the Primary especially with anti-war Dems and Hispanics.

Following are the bills upon which they differed:

Hillary voted against an ethics and lobbying reform bill amendment to establish a Senate Office of Public Integrity to handle ethics complaints against senators. (January 18, Vote No. 18)

Hillary voted against an immigration bill amendment, co-sponsored by Obama, to remove a rule requiring temporary workers to go back to their countries in between two-year job stints in the United States. (June 6, Vote No. 189)
Hillary voted for a student aid bill amendment to provide immunity from discrimination lawsuits to people who report suspicious activity potentially related to terrorism. (July 19, Vote No. 261)

Hillary voted for a fiscal 2008 Defense authorization bill amendment expressing the sense of the Senate that the Iranian revolutionary guard should be designated a terrorist organization. (September 26, Vote No. 349)

The last one has already been discussed in several debates with candidates such as Edwards and Dodd criticising Clinton suggesting that the bill was a step towards invading Iran.