Obama is Right on 527s

[babylonsister]

Obama is Right on 527s

Posted December 26, 2007 | 01:40 PM (EST)


Over the past month, Barack Obama has been consistently rising in the polls. The most recent Washington Post/ABC News Poll had him on top with 33% of the vote - 4 points above the second candidate - and the most recent Boston Globe poll has Barack Obama ahead in New Hampshire with 30% of the vote as well. Finally, the most recent CBS poll has him leading in South Carolina for this first time during this campaign with 35%.

These numbers are making the establishment nervous, and that is leading a whole lot of empty attacks against Obama. One set of attacks have been offered by the NYTimes columnist Paul Krugman. In two recent columns, he slams Obama for refraining from demonizing those who disagree with him and on his opposition to 527 political - and often smearing - ads.

Krugman believes that in order for change to come, Obama has to maintain a harsh anti-corporation and anti-Republican platform. But what Krugman fails to recognize is that Obama is pursuing a strategy that is a whole lot wiser and more effective. Instead of demonizing the other side as Hillary Clinton, John Edwards and other conventional politicians do, Obama has effectively brought moderates from the other side to his side time and again for over 10 years to push for improving funding for public schools, strengthening transparency, setting up the "Google For Government" to publish where the federal money goes and bringing about two great ethics reforms in both the Illinois legislature and the U.S. Senate.

By focusing on the facts and problems, Obama has effectively changed the rules of debate and neutralized attacks by Republicans who would love for him to resort to politics of demonization and vilification that have repeatedly failed. Edwards and Clinton think that the candidate with the harshest rhetoric is the best candidate to bring about change. But the fact of the matter is that while these candidates have talked about change, Obama has delivered on that promise of change by forcing the republicans to talk issues and defeating them based on merits.

And as for 527s, Krugman is upset about Obama's position against them because Krugman essentially believes that 527s are okay as long as they come from the left. But if they represent corporations, they must be abolished. This is, of course, a fundamentally hypocritical position to take. How can we legitimately do away with 527s and claim the moral high ground if we are to allow certain 527s to get a free pass? Isn't this double standard mentality why we have repeatedly been unable to get independents to our side on issues? Isn't this a perfect example of the kind of divisive methodology that has repeatedly failed us and kept this country divided?

Maybe Paul Krugman doesn't believe this is hypocritical at all just as he didn't think it was hypocritical when at the same time that he was issuing such rhetoric against corporations, he was serving on the advisory board of Enron for $50,000 a year before he was forced by New York Times to resign from his board position due to conflict of interest.

more...

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/sam-sedaei/obama-is-right-on-527s_b_78308.html

[killbotfactory]

1. 527s = Unlimited soft money

Hell, even Edwards is officially against the ads, does that make him anti-union, too? According to Krugman, yes.

[TeamJordan23]

2. Let's see what Krugman's reaction will be to the GOP 527 Ads in the General Election.

Let's see if he supports them than.

[ThatPoetGuy]

3. Let's see what happens if Obama is the Dem candidate.

Will he oppose MoveOn and other groups?

[NYCGirl]

4. Not unless the GOP does the same. (And you know they won't.) NT

[Hippo_Tron]

10. On the record he will, just as Kerry did

Off the record, you do what you have to to beat the Republicans.

[AtomicKitten]

5. Obama is right on 527s.

I understand Edwards' predicament. He chose matching funds for an influx of fast cash. Not too long ago, most of us felt the same way about 527s, and Krugman's partisan attack on Obama does not negate the point Obama is making on this issue.

[Forkboy]

6. I don't like them at all, even during a general election.

[msongs]

7. thank gosh obama does not affiliate with super rich corporate entities...like Oprah nt

[NYCGirl]

8. Or Rupert Murdoch. NT

[BeyondGeography]

9. The author is saying we'll never win the soft money war so we need to push for disarmament

and he's right. Obama isn't saying disarm unilaterally, he reserves the right to use 527s in the general if the Republicans use them. Meantime. he's proving that a Democrat can fund a transparent national campaign without them.

[NOVA_Dem]

11. Krugman seems to be diminishing his credibility with this personal jihad n/t.

[babylonsister]

12. He has in my eyes, and I liked him. Like Larry Johnson, they both

should stick to what they're good at and leave (negative) campaigning to others.