MyDD :: "Shift to the center" is Right-Wing Smear

"Shift to the center" is Right-Wing Smear

by igwealth5tm, Tue Jul 08, 2008 at 09:00:44 AM EST

This "shifting to the center" meme is a right-wing smear to define BO as a flip-flopper. Barack Obama has always held these positions. Check the records; Read Audacity of Hope; Please check your issues. BO did not shift to the center as many right-wing pundits are claiming. The followings are positions that BO has held for as long as we've known him:

On NAFTA - No change, BO is and has been a free-trader all along but wanted trade-deals with labor standards to protect American workers.

On Guns - BO has always supported the right to bear arm as contained in 2nd Amendment (that's why he won Idaho, Colorado, etc. in the primary)

On Abortion - his current position has always been his position (that's why they EMILY's list attacked him in New Hampshire).

On Death Penalty - Go and check BO's Illinois record, where he led the reform there not to ban death penalty but to ensure a transparent and judicious death penalty system.

On Faith Based initiatives - Read Audacity of Hope. This has been BO's position all along.

On Iraq - BO has always had this "one or two brigade a month withdrawal" for a 16 months timeline in consultation with Commanders on the ground.

So in conclusion, I give it to the Republican for having succeeded in fooling the Democrats and the Press to embrace their talking point. They wanted to define BO as a flip-flopper the way they did against John Kerry. Ask yourself, why were the Press and McCain campaign so fast to twist BO's reiteration of his Iraq position? And this is the same position he's held since the first day he came up with "one or two brigade a month withdrawal" for a 16 months timeline. Same position from September of 2007

So wake up folks; read your copy of Audacity of Hope; check BO's records to see that he's a pragmatic left-of-the-center democrat.

Update: BO just told the audience that he has not shifted to the center as the right-wing smears would like you to believe: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/07/08/obama-i-havent-moved-to-t_n_111457.html

Tags: 2008 election, obama, iraq war, meeting with dictators, debate, McCain, Republican, election, right-wing, liberals (all tags)

Permalink :: 21 Comments :: Post a Comment

Re: (2.00 / 2)

Since when is Bob Herbert a right winger?

And the problem isn't with Obama shifting to the center or anywhere. I'd have expected that of any candidate. I defended Hillary's pandering to conservative white southern males. We need the votes.

The problem is that Obama ran specifically on NOT being that kind of politician.

by Juno on Tue Jul 08, 2008 at 09:19:48 AM EST

No, no, you are mistaken (2.00 / 1)

Fighting against NAFTA because of the harm it does to blue collar workers, or against expanding the death penalty because of its racist application, or against further entangling church and state is all just right-wing smearing. Fighting for sensible gun regulation is a smear unless your definition of sensible matches Justice Scalia's.

Fighting for choice is a smear regardless of whether you did it in NH or are doing it now.

Elections are not about promoting Democratic issues, they are about how Barack Obama is perceived. If he doesn't win you're going to loose anyway, so why fight for the principles you believe in?

by souvarine on Tue Jul 08, 2008 at 10:14:44 AM EST
[ Parent ]

What kind of politician is that? (1.20 / 5)

A consistant one?

In this avalanche, the pebbles get to vote.

by Dracomicron on Tue Jul 08, 2008 at 10:23:43 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: What kind of politician is that? (none / 0)

WTF?

louisprandtl 0
Lakrosse 0

I'm assuming the first one is an error. But the hiderating this comment is absurd.

Pointing to the inadequacies of John McCain

by duende on Thu Jul 10, 2008 at 05:31:41 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: (none / 0)

Really? Show us where Obama said he wouldn't run to the center????

