Sick of negative campaign ads?
Think there might be a better way to spend $30 million a week between now and November 4, especially in view of our nation's financial crisis?
You'll appreciate an idea presented by CNN's Campbell Brown.
Take a look.
Tell me what you think.
23 comments:
Great idea and personally sick of those negative ads. The current negative ads may be backfiring some, but previously when McCain ran the Paris Hilton type negative attacks on Obama, McCain's numbers spiked upward. What does that say about us? Hard to be harsh on the candidates' tactics if they work.
It would be nice if there were some other way to show who Obama really is. The fact that his mentor in high school was communist Frank Marshall Davis, his close association with convicted felon Tony Rezko, his sitting in church for 20 years with anti-American, black liberationist Jeremiah Wright and said he didn't know his views of America, lying about his association with radical terrorist Bill Ayers, trained in community organizing by the likes of the writings of Marxist Saul Alinsky,(Rules for Radicals) who I believe has trained the staff of CDM. The list is endless.
There's a scene in the movie Dave where the "fake" president "finds" the money in the federal budget to save a homeless shelter. It is a great scene, and reminds us that there really is money all around us.
By the way, Obama actually ordered dinner with his own credit card for a couple without money for food: "Today Obama Quietly Bought Food for a Widow and a Disabled Roofer in Need." One of his workers was going door-to-door, heard their story, and called Senator Obama to ask him to talk to them. Soon after, dinner was delivered, and the restaurant stated that Mr. Obama had called personally, ordered dinner, and paid for it with his credit card.
(Read about it at:
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/10/18/20635/849)
Chris, that is the real Obama!
(Randy Mayeux
Dallas)
Chris, for the record, Alinsky died in 1972. And, no, there has been no "training" in his principles.
That said, Alinsky understood the nature of unregulated capitalism and its affect on the powerless and the poor.
It seems, after reading you across several years now, that you don't understand much about those dynamics.
Organizing to do better as communities is the essence of democracy--whether we are speaking of crime watch efforts, PTAs in the inner city, labor unions, trade and neighborhood associations, etc. People who don't understand how capital shapes and channels power, often very, very unfairly, always resort to red herring analysis like your tendency to lump everything like this under your favorite "Marxist" umbrella. Such judgment may make you feel better, but it is so far off target compared to what community organizing is really about in a place like Dallas, Texas that it is comical.
Here we are simply trying to stand up for fairness when it comes to funding and community priorities.
If you haven't noticed, our system always seems to find the funds needed for whatever serves those already in possession of many, many resources and the power and influence that goes along with wealth. We ran into just such a situation here last week in the city's economic development strategies and funding priorities.
We are facing it today in our public schools. Wall Street gets hundreds of billions in "rescue" dollars and our schools have to lay off 500+ teachers and double up our children's classroom sizes because of accounting errors--no one thinks of rescuing our children.
Oh, and did I mention that over 90% of DISD students are eligible for free and reduced lunches at school? Poor kids vs. Wall Street tycoons. Who do you think wins that one?
Thanks for posting, Chris. But, you know, I think we'll keep organizing here in Dallas.
Chris, Alinsky died well before the advent of CDM. It is clear that you are simply regurgitating GOP talking points. This does not impress or sway the rest of us.
Once again, you fail to address the blog entry. Once again, you have attempted a McCarthy-esque smear against the good name of CDM. So I'll ask you a question worthy of your tactics: "Have you no sense of decency, sir, at long last?"
It is time for you to leave. Keep to yourself from now on. Do not post messages on this blog. Do not trouble us with your rantings. Instead, let your evil consume you alone; don't tempt us to sin by your wickedness.
Jeff W
Chris,
There more than 18 million people looked at everything you have listed and decided that they wanted him to be the Democratic nominee for president.
The Democratic Party looked at everything you said and still nominated him.
The majority of delegates in the democratic party looked at everything you said and decided not to vote for him
We don't know how many people have looked at everything you've said and have sent him hundreds of millions of dollars for his campaign.
Ultimately, all that you have is a lot of twisted, six degrees of seperation crock (that we could legitimately play with McCain/Palin by the way).
Here's what to do about everything you know about Obama: don't vote for him!
Quote from Gerald Britt, Vice
President of Public Policy and Community Program Development of CDM.
