Monday, April 4, 2011

Talking Points for Obamabots

Now that thousands of you have already signed up for Obama '12 and are champing at the bit to work those phones a year and a half before Election Day, here's a script I just unearthed to help you connect one-on-one with the undecided folks in the heartland. If they tell you they won't be voting for Obama, here's what you say:

If you don’t support Barack, you’re enabling the Tea Party
People who criticize the president are racists.
He was a left a mess by Bush and he's doing his best to clean it up.  He’s been trying to drive the car out of the ditch. He has to deal with circumstances beyond his control, every minute of every day.  Give him a break. He’s only been president for 26 months and we’ve had 200 years of bad governance.
Lily Ledbetter, Lily Ledbetter, Lily Ledbetter.
If you don’t support Obama, then Sarah Palin/Newt Gingrich/Michele Bachmann will become president and the world will end.  Is that what you really want?
He was solely responsible for the repeal of DADT. He inspired the Egyptian Revolution. He had to give tax breaks to the rich to save the middle class down the road. Because of him, we will all, someday, have the privilege of buying private health insurance.
He is the only grownup in the room. Everybody else is a child. 
A third party candidate or primary challenger will just be a spoiler.
He is playing three dimensional chess, so give him the benefit of the doubt. You should trust him because he has a higher IQ. than you do.
He has to pander to the corporations now, so he can become the true progressive he wants to be during his second term.  He has to pretend to love Wall Street because without their money he couldn't get re-elected.  That's how politics works.  Can I put you down for $25?
Some people just don't appreciate nuance. 
Pragmatism is the greatest virtue ever invented.
He’s the only thing standing  in the way of a total fascist takeover of the Supreme Court.

Have I left anything out?


21 comments:

Janet Camp said...

I am just waiting for them to call me to volunteer again. I held my nose and phone banked for the mid terms to try to keep Scott Walker, Ron Johnson and the other T Partiers out of office. Now I just have a sore nose from excessive pinching.

I will not volunteer or give one dime. I MAY vote just to see what he really would do with a second term, but it hardly matters anymore.

The GE logo says it all.

Marie Burns said...

"Was so." *

Constant Weader

* Reply to a birther.

John said...

Karen,

You're going to get audited. You know that, right?

You....are fabulous.

Anonymous said...

I am really at a loss as to what to do. I really do not want to vote for Obama. I feel he has totally betrayed his base - people like me - and has pretty much picked up where Bush left off on so many issues. He did not have to give away the public option before it was on the table nor is anyone twisting his arm to make the appointments he has made. He CHOSE Geithner. Just seeing what has gone on in Maine and Wisconsin shows me that Republicans can be even worse than I believe they can be - yet to give Obama a free ride just because the alternative is worse doesn't seem right - or democratic - I don't know. I keep hoping the Tea Party/Libertarians throw out a candidate that will drain from the Republicans so that I can vote for a progressive candidate without feeling like I am throwing my vote to the Republicans. What to do? I certainly won't work for Obama - but I hate the idea of even voting for the man.

Valerie Long Tweedie
Adelaide, Australia

Anonymous said...

The Donald for President! Trump Obama in 2012!


Richard

WBarnett said...

I'm not voting for him. The Tea Baggers will get what they deserve, (I am moving my retirement money to Canada in about 18 months). Vote Green. This should be interesting.

James F Traynor said...

No Karen, you didn't leave anything out. And Valerie Long Tweedie, maybe you won't have to vote for Obama. There's still an outside chance we can get rid of him in a primary. But we'll have to get out into the streets to do it. And I'm not stupid (I'm a Mensan), delusional maybe - after all, I did vote for Obama. I think Obama senses this (the restiveness of his base, that is) , and that's one of the reasons, I think, he's started the campaign early. He's one clever dude.

Anne Lavoie said...

If no one primaries Obama, I am going to vote in the Republican primary and help them pick their candidate. Jon Huntsman or Ron Paul are my picks.
Not that elections matter, of course.

annenigma

John said...

"Some people just don't appreciate nuance" is one of the funniest things I've ever read. I just about fell out of my chair.

Hoover Boo said...

That he's so nimble he got in bed with GE, Goldman Sachs, etc., before they had time to change the sheets?

Bush's Third Term. You know you wanted it.

Dezo said...

Bush was a men of integrity compared to this sorry excuse for a " president' Obama .
He delivered. He served his voters well. Wars . tax cuts for the rich, free looting for corporations , banks etc.

What we have gotten from Obama ?
An Obama sandwich. A middle finger between two promises.

Kate Madison said...

Yeah, you did leave out my mantra--which is shallow and lame, but the only thing that makes sense to me:
"Vote for Obama as the lesser of two evils."

Oh, here's another one:
"Voting for Ralph Nader (or a 3rd party) is a vote for the Republicans."

And lastly:
"Do you really want Michelle Bachmann as Secretary of State?"

Anonymous said...

And Huckabee for Secretary of Religious Orthodoxy, Palin for Secretary of Education, Rand Paul for Secretary of the Treasury, Walker for Secretary of Labor, Trump for Secretary of Defense, Cheney for Attorney General, Rick Scott for Secretary of Health, John Yoo for SCOTUS...
No trouble filling that cabinet. I'm with you, Kate.

Haley Simon

Anonymous said...

Wise man say:

"If you voted for Obama in 2008 to prove you're not a racist, you'll have to vote for someone else in 2012 to prove you're not an idiot."

Anonymous said...

Look at what the Republicans do when they actually are voted into office, e.g. WISCONSIN, Maine, Ohio, etc etc. They are SOCIOPATHS. They get 50.0001% of the vote from 40% of the registered voters, and they act like they were elected emperor.

