A Conservative for Obama

[Black Landlord]

PeterB wrote:
BL, I think to assume that "those around him" will necessarily include you, unless you are a part of his cabinet or staff, is a bit much. Should an elected public official listen to some members of the public? Sure. But can he/she listen to ALL the members of the public? Not bloody likely, unless he/she happens not to have to sleep, otherwise lives a life of solitude, and exists in a special trans-dimension where a 24 hour day is actually composed of 289.976 hours.

Need to zoom back out a bit here. . .
You expressed that, based on what you've seen, he'd be likely to listen to "those around him". You were clearly referring to cabinet members, advisers, staffers, the hired help, the guy that shines his shoes-- I'm not disputing that.
I expressed that I have not seen enough to have the same expectation.
Particularly the form letter previously referenced did not support the picture of someone who listens (and, yes, I know some staffer composed the response, or chose it from a list of canned responses, and although I'm sure the blue team here will have themselves a hardy little chuckle over it, I hold young Barry personally accountable for the views expressed by his staffer in his name, 100% ).

For your reading pleasure:
[quote e-mail exchange from early August]

Here's Obama's reponse to my letter in which I asked him to decrease highway funding and instead, increase funding for public transit. I'm really disappointed--it looks to me like his stock answer-form letters don't recognize that. And here I thought Obama was all about sustainability.
Nancy


Dear Nancy:

Thank you for your letter regarding the Highway Trust Fund. I agree that there is a great need to address the solvency of this fund.

As you know, the Highway Trust Fund is the primary source of funding for federal highway and transit programs, paid for with excise taxes charged to highway users, such as the gas tax. Approximately $1.6 trillion is needed over the next 5 years to maintain and improve our national transportation infrastructure, but the Highway Trust Fund is facing a deficit of billions—hundreds of millions for Illinois— in the short term, and as currently structured, will not keep pace with the pressing infrastructure needs of the country. That is why I oppose suspending the federal tax on gasoline. If the federal tax (18.4 cents per gallon for gasoline, 24.4 cents per gallon for diesel) is reduced or suspended, most economists conclude that consumption will rise and supply will remain constant, stimulating higher prices. Drivers would see perhaps $20-$30 savings for the summer, while eliminating up to $9 billion for the construction of roads, bridges, and transit, and would cost tens
of thousands of constructions jobs nationwide.

I will support stop-gap funding measures to assist the Highway Trust Fund in the short term, and will continue to work with my colleagues to find a long-term solution. I am pleased that on July 10, 2008, the Senate Appropriations Committee approved an $8 billion fix to prevent a 34 percent cut in highway spending that would have been necessary due to budget shortfalls. You can be sure that I will monitor this issue as the appropriations process moves forward.

Again, thank you for sharing your concerns regarding this important issue. Please keep in touch.

Sincerely,

Barack Obama


sherry wrote:
Slightly off-topic:

Secretary of Transportation Mary Peters (the same person who blamed the Minneapolis bridge collapse of last summer on bike paths) again demonstrated her love for highways.

Basically the Highway Trust Fund is projected to go bankrupt in the next few months, partially due to decreased funding from gas taxes caused by people driving less. Sec. Peters wants to fix this "problem" by borrowing money from the transit fund. ?!?!

Read more here: http://www.biketraffic.org/cbfblog_comme...6_0_19_0_C

Also if this makes you angry, please take the time to contact Peters and your congressional representatives to let them know your opinion on this idea.

--Sherry

[vision63]

BL you can write volumes about how out of touch he is (and he may very well be unconcerned about his general constituency), but the fact that you call him Barry means that you think he's a fraud. That's the tell. And that's fine too. You got a right.

[robfilms]

vision63 wrote: You got a right.

...but u still may have it wrong.

all of this talk about whether bl can get obama on the phone has distorted the original posting.

as someone who thinks of himself as an economic conservative, i am extremely troubled by mccain's willingness to extend the failed policies of bush/rove and turn them into bush/mccain/rove's failed policies.

this article deserves wider posting.

be well

rob

[Black Landlord]

vision63 wrote:
BL you can write volumes about how out of touch he is (and he may very well be unconcerned about his general constituency), but the fact that you call him Barry means that you think he's a fraud. That's the tell. And that's fine too. You got a right.

You have an active imagination.

[Black Landlord]

robfilms wrote:
all of this talk about whether bl can get obama on the phone has distorted the original posting.

Probably the first time that's ever happened on this forum.

[vision63]

Black Landlord wrote:
[quote=vision63]
BL you can write volumes about how out of touch he is (and he may very well be unconcerned about his general constituency), but the fact that you call him Barry means that you think he's a fraud. That's the tell. And that's fine too. You got a right.

You have an active imagination.
Then why call him that? What's the thinking there?

[Black Landlord]

vision63 wrote:
[quote=Black Landlord]
[quote=vision63]
BL you can write volumes about how out of touch he is (and he may very well be unconcerned about his general constituency), but the fact that you call him Barry means that you think he's a fraud. That's the tell. And that's fine too. You got a right.

You have an active imagination.
Then why call him that? What's the thinking there?
Why call him "young Barry?" I don't know. Why not?
Wouldn't you agree it's quite a leap to assume I consider him a "fraud" because I've referred to him as "young Barry?" Early on in this thread someone else implied that he seemed approachable-- I think most of use know enough about the world to avoid the word "articulate"- but is "approachable" off limits too? What nasty hidden sentiment does that word signify?

[vision63]

Hey, I don't care what you call him. Nothing is off limits. But that doesn't mean that sentiments don't originate from "somewhere." Obama doesn't use that name. He used that name when he was insecure about his fitting in. It's brought up now to remind people that he supposedly is not as honest about his life as people would think. Its "commonly" used, much like calling Clinton "Slick Willie, Bubba or just Willie" as a term of denigration. YOU, probably don't feel that way (I don't think you have a hateful bone in your body), but that's how "everyone" else uses it.

I worked hard for Hillary to be the nominee by giving her my time and my money. I'm still disappointed. If I could personally switch them out, I would. I'm no Obama idolater by any stretch, though I like him just fine.

[Black Landlord]

Thanks.
I thought his family members called him that... didn't really give it much thought. I'll do some digging, I guess.
-h'