Last updated: 2:17 am
July 6, 2008
Posted: 2:00 am
July 6, 2008
Barack Obama's flip-flop on issues, and conservative views on everything from the Supreme Court ruling on guns (he supports it) to public financing (he's against it, at least has far as his campaign is concerned), has his friends on the left pulling on the long knives. A selection.
On BarackObama.com, a group was set up to express anger that he supported the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act and its offering of amnesty to telecommunications companies that perform possible civil liberty violations. As of last week, 8,000 people have joined the group, with posts like this one from T.J. Dodenhoff:
"I'm reading the top of the Obama website and I see his 'Change you can believe in' message. Voting for this FISA bill is NOT change. It is the same politics that Sen. Obama has rallied us against and now he is choosing to join. I am imploring Sen. Obama to fight for the Constitution and for our rights as free citizens of the US. Question the Dems that flipped on this and how much they are getting from Telecom lobbyists. Repudiate these bribes! Listen to the people who got you here."
Markos Moulitsas at dailykos.com
"First of all, obviously Obama is a great candidate who is running a great 50-state race. That much cannot be denied. But he's had a rough couple of weeks. First, he reversed course and capitulated on FISA, not just turning back on the Constitution, but on the whole concept of "leadership." Personally, I like to see presidents who 1) lead, and 2) uphold their promises to protect the Constitution. Then, he took his not-so-veiled swipe at MoveOn in his "patriotism" speech. Finally, he reinforced right-wing and media talking points that Wes Clark had somehow impugned McCain's military service when, in reality, Clark had done no such thing.
