The GOP wants Barack Obama to be the Democratic nominee because...

[The Night Owl]

The GOP wants Barack Obama to be the Democratic nominee because the GOP knows that when it goes up against the Clintons... it loses... every time.

[aquart]

1. It doesn't matter what they want. They will not win.

[Carrieyazel]

2. .....he's one of the few that they can beat, even in the GOPukes current, pathetic state of disarray

[babylonsister]

27. Sure. All the crowds and votes he's getting really indicate that.

What's the name of that dream world you're inhabiting?

[Carrieyazel]

29. The crowds lean strongly Democratic. This isn't a general election yet.

You'll see big crowds for the nominee on the other side as soon as he's selected.

[Bishop Rook]

34. Right, because we see how motivated the Republicans are

With half as much turnout as we had in Iowa... There have been plenty of opinion polls on the Republican candidates where "none of the above" beat out all the candidates in the race for the Republican nomination.

The Republicans don't have anybody who can really coalesce a strong alliance, any more. Huckabee can get the evangelicals excited, but not the libertarians and economic rightists; Giuliani can get the national-defense nuts riled up but not the social conservatives; Romney can get some social conservatives and economic rightists but not the bigots (who are, after all, a pretty big voting bloc in that party); McCain can get the minority who still favor the war, but not the majority who don't...

You're going to see a lot of people sitting out in November on the Republican side, or you're going to see a lot of support coalescing around a third party or independent candidate (my money's on either Bloomberg or Paul).

[DadOf2LittleAngels]

51. No kidding...

Im sick of this whole issue. Obama boosted turnout *hugely* in Iowa and he will do so elsewhere..

[Capn Sunshine]

37. That's pretty lame thinking

but we've become accustomed to your posts

[HysteryDiagnosis]

3. ...

[THUNDER HANDS]

4. as Kevin Spacey Said in Superman

WRONG!!!!!!!!!

[billbuckhead]

18. Belief has always been the enemy of truth

The endlest reliance on belief by Obama campaign should be a warning sign to all about the cult of Obama.

[Bishop Rook]

35. It isn't simply "belief"

As Obama said himself:

Hope is not blind optimism. Hope is not sitting on the sidelines or shirking from a fight. Hope is that thing inside of us that insists, despite all the evidence to the contrary, that there is something greater inside of us.

In other words, hope is only step one. Hope gives us the motivation and the will to fight. Hope is what assures us that, if we do fight, we can achieve. Hope is anathema to despair, and despair is what has been plaguing this party, and this country, for lo these past seven years.

When we heard the words, "I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to the Earth," they represented nothing but hope.

When we heard the words, "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character," they represented nothing but hope.

When we heard the words, "we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain--that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom--and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth," they represented nothing but hope.

At the time all these words were spoken, they were pipe dreams. No one would have bet that we'd land a man on the moon in under ten years; but we hoped for it, which gave us the drive for it, and we did it. No one would have bet that we'd see an end to racism in the lifetimes of Dr. King's children; but we hoped for it, and we fought for it, and though we're by no means at the end of the road there, we've taken great strides since those words were spoken.

For the third one, whether this government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall or shall not perish from the earth? I guess we'll have to hope. And fight.

[billbuckhead]

39. Why doesn't Obama talk about something he's done?

I guess when you can't talk about any acheivements, you have to talk about what you believe you will acheive.

[Bishop Rook]

42. He's talked over and over again about his accomplishments

He talked about several in his speech after Iowa, and even more in last night's debate. It isn't his fault if you refuse to listen.

At least this DUer actually asked the question and got some answers: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x3974105 Check there for information on many (but by no means all) of what he's done.

[billbuckhead]

44. That's all. You got to be kidding

He beat Alan Keyes to do that!

[Bishop Rook]

45. Did you actually visit the links?

Here's a nicely packaged one. It's a list of all the bills he was the primary sponsor for in the Illinois state senate.

http://www.ilga.gov/senate/SenatorBills.asp?MemberID=747&Primary=True

Unless I lost count, 38 of them went on to become law. These include implementing children's healthcare, extending the earned income tax credit, requiring videotaping of certain criminal confessions in order to be admissible, providing pre/perinatal HIV testing and counseling, requiring insurance companies to pay for colorectal cancer screenings, banning the sale of ephedra, protecting victims of domestic violence from workplace discrimination...

Then in the national stage, we have the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006, making it more difficult for the Pentagon to ignore its duty to treat soldiers suffering from mental illnesses, anti-nuclear proliferation... Not to mention voting the right way on most of the bills that hit the floor. Unlike a certain Senator from New York.

