Obama breaks promise on campaign finance
mammasan
Posts: 5,656
"When one gets in bed with government, one must expect the diseases it spreads." - Ron Paul
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this at the beginning of Obama's run at president was one of his platform stances and now what does he think about this? haha
yeah, I saw this...
no candidate is going to espouse all of my stances and beliefs, unless I choose to run myself....
while disappointed that he did not keep this promise, it's not a deal breaker for me...
I'd be willing to bet that at the time he made said promise, that he had no idea how much cash would be flowing in...I also be willing to bet, if McCain had this sort of money flowing his way, he'd opt out as well...
While it definitely wasn't "one of his platform stances", he has definitely changed his mind:
From http://blog.washingtonpost.com/fact-checker/2008/06/obama_reneges_on_public_financ.html:
The closest he came was in response to a September 2007 questionnaire from the Midwest Democracy Network, which included the question, "If you are nominated for President in 2008 and your major opponents agree to forgo private funding in the general election campaign, will you participate in the presidential public financing system?"
Obama highlighted the answer "Yes," and elaborated as follows:
"I have been a long-time advocate for public financing of campaigns combined with free television and radio time as a way to reduce the influence of moneyed special interests.... My plan requires both major party candidates to agree on a fundraising truce, return excess money from donors, and stay within the public financing system for the general election....If I am the Democratic nominee, I will aggressively pursue an agreement with the Republican nominee to preserve a publicly financed general election."
So he gave himself some wiggle-room with the elaboration, but based on the "yes or no" answer he did go change positions.
That being said, can you really blame him? $600 million later (and the largest political database ever created), the positives definitely outweigh the negatives.
was like a picture
of a sunny day
“We can complain because rose bushes have thorns, or rejoice because thorn bushes have roses.”
― Abraham Lincoln
Well, as long as the ends justify the means, then we'll continue to get wiretapping and the Patriot Act from him, too.
I know it isn't fair to hold these guys to any sort of principles.
C'mon... you know that is apples and oranges. Don't be an ass.
was like a picture
of a sunny day
“We can complain because rose bushes have thorns, or rejoice because thorn bushes have roses.”
― Abraham Lincoln
Of course I could blame him. He made a promise and as soon as he realized how much money he could raise he immediately went back on his word. That to me speaks volumes about a person's character and that is definitely not a positive trait or one that I would want in the person running my country.
You are right. It is apples and oranges. I'm actually much more concerned with his lack of principles on the civil liberties than I am with his flopping on public campaign funds.
Our government is the potent, the omnipresent teacher. For good or for ill, it teaches the whole people by its example. Crime is contagious. If the government becomes a law-breaker, it breeds contempt for law; it invites every man to become a law unto himself; it invites anarchy. - Louis Brandeis
Well maybe we should start holding these people to a higher standard and stop making excuses for them.
It is pretty disappointing though, the least he could do now is justify this choice.
My point? Politicians lie sometimes. No denying that. I can accept it as long as people aren't dying as a result and as long as it isn't costing me thousands in my tax dollars. I'd prefer that they were 100% honest but that's not reality.
Broken system - education to death - garbage in, garbage out.
Our government is the potent, the omnipresent teacher. For good or for ill, it teaches the whole people by its example. Crime is contagious. If the government becomes a law-breaker, it breeds contempt for law; it invites every man to become a law unto himself; it invites anarchy. - Louis Brandeis
yawn...who cares? McCain tried to bring this up a number of times and realized that anybody would do the same thing in Obama's position. Things change, we could point to a million things that McCain said and then went back on...tax cuts come to mind. The argument stems from bitterness and jealousy.
So I guess since one candidate goes back on his/her promises it's ok for the other to do so too. And people wonder why our government is so fucked up.
people change their minds as conditions change. Thats what i never got about the whole "flip-flop" thing with Kerry. In my view that is a good thing. I want people to analyze situations and change their minds accordingly. That is something Bush never did, but it would have gotten him out of a lot of trouble. Sure he made promises to his right-wing pals, but if he had broken some of those, things would have been better. Finally in his final months he has changed some but it is too late...now thinking about talking to the Taliban, etc.
But so what, as long as it is for the good, who cares?
It can be argued that Kerry lost his election because of the swift boat ads that came out so late in the race, he had no money to defend himself.
Obama out "politiced", out "republicaned" the republican ... if this is his worst offense, I'm ok with it.
Are the folks in the republican campaign really complaining after all the shit they've pulled over the years? Please ... cry me a river.
"I don't believe in damn curses. Wake up the damn Bambino and have me face him. Maybe I'll drill him in the ass." --- Pedro Martinez
There's also alot I don't understand about how public/private financing works; I go to McCain's website and I immediately see a chance to donate to the campaign. What does it mean, then, to have 'public financing?'
Whooaa dude, Whoa. Let's slow that crazy train down. That kind of thinking would actually make this a better place.
Changing your stance on an issue because new information has materialized to impact your view is one think. Going back on a promise because you saw how much money you could raise is completely different. In my opinion it's not a good way to kick off a campaign by breaking a promise.
He had he fingers crossed, behind his back, when he said this.
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Good point.