"In the primary you should vote with your heart, but in the general, you should vote with your head" Hillary's husband

by venician on Tue Jul 08, 2008 at 01:35:32 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: "Shift to the center" =smear (none / 0)

The Press "MSM" bought into the right-wing smear

by igwealth5tm on Tue Jul 08, 2008 at 09:31:49 AM EST

Re: "Shift to the center" =smear (none / 0)

No, they (and Obama acolytes) bought into the "Obama is a new breed of politician" thing.

by Juno on Tue Jul 08, 2008 at 09:43:34 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: "Shift to the center" =smear (2.00 / 3)

I don't know what you think a "new breed of politician" means. From a lot of the comments here it means he should bend over, take it up the ass and lose to show what a nice principled guy he is and to satisfy the Obambi fantasies of those who hate him.

That is not the kind of different Obama has been pitching. The different is that he is not beholden to big money donors and special interests and he is ready to move beyond the partisan framing and political map of the 90's. He is also ready to in his own way give as good as he gets from the smear merchants and thugs we are up against.

He is still a politician, a cunning, calculating and ambitious one. Just the kind of politician we need to revamp what was a pathetic party of perennial losers dependent on a couple of fat cat donors into a national majority party funded by millions of regular Americans.

by hankg on Tue Jul 08, 2008 at 10:08:18 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Centrist better than "liberal" (none / 0)

The RW and GOP have demonized "liberal" for decades, as extremism. "Centrist" doesn't nearly have that much baggage; its nearly impossible to extreminize the peception of "centrism".

In fact, here in Kansas, "centrist" has a huge appeal within the Democratic Party and with moderate GOP. Sebelius, Boyda, et al, have all won due to the "centrist" label.

Perversely, I'd say the so-called smear with working for Obama and to the detriment of the GOP.

by dcrolg on Tue Jul 08, 2008 at 09:32:35 AM EST

Right-Wing Smear (2.00 / 2)

Except, arguably, for FISA, Obama hasn't shifted on anything (and use the term "arguably" for FISA because Obama, clearly, has stated that the Dems need to review all of these questions once a Dem is elected, can establish what has been done, and determine what actual needs are).

This is just the same gang bang which occurred during the primaries. Those who supported Clinton have an incentive to depict Obama as unreliable. Republicans want to paint him as a flip-flopper. And so you have this weird situation where some Democrats are willing to do the GOP's work.

"Politics as usual" means the Democrats get shut out of the federal government (or don't have the means to pass anything). It's a good thing the Dems have such a strong wind at their backs this year, because it's pretty clear many Dems right now just don't want to win all that much.

by IncognitoErgoSum on Tue Jul 08, 2008 at 09:35:43 AM EST

Re: Right-Wing Smear (2.00 / 2)

Those of us who supported Clinton have incentive to portray Obama as unreliable???

What incentive is that? Clinton can't be the nominee at this point. You think if we push hard enough, the SDs will come around and nominate her at the convention?

Even I don't believe that.

There is NO incentive whatsoever.

There is frustration that what we were saying all along, and bashed horribly for, (a la the dissenters and truthtellers about the Iraq war) got us the wrong candidate, again.

by Juno on Tue Jul 08, 2008 at 09:42:44 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Right-Wing Smear (none / 0)

So, your incentive for bashing our candidate and all of his "supporters", which you, of course are not one of, no, no- not you, never, never, you're just going to publicly claim that you'll vote for the guy, but that doesn't make you a supporter, no way-- not like those other people who all publicly say they will vote for him--the thing about them is they all have exactly the same personality and they all decided to support him because they got brainwashed by him and his new politics stuff. But not you! You're smarter than that! You will only publicly claim to vote for him, but you're not a supporter and you want everyone to know that..

Anyway, your incentive for repeatedly bashing him and his supporters with the same talking points over and over again for months is to make yourself feel better by trying to convince the people who didn't pick HRC that they backed the wrong horse?!? And it's not to try to help fulfill your own prophecy of him being a weak candidate or a poor president, right?