"This, by the way, was the same training that Barack Obama received. Ed Chamber, who succeeded Saul Alinsky and Erme Cortez were the two who trained him and they also trained me."
Sept. 7, 2008 (www.changethewind.org)
SO Obama "quietly" bought food for a widow and disabled roofer in need", but some how it was released to the press? Come on, we are not that stupid or naive. So it just happened to be a roofer and not a plumber... can you imagine the story if it had been a disabled plumber. If this was for the right purpose, Obama would have bought the dinner and kept quiet about it and told his handlers not to tell anyone. Everything done in politics is for a reason. Whatever!
I quietly donated money to CDM and no one ever knew about it. Not even my handlers. What do you suppose is the difference between me and Obama? I don't want or need everyone to know about my act. Calculated and planned?
Larry, it is clear why Ms. Brown's idea will never get traction. With all of the people who respond to and support negativity and hate, no candidate in their right political mind would dare let go of negative ads as a technique! Really sad, huh?
Randy, I bet you have more back story on the incident you report. . .I bet Obama didn't leak the story at all. . .but, you'll never be able to convince people who hate him of this.
Oh, and BTW, Joe the Plumber doesn't make $250,000 a year and Obama's tax plan will cost him less than McCain's, but who is really counting here, right?
Paul Jennings
Chris,
Your response to Rev. Britt's comment only goes to show how selective and fraudulent your arguments are.
Why didn't you quote some of the rest of what he said on his blog from that day?
"What was the result of this work? The area in which we advocated for mortgage subsidy is now undergoing a significant redevelopment the cost of which far outstrips the initial funding requests. And the 50 vacant lots which now have homes on them are now tax producing entities.
Not only were we able to pilot the after school programs, but eventually this led to after school programs in nearly every elementary school in Dallas. And the school district eventually adopted our concept of parent academies to teach parents what parents have to do to understand what's happening in their school and get their children on a path to college.
In job training, a joint study by the county judge and the mayor recommended the type of jobs driven, jobs training program that our program initiated. A program, by the way, that was designed in partnership with a professor at the University of Texas and an advisory board that was made up of our members and chaired by the Roger Enrico, at that time head of Pepsico. The program placed 200 unemployed and underemployed in living wage jobs.
When our county hospital board of managers was threatening to severely curtail indigent health care by scapegoating undocumented immigrants as the cause of its budget shortfall, our organization got involved and showed that it really wasn't the undocumented immigrants, but our more affluent counties who had no county hospital and whose citizens, were coming to Parkland and not paying. Along with that, we got the board of managers, who held their meetings in the afternoons, when working citizens could not attend, to have an evening session in the community to listen to how their plans for budget cuts would impact their families."
Jeffery W. had it right. Why don't you go read the right wing blogs that reflect your narrow point of view.
The link about the story is from DailyKos which is a large consortium of everyday people who blog. The mainstream media probably had no idea of Obama's good deed. But DK is such a large community that almost anything that happens can become news on there. Someone who either received the meal from Obama or was there in the restaurant probably spread the news. When you're someone who's well known, every little thing you do gets talked about, regardless of how much you try to conceal it. And with the invention of that series of tubes called the internet, news travels fast. I think it's absurd to try to claim Obama's leaking something like this to try and pad his image. Information travels fast.
Unfortunately, our society has an information glut. We're bombarded with news, which makes us poor consumers of it. Hence the reason negative attacks work. No one has the time to go research attack ads for themselves, so they resort to trusting these sources on everything they write.
Chris:
I bet in your world Obama had on an "Arab" turban and was alternately reading the Koran and Mao's little red book while he sat in Wright's church for over 20 years. Come on! I'm on the fence about who to vote for, but this kind of &#%@ inclines me to vote for him just to spite viscious fear mongers like you. I am normally all for a free and open debate, but with you I would make an exception and agree with others posting here: just ... stop.
The same can be said of the left leaning commentors that harass right leaning blogs. Please folks, don't think this doesn't happen to the other side too.
A good rule of thumb amongst those with political passions might be to "talk among yourselves".
Chris is out of line here with his or her constant bickering, but just remember she isn't the only one who corrupts otherwise reasonable conversations. It comes from the left too. Why am I not leaving my name? Because of don't want people to link to my blog and begin aggravating me.