[billbuckhead]

47. Obama voted "present" 130 times

<http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22335739/>

[Bishop Rook]

48. Uh huh?

So what? And what does that have to do with accomplishments, or lack thereof?

And what's your answer to the Obama camp's response? I'll reprint it here for your benefit:

Mr. Obama's aides and some allies dispute the characterization that a present vote is tantamount to ducking an issue. They said Mr. Obama cast 4,000 votes in the Illinois Senate and used the present vote to protest bills that he believed had been drafted unconstitutionally or as part of a broader legislative strategy.

Can you cite anything to refute that, or are you preferring to simply repeat old accusations and attacks and hope they stick this time?

[Jackpine Radical]

5. ...because nobody THEY know would vote for a black man

[Carrieyazel]

8. They have voted for black men though. The Repukes Ken Blackwell of Ohio, Michael Steele in Maryland

Both big time losers of course. But the hard core Repukes seemed to be the only ones who voted for them.

[Jackpine Radical]

21. But not for President.

Well, Keyes too, but...

[Capn Sunshine]

38. seriously , it's not an issue

unless you posit that a majority of the American electorate are base racists, and then you would be wrong.

I believe there are more sexists than racists out there.

[Jackpine Radical]

54. I think there is a sort of chronic, low-grade racism that is quite pervasive

in America.

[Sarah Ibarruri]

11. I want a black president, but as someone whose family has adopted black kids....

... I no longer live with a blindfold over my eyes. I now KNOW for a fact there are racists all over this country, and that racism is very much alive here. I've seen it before my very eyes.

[Carrieyazel]

14. You're absolutely correct. The racists are still out there and Obama must know it too.

He accepted the Secret Service protection knowing that there are racist crazies out there.

[Sarah Ibarruri]

17. Oh yes. Thank goodness he accepted protection. And even so I don't trust it...

Look at JFK. When he was shot in Texas, the SS had moved away from the car. That's when he was shot.

This country is filled with evil right wing freaks.

[KittyWampus]

15. I think that's a HUGE part of it. Their own racism or assumption of racism might make some GOP'ers

think Obama would be easily defeated.

[cali]

6. really? where do you get your inside info?

All I can tell you is that puke bloggers are largely terrified of Obama. They're seriously fucked up right now, because although they love seeing Hillary being beaten, they recognize what a formidable candidate Obama is.

[Sarah Ibarruri]

7. I prefer Edwards over Obama, *however* I think Clinton is our weakest link because......

.... she was already crucified by the GOP over and over during a period of about a decade or more? They made jokes about her, ridiculed her, trashed her, called her everything from fat-ankled to lesbian, called her a murderer, you-name-it. I want a fresher, newer candidate that hasn't been dragged through the coals for years. That's not the only reason I don't want H. Clinton. There are myriad reasons I don't want her, but it's one reason that is important because all they have to do is pull out the same old arsenal of insults, and the U.S. will see her again the way they did.

[sallyseven]

23. But it didn't work for them before

and it won't work now. At least the stories are old hat. What will they use against Obama and Edwards?

[Double T]

9. I agree with your conclusion. There is SOMETHING cooking with ALL.......

of this neocon MSM pundit support for Obama. The stench of foul rovian tactics is in the air.

[emilyg]

12. Agree.

[annie1]

10. I think so too, but because they just want to get rid of hillary at any cost...

even if it risks their losing the GE to Obama. And I think they'd much rather not risk Hillary becoming president, even if they are 99% sure they could beat her.

[earthlover]

13. If the clinton's are so undefeatable, why is obama beating her?

Yup, the Republicans want Obama as the Dem nominee because:

1) they want to lose

2) they want a new wave of independent voters and disenchanted Reps to join with the Democrats like they did in iowa

3) Lily White Iowa proved beyond a shadow of doubt that a black cannot win an election in white America

4) The Republicans really want a new generation of new voters to vote overwhelmingly Democratic....knowing that people tend to vote in later years the same way.

5) The Republicans want record turnouts among independents and young voters who don't follow the Republican party line so much, are not homophobic as much, and are not racist as much. Yeah, the Reps really want that to happen.

6) The republicans want the Democrats to nominate someone whose very message will diffuse swift boating and make it look like the old politics.

7) The republicans really want the Democrats to nominate someone who can have large coattails with regard to Congress.

8) The republicans really want to run against a Democrat who won the votes of independents, blacks, whites, men, women, young, rich, poor, middle class, educated, blue collar...every demographic except senior citizens. Yeah, they are chomping at the bit to go after someone popular in ALL these groups.

