In most jobs, when you don't show up or do your assignments half the time, you usually get fired. But this is seemingly not a problem for Senator Obama, who is literally poised to become the most powerful man in the world by having done NOTHING.
We know that he had about 150 "present" votes as an Illinois state senator. Surely, an inability to choose yes or no is indicative of the tremendous leadership skills he will bring to the White House. His record in the U.S. Senate is not so different. Go here to see for yourself how many times he was not present for a vote.
30.6.08
26.6.08
22.6.08
Barcky's Top 10
In honor of The Obama, I'm starting a top 10 list celebrating the most memorable gaffes of the past week.
- Campaign staging: removing Muslim-American women in head-scarves and passing out fake "home-made" signs
- Citing Winnie the Pooh and Luke Skywalker as authorities on which to base U.S. foreign policy
- Raising only $22 million dollars last month (just like McCain)...what a loser!
- Breaking his promise about accepting public financing and then making up bullshit excuses for it (when it comes to money, Obama is the new Bush)
- Supporting George Bush's warrantless spying and the erosion of the 4th Amendment and making up bullshit excuses for it
- Playing the preemptive "race card" in Florida (because anyone who might in the future vote for someone other than The Obama is a racist)
- Playing make-believe president of Obamaland with an (illegal) presidential seal
- Winning the endorsement of Kim Jong Il (who will join other "fans" Hamas, Qaddafi, Castro....)
- Telling women at the Congressional Black Caucus to "just get over it"
- Campaigning for John Barrow (a staunch advocate of the war in Iraq, the Bush tax cuts, domestic spying programs and telecom amnesty) in his primary race against Senator Regina Thomas (a progressive African American Democrat)....
More Similarities to the McGovern Campaign?
Thanks to Hillbuzz for researching this and bringing it to light for those of us who weren't around to remember.
Hillary Clinton: From Broad to Dame
an excerpt from the post:
"....Those sweaty-faced line-workers turned their strained ears on high and listened to the woman with the boys swinging punches at her like crazy, and missing. They listened and they felt that thing lost in hard times. They felt hope. They liked this sassy lady and her proud belly laugh. They liked that she wasn’t too fussy about a low-blow here and there. They liked that she didn’t talk down to them even though she stood on a platform. They liked her a little because she’d married a man with their roots. They liked her a lot because she’d chosen their roots for her own...."
"....Those sweaty-faced line-workers turned their strained ears on high and listened to the woman with the boys swinging punches at her like crazy, and missing. They listened and they felt that thing lost in hard times. They felt hope. They liked this sassy lady and her proud belly laugh. They liked that she wasn’t too fussy about a low-blow here and there. They liked that she didn’t talk down to them even though she stood on a platform. They liked her a little because she’d married a man with their roots. They liked her a lot because she’d chosen their roots for her own...."
Obama's Tax Plans
Bill Clinton was a growth Democrat. So he won twice. But Obama is aligning himself with the Democratic losers. And that will make him a loser as well.
Obama says his proposed tax plan would give families making between about $38,000 and $66,000 a year an average tax cut of $1,042. The savings for families making between $66,000 and $112,000 a year would be $1,290 (compared to $1,009 under McCain's plan). With respect to the 0.1 percent of taxpayers with incomes of more than $2.9 million a year, Obama would have them pay at least $702,000 more than they currently do.
In addition to letting the Bush tax cuts expire, Obama also advocates increasing the income cap on payroll taxes. This would essentially be a huge tax increase for taxpayers earning between $97,000 and $250,000, which goes against Obama’s prior commitment to not raise taxes on individuals making less than $250,000. Although higher taxes on the rich is a popular thought for many liberals, you cannot expect to only tax the rich and cut taxes for the poor. The American public is not likely to support unbalanced tax increases and this could harm his chances in the general election. The cap on wages subject to the payroll tax is presently $102,000. By eliminating that cap Obama will be soaking veteran firemen, cops, teachers, and health-service workers, along with a variety of other occupations.
