February 11, 2005
THE GREAT BLUE HOPE AIN'T:
There have been three significant roll call votes in the Senate thus far and Barack Obama has voted with the Republican majority on 2 of the 3--supporting the class action lawsuit bill and Condi Rice, but opposing Alberto Gonzales. By June Democrats are going to hate him.
Posted by Orrin Judd at February 11, 2005 7:19 PMbecause they have already upset a lot of black voters, with their attacks on condi, the democrats can't say boo to obama otherwise kiss the black vote good-bye. the man knows his chess moves, he is going to make his name at the expense of the loons in the party.
Posted by: cjm at February 11, 2005 7:42 PM" By June Democrats are going to hate him."
By June Democrats are going to get to him.
Why did he vote against Gonzales? Is the AA/Mexican thing already that bad?
Posted by: Robert Schwartz at February 11, 2005 9:29 PMLike Hillery! Obama is smart enough to understand triangulation. You vote with the Democrats on just enough issues to stop major grumbling, but when it comes to the votes that will really matter down the line to the bulk of the American voting public, you move towards the middle, because if you have any hopes of obtaining higher office, you can't have a voting record that's on the wrong side of the big issues.
The next question is whether or not Obama's triangulating right like Mrs. Clinton -- who has been voting for things that most people believe deep down in her heart she really doesn't believe in, but knows she has to to to get elected president -- or is he triangulating to the left, tossing the Dean wing of the party a few rogue votes here and there while really believing in the ones he cast that are more in line with the middle of the policial spectrum and/or with Bush administration policy.
Obama will be defined by his position on reparations, Janice Rogers Brown (or Estrada), possibly Thomas being Chief, and the next big foreign policy vote. SS is out there, but a vote for Bush on that will practically mark him as a Republican, so he'll probably stick with Durbin on that.
People keep saying he is big into gun control - can he afford to keep voting that way as well?
Posted by: jim hamlen at February 11, 2005 10:13 PMSocialist, gun grabber and abortion proponent.
Posted by: Sandy P at February 11, 2005 10:24 PMOJ:
Shhhh. You don't want to alert Perlstein, do you?
Posted by: Matt Murphy at February 12, 2005 1:52 AMOver at Democrats Unhinged--oops, I mean "Democratic Underground"--the moonbats have already marked him as a traitor to his race and class. Look for the purge to begin this fall, after Dean is in full control of the apparat.
Posted by: Mike Morley at February 12, 2005 6:45 AMSame @ Demorats.org!
Posted by: Webb at February 12, 2005 5:20 PM