Lizzie,
I was responding to Larry who said there had been no training in his principles. The comments of Mr. Britt shows that not to be the case.
Alinsky founded the Industrial Areas Foundation Training Institute, referred to as the "Alinsky School" which was the training ground for many important community and labor organizers.
Although Obama did not study directly at the "Alinsky School," he was influenced enough by Alinsky to write a chapter in a book called "After Alinsky; Community Organizing in Illinois." Also Hillary Clinton was influenced by him since she wrote her senior thesis at Wellesley College on his tactics. The thesis "There is Only the Fight"... An Analysis of the Alinsky model was surpressed from 1993-2001.
Alinsky wrote several books, among them:
1. Rukes for Radicals
2. A Practical Primer for Realistic Radicals
3. A Role Model for Left-Wing Satanists
After Alinsky died in 1972, he was succeeded by Ed Chambers. A Texan,
Ernesto Cortes (Cortez?) was also an important part of the training of organizers. Apparently these two were important in the training of Obama and also Gerald Britt, the latter from his own admission.
After Alinsky the Industrial Area Foundation expanded to work with organized religion--making faith based organizations the center of the whole program.
Chris, I didn't say that Gerald had not been trained in the principles of Alinsky. You implied that our whole organization had been. You entire approach is so extreme as to be absurd. Alinsky made a huge contribution to poor communities by inspiring confidence and the will to struggle for better lives, communities and systems. We have supported the IAF organization here in Dallas because it has done great work in the areas of public safety, education, employement training, child care and other community improvement issues. All very "radical" endeavors to you, I am sure. Like I said, we'll keep organizing and we'll stop and read a little Alinsky aslong the way for good measure! BTW--have you ever read anything the man wrote?
One way to get rid of those who post undesirable comments that are off topic is to NOT RESPOND to the post.
Ignore them and stay on topic. They will go away when they stop getting the satisfaction they desire from your reactions.
Chris,
Egads! You mean Obama,Hillary and Rev. Britt, have all been influenced to do meaningful work in their communities by reading - gasp - books?!
My God! Why haven't they been executed by now?!
You mean to tell me that instead of fulminating in private they've gotten involved and worked and run for public office?
I really don't understand why they aren't in prison for treason!
Chris, you just really have a narrow way of thinking. Rev. Britt is right - why don't you just let it go and not vote for Obama?
It appears that he'll do just fine without it!
I have read quite a bit of Saul Alinsky and it makes me want to puke.
I suggest you read an article "Saul Alinsky and DNC corruption" Google it.
He was a radical who believed the ends justified the means.
Incidentally Alinsky is where Obama got the code word of "change." It meant change to radical socialism.
If the word "change" is such a problem to you, Chris, do you not take issue with McCain using it? Because I'm sure Alinsky is the only person in political history ever to use the word. So, by your extremes of guilt by association, I'm thinking McCain is a radical socialist. Didn't I hear him in the debates talking about 'the redistributuion of wealth'? I know I did! I'm pretty sure that means he embraces it. Sounds extremely subversive to me.
Oh, never mind, perhaps Sen. McCain is just a copy cat.
Chris,
Obviously you found nothing useful in Alinsky's writings. Could that mean that you lack imagination?
Evidently, from what Larry said they've done a great deal of good work. Maybe you've done more but this whining about socialism shows that its probably not true.
By the way, with all of this socialism crying - are you giving up your Medicaid, Medicare, Social Security, FIDC insurance of your bank deposits - not voting for McCain because he voted for the $700 billion bailout?
Or are you, like others of your ilk, selective about the types of socialism that's acceptable.
Unimaginative flat 'thinkers' like you are what's wrong with our country. It's led to this mess our country's in now.
Pretty sad, Chris! Pretty sad indeed.
The mess in the economy was made by Democrats and now it seems the people largely want to entrust the same people to fix it as the ones who caused it in the first place.
there will be only one president who has less experience than Obama and that was W. OBama and W are both manufactured presidents. If Obama becomes President, don't be shocked if the outcome of his extremely liberal term is as much of a disaster as W's has been. I guess we never learn from our mistakes. cAn we have a "do over" for both candidates?
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