And for anyone else reading this who is not familiar with Juno, check his/her very active comment record and see if you can find a single post that is complimentary about our candidate or his "supporters" in any way.

by glopster on Tue Jul 08, 2008 at 11:10:27 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Right-Wing Smear (2.00 / 1)

I'm no winger but I'm pissed that Obama isn't standing firm on his promise re: FISA. He hammered HRC to win the nomination on NOT doing this kind of switching. Damn right I'll expect more. So now anyone that wants to do that is a 'winger'? The labeling that's gone on in this primary from fellow DEMs is disgusting!

by swissffun on Tue Jul 08, 2008 at 09:47:46 AM EST

Re: "Shift to the center" (none / 0)

Damn to all that sacrifice their rights under the Constitution without fighting. Obama's stand on FISA is no rightwing smear it is reality. If feeling this way makes me a troll then indeed count me with the trolls!

by orionwest on Tue Jul 08, 2008 at 10:13:08 AM EST

Not much we can do on FISA (none / 0)

The Democrats were sold out on the FISA thing; telecom immunity is not the only thing on the bill. It was intentionally built into a huge amount of other legislation by the Democratic House leadership to insulate it from being voted down.

If Obama votes for it, they call him a flip-flopper, despite the vast majority of legislation in the bill which he approves of. If he votes against it, well, look at what a dangerous idealogue he is for denying all that important change just for one measly immunity clause!

Unless they can get an amendment to strike the immunity passed through a congress which has gotten huge amounts of campaign money from telecoms (on both sides of the aisle), this entire issue is a non-winner. Taking the practical solution and promising to revisit it as president is just about the most damage control you can do.

In this avalanche, the pebbles get to vote.

by Dracomicron on Tue Jul 08, 2008 at 10:32:26 AM EST
[ Parent ]

FISA and more (none / 0)

And his shift on FISA is to the right part of the spectrum.

His position on withdrawal in Iraq is about where McCain is.

Ya know, when I was a kid, my baseball heroes were Mickey Mantle, then Pete Rose. Then I found out my idols had clay feet, to say the least. I still think both are worthy of admiration for their athletic talents. But you've got to see Obama for what he is -- a typical politician -- and stop acting like a hurt 12 year old.

The big reason for supporting Obama over Hillary was his Iraq position. He's changed. Get over it.

The question is -- what are his true beliefs? I don't think he has any.

by strongerthandirt on Tue Jul 08, 2008 at 10:25:13 AM EST

Re: FISA and more (none / 0)

He hasn't changed his Iraq position and it is nowhere near McCain's. He is still for an orderly withdrawl performed as fast as practically possible. McCain is for 100 years or more in Iraq.

"The true measure of a man is how he treats someone who can do him absolutely no good." Samuel Johnson

by MS01 Indie on Tue Jul 08, 2008 at 11:04:21 AM EST
[ Parent ]

NYT piece (none / 0)

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/08/opinio n/08herbert.html?_r=2&hp&oref=sl ogin&oref=slogin

Here's an opinion that one should read, that contradicts this diarist.

by strongerthandirt on Tue Jul 08, 2008 at 10:37:20 AM EST

Re: NYT piece: herbert aint sh*t.. (none / 0)

and he doesn't speak for this AA. I like the faith-based bit, I've been part of that w/ my own church.
Yes, child rapists are the lowest of the low. Seen the news lately? that poor child.

Strategy:
Stand in the center
Claim the center
Move the center to the right

by Mae Scott on Tue Jul 08, 2008 at 03:54:06 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Last line should read "Left" oops (none / 0)

by Mae Scott on Tue Jul 08, 2008 at 03:54:41 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: "Shift to the center" is (none / 0)

I noticed you didn't mention FISA. And during the campaign Obama repeatedly said he would renegotiate Nafta. I didn't believe him, but plenty here and at KOS did, so don't deny it please. Herbert and Dionne have both written pieces highlighting his tack to the center. So it's not a Republican smear there is some substance to it.

by ottovbvs on Tue Jul 08, 2008 at 02:28:00 PM EST

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