9) The republicans really want to run against the democrat best able to use Iraq War as a campaign issue against the Republicans.

10) The republicans really want to save their money and conceed the election.


Well, if you believe ANY of the above...then you believe the Reps are looking forward to running against Obama!

If not, not so much.

[Carrieyazel]

16. Hillary was NEVER undefeatable in this presidential election. People are just tired of her.

[The Night Owl]

19. Yeah... We should rely on the youth vote like we did in 2004!

The youth vote never lets us down... well, except when it is hung over from partying the night before election day.

:eyes:

[billbuckhead]

20. Romney went out his way today to start campaigning against Obama

The RepuKKKes are already using Obama as a scare tactic. Romney also pointed out Obama's lack of experience vs all the promises.

From personal experience, all the hardcore Republicans I know are gloating that they have won election if Obama's the nominee. Many moderate Republicans I know actually want Hillary but think Obama is risky and untried.

[Evergreen Emerald]

22. If obama wins, McCain will be president.

[Cha]

24. hillary schmillary..

enough is enough. The Dem isn't going to lose..we just need the best person so stop with the fearmongering.

[Carrieyazel]

30. Gore wasn't supposed to lose either, right. Believing the Dem candidate isn't going to lose

hasn't helped in the past.

[melody]

25. Wait, two weeks ago the big spin was the GOP wanted Hillary to be the nominee

They need to pick one conspiracy and stick to it. This scattershot approach doesn't work.

[The Night Owl]

28. Karl Rove has described Hillary Clinton as being a "fatally flawed" candidate for president...

Karl Rove has described Hillary Clinton as being a "fatally flawed" candidate for president. What Rove means when he describes Clinton as being fatally flawed is that he hopes Democrats will run anyone but Clinton.

[frogmarch]

26. ...because only Edwards can beat any repub they throw at us. nt

[AtomicKitten]

31. Zogby says the RW ideologues (AKA: neocons) want Hillary to win.

edited for source: 12-30-07 Washington Journal, first guest.

She voted yes on the IWR and yes on K-L. Do the math.

[Proud2BAmurkin]

32. Why is Bill Kristol spinning like a top for bama?

:shrug:

[AtomicKitten]

33. I didn't mention Obama, but thanks for asking.

Zogby said the Republicans consider Obama the "hot" candidate and that they are wary about going up against him.

Same source.

[The Ghost]

36. Ummmm

if thats your logic, then hasnt Obama beaten a republican every time? Hasnt he never lost against a GOP candidate?

[jzodda]

40. Your nuts if you think they want to face Obama

One look at the amount of people he brings out, new voters and independents plus his very strong oratory and they would be insane to look forward to facing this guy. He hasn't come so far so fast because he is just "lucky".

[The Night Owl]

46. The amount of people Barack Obama brings out?

In the 2004 election, John Kerry got the highest number of votes of any Democrat in history and the 2nd highest number of votes of any presidential candidate in history. He still lost.

[jzodda]

49. Yeah but he didn't excite people like this guy does

Even many average republicans say good things about Obama, and they generally hated Kerry. The turnout for 2004 was high, but you wait and see with Obama at the top of the ticket 2008 will beat it for sure. He excites too many people who would otherwise stay home. Also if you look at the turnout for 2004 even though records were set keep in mind of course the population continues to grow and the % of people who did not vote at all was still very high.

Obama is a winner-this guy is no easy rollover type of guy. Especially when you look at the Republican field. Please tell me who sticks out as a candidate who can win on their side? Rudy? Republicans stay home. Romney? Hasn't got a chance. Huck? Independants vote for us. McCain? Republicans stay home again. I think this election is a shoe in for our side. The repukers are not nominating a candidate who can unite their little coalition this time, and that warms my heart :) You should be happy!

[Avalux]

41. Whoa! I am so tired of "The Clintons".

Loved Bill, still do, but give me a break - Hillary is not Bill and when she talks about what he did in office (like she did in the debate last night), it really turns me off.

I don't want a repeat of the 90s. I want to move forward.

[Mz Pip]

43. So we should let

the GOP dictate who are candidate is based on what Hillary supporters think?

I'm not going there.

Mz Pip
:dem:

[killbotfactory]

50. If they want Obama it's because they have a death wish.

Or are very, very stupid.

[Quixote1818]

52. What concerns me more is that Democrats don't think she can win. nt

[Imagevision]

53. Obama could defeat McCain Gooliani Romney(ha!) Huckobee if he had to to win the election...