"I smell Barack Obama Baloney" re. ties to Exelon Nuclear & Wall St.

[KoKo]

I smell Barack Obama baloney

by Juan Gonzalez

Friday, January 11th 2008, 4:00 AM

There was Sen. Barack Obama the other night, surrounded by his legions of young supporters, proclaiming the Iowa primary a "defining moment in history."

Maybe I'm getting old, or have watched too many silver-tongued politicians promise heaven on Earth only to shatter our hopes, but count me a doubter of the Obama revolution.

Anyone who delves past his soaring speeches and mesmerizing gaze and follows the money trail will find plenty to question.

The Democratic candidate of "change," for example, has raised nearly $100 million in campaign contributions, nearly as much as the Hillary Clinton money machine. Three of his four largest group of bankrollers are executives of Wall Street giants Goldman Sachs, Lehman Brothers and JPMorgan Chase.

What kind of change is that?

Among his other top contributors are executives of Exelon Corp., the largest nuclear power operator in the nation. In 2005, Obama talked in a Senate hearing of leaving "on the table" the building of new nuclear power plants - the kind of change that has Exelon ecstatic.

There is much to admire in the Obama campaign, but his attempt to be both champion to the downtrodden and cultivator of corporate titans is not one of them.

-snip-

Today's Obama supporters are convinced they can bring about a whole new era with Facebook networks, BlackBerrys, a big "Change" banner and phone banks.

For all their many flaws, at least Hillary Clinton and John Edwards have no illusions about how fiercely contested the presidential race of 2008 will become.

In a nation suffering from the greatest wealth disparity in its history, those who tell us we can all get along are selling snake oil.

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/2008/01/11/2008-01-11_i_smell_barack_obama_baloney.html

[dbackjon]

1. His support of nuclear is a good thing

Nuclear power is far greener than coal or oil.

[Renew Deal]

2. How is it that the same exact article is coming from different people?

I've heard this almost verbatim over the last couple days from different places.

[Andy823]

3. Good post

But don't hold your breath waiting for the Obama supporters to, go "Hmmm, maybe I should check this out"! All you will see is them defending Obama no matter what, and that in itself should make one stop and think about what the hell is going on!

Now I support Edwards, but if he was taking all the money from corporations as Obama, I would have left his side a long time ago. If he was pushing nuclear power, and had the backing of a company that wanted to build them, I would also have left his side.

No candidate is perfect, not by a long shot, but to completly ignore things like this, and to defend them no matter what is simply scary in my book. I just wonder how much of this will come out if he is the nominee running against the republicans? Anyone who thinks the primaries are tough, and dirty has not been involved in a general election. While Obama gets a free ride now, and everyone wants to jump on the "change" bandwagon, they seem to forget that first he has to win the general election, and that will make the primaries look like a cake walk!

[Little Star]

5. Wait a minute. I am taking my bare-foot, pregnant ass to the

kitchen to get you some O/O Kool-aide. You seem to have not had ANY.

[AX10]

6. Please, keep all the Obama kool-aid to yourself.

I insist!

[Little Star]

7. lol n/t

[codeindigo]

17. heheeh

:rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl:

[killbotfactory]

8. "All you will see is them defending Obama no matter what"

Sure.

Or, as belligerent drunks like to say "stop ducking when I throw things at you!"

[killbotfactory]

4. 99% of his contributions come from individuals

Here's the amounts from the "four largest group of bankrollers", IE people who work for these companies (large disposable income) who have donated to Obama.

$369,078 - Goldman Sachs
$229,090 - Lehman Brothers
$220,950 - National Amusements Inc
$216,759 - JP Morgan Chase & Co

Total $1,035,877

How is this very influential when he has raised nearly 100 million dollars?

The donors from the $200-499 amounts to more than double that at $2,848,192. That total would be even higher if you include sub-$200 donations.

These numbers are all from http://opensecrets.org and easily accessible to all.

I'm supposed to believe he's being corrupted by any one of these businesses because the people who work for them account for less than a fraction of a percentage of his total contributions? Really?

[babylonsister]

9. If I didn't know better, I'd think Juan had his own agenda.

:think:

[Thrill]

10. This article is Baloney

[AX10]

11. I have to agree with him. (see below)

The months that followed were the most tumultuous period in America's modern history - the assassinations of Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr., an epidemic of urban riots, scores of university strikes and the tear-gassing of thousands of demonstrators at the Democratic Convention in Chicago.
Those of us who lived through those times have never forgotten that real social progress requires enormous personal sacrifice.