Obama’s desire to increase the Capital Gains rate is probably the biggest actual increase of his tax plan. The current tax rate on Capital Gains is 15%, and Obama hopes to raise it to 28%. Although the Capital Gains tax rate is much lower today than it was a decade ago, it is being levied on a lot more people. Investing is not only for the rich, as there are millions of middle income Americans investing in stocks, retirement accounts, and mutual funds. In a time of a looming economic recession, we should be encouraging sound investment and savings strategies. Raising the capital gains rate is not going to do that. The Wall Street Journal’s Steve Moore points out that in 2005, almost half of all tax returns reporting capital gains came from households with incomes under $50,000, while more than three-quarters came from households earning less than $100,000.
To have place this in perspective:
According to the IRS, the top 5 percent of wage earners pay almost 60 percent of the income tax. Conversely, the bottom half of wage earners are paying less than 4 percent.
Read the Tax Policy Center's report on both candidate's tax plans here.
Obama says his proposed tax plan would give families making between about $38,000 and $66,000 a year an average tax cut of $1,042. The savings for families making between $66,000 and $112,000 a year would be $1,290 (compared to $1,009 under McCain's plan). With respect to the 0.1 percent of taxpayers with incomes of more than $2.9 million a year, Obama would have them pay at least $702,000 more than they currently do.
In addition to letting the Bush tax cuts expire, Obama also advocates increasing the income cap on payroll taxes. This would essentially be a huge tax increase for taxpayers earning between $97,000 and $250,000, which goes against Obama’s prior commitment to not raise taxes on individuals making less than $250,000. Although higher taxes on the rich is a popular thought for many liberals, you cannot expect to only tax the rich and cut taxes for the poor. The American public is not likely to support unbalanced tax increases and this could harm his chances in the general election. The cap on wages subject to the payroll tax is presently $102,000. By eliminating that cap Obama will be soaking veteran firemen, cops, teachers, and health-service workers, along with a variety of other occupations.
Obama’s desire to increase the Capital Gains rate is probably the biggest actual increase of his tax plan. The current tax rate on Capital Gains is 15%, and Obama hopes to raise it to 28%. Although the Capital Gains tax rate is much lower today than it was a decade ago, it is being levied on a lot more people. Investing is not only for the rich, as there are millions of middle income Americans investing in stocks, retirement accounts, and mutual funds. In a time of a looming economic recession, we should be encouraging sound investment and savings strategies. Raising the capital gains rate is not going to do that. The Wall Street Journal’s Steve Moore points out that in 2005, almost half of all tax returns reporting capital gains came from households with incomes under $50,000, while more than three-quarters came from households earning less than $100,000.
To have place this in perspective:
According to the IRS, the top 5 percent of wage earners pay almost 60 percent of the income tax. Conversely, the bottom half of wage earners are paying less than 4 percent.
Read the Tax Policy Center's report on both candidate's tax plans here.
20.6.08
Obama's FISA Cave-In: Gives Amnesty to Telecom
By the way, even George Soros-funded MoveOn is upset with their Barcky for breaking his promise on this one. From their website:
Yesterday, some congressional Democrats cut a deal to let companies that helped President Bush break the law off the hook. Barack Obama's promised to oppose such a bill in the past. Can you tell him we're counting on him to stand strong against "immunity" for lawbreaking phone companies?
Obama's presidential campaign: (866) 675-2008
Yesterday, some congressional Democrats cut a deal to let companies that helped President Bush break the law off the hook. Barack Obama's promised to oppose such a bill in the past. Can you tell him we're counting on him to stand strong against "immunity" for lawbreaking phone companies?
Obama's presidential campaign: (866) 675-2008
19.6.08
HillBuzz: Speculation: How Much Does Obama Expect To Raise For General Election?
HillBuzz: Speculation: How Much Does Obama Expect To Raise For General Election?
An excellent post. One issue it does not bring up, but which may be an additional cause of concern to the Obama camp, is the rate at which it spends. I recently read about the great disparity between the rates of spending of Obama and McCain. Supposedly, McCain is saving about 50 cents for every dollar donated to his campaign. Obama on the other hand is spending about $1.14 or more (my memory is foggy, it may have been $1.40) for every dollar donated to his campaign.
An excellent post. One issue it does not bring up, but which may be an additional cause of concern to the Obama camp, is the rate at which it spends. I recently read about the great disparity between the rates of spending of Obama and McCain. Supposedly, McCain is saving about 50 cents for every dollar donated to his campaign. Obama on the other hand is spending about $1.14 or more (my memory is foggy, it may have been $1.40) for every dollar donated to his campaign.
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