Barack’s New Campaign Slogan (UPDATED: More Change You Can’t Believe)
By Larry Johnson on June 19, 2008 at 6:54 PM in Current Affairs
Out with the old, in with the new. I am referring of course to Barack’s slogan, “Change we can Believe in.” That’s so old hat. Time for a new, spiffy update–Don’t Believe too Sincerely, I Am Going to Change Change? You Can’t Believe Nothing I Say.
Remember Barack’s staunch stand in opposition to NAFTA? Well, as his economic advisor--Austan Goolsbee–informed the Canadians, Barack did not really mean it.
Now, surprise and shock!! Barack has reversed his position on campaign financing. Way back in January 2007, Barack told Larry King:
OBAMA: I’m A Big Believer In Public Financing” And “The Presidential Public Financing System
Works.” KING: “Senator Clinton, by the way, has decided to reject public financing for her campaign. Are you going to do the same?”
OBAMA: “Well, you know, this is something that, obviously, we are going to have to take a careful look at. I’m a big believer in public financing of campaigns. And I think that for a time, the presidential public financing system works.” (CNN’s “Larry King Live,” 1/24/07)
But that’s not all he said. Barack and his team insisted they were not your “normal” politician. He insisted he would have a new way of doing business. But hey, guess what? Turns out Barack is the kind of guy who will tell you anything to get your vote. Just check out these additional quotes:
FEBRUARY 2007: Barack Obama Co-Sponsors Legislation To Keep Current Public Funding System Relevant. “Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) added his name to legislation overhauling the public financing of presidential elections this week, earning him plaudits from watchdog groups. … Democracy 21 President Fred Wertheimer yesterday urged Obama’s presidential rivals to follow his lead and cosponsor this session’s bill from Sen. Russ Feingold (D-Wis.). It would raise significantly the spending cap for candidates accepting public funds during their White House campaigns in an effort to keep the system relevant.” (Elana Schor, “Obama Co-Signs Bill To Publicly Fund Campaigns,” The Hill, 2/16/07)
MARCH 2007: Obama Spokesman Bill Burton Said Barack Obama “Will Aggressively Pursue An Agreement” On Public Financing. BURTON: “If Senator Obama is the nominee, he will aggressively pursue an agreement with the Republican nominee to preserve a publicly financed general election.” (Jim Kuhnhenn, “Federal Regulators Rule Candidates Can Return Donations For General Election,” The Associated Press, 3/1/07)
NOVEMBER 2007: In Response To A Midwest Democracy Network Questionnaire, Barack Obama Said He Would Accept Public Funding In The General Election. Question: “If you are nominated for President in 2008 and your major opponents agree to forgo private funding in the general election campaign, will you participate in the presidential public financing system?” Obama: “Yes. I have been a long-time advocate for public financing of campaigns combined with free television and radio time as a way to reduce the influence of moneyed special interests.” (Sen. Barack Obama, “Presidential Candidate Questionnaire,” Midwest Democracy Network, www.commoncause.org, 11/27/07)
· Barack Obama Even Referred To His Plan As A “Fundraising Pledge” For His Opponents To Accept. Obama: “In February 2007, I proposed a novel way to preserve the strength of the public financing system in the 2008 election. My proposal followed announcements by some presidential candidates that they would forgo public financing so they could raise unlimited funds in the general election. The Federal Election Commission ruled the proposal legal, and Senator John McCain (R-AZ) has already pledged to accept this fundraising pledge.” (Sen. Barack Obama, “Presidential Candidate Questionnaire,” Midwest Democracy Network, www.commoncause.org, 11/27/07)
FEBRUARY 2008: Barack Obama Writes An Op-Ed In USA Today Stating That He Would “Aggressively Pursue” An Agreement With The Republican Nominee Guaranteeing “A Publicly Funded General Election In 2008 With Real Spending Limits.” “In 2007, shortly after I became a candidate for president, I asked the Federal Election Commission to clear any regulatory obstacles to a publicly funded general election in 2008 with real spending limits. The commission did that. But this cannot happen without the agreement of the parties’ eventual nominees. As I have said, I will aggressively pursue such an agreement if I am my party’s nominee. I do not expect that a workable, effective agreement will be reached overnight. The campaign-finance laws are complex, and filled with loopholes that can render meaningless any agreement that is not solidly constructed. … I propose a meaningful agreement in good faith that results in real spen ding limits. The candidates will have to commit to discouraging cheating by their supporters; to refusing fundraising help to outside groups; and to limiting their own parties to legal forms of involvement. And the agreement may have to address the amounts that Senator McCain, the presumptive nominee of his party, will spend for the general election while the Democratic primary contest continues. In l996, an agreement on spending limits was reached by Sen. John Kerry and Gov. William Weld in their Massachusetts Senate contest. They agreed to limits on overall and personal spending and on a mechanism to account for outside spending. The agreement did not accomplish all these candidates hoped, but they believe that it made a substantial difference in controlling outside groups as well as their own spending. We can have such an agreement this year, and it could hold up. I am committed to seeking such an agreement if that commitment is matched by Senator McCain. When the time co mes, we will talk and our commitment will be tested. I will pass that test, and I hope that the Republican nominee passes his.” (Barack Obama, Op-Ed, “Opposing View: Both Sides Must Agree,” USA Today, 2/20/08)
Time to wake up boys and girls. Obama is just another, pathetic (so says his wife) politician eager to bamboozle most Americans. The only thing he believes in with certainty is himself. Otherwise, you’re on your own buddy.
UPDATE: Oh yeah, remember Barack’s claim from December 2007 that, “in all the years he’s known Rezko, I’ve never done any favors for him.” Well, scratch that one too. According to the Chicago Sun Times:
As a state senator, Barack Obama wrote letters to city and state officials supporting his political patron Tony Rezko’s successful bid to get more than $14 million from taxpayers to build apartments for senior citizens.
The deal included $855,000 in development fees for Rezko and his partner, Allison S. Davis, Obama’s former boss, according to records from the project, which was four blocks outside Obama’s state Senate district.
The deal included $855,000 in development fees for Rezko and his partner, Allison S. Davis, Obama’s former boss, according to records from the project, which was four blocks outside Obama’s state Senate district.
For a skinny guy, Barack sure has a lot of bullshit in him.
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