Senator Barack Obama’s advisors had a major brainfart and apparently forgot what party they're supposedly members of with their latest stunt. Not only are they highlighting his failure to gain the support of the labor unions (the backbone and workhorses of our party), but now he’s using that failure in his latest funding appeal to his supporters.
The "if you don't support Obama you're the enemy" meme started when Paul Krugman for daring to criticize his half-assed health care reform plan has expanded and metastasized. Opposition research, twisted and misquoted words... it's starting to look CREEPy in the Obama campaign (joke for you old-timers and Watergate aficionados).
And now this? Obama's campaign is attacking labor unions, teachers and EMILY’S LIST. They back the "wrong candidate" and are working to help get their chosen Democrat elected, and he goes on the attack with a backhanded slur against the core of the Democratic Party.
What is wrong with Obama? There's a serious disconnect between his view of the party and our longstanding "big tent" approach to a coalition.
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Both Hillary & Edwards have managed to attract the support of labor unions representing millions of working Americans. When you add up the number of endorsements Hillary’s gotten over the last year, those unions represent some six million workers. That’s saying something regarding her record and her plans to further the cause of American workers.
I am AFSCME. We are the face and heart of the Democratic Party. During the Florida recount, AFSCME was a major supporter- and a major component- of the demonstrators. Here's what we look like:
But now, in the sour grapes that comes from being rejected by the major unions, Obama is saying that those unions are the bad guys – that they represent everything that’s wrong with our country.
Of course, I’m sure he wasn’t saying all this when he was courting their endorsement over the last 8 months or so. But Obama's known for changing his mind, it seems.
Mark Halprin posted the following memo from the Obama camp earlier today – take a look:
"Right now groups supporting Hillary Clinton and John Edwards are flooding Iowa and the other early states with millions of dollars in paid ads, phone calls, and mailings. Some of it is negative and even deceptive, and a lot of it is paid for by huge, unregulated contributions from special interests. Taking on these groups isn't just a matter of setting the record straight about me or my positions. It's about proving that a new kind of campaign - funded by ordinary people who want something better for all of us - can defeat the same tired, old political textbook that so many Americans just don't trust anymore."
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...and Halperin includes the following data...
So who is Obama talking about? Here is the most up-to-date independent expenditure information in Iowa.
For Hillary Clinton
AFSCME: $907,177.24
AFT: $635,822.19
Emily's List: $297,806.69
Total: $1,840,426.12
For John Edwards
Working for Working Americans/Carpenter s: $516,216.51
Alliance for a New America (SEIU): $760,801.00
Total: $1,277,017.51
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(emphasis mine)
He goes on to beg for donations, calling Emily’s List, teachers unions, carpenters, SEIU and AFSCME "Special Interests", like they’re something evil and dirty or working to undo what we’ve accomplished in the area of worker’s rights, social justice, and other areas over the years.
Obama wants to be the party's standard-bearer in next year’s general election, and he not only failed to garner the support of these stalwart Democratic allies, but he’s attacking them in an effort to generate campaign contributions.
This, on top of Obama's attacks on and distortions regarding Paul Krugman’s opinion of the healthcare reform plans out there, makes me begin to wonder how closely aligned Obama really is with the Democratic Party and progressive values. It's one thing to try to win a primary, but it shouldn't be at the cost of abandoning what the Democratic Party stands for.
I am AFSCME. I am not a "special interest". I stand with the party. Where does Obama stand?