Will the "real" Obama please stand up?

One of the threats Republicans are going to face in 2008 and beyond is Barack Obama. He looks good on television, is personable and comes off as a decent guy. The press and the Democrats go out of their way to portray him as a middle of the road uniter, rather than a typical Democrat (or do they just think that their left-wing policies really ARE centrist?). Either way, he's the kind of person who has yet to run a real campaign and to answer any questions. I blame Judy Baar-Topinka for that problem, she pretty much emptied the field in the Senate race against Obama and brought in the worst possible candidate, Keyes, who never had a chance in pinning down Obama on his beliefs.

One key piece of information was a speech he gave to the Chicago Council on Foreign Relations. If anyone knows this group, then they recognize the type of forum they provide (a left-wing view of world politics that continues to embrace the idealism of the League of Nations/UN crowd). While he restrains himself from calling Bush a Nazi or for condemning the very idea of the military, he nonetheless has little to offer beyond the typical Democrat talking points on Iraq:

http://obama.senate.gov/speech/051122-moving_forward_in_iraq/index.html

Fortunately for us, we also have his Senate voting records to help our judgement. In an article for Newsbusters.org, Mark Finkelstein shows clearly whose side Obama is on:
http://newsbusters.org/node/8520

To quote from the article,
"Aside from a small smattering of ratings such as the 33% percent from Phyllis Schlafly's Eagle Forum and the 45% from on Personal Liberties from the Republican Liberty Caucus, Obama fits the liberal profile to a 'T.' Examples:
Planned Parenthood 100% in 2006.
National Right to Life Committee 0% in 2005-2006.
Americans for Tax Reform 0% in 2005.
NAACP 100% in 2005.
American Conservative Union 8 percent in 2005.
Illinois Environmental Council 100% in 2003 .
Children's Defense Fund [Hillary's old beat] 100% in 2005.
National Organization For Women 100% in 2005.
NRA, 'F' in 2004.
Federation for American Immigration Reform 0% in 2005.
2005 AFL-CIO 92%.
Americans for Democratic Action [old-style liberal organization] 100% in 2005."

Can anyone really believe that this Senator is a centrist? If anything this highlights the sharp-leftward tilt of Illinois in recent years. One of the fallouts from The Reagan/Bush economic expansions has been that some economic centers have become entirely too comfortable and have forgotten the hard lessons of the late 70's. Based on his voting record, Obama is entirely willing to vote us back to those times if given the chance.

I do have to say, though, that Obama is a Senator who does not offend me. While I utterly disagree with his voting, I think he's a good character person who means well. It isn't his fault that the media and the Illinois Republicans have allowed him to campaign by platitude.

Charlie Rangel and Jack Abramoff

This is as good of a place to start as any. Far from being above the fray, Charlie Rangel had long-standing, close ties to Jack Abramoff. The following is from a post by Matt Margolis on FreeRepublic:

"The New York Post has revealed that Representative Charlie Rangel has taken more donations from Abramoff's tribal clients than almost any other Democrat in the House.

Rangel has taken $27,000 from the Mississippi Choctaws and another $9,000 from the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians in California since 1999. Both tribes are eager to cash in on casino gambling and are clients of the indicted Abramoff.

The tribes funneled $27,000 to Rangel's leadership PAC - used to help elect other Democrats - and routed another $9,000 directly to the Harlem Democrat's re-election campaign.

A study by the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics found that 210 members of Congress have received campaign cash from Abramoff, his associates or his Indian-tribe clients.

Rangel has no intention of returning the contributions, saying, "If I thought for one minute any money was from Abramoff, I wouldn't hesitate to return it."

Funny, I thought the "culture of corruption" was a Republican thing? Well, be prepared for this guy to use his 'leadership' to payback his friends and enemies as he sees fit. Not to mention doing whatever he can to down our economy to get rid of the Bush taxcuts.

Introduction

Hello and welcome to "Scorched Blue". This BLOG has been created to provide accountability for the new Democratic controlled congress. Because the media is remiss in documenting the misdeeds of Democrats or when they do report it they bury it deep in the paper, this blog has been created. Our mission is to:

1. Make sure the public is aware of the words and deeds of the most powerful Democrats in Washington. People like Nancy Pelosi, John Conyers, Charlie Rangel, and Alcee Hastings have long, long track records of lunacy that were buried prior to this last election. We need to take those words and deeds and make sure people are reminded of them.

2. Much as been made of the conservative leanings of the Democratic winners from this last election cycle. We are told that they are pro-life, pro-gun and a lot of other things. Every vote that they make to betray their campaign promises has to be highlighted. Their constituents need to know when they've been betrayed - and they will be betrayed early and often.

3. The GWOT as well as conservative principles will only succeed so long as we are willing to stand up and defend it. The past 4 years have been an unending stream of charges and literally lies from the Media and the left about conservatives and the war. This will continue so long as we choose not to fight them. Every charge has to be met and defeated while everyone in the Media and on the left who brings these charges needs to be completely examined. We've let them spout lies and hypocrisy for long enough. Only by being tougher will we make sure the American people know the truth.

I've called this BLOG "Scorched Blue", because that is its purpose - to focus the harsh light of reality back on the Democratic party and the media and to expose the fundamental hypocrisy of this bunch. In the end, maybe they'll try to govern from the middle, maybe they'll work seriously to solve problems.. Haha, then again this is the real world, and anyone who thinks that it likely is welcome to believe it.

I ask two things of people who post:

1. Please source your information if not with a publically available reference, do so with me privately.
2. Avoid rants and deal with facts. The most damaging thing to this Democratic congress is for the people to be aware of their words and their deeds. There is a reason Pelosi was so hard to find in the run-up to this past election.

thanks,
Alan