At least, I believe, Obama is not a sociopath. But I will not go door-to-door for him as I did in 2008 (the first time I have ever done that.) But a Republican president with Republican/Tea Party Congress is just too frightening to contemplate.

Anonymous said...

And if you are resigned, or mad, enough and figure, well, they'll get the government they deserve. Don't forget that you are also part of that equation...

Haley

Anne Lavoie said...

Here's a reason to support Obama's re-election. Or not. The Chamber of Commerce is praising him as 'maturing as President'.

James Logan said...

"At least, I believe, Obama is not a sociopath. But I will not go door-to-door for him as I did in 2008 (the first time I have ever done that.) But a Republican president with Republican/Tea Party Congress is just too frightening to contemplate."

You see the apathy you're enabling with you're off base assertions. This person is keenly aware that the problems are Republicans...they also seem to think that calling them assholes will get them to back away from their extremist principles. Obviously this person has forgotten that Obama has to WORK with them.

The key is not getting Republicans to change their minds, its getting the public to change out Republicans. This person should be feeling that they have to work OVERTIME knocking on doors...instead a post like this one lets them feel justified that Obama is the Problem and not the electorate themselves, crying and whining but not doing anything about it.

Its your choice America. You can either use the system as it was intended or not...but, you can't disown the system, and say it doesn't work, when you haven't been using it. The system is MORE than just voting, its communications...and there are 309million people in America WAAAYYY more than there are corporations.

If you think their gonna give up when they have their boots on your throat, just because you say "I quit"...you're sadly mistaken.

But we can all talk about it on the soup line then, right?

The people who need a spine are the American electorate, NOT President Obama. Give him the Congress he needs, THEN mitch and boan about things not getting done...

James Logan said...

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/26/education/26njbudget.html?hp

Perfect example...I wonder how many parents decided they just 'didn't have the time to knock door to door...but when kindergarten got cut in some cities, well...EVERYONE was at the town hall cussing and complaining. Of course, by THEN it was too late! The cuts were set in stone...nothing they could do about it.

Bet they wished they'd have participated in the system then.


Being single isn't an excuse, and being a parent isn't an excuse. Being Pregnant isn't an excuse. Smoking weed isn't an excuse.
Unless you can't walk and are physically ill, there is NO reason NOT to get out and stump for candidates. Staying home las November to 'show Obama who's boss', you only stubbed your toe, and threatened the LIVES of millions of Unemployed(remember, holding Unemployment benefits hostage unless Bush tax cuts were extended?)

WTF is wrong with you America? Its clear as day to me, and I smoke pot all day, seriously WTF is the problem?

WAKE THE HELL UP ALREADY, STOP LIVING IN A FANTASY WORLD OF 'HOW IT SHOULD BE'. This is how it is...if you stay home, or only vote and don't talk to your neighbors or stump for Democratic candidates, then you only have YOU to blame. Not Obama. Not Biden. YOU.

The GOP told you what it would do, and you decided you had a choice and were going to not do anything. Then, you wonder why these things happen?

Get it in gear folks.

Kate Madison said...

I think there is a BIG difference in voting for Obama for president because he is "the lesser of two weevils" and going out on the stump for him! I will never do that again. My vote is enough. And as I have said before, it is all about the Supremes. Otherwise, I really would not give a shit.

I am glad Karen Garcia and Marie Burns are both describing the elephant in the room. We need more, not less, of that. I am holding back ONLY because of my fear that we will get another Scalia, Thomas, Roberts or Alito on the Supremes if a Republican is elected. Period.

Anonymous said...

I am more of a libertarian then a right or a left on any political issue. Really I don't care how anyone cuts the political pie the government has left the people out to dry for a long time now. It's amazing to me that the country sustained itself with little taxation to the public at large until 1913 the 16th Amendment that's over 135 years. The country had fared very well considering only major companies were the main sources of taxation until that time. Then of course came WW1 & WW2 and these did requires funds and American lives to save literally in my opinion the world. I'm grateful everyday to those people who gave their lives in those wars. These were some of the most expensive wars in history and in good cause, saving the world from tyranny is a great cause. Unfortunately it cost a pretty penny these two wars alone cost more money then the country had spent in all of it's history combined. The national debt was 2,912,499,269.16 in 1914. At the end of World War 2 in 1945 the national debt was 258,682,187,409.93. That's alot O'money if you adjust for inflation it's amazing we made it this far, but still let's not forget everyone was getting taxed all of these years too. Everyone was getting taxed from the end of WW2 onward also. If the government was being responsible they would have started working on a reasonable method to start paying these debts off as soon as the war was resolved. Did it happen? Of-course not. Yes as time continued onward there was Vietnam war, Cuban missile crisis, Desert Storm and all these things cost lots of money. But there is such a thing as down time or time periods where we were not at war. These were times we should have been negotiating ways to pay off our nation's debts instead of negotiating ways to borrow more funds from our foreign allies, which is pretty much all that happened in those peace times. As the current financial situation is in the United States we are all completely screwed no matter how things are handled. The national debt today stands at 14,288,455,000,000.00 and growing by the second. This doesn't count for the fact that several trillion of these dollars includes U.S. treasury bonds that holds a growing interest rate that will continue to grow until it is paid back to the lending countries. There are also several tens of trillions more dollars that will be indebted to current citizens in Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security as their needs and ages are met. Unless the government and most likely citizens included all starts to do all their jobs 100% without pay and all proceeds go to start paying off the country's debts it will never be paid off. The sad part is that we the people have all lived within our means and if we didn't we paid the price by being kicked out of our homes onto the streets but not the government or the banks. If and when they fail to be responsible and who pays the bill AMERICAN TAX PAYERS! It won't matter at this point if everyone was taxed at 100% for several years the debt is immeasurably beyond our control and the current and past leaders of this nation are to blame.