Today's Obama supporters are convinced they can bring about a whole new era with Facebook networks, BlackBerrys, a big "Change" banner and phone banks.

For all their many flaws, at least Hillary Clinton and John Edwards have no illusions about how fiercely contested the presidential race of 2008 will become.

In a nation suffering from the greatest wealth disparity in its history, those who tell us we can all get along are selling snake oil.

Change will not occur only from their facebook networks. If Obama thinks that he is going to sit at the table and play nice with the US Chamber of Commerce and the Insurance industry, he will fall faster than Jimmy Carter did.

[Larkspur]

13. Me too

Obama's Kumbuyya philosophy is naive. The Right wing machine does not want to compromise. They want to defeat or at least obstruct the populist revolution that's going on.

[killbotfactory]

14. Obama's strategy is the only one that makes sense

It's not "kumbuyya" to work with anyone willing to work with you, despite what party they belong to, it's smart.
It's not "kumbuyya" to get republican and independent voters on your side to pressure congress for reform, or to get a democratic super-majority in congress, it's the only way we can tackle major issues from a position of strength.

We have been repeatedly burned by "compromise" (really sacrificing any issue pre-emptively if it doesn't poll well), but that's not what Obama is advocating, and I will be happy when people stop spreading this deliberate misinterpretation.

[bvar22]

23. Obama should spend more time working with The Left....

than inviting Republicans to the Policy Table.

[zulchzulu]

12. If someone who owns a porn shop contributes to a candidate, does that candidate support porn?

As for the article, another NIMBY wackjob...

[jackson_dem]

15. Real candidates of change don't raise $100 million from the sources Obama has raised them from

[killbotfactory]

16. You mean individual donors?

[KoKo]

19. Bundled donors from top Wall St. Firms and Excelon Nuclear...

though. His funders run in the same crowd as Hillary's. Not much change there when you gotta dance with "them that brung ya'"

[killbotfactory]

20. The amount he gets from small donors dwarfs those groups

Why should I be concerned?

[KoKo]

22. Go over to "Open Secrets.com" and check out everything there..you'll see

what I'm talking about. I was surprised how closely Hillary's Funders for "CHANGE" match with Obama's "Change."

Believe me...I'm not dissing you...but do the RESEARCH...Not, steering you wrong...and you can draw your own conclusions. Look at how LITTLE every Dem who ran or is running...and compare the numbers for Clinton & Obama...who got the BIG MONEY and see what I'm saying.

BIG MONEY gives to those who will give them BIG FAVORS...and only Clinton and Obama have the BIG MO with the money...that's why Biden, Dodd and Richardson had to drop out. :-(

http://www.opensecrets.org/

[redqueen]

18. "In a nation suffering from the greatest wealth disparity in its history,

those who tell us we can all get along are selling snake oil."

That's how I see it.

[Qutzupalotl]

24. Yeah, that Rodney King was quite the huckster, wasn't he?

[redqueen]

25. Huh?

[Qutzupalotl]

26. "Can't we all just get along?"

You remember him, right?

[redqueen]

27. Yeah... but he wasn't talking about rich vs. poor, was he? (nt)

[Qutzupalotl]

31. No, but all is all. nt

[KoKo]

28. And only Jeffrey Skilling (Enron) and Martha Stewart served HIGH PROFILE PRISON TIME!

Look at the LIST OF WALL ST. CRIMINALS... "Country Wide Mortgage" and others who get away with HUGEST HIGH CRIMES STEALING FROM SHARE HOLDERS...and THEY WALK...with MILLIONS...with MILLIONS!

Who has had to PAY for stealing our US TREASURY...only MARTHA ...because Ken LAY is either "dead" or living "high on the hog" as a Bush pet somewhere in "Florida Gated Community" or offshore LIVING THE HIGH BUSH LIFE!

What the BUSHIES DO...is REWARD YOU...and YOU LIVE GOOD...JUST LIKE BUSH II WILL...and CHENEY, RUMMY and the REST OF THE CRIMINALS AND DEATH SQUAD...WHO TRASHED AMERICA!

BUT...MARTHA...served her time.........Scooter Libby had his SENTENCE COMMUTED FOR OUTING A CIA SPY who was WORKING ON "WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION!"

And..SIBEL EDMONDS can't even get a HEARING FROM HENRY WAXMAN! :shrug:

[redqueen]

29. Martha supported Dems...

so yeah, she was punished.

IOKIYAR, though!

[unkachuck]

21. K&R....n/t

[suston96]

30. Obama doesn't want anyone to follow the money? Oh, that explains all the